The distance between the waterfall and the main house was only a few hundred meters. Yet the space between them was filled with enough vehicles to make Jul slow his gaze.
Countless cars were parked neatly around the mansion.
Some were sleek and understated. Others were exotic, luxurious, and impossible to mistake for ordinary vehicles. Their colors ranged from deep black to polished silver, crimson, blue, and several shades Jul couldn't even name.
But it wasn't just the cars that caught his attention.
Men in suits stood beside several of them.
Some were large enough to resemble professional fighters. Others wore black glasses and stood with their hands folded behind their backs. A few quietly spoke into communication devices while scanning the surroundings.
Jul's expression flattened. 'What is it with rich people and having guards everywhere?'
He understood the reason, though. Power attracted enemies, wealth attracted thieves, and the Mercer family had enough of both to justify an army.
Still...
'Just employ five of the stones from 'Iron' here, and this place would be practically impregnable.' He shook his head.
Jada glanced at him again, wondering whether he was impressed.
Then, Jul narrowed his eyes.
"...Those cars." He pointed toward the vehicles.
Jada followed his gaze. "Oh yeah. Didn't I tell you?"
Jul looked at her.
"Everyone is waiting for you." She smiled. "Grandma arranged a compulsory family gathering as soon as we received confirmation that you could be discharged."
Katelyn, however, interpreted his expression differently.
'Is he overwhelmed by all these things?'
She turned toward him and spoke softly. "Don't worry."
Jul looked at her.
"You're safe here."
He was about to respond when the doors of the vehicle opened.
The lead guard stepped out and moved around the vehicle. He stood beside the open door and lowered his head slightly.
"Ma'am. Miss. And..."
His eyes briefly settled on Jul.
"...Sir." The word came out slightly awkwardly, though he quickly recovered.
"We have arrived."
Jada nodded and stepped out first. Her features seemed to brighten the atmosphere around her. She was genuinely happy. It showed in the smile on her face, the relaxed movement of her body, even the lightness in her steps.
"Where is it?"
Almost immediately, two men in white laboratory coats hurried toward them.
One pushed a wheelchair, and the other carried a rectangular medical device.
Katelyn stepped out next. The signs of the past few days remained visible on her face. Her eyes were slightly swollen, and traces of tears still lingered beneath them.
Yet, covering it all was a deep, genuine smile.
The moment she saw Jul preparing to leave the vehicle, she reached inside and helped him.
"Careful."
Jul allowed her to assist him. He didn't need much help, but he understood that refusing would only worry her.
As he stepped outside, the attention of everyone nearby shifted toward him.
They were guards. Staff. Medical personnel. And generally, people who had spent years working within the Mercer household.
There was no way they hadn't heard.
For more than a month, the main house had been thrown into chaos by a single piece of news.
The missing heir had been found. And not merely any member of the Mercer family.
A core member, the son of Reagan Mercer.
Ever since the news broke, orders had been issued for the family members to remain prepared for his arrival.
And now...he was finally here.
The first thing many of them noticed was his stature. He was tall, nearly six foot three. Even beneath the loose hospital clothing, his broad shoulders and well-developed physique were obvious.
Then there was his hair, silver. It immediately reminded several of them of the Mercer bloodline.
Yet the thing that truly caught their attention was his face. Despite his injuries, there was something strangely imposing about him.
He didn't look like someone who had spent fifteen years missing. He looked like someone who had returned from somewhere far more dangerous.
The medical staff quickly moved him into the wheelchair.
One of the doctors began attaching several wires to his chest while another checked the device in his hand. Jul barely reacted to all this.
His gaze moved across the people gathered around him.
'So many.'
And yet, strangely, no one spoke. Perhaps they didn't know what to say. After all, what did one say to someone who had disappeared fifteen years ago and suddenly returned?
The group then began moving toward the entrance.
Almost no one noticed the silent couple--Lia and Malik- who trailed behind the group.
The couple's mouths remained slightly open. Neither had recovered from the scale of the estate.
They had seen wealth before. However, this was something else entirely. It was simply too overwhelming.
They finally reached the broad staircase leading toward the entrance. Before they could climb it, the massive double doors opened, and a man stepped out.
Unlike the guards surrounding the estate, he wore a pristine white suit. His posture was impeccable, and his movements were measured.
He approached them before stopping a short distance away.
One hand rested against his chest while the other remained behind his back, then he lowered himself into a graceful bow.
"Welcome back, Miss Jada."
His gaze shifted.
"Mrs. Katelyn."
Then finally settled on Jul, where there was a brief pause.
"Master Jul." His smile widened.
"Welcome back to the Mercer House."
Jul stared at him. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
So he didn't speak, but he nodded in return.
Planche, the chief of staff of the Mercer household.
Jul had heard the name before. He had seen the man countless times in photographs and reports. But seeing him standing in front of him was different.
Jada had called him his brother, and Katelyn had called him her son. The convoy of flying vehicles had brought him here. The mansion itself had already made his new status difficult to deny.
Yet somehow, none of those things had truly made it real.
Not until now. Not until someone who had served the Mercer family for years looked directly at him and called him—
Master Jul.
Jul's eyes moved across the enormous entrance behind Planche.
Then toward the people waiting for him and then back to Planche.
'I...really am a Mercer now, huh?'
After the greeting, they were ushered inside.
The first thing Jul noticed was the corridor.
A long stretch of polished flooring disappeared into the distance beneath a red carpet. The ceiling rose several stories above them, supported by elegant arches that extended toward different sections of the mansion.
The scale was absurd.
Jul's eyes wandered toward the walls where two enormous paintings hung on the left side. Each stretched almost from the floor to the ceiling.
He stopped briefly.
The painting nearest to him depicted an elderly man.
White hair, a short white beard, wrinkled, almost frail skin, yet his eyes were sharp.
Unusually so. Even through the painting, the man's gaze seemed capable of piercing straight through whoever stood before it.
Jul studied him silently.
'They really captured his presence.'
It must have taken an exceptional painter to preserve something like that.
His gaze lingered on the painting.
'The man who started everything.'