The Ancient Genes

Ancestral Hall, Crimson Mansion.

"You gonna act in front of me?" Matriarch let out a menacing smile as she looked at the three little rascals in front of her while releasing a little of her pressure trying to intimidate them.

"You still want to lie, Erina? I already know what you did! You dare to lie in front of me with that straight face! Is this the teachings you have received from the family!" Matriarch's thunderous voice rang throughout the hall.

It was obvious that Erina was the easiest one to crack out of the three since they were a direct family.

And, it seemed to work too.

Erina definitely felt that. She truly wanted to lower head and control her tears. She indeed had that little guilt in her heart and Matriarch's words seemed to be perfect trigger for it. But as if Max knew her exact thoughts, he immediately tried to reinforce her will.

<<You did it with the right thing in mind! You did nothing wrong! Besides, this is not for our selfish reason. Don't forget it. Not to mention, she dares to lecture you on family..I know well that you and Wilson had to look after each other since young age. So, don't let her fool you with the family card. I know that she did it with valid reasons for your sake. But, just like she kept you away all this time for a good reason in her mind, you are doing the same here..>>

Erina's clenched fist loosened a little and she seemed to realize it as well. Her eyes which were about to give in to the Matriarch's will suddenly seem to light up, and she took in a deep breath before adamantly refusing, "I really don't know what's going on. I admit we are friends. But, I won't sell my family out for it.."

"Y-You!!" Matriarch couldn't believe her eyes for a second. The Erina she knew definitely wasn't like this. 'This br*t! He is a bad influence on people.."

<<Is there even a point in all of this? She knows we did it…it doesn't matter if she has proof or not. At her position, she doesn't even need proof to take a decision..>> Sythia looked at Max as she sent a message to him.

<<I know of course. To be honest, this isn't even about convincing her that she misunderstood it al. That isn't possible. She has already caught onto us.>> Max sighed with a bitter laugh in his mind.

<<Then, what for?>> Synthia was confused.

<<I can't beat her in power, but I need to do it with wits. If not, I wouldn't get the leverage I want. After all, potential is just for future, I need to have something in present which she could depend on..>> Max knew how the game was played.

He might not be as precise as Axel when calculating things, or as intuitive as Lear, but he definitely knew how to look at the greater picture.

"Hah.." Matriarch let out a grunt in disbelief as she cast her gaze at the trio.

"Will you explain what's going on?" The Second Matriarch asked as she looked at her sister.

"Well, it seems that all of these incidents over the past few days haven't been a coincidence at all. But, a pre planned and well executed act.."

"What do you mean?" The Second Matriarch asked with a frown. She definitely found it all and believed it.

"Well, let me put it all into words then.." The Matriarch spoke as she glared at Max and the two girls, "This girl of ours was in on with this brat. They had staged this entire thing and made it look like a coincidence. As for the purpose, I will figure it out eventually.."

"Those are sure some baseless accusations…" Max smiled at her, and it sure pissed the Matriarch off. But, she couldn't do anything about it. But, from all of this, Matriarch had gotten to confirm one thing, Max was not an enemy.

He was someone with his own motive, and not one who could be controlled.

'This brat is probably playing with Ancient families too..'

"Aren't you being too harsh without any proof?" Second Matriarch frowned a little. They were in a position of power, and it was fine to deal with outsiders like that. But, even if they excluded Max's complicated situation, Erina was still a family, and this was not the way to judge a family not only morally but according to the Family Laws as well.

Evidence was needed before naming someone a culprit.

"And, don't you think, there is no reason for them to cooperate like this?" The Second Matriarch further asked.

"Let me tell you in a little detail then.." Matriarch sighed and then explained the reason for his suspicions. "This brat, had found the Artifact, but he hid it from the Ancient Families. On top of that, he suggested Erina to be the one to be trained with it.."

"He found her ability before and trusted her with the artefact. But, he didn't trust the Ancient Families with it. It is clear that the brat knows that those families are not clean. So, I don't think we have to worry about him being associated with Ancient Families. He is wary of them too. On the other hand, him trusting Erina shows that they are not in a normal relationship. I heard the girl was in a relationship with this brat's best friend…not to mention, his relation with Wilson is not ordinary too.."

"And, if Wilson trusts him..then I am sure this fool of his sister would blindly follow her brother. It doesn't come to me as a surprise if she sold us out to him when he is coming at us with not any harmful intentions.."

"Once we get to this point, the rest of the things automatically fall into different places. There was no way that this girl from the Ancient Family just happened to appear at the exact time and place where Erina was. Not to mention, the chances of her entering the Spatial Pouch and avoiding guards is almost impossible unless someone gave her the knowledge about the correct positions.

"Someone was there from inside. It's obvious. I just didn't expect it to be her."

'But it's still a relief in the end..that it all just turned out to be like this...' She muttered internally.

"They did all of this while perfectly knowing about us. No wonder this brat wasn't afraid of getting killed. He knew our relations, and took advantage of it," Matriarch further said as her face twitched a little.

Max's brows shivered lightly upon hearing it all and he finally realized where it had started to go all wrong. 'This damn geezer..'

It was the Old Man!!!

Erina had actually told that old geezer had manipulated the story while telling to the Matriarch about how he found the artifact and Erina as a candidate while taking his credit away on his name, and leaving Max in supporting cast with not much.

Max had based his plans while keeping this in mind, but now the old man had obviously told two Matriarch about it. No wonder they were caught.

"I am surely curious what you are upto, brat. And, I am even more curious when I see so many different people surrounding you.." Matriarch sure had done her research on Max. She knew who was close to him.

To be honest, it was surprising when she saw how different people from different backgrounds and powers had come to his side. It couldn't be any more obvious that not only was he creating a sphere of power and influence with the people, but even moving them with his cause.

Something was definitely up here..

Her intuition was strong, and she had never been wrong…