[A.N.: Sorry for the late update... but don’t worry I will try to release the second Chapter for today although it might be a bit late]

Jensen stepped out of his hovercraft... he looked up at the morning sky, feeling far better than he had cooped up in that car.

He had agreed to take Himari as a member of the family.

He sent her to the mansion with Maria and Lily, but he still had not decided whether to give her the Common Bloodline or the Noble Bloodline.

"My Lord... we have to go." Kairi’s voice pulled him from his lost thoughts.

Jensen glanced around... he wasn’t surprised that people were already gathered and the event was about to begin.

’Looks like I spent far too long getting ready,’ Jensen sighed.

"Lead the way, Miss Kairi."

"Yes, Young Master."

Kairi led him toward the crowd.

"Since we will be working together, I need to learn about everyone," Jensen said. "And I cannot find a more perfect location for you to point them out."

Kairi nodded in agreement and immediately walked closer to Jensen so she could whisper.

"That over there is the Commander of the Uesugi warriors and samurai." She pointed at a group of men in formal dress. "That is Isamu Sato... He is the Ashigaru Taishō."

Jensen followed her finger and she was pointing at a man wearing a semi-formal suit.

It was a mix between samurai armour and a regular suit... making it look more like a uniform than something you wear to a funeral.

"The Ashigaru Taishō is akin to the commander of the family soldiers, am I right?" Jensen confirmed.

Kairi nodded. "Yes, Young Master and he is currently at Peak Level 2, like Master Daisaku was."

She pointed to two men beside him.

"Beside him are the two Monogashira... They are both something akin to deputy commanders and they are both Middle Level 2."

She paused.

"The Ashigaru Taishō is an elder... He is one of Daihachi’s major supporters in the clan and currently one of the most influential one."

Then she slowly introduced the rest of the elders.

There were ten of them, each with their own roles and functions but they were not all Level 2.

Four of them, what Kairi called the Junior Elders, were Level 1s. She even joked that although they had reached Level 1, they could barely use a weapon.

"Is that..." Jensen’s eyes settled on a man who seemed to be a carbon copy of Daisaku... just younger.

"Yes, Young Master," Kairi confirmed. "That is Daihachi."

Now that he knew some of the story, Jensen could tell that Daihachi was most likely in the right.

He had found out that the daughter he had been very happy to conceive with his wife was not his.

To make it worse, it was his father’s.

According to Himari, the only reason he even found out that Aiko was not his was that his wife threw it in his face during one of their big fights.

Of course, she did not survive the night.

He killed her in a fit of rage and tried to confront his father.

When Daisaku found out, he immediately took Aiko from him to prevent the same fate that befell her mother from befalling her.

And it did not stop there.

As something akin to a twisted punishment, Daisaku gave his original inheritance to Aiko... the living evidence of his shame.

And Daihachi could not even tell people why he hated his father.

What was he going to say? That his father had cuckolded him and he was raising his sister as his daughter?

That would crush whatever reputation and self-esteem he had left to dust.

While Daihachi was right, being right did not matter much... Not in this world anyway... At least not where powerful people’s interests were involved.

And here, Jensen’s interest was involved.

He walked over to Aiko and suddenly wrapped his hands around her waist catching her off guard.

She hadn’t even reacted when he pulled her closer into an almost intimate position.

Aiko gasped.

She was about to pull away when Jensen whispered into her ear.

"Keep still... I am just checking something."

Eyebrows around them were raised but no one said a thing.

He could feel some young men show visible irritation on their faces and some even cursed under their breathe but none of the dared speak out.

Not only was she not in any confirmed relationship with anyone but the man standing close to her had rumours spreading around about the good relation he had with the now dead clan leader.

Not to mention the passive pressure that he emanated that caused chill to run through their spine.

Jensen observed Daihachi’s reaction and as he had expected, there was little to no reaction.

He blocked out every other noise and focused on his heartbeat.

It was just as calm as it could be... Not like a man watching his plan to remove his competition get spoiled.

’Just as I suspected,’ Jensen thought. ’Marrying her to his friend’s son was never the plan.’

From all of Daihachi’s actions so far and what he had gotten from Himari, it became very obvious that the arranged marriage was nothing but a farce to keep them occupied.

Jensen activated his Blood Sense and searched the surrounding for people hiding.

Unfortunately, Blood Sense couldn’t really differentiate between friends and foe... at most he could tell their level but even that wasn’t very accurate.

However, he was able to immediately pick up the aura of Taro on the roof not far from Aiko.

’Looks like he also suspects as much.’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Young Master, you cannot stand there," Kairi whispered. "This position is only for immediate family members."

Jensen nodded, turned around and followed her away.

He had already confirmed his theory... Now he was sure of it.

’What better time to attack Aiko than now?’

With so many people were around and the level of security had been reduced even Taro was no longer at her side as he had been since her grandfath... father’s death.

He scanned the crowd, looking for anything out of place but he still couldn’t find any.

The funeral was about to begin, and Jensen was certain that before the day ended, someone would try to spill blood.