Only then did I turn to look at Edoardo, each word falling like a stone. "You call Master's death a stroke of fortune?"
Edoardo faltered. A flicker of guilt surfaced in his eyes. His fingers went to his tie again, pulling at the knot, though it hadn't moved.
Rosalia Castellano, the second protégée, had just arrived. She flipped her hair over her left shoulder and rushed to Edoardo's defense the moment she saw his expression.
"Nara, how dare you speak to Edoardo that way?"
"Master's death wasn't our doing."
"If you want to blame someone, blame Master for holding those Original Oaths. We simply seized the opportunity that presented itself."
Looking at Rosalia's face, utterly devoid of remorse, all I felt was that Master had never been worth the love he gave them.
Edoardo and Rosalia were the first protégés Master ever took in.
He treated them no differently than he treated me.
He poured every ounce of his heart into raising them, even putting off having children of his own.
That was why, after all those years, Master and Donna Vittoria never had a child by blood.