https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-528-Ivan-Is-That-Really-a-Surrender-It-Clearly-Looks-Like-You-re-Just-Lusting-After-Me-/13448795/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-530-We-Will-Use-Imagination-Monsters-to-Defeat-Imagination-Monsters-/13448797/
Chapter 529: What? I Actually Thought That Way Back Then?
### Chapter 529: What? I Actually Thought That Way Back Then?
Huh? What? I actually thought that way back then?
Ivan was utterly bewildered, unable to piece things together for a moment. He hadn't expected his accidental mistake to be misunderstood in such a way.
Fortunately, his reaction was quick, and he swallowed the apology he had been about to utter.
Given the situation, Ivan certainly wouldn't reveal the truth. Doing so would be a thankless task, damaging his towering image in everyone's eyes and likely earning him Old Rosier's displeasure.
So, Ivan had no choice but to play along with Old Rosier's words.
"Cough, very good, it seems you understand my intentions!" Ivan cleared his throat and spoke slowly, then, putting on an act, continued with a feigned look of discontent.
"However, I thought you would be more clever, and you wouldn't have exposed yourself. We wouldn't have needed this backup plan if you hadn't been discovered."
"I'm very sorry, Lord Hals. I was as careful as I could be, but Fury is extremely cunning. He bribed my house-elf, who noticed my frequent outings and grew suspicious", Old Rosier explained, clearly frustrated.
Earlier, he had been puzzled as to why Ivan hadn't simply explained his plan. If he hadn't thought of it, or even harbored resentment, wouldn't all the effort have been in vain?
Only now did Old Rosier realize that Ivan had overestimated his intelligence!
And the truth was, he clearly wasn't up to the task!
Thinking about it, Old Rosier felt ashamed. He had only grasped the first and second layers of the plan and had secretly rejoiced, never realizing there was a third layer. It was clear he still had a long way to go!
Faced with such an imaginative mind, Ivan didn't dare to overact and quickly offered a few words of comfort, even lavishing praise on Old Rosier's quick thinking in the meeting.
Without prior notice, Old Rosier had instantly understood the significance of the lights being turned off and immediately caused chaos. This performance greatly pleased Ivan.
After verbally praising him, Ivan took out his wand and cast a Counter-Curse to heal the wound on Old Rosier's waist and abdomen.
Seeing the wound that had troubled him for so long gradually heal, Old Rosier breathed a sigh of relief. He had been genuinely worried about bleeding to death, so much so that he hadn't been able to sleep soundly for the past two days.
"Anyway, you did a great job this time. Is there anything you want?" Ivan casually asked Old Rosier.
Based on his years of watching TV dramas, he felt it wouldn't be right not to reward someone who had just defected and accomplished something.
However, as soon as he spoke, Ivan regretted it. He realized he didn't have much to offer as a reward.
How about a hundred Galleons?
Would that be too little? Maybe add another hundred?
Ivan was torn, fearing that Old Rosier might ask for something he couldn't provide, which would be awkward.
"I humbly request that Lord Hals forgive Fury and the others!" Old Rosier hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"You're sure about that?" Ivan was taken aback, surprised.
He remembered that Old Rosier had betrayed those Pureblood Wizards quite decisively. Now, he was asking for mercy, which Ivan found hard to understand.
"We have had some minor conflicts, but we are decades-old friends. I want to try to persuade them to serve you. Please give me this chance!" Old Rosier said with a pained expression, sounding heartfelt.
Ivan raised an eyebrow, not believing for a moment that Old Rosier was doing this out of friendship.
After all, it was obvious that Fury and the others, once freed from their prisoner status, would seek revenge on Old Rosier for his betrayal.
However, the issue of how to handle these Pureblood Wizards was giving him a headache. If Old Rosier could persuade them to surrender, he wouldn't mind.
The question was whether Old Rosier could achieve this, and whether those Pureblood Wizards would genuinely submit or just pretend to while secretly plotting.
"Do you know Res Nott?" Ivan suddenly asked.
Old Rosier paused, unsure why Ivan had brought this up, but quickly responded, "Of course, he is Old Nott's nephew. Two days ago, during the battle at the manor, he was taken away by one of your Werewolf Wizards."
"What is his relationship with Old Nott?" Ivan asked again.
"Old Nott has no sons. If nothing unexpected happens, Res Nott will be his successor!" Old Rosier explained.
The Nott Family was small, with several brothers joining the Death Eaters during the last Wizarding War. They either died at the hands of Aurors or were imprisoned in Azkaban. Now, the only direct descendants left were Res and Old Nott.
Old Rosier also subtly hinted to Ivan that using Res to pressure Old Nott might be a good idea.
"Is that so?" Ivan nodded, indicating that he understood, and then added, "Res Nott died two days ago!"
"Dead? How did he die?" Old Rosier first asked in confusion, but quickly guessed something and hastily changed his tone to one of deep revulsion, shouting loudly, "Good riddance! Res Nott dared to offend Sir, he truly deserved his fate!"
Ivan rolled his eyes, not knowing what to say to this sycophant.
At the same time, Ivan keenly noticed that Old Rosier seemed genuinely pleased upon learning of Res Nott's death. The look on his face didn't seem entirely feigned.
Did they have some sort of grudge against each other?
Ivan furrowed his brow, unable to figure it out.
Indeed, Old Rosier was delighted after guessing that Res Nott had died at Ivan's hands.
Notte had considerable influence within their small group. If this incident hadn't happened, it was uncertain who Fury, Abbott, and others would have listened to after their surrender.
Old Rosier didn't want all his efforts to be stolen by someone else.
Now, with Res Nott dead, the conflict between the two sides had become almost irreconcilable. Even if Old Nott were willing to compromise, Ivan would always remember this incident.
This meant that his biggest obstacle was now gone, and Old Rosier couldn't help but feel elated.
"Lord Hals, Notte is actually quite easy to handle. Perhaps we could—" Old Rosier cleared his throat, intending to give Ivan some suggestions, but before he could finish, Asia burst in with a group of people.
Ivan gave Old Rosier a look, signaling him to wait and talk later.
Old Rosier assumed Ivan didn't want Asia to know too much and nodded, closing his mouth.
Heroes are like that; they even have to guard against their own family. He understood!
Ivan, however, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew too little to make a judgment on Old Rosier's proposal. Who knew if the old man was trying to trick him?
It was better to delay things and gather more information from Dawgert or Asia before making a decision.
"It looks like we arrived a bit late. The fight is already over", Asia looked around the meeting room, which had been restored to its original state after the battle, and said with a smile.
"Yes, it was much easier than I expected", Ivan shrugged.
Before coming, he had thought this place would be a den of dragons and tigers, requiring a hard-fought victory. But to his surprise, they had encountered almost no resistance on their way in.
With that, Ivan turned to Old Rosier and, in front of everyone, praised him. "Of course, it went so smoothly thanks to Mr. Rochelle's assistance!"
"Lord Hals is too kind. I merely did some minor work as you instructed", Old Rosier said in a fawning manner.
Past experiences had taught Old Rosier that the fastest way to advance was not through hard work but by flattering and pleasing others!
He understood this well and was determined to be a capable lackey!
Ivan ignored him, instead looking at Asia with a curious expression. "Where is Dawgert? He should have come in through the Secret Passage, where there weren't many guards. Hasn't he finished yet?"
"Long done. He's outside guarding the captives!" Asia replied.
Ivan nodded and then asked about casualties.
"Four with minor injuries, two with severe injuries. One werewolf almost died from a trap, but fortunately, Dawgert arrived in time and provided some temporary medical care", Asia explained, then added solemnly, "No one died!"
"That's good!" Ivan felt much more relieved.
Before the battle, he had given everyone a protective ring to minimize casualties. This wasn't just to save on compensation; more importantly, he didn't want to see any more of his followers die.
He couldn't forget Mrs. Grunter's gaze during Elph's funeral.
As for the fate of the enemies, whether they had loved ones who would mourn for them, Ivan didn't care. After all, kindness to the enemy often meant cruelty to oneself.
If you were in this line of work and received relatively high pay, you had to be prepared for death!
"Rochelle, where is the Treasury in this Underground Chamber?" Ivan quickly composed himself and asked eagerly.
He felt that this place was built like a small fortress, located underground in the Wizarding Market. It should have a small Treasury, and there might be some good things inside.
"Please follow me, Lord Hals!" Old Rosier wasn't surprised by this request. He gestured with a wave of his hand and bowed.
Ivan nodded and followed Old Rosier in the direction he indicated. After a series of twists and turns, they arrived at a hidden small room.
In the center of the room hung a large landscape painting, seemingly nailed firmly to the wall. Old Rosier quickly approached and tapped the painting lightly with his wand, muttering a spell.
The landscape painting made a "click" sound and flipped open, revealing a hollow Chamber behind it. The Chamber was square and contained a large pile of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, along with some oddly shaped Magic Items.
The Werewolf Wizards who had come along were dazzled by the golden light reflecting off Winky's coins.
Ivan, however, was quite dissatisfied with this small Treasury. It was far too little!
He raised his wand and waved it in the air. The Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts inside the Treasury all flew up, swirling in the air before neatly stacking together in a fixed pattern.
A moment later, Ivan calculated the exact amount.
"19,637 Galleons, 8,413 Sickles, and 32,004 Knuts!"
When converted entirely into Galleons, the total was just over 20,000. This did not meet his expectations. The Wizarding Market in Knockturn Alley had been operating for centuries; it was impossible for it to have only this much wealth.
Ivan looked at Old Rosier with surprise, waiting for his response.
"Recently, this place hasn't been very safe. The Nott Family is concerned about being attacked and has already moved most of the wealth back. The remaining amount is to ensure the Wizarding Market can operate normally", Old Rosier answered Ivan's question immediately.
Ivan understood now. No wonder there was so little left.
"How much was here before?" Ivan pressed on, still bothered by the discrepancy.
"About 50,000 Galleons!" Old Rosier hesitated for a moment but ultimately answered truthfully.
They usually divided the profits at the end of each year.
This year, however, they had hit a bad streak and were targeted for no apparent reason, causing a sharp drop in income. So, they divided the wealth early, leaving behind enough to hire a large number of Wizards to guard the Wizarding Market and ensure its normal operation.
Ivan felt his heart bleeding. Losing 30,000 Galleons in one go! Most normal Wizards would never earn that much in their entire lives!
Since he didn't plan to kill those Pureblood Wizards, he couldn't bring himself to force them to hand over the money. If he did, these Pureblood Wizards might become resentful. It looked like he wouldn't be able to recover those 30,000 Galleons.
Beside him, Old Rosier watched Ivan's every move, sensing that this young witch or wizard might be a money lover.
No, that's impossible!
Old Rosier shook his head, dismissing the thought. He had considered it an insult when Ivan refused to perform Magic for 500 Galleons. How could such a young witch or wizard be a greedy person?
The only explanation was that the other party was short on money!
And it was a shortfall that even 20,000 Galleons couldn't cover!
There weren't many places where one would need so many Galleons!
Was it for a large-scale expansion of personnel to deal with the Ministry of Magic?
Old Rosier could only make this guess, but it didn't stop him from having other thoughts.
These Pureblood Families were not short of money and were very skilled at making investments.
If spending a few ten thousand Galleons could win Ivan's favor and loyalty, it wouldn't be a loss. If this young witch or wizard could one day take control of the Wizarding World, they could earn back many times more, even ten times more!
When the Dark Lord rose to power, many Pureblood Wizards who supported him had the same idea, even betting their entire families' fortunes and sacrificing family members.
(End of Chapter)
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