Chapter 41: Lines We Cross
Upper District.
Fioravanti townhouse in the Grand Quarter...
——
With a bottle of whiskey in his left hand and a glass of ice in his right, Dante made his way to one of his favorite spots in this house, which was the atrium-styled courtyard.
He loved to just sit there and do nothing but smoke, drink, and stare at the moon. That was a habit he had brought over from Earth. It was something he used to do back there after a day of work, and something he did here when he was still a Child of the Moon.
Now that his faith was no longer there, it was now just a lingering habit.
However, upon getting to the courtyard, he slowed as he noticed that Lucia was already sitting on the stone bench, smoking from a pipe with her gaze fixed on the statue in the center of the fountain.
She must have heard his footsteps, seeing as she slowly turned to face him with a soft look. "Oh, Dante?"
Before he could even think to turn around, she smiled warmly and gestured with her free hand, then tapped the bench beside her. "Here. Come sit with me."
When her gaze fell on the bottle in his hand, she let out a soft chuckle. "Brought enough to share? I could use a drink too."
Dante subconsciously looked at the bottle in his hand, and after confirming there was plenty left, he walked over and sat beside her.
He didn’t mind her company. If anything, his relationship with Aunt Lucia was built on a comfortable, quiet understanding. They were like two seasoned colleagues who respected each other’s space, the kind of people who could bounce heavy thoughts off one another or simply sit together without the need to fill the air with meaningless noise.
Without a word, he uncorked the bottle and poured a generous splash over the ice in his glass before handing it to her.
She took it and swirled the ice before taking a long sip. While she was at it, Dante reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette pack. He took one out and sniffed it before placing it between his lips. Then, he took out a flip-top lighter, flicked the metal wheel, and brought the small flame to the tip.
In the meantime, Lucia had finished her glass, and out of courtesy, she poured a fresh splash over the remaining ice and passed it back for him.
"Thank you," he nodded politely, then took it and rested the cool glass in his palm while taking a drag of smoke.
Lucia smiled and stared at him for a moment before asking, "How are things holding up on your end lately? Everything going alright?"
Dante looked thoughtful for a bit before shrugging. "Alright, I guess."
He turned to Lucia, who was sitting with her legs crossed, resting her chin in her palm. "What about you, Aunty?"
She slowly looked away, and her gaze drifted back to the statue in the center of the courtyard. For a long moment, she didn’t give an answer.
Eventually, she asked softly, "Do you know that feeling when you walk into a place that is usually full of people, but is now completely empty and silent?"
’Kenopsia?’ Dante arched a brow before nodding softly.
Lucia smiled, though there was no warmth in it. "I feel like that most of the time. Even when I come home to a house full of people, it still feels... empty. Lonely."
Her voice cracked slightly at the end, but she quickly chuckled to cover it up. "I guess what I’m trying to say is... I miss my Gabriel."
Dante remained quiet, and his expression grew somber.
Slowly, he turned his gaze down toward his glass, watching the ice float in the amber liquor.
Gabriel was her son and his cousin. After her husband, Jacob, passed away a little over five years ago, Gabriel had become everything to her.
However, sometime early last year, he suddenly disappeared.
Everyone searched for him, exhausting every resource at their disposal, but to no avail. Even with all the wealth and influence the Fioravantis possessed, they had failed to locate him to this day. There were scattered reports and grim evidence suggesting he might already be dead, but without a body, the family refused to accept it, Lucia most of all.
"I miss him too," Dante finally said, letting out a soft breath as his gaze drifted up to the moon. "He always had a way of making this place feel less... empty."
Indeed, Dante wasn’t lying when he said that. Gabriel was younger than him, and over the years, Dante had come to view the boy less like a cousin and more like a little brother he felt responsible for looking after.
Since Dante wasn’t really good at consoling people, he simply remained somberly silent after saying that.
After a moment, however, Lucia decided to lighten the heavy mood that she had brought upon them. She chuckled softly and said, "I read an interesting book today. One that made me want to start keeping a journal of my own."
"You read?" Somehow, that sounded strange to Dante.
She chuckled and nudged his shoulder lightly with hers. "Of course I read. Did you think I don’t have brain cells? That has always been a hobby of mine."
Dante didn’t say anything though and just stared at her.
She smiled and looked away, returning her gaze to the moonlit fountain. "It’s about a man who loses his position in high society when a sudden crisis threatens to destroy his family. So, behind closed doors, he starts doing... terrible things. Things no decent person would ever dream of doing, just to protect the people he loves."
As she spoke, she had taken the glass from Dante. She took a slow sip, and her tone dropped into a quiet, almost reflective space. "Most people would call him a monster for how far he went. But reading it, I couldn’t help but wonder. When you love someone that much, is there really any line you wouldn’t cross to keep them safe?"
Dante looked away and took a drag. He exhaled in thought, watching the thin stream of smoke rise and dissolve into the cool night air before offering a quiet reply.
"Depends on what you’re willing to live with after. Cross enough lines, and... eventually there’s nothing left of you to bring back to the people you were trying to save."
He paused, looking down at his cigarette as the ember glowed orange in the dark. "But... if it comes down to their well-being or my own clean conscience, I wouldn’t care about keeping my hands clean. When it comes to keeping the people you care about alive, you just don’t have the luxury of pride, or hesitation, or worrying about keeping your heart pure."
After saying that, Lucia smiled.
It was a smile that felt intensely emotional and strangely relieved, as if she had just received an answer she had been waiting a very long time to hear.
"I love talking to you, you know," she murmured, swirling the amber liquid in the glass she had taken from him. "You are more mature than you actually look, and you never try to hide the world behind pretty words."
Dante exhaled with his gaze still fixed on the sky.
For the next few minutes, neither of them really said much, letting the silence settle between them until Lucia stood up and stretched. As she turned to leave, she set his glass down on the stone bench beside him.
"By the way, I tried to apologize to Kate."
Dante turned to her. "Let me guess. She chased you away, cursing the fuck out of you?"
Lucia smiled softly, tilting her head. "She didn’t get the chance to curse. The moment she opened the door and saw my face, she slammed it so hard I thought the frame would split in half."
Dante chuckled.
Lucia then patted his shoulder gently, as her expression lingered in a thoughtful pause. "Goodnight, Dante. Don’t stay out here in the cold too long."
Then she turned and headed back inside.
For the next few seconds, Dante continued drinking in silence, watching her retreat into the hallway out of the corner of his eye. When he had enough, he crushed out the ember of his cigarette against the stone railing, drained the last drop from his glass, and stood up, making his way back inside toward his own quarters.
As he crossed the foyer, he set the empty glass and bottle down on a side table. But just before he reached the large stairs leading up, the front door was opened by their footman, and Francesca stepped inside.
Despite holding an umbrella in one hand, she looked drenched, most likely from the rain that had fallen earlier. In her right hand, she held a hoverboard, which was a tapered metallic deck lined with brass trim and splashed with a few aerosol tags.
Upon seeing her, Dante halted.
He was surprised. After so many days, look who finally decided to come home. Of course, he knew she was the type of person to not even speak to anyone after coming home and just head over to her room to blast music on the highest volume.
When she saw him, though, she halted too.
She looked at him for a long moment thoughtfully without saying anything.
"Look who decided to finally come back home," Dante said with a smile as he began to approach her.
She exhaled, turned, and handed her umbrella and hoverboard to the tall footman, before speaking. "I’m heading up to sleep. I’m so tired."
When she turned around to begin moving, to her surprise, Dante, who was now close enough, stepped directly into her path and wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her into a deep hug.
"Huh?"
Francesca’s eyes went wide in shock, and her hands hovered awkwardly in the air, but Dante just rested his chin lightly on her shoulder, holding her close.
At that moment, however, Edward’s voice echoed in his head. It was deep, sounding far more mature than usual.
’Master...’
Dante’s eyes flicked upward, and he replied mentally. ’I know.’
His purple eyes were locked on the being that had followed his sister into their Villa.