Chapter 649: Gresham, the Choice

The situation in Germany was constantly changing.

First, Yelufan had defied widespread opposition and nominated Dumbledore to the International Confederation of Wizards.

Then, with the Minister missing for so long and still nowhere to be seen, a struggle for power had erupted.

After this period of political infighting, those who lacked sufficient qualifications had been eliminated.

Four candidates remained: Yelufan, Lucived, Gold, and Gresham.

Yelufan was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the closest to securing the position.

Lucived had the backing of Edgar and the support of the Ancient Alliance.

Gold was the Deputy Minister and should originally have been next in line, but unfortunately, his foundations were too weak.

Gresham had sufficient strength, had earned considerable merit in the past, and was also Head of the Auror Office, making him the second strongest contender.

But now, the four of them were locked in a stalemate.

They needed an outside force to break the deadlock.

Lucived, however, was not actually trying to become Minister for Magic.

He was merely accumulating strength while waiting for someone else to speak.

At the entrance to Edgar, a golden line appeared.

A passage opened immediately afterwards.

John stepped through.

He looked up at the castle and sighed. "Heinrich really was born with a silver spoon in his mouth."

Judging by the building alone, perhaps only the Malfoys could compare.

John adjusted his collar and knocked on the heavy oak door.

Before long, the door opened.

It was Edgar’s butler.

The Edgars disliked house-elves, which had something to do with their involvement in the house-elf wars long ago.

No creature was born willing to serve others.

Only conditioning and suffering carved deep into the bones could turn a magical creature superior to wizards in many respects into something utterly servile.

That war must have been brutal. Otherwise, the Edgars would not still distrust house-elves after so much time had passed.

"Mr Wick," the butler said respectfully. "Mr Lucived asked me to come and welcome you."

This butler was an old acquaintance as well.

Back at Durmstrang, he had been the one who drove Heinrich around.

John nodded and walked inside.

The castle was dim.

It had the atmosphere of an ancient vampire manor.

Heavy rain began falling outside as the butler led John to Edgar’s drawing room.

Lucived was reading a letter. When he saw John arrive, he smiled.

"Lord Wick."

"You should originally have been at Silver Hand Manor," John said with a faint smile. "But it’s probably better not to provoke the Ministry any further."

"You’re right." Lucived set the letter down. "Yelufan is extremely wary of me."

"He’s a supporter of Dumbledore."

Lucived walked over to the sofa and sat down, shaking his head.

"He has always believed I have ulterior motives regarding the German Ministry of Magic."

"If you’re willing," John said casually as he sat down, "I wouldn’t mind giving you some support."

"And give up my influence at Durmstrang?" Lucived shook his head. "The losses would outweigh the gains."

"I’m glad you can see that." John folded his hands over his abdomen, rubbing the ring on his finger as he asked, "What about the other two?"

Yelufan was not even under consideration.

The fact that he supported Dumbledore was enough to rule him out.

"Gold isn’t suitable," Lucived said. "He’s far too mediocre. His ambition exceeds his ability, and that’s his fatal weakness."

John nodded thoughtfully.

"Then it seems Gresham is the only choice."

"For a period of time, quite a few Dark wizards appeared in German wizarding society," Lucived said as the teapot beside him poured out some black tea. "Gresham did a great deal of practical work during that period, but he also offended quite a few families."

During Voldemort’s rise, although his influence had not directly extended abroad, his emergence had inspired plenty of others to follow a similar path.

Germany had been no exception.

Durmstrang had always maintained a relatively open attitude towards the Dark Arts, so Dark wizards had begun acting more brazenly.

As Head of the Auror Office and one of the few young reform-minded officials, Gresham had arrested a great many people during that period.

If that old man Yelufan had not stood above him, Gresham would probably already be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Youth represents hope. As for those families?" John smiled with a trace of arrogance. "They’ll keep their mouths shut."

Lucived agreed.

After all, the most powerful families now stood on John’s side.

With the families no longer obstructing him, only Yelufan and Gold remained.

Yelufan’s close association with Dumbledore meant he was destined to become a target.

As for Gold, he was ambitious but incompetent, the sort who was bad at the game yet insisted on playing.

When the previous Minister, Schmidt, had still been in office, Gold had effectively been a figurehead, a pawn used to stabilise certain German families.

After Schmidt disappeared, however, Gold had developed ambitions of his own and wanted to move one step higher.

Clearly, the forces behind him felt the same way.

With John’s intervention, that ambition was destined to come to nothing.

John looked at Lucived.

"I want to meet Gresham."

He would not help someone for no reason.

The prerequisite was that the person could be useful to him.

Lucived understood what he meant and nodded.

"He’s already on his way."

As for why Gresham was being so cooperative?

Lucived had told him that he was no longer interested in competing.

The moment Gresham heard that one of his rivals was withdrawing, he was naturally going to come and confirm it while also trying to win Lucived over.

After all, everyone understood what Edgar represented.

By the time John finished his first cup of black tea, someone knocked on the doors of Edgar Castle.

"This castle is enormous. Have you never thought about hiring a few more servants?" John asked with a raised eyebrow as the butler went to answer the door.

The place was huge, yet only two people lived here.

Even if Heinrich returned, there would still be no more than four people at most.

Lucived replied without changing expression, "That would be too noisy."

Like father, like son.

Lucived really was cut from the same cloth as Heinrich.

The second cup of black tea had just been poured when the Head of the German Auror Office arrived.

"Lucived, my friend."

Gresham’s voice arrived before he did.

He stepped into the room.

The smile on his face instantly froze.

He turned to the butler in displeasure. "You never told me there would be another guest."

The butler apologised without the slightest sincerity.

Gresham found the person before him somewhat familiar. He searched his memory for John’s face.

Lucived stood up and walked straight out, saying to John, "You two can talk now."

"Huh?"

Before Gresham could react, Lucived had already stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

That left Gresham alone, immediately wary of the situation.

John, meanwhile, studied the Head of the Auror Office.

He was different from Barty Crouch Sr.

He was not particularly old.

He looked to be only in his thirties, and holding such a position at that age was more than enough to prove his ability.

He wore a grey suit and had an angular rectangular face, a pointed chin, a broad forehead, and grey-blue eyes.

A short layer of stubble covered his jaw, making him look more mature.

Guarded.

Cautious.

After a brief glance, John had already formed a rough impression of him.

"Sit," John said casually. "There’s no need to be afraid. I’m not interested in your life."

"I don’t remember knowing you."

Gresham walked over and sat opposite John, leaning slightly forward in an aggressive posture.

He was like a wolf.

John smiled faintly, rubbing the ring on his finger.

"I know you, Edmond Gresham, Head of the Auror Office."

Seeing that Gresham still had not relaxed, John leaned forward slightly, rested his fingers against the side of his face, and chuckled.

"Let’s make this conversation simpler."

"Gresham, do you want to become Minister for Magic?"

At those words, Gresham’s expression changed drastically.

He demanded sharply, "Who exactly are you?"

"Me?" John thought for a moment. "I’ll introduce myself using the identity you’re probably most familiar with."

He lowered his hand and smiled mysteriously.

"You can call me the Second King."

"Of course, I don’t mind if you call me Lord Wick."

At that moment, Gresham finally remembered who the young man before him was.

That face had appeared in the newspapers countless times, though black-and-white photographs had never fully captured how handsome he was.

Seeing him in person, that excessively youthful face was startling.

Gresham said in a deep voice, "Lucived asked you to come and deal with me?"

"No." John shook his head and said meaningfully, "I’m the one helping you deal with him."

That left Gresham confused.

John went straight to the point.

"Lucived will not compete with you. I intend to support someone for the position of Minister for Magic."

"Support someone for Minister for Magic?" Gresham said coldly. "Don’t you think you’re talking a little too big?"

"It’s called strength," John replied with a faint smile. "As long as you agree, Lucived will help you deal with the remaining candidates."

The offer was too significant.

Gresham hesitated.

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