Jada pushed Jul before a woman seated alone, holding a glass of water rather than wine. She was dressed entirely in black—her hair, shoes, blouse, suit, skirt, earrings, and even her make-up.
"Aunt Mer!" Jada called out with a slightly smiling expression and proceeded to give her a light hug.
"Little Jade, how are you?"
Her voice came out tired, strained, and weak as she returned the hug without getting up.
After they separated from each other, she proceeded to stare at Jul.
"I am Jul." He greeted her.
"Mm..." She nodded with a slightly relieved expression. "Your father would be proud you are back home. Just keep living healthy."
"Yes, Aunt." Jul nodded, deep in his thoughts.
'Mer Mercer, the head of the group's genomics division that handles DNA editing, gene therapy, and hereditary optimization. She truly is the most reclusive of them. She lives a simple life with her single daughter. Every event to her is like a funeral. That's why she's always seen wearing all black and drinking only water.
'Tch. What a boring way to live your life with all that money, and now that I think about it, do I get a share of the inheritance now that I am here?'
After greeting her, Jul signaled for Jada to move on. There wasn't much more to know about Mer.
'Oh, yes. There's that thing about cloning that she's researching.' He chuckled darkly about it.
Only if she knew that he was aware of their core secrets, how would they feel or react?
The last people Jada arrived at were Duke and Dune, the twins, just like he had Jada.
Dune Mercer, the entire Mercer company secretary. She heads the Mercer's foundation group, the family's public face and charity arm that handled free surgeries, donations, and outreach programs.
Beside her was Duke Mercer, the head of the Mercer Organ Bank and Transplant division, which controlled organ donations and transplant logistics.
In a way, these two could be differentiated as opposites, even down to their looks.
Dune Mercer. She was the definition of elegance.
A wine-colored dress, a white marble necklace, white low heels, and long dark-wine hair. Her sense of style had that balance of simplicity and elegance.
Duke Mercer, on the other hand, was a burly man who stood on a thin line between fat and huge. His stomach bulged out through his neat suit, and his black hair was slicked backwards. The top buttons were loose, revealing a blinding gold chain beneath his clothes.
Unlike the way Jada greeted Mer, she stayed in her position here and simply gave a slight bow.
"Aunt Dune, Uncle Duke."
"Hmph!"
Duke snorted in response, shifting his gaze away, seemingly refusing to greet.
He was the first to openly refuse Jul before the rest of the family.
"Don't mind him," Dune spoke cheerfully. "He's just jealous we are no longer the family's only twins."
Then she looked at Jul, waving slightly.
'Dune and Duke. More like word and opposite. One would think Dune is a peace lover as she leads the family's front; however, she is as ruthless in this line as Rose, perhaps even more. Though quiet by nature, word has it that she rates everyone by merit, and she disdains anyone who falls below her ranking, including her children.
'From her nonchalant gaze at me, I can only assume she doesn't even think I deserve one. Well, you can't really blame her. You can't lead a family of this scale and stay sane.'
He shifted his attention. 'Then there is Duke. The guy who never leaves a place without holding a grudge against someone, then seeks to end them. It isn't wrong to say that we had enough dirt on him to bury him ten times over if the situation called for it.'
He almost shook his head at the absurdity.
'How they still get along is what still amazes me.'
"Uncle. Aunt." Jul greeted them and tapped the armrest once more.
With that, Jul had finished greeting the older members of the family.
After greeting them, the older members seemingly lost interest and focused on their business.
Jada turned his wheelchair and began moving toward the leftmost direction, where the younger generations were, as Jul fell into his thoughts.
'After meeting the older generation of the Mercer family, I now have an inkling of their characters. From what I have seen, Eddard still seems like the best fit to be the next head. Well, that is if Dune decides to remain in her stance about leading the family's public face. And this confirms it. The older generation members are as boring as I thought. I only wonder what this kid's father was like. Reagan.
'The younger generation, however...' He raised his head and stared at eight distinct faces with varying attributes.
He stopped before the first, the woman with heavy makeup who stood at the forefront of the group.
"Krone Mercer. The eldest cousin."
Jada introduced her.
The woman in question didn't even seem to look in their direction.
All the while, Jul greeted the older generations; she seemed to be staring. However, as soon as he approached, she suddenly wasn't looking anymore.
'Krone Mercer. As she said, the oldest of the younger generation, born to Eddard Junior.'
'As pompous as she looks, she leads the family's division on mental health. As the oldest member, she was naturally married. But thanks to her overbearing nature, she forced her husband to take the Mercer family name instead.
'And the fucker actually agreed.' He shook his head lightly. 'Only if he knew about the other men she visits regularly in private.'
Since she wasn't willing to acknowledge their presence, Jul didn't bother greeting her.
He tapped the armrest and Jada motioned to move.
Seeing them move, a deep frown etched across Krone's face, and she made it known.
"Rude!"
"Whatever." Jul shrugged in response.
Krone paused, her fan covering her facial expression. However, anyone who knew her could guess that she was grinding her teeth at the moment.
'How dare you? What do you think you are?'
"Hey, Jul. I don't think you need to be unnecessarily rude, you know?" Jada whispered before they arrived at the next person.
"Hmm..." Jul didn't seem to listen as he faced the next person.
A well-built male who stood at a similar height to Jul.
"Baron Mercer."
'Baron, the son of a Duke. Despite having the wealth of a family like the Mercer family, he still felt the need to run an underground drug empire. If I didn't know more, I would think he was innocent. Such a wonderful family.'
"Hello."
He greeted and signaled for Jada to move. However, before she could move, he signaled for her to stop once more.
He stared at the young man before him for a moment.
The youngest of all the cousins. A lean and tall body, blonde hair, and a crisp black suit.
Jamie Mercer.
Jada, noticing his fixation, spoke, "Oh, that's Jamie Mercer. Since he hasn't entered university, he isn't really into the family's business."
Jamie, on the other hand, calmly stepped forward and took a slight bow. "Greetings, cousin."
'So that's him, huh.' Jul almost smiled. 'This kid. As simple as he looks, he heads the fourth-strongest gang in the entire region, and he is only eighteen years old. Very impressive indeed.'
Jul extended his hand to shake Jamie's.
Jamie, shocked by the sudden move but slightly flustered, regained his composure and reached out to grab his hand.
"Do you know him?" Jada asked curiously.
"No." Jul shook his head, still smiling.
It was at that moment that a figure suddenly stumbled forward, pushing a tray of food in Jul's direction.