The Malfoy manor, nestled in the countryside, seems to have become a secluded realm cut off from the world.
The brilliant sunshine is freely scattered, covering the boundless wilderness with a golden sea.
However, Malfoy Manor has always been shrouded in a shallow gray mist that neither gathers nor disperses.
The malevolent mist that envelops the place carries a faint stench of death. Under its corrosive influence, the leaves of the plants that were once meticulously tended in the manor have grown black spots, which are revolting.
"Has the master already risen?"
Under the stairs leading to the rooftop terrace, a pale-faced Lucius Malfoy asked his wife, who was carrying a plate and had just descended from above.
Narcissa nodded, holding her husband's slightly cold hand.
"But he. The master seems to be in a bad mood, but I don't know what happened. He hasn't been out for days, has he?"
Malfoy understood that his wife was warning him to be careful, gave her a reassuring look, took a deep breath, and began to ascend the stairs.
As he approached the door overwhelmed by light, Lucius's breath gradually became irregular. As if sensing his tumultuous thoughts wandering through his body, the golden snake currently stopped at the position of his heart released a chill.
Perceiving this chill, Lucius's thudding heart began to slow its rhythm.
To be honest, Lucius hadn't expected that he could deceive Voldemort, a Master of Imperio, for so long after becoming a spy for Amortha Brain.
He had already prepared himself for the worst before making the decision to do so.
Lucius hoped that Brain, and Dumbledore, who was on the same side as Brain, would protect Draco and Narcissa. At the very least, they should do their utmost to protect Draco.
As for himself, he could only rely on fate and make the most of each day that he had.
However, he did not expect that the spell Amortha Brain had placed upon him would actually prevent Voldemort from accurately sensing any rebellious thoughts in his heart.
And this gave Lucius great confidence because this fact seemed to suggest that Amortha Brain's power was above that of Voldemort?
Lucius Malfoy could only assume such a shallow thought.
In fact, the situation is not as it seems.
If we were to evaluate power alone, Voldemort's power is slightly deeper than Amortha's. However, compared to Amortha's intact and flawless soul, his soul with countless wounds is far behind.
Since he had decided to accept Lucius Malfoy as his insider, Amortha would not allow Lucius Malfoy to die so easily.
The magic he left on Lucius Malfoy was an obscuring spell that he had forcibly used the power of his soul to create. It is strong enough to protect the most rebellious thoughts in Malfoy's heart from being seen by others.
"You still refuse to respond to my command!"
As Lucius was about to step over the door leading to the rooftop terrace, a hoarse, cold and deadly shout filled the air, making Lucius tremble all over and his legs feel weak.
Before Lucius could recover from this terror, the world that was filled with light in front of him suddenly turned dark as if the sun was shining a second ago and then night came down!
Phew!
Outside the door, a fierce darkness stirred up a gust of bloodstained wind, howling like wolves. In the surging darkness, two flimsy blood-red and black shadows that were nearly indistinguishable from the surroundings could almost scare Lucius into a mental breakdown.
However, the dark that had fallen also disappeared quickly.
A loud 'bang' was heard, and the dark that obscured the sky and sun vanished instantly. In the world restored to light, there was a gray mist floating in the air, as if particles were clustering together or it was merely a simple cloud of smoke, much like the mist that enveloped the manor—disgusting.
"What's going on?"
A cold voice, colder than the north wind, fell into his ears, jolting Lucius out of his confusion. His gaze met Voldemort's blood-red slit pupils, and with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, Lucius directly knelt down right at the threshold.
"I have brought news for you, Master."
"Oh?"
Voldemort's voice was drawn out with a slipping tone, and the killing intent within it remained cold and fierce.
"You have something to tell me, Lucius? The negotiations between Brain and the Board of Directors have broken down, haven't they? Does that mean Dumbledore has surrendered so quickly?"
"Oh, no, my master--"
Lucius's knees scraped the floor, making a rustling sound. He knelt in front of Voldemort, his forehead against the wooden floor.
"Hogwarts has not surrendered because of the halt in funding. On the contrary, Brain has officially announced that Hogwarts no longer needs the Board of Directors."
"No need for the Board of Directors?"
Even Voldemort, upon hearing this news, forgot his anger and widened his long, red eyes slightly.
"This is not what you told me at first, my friend. You told me that if the Board of Directors stopped funding Hogwarts, Dumbledore would have to close the school."
"This is not deception, Master!"
Lucius was ready to endure some suffering. His breathing quickened once again, and the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead drip-dropped onto the wooden floor.
"You must know, Hogwarts requires a great deal of funding to operate each day. Without gold, they cannot survive."
"Without gold, they cannot survive?"
Voldemort sneered, clearly not impressed with Malfoy's claim.
"So now, Lucius, Hogwarts is without the support of gold, but it hasn't surrendered. Brain has even kicked the Board of Directors aside. Oh, that's an interesting move. Dumbledore allows him to do so, which seems to indicate that he no longer has control over Brain."
Voldemort pulled a mocking smile, very satisfied with his analysis.
"If that's true, Lucius,"
The armchair on the other side silently lifted and landed behind Voldemort, who slowly leaned back.
"Then why does Brain have the courage to escape from you?"
"Perhaps. Oh, my guess is--"
Lucius hunched his shoulders.
"Brain has found other support for Hogwarts. The learning machine workshop, Brain previously went to America to promote it. I think he got some gold back from there."
"That means Brain has narrowly avoided the crisis you and the Ministry created for him?"
Voldemort spoke lazily, his eyes slanting over to Lucius, who was shaking all over.
"Is that all you have to tell me?"
"Oh, I have brought you a copy of the Daily Prophet, Master --"
Lucius trembled as he took out a folded newspaper from his robe pocket, and before he could offer it, the newspaper had left his hand, floating towards Voldemort.
"Oh!"
His eyes skimmed over a few lines of text, and Voldemort let out a surprised exclamation.
"Amortha Brain publicly declared that the Ministry's forced appointment of a special representative to Hogwarts is an act of intentionally dragging political strife into the school, into the children... Oh, interesting, he actually dares to say that?"
Voldemort sat up straight from the armchair, and the wide robe fluttered in the morning breeze.
"A foolish move, this will only make the Ministry completely turn their attention towards him."
Voldemort said with delight,
"But for us, this is good news to distract the Ministry and make it easier for our actions."
"As you said, Master."
Lucius humbly echoed.
Once again focusing on Lucius's head, Voldemort's expression slightly softened, and his eyes shone with a faint light.
"Oh, thank you for bringing me this good news, Lucius. This can cheer me up for a while. By the way, did you see anything when you came in?"
Lucius shivered violently twice.
"I... I saw a swarm of black mist. Master, but I don't understand."
"Indeed?"
Voldemort's eyes narrowed on the shivering Lucius Malfoy. After a moment, he turned away, waving his hand before leaning back into the armchair again.
"Go on down, Lucius. I have nothing for you to do for the time being."
Lucius Malfoy exhaled heavily, relieved, and then knelt and backed out of the terrace. His legs were still wobbly as he descended the stairs.
Looking at the portraits hanging in the corridor that cast worried eyes at him, Lucius felt only bitterness and relief. Of course, there was also a bit of confusion.
Just now, Voldemort seemed to be fighting against someone and, unfortunately, had lost.
But what could that be?
