"Father, who would dare to send you a letter in such a disrespectful manner?"
Draco's voice snapped Lucius Malfoy out of his thoughts.
Just as he was about to say William's name, his gaze landed on Astoria Greengrass—who, as of now, wasn't officially a Malfoy yet.
Furthermore, since William had so openly displayed his power, Lucius felt even less inclined to let outsiders know.
For a brief moment, he even hesitated to tell his own son.
Over the years, his "good son" had abandoned the ideals of pure-blood supremacy and even chosen a fiancée who didn't care about blood purity either.
And from the looks of it, they would be married soon.
This had greatly displeased both Lucius and Narcissa, but no matter how much they disapproved,
Draco was their only son—so they had no choice but to keep their frustration to themselves.
Seeing Draco's curious expression, Lucius didn't hesitate for long.
With a sigh, he realized that ever since Voldemort's downfall eight years ago,
his belief in pure-blood superiority had already become a joke.
Especially now, when the man he wanted to align with—William Devonshire—was not even a pure-blood wizard.
So, at this point, keeping secrets seemed unnecessary.
After all, once he met with William, the entire British wizarding community would probably be buzzing about how the Malfoys had latched onto the most powerful patron imaginable.
"See for yourself," Lucius finally said.
Using a clean silver knife, he carefully cut open the envelope and removed the letter.
Then, placing the envelope on the table, he began reading in silence.
Narcissa, sitting closest to him, immediately snatched up the envelope, inspecting both sides—
only to realize that the sender's name was nowhere to be found.
Seeing her husband frowning as he read, Narcissa had no choice but to pass the envelope to Draco and Astoria, who had stepped forward.
Draco, also confused by the lack of a name, stared at the wax seal, murmuring,
"Why does this family crest look so familiar…? Whose is it?"
"Could it be Devonshire?"
Astoria's words caused Draco and Narcissa to gasp in shock.
"That's impossible!"
"There's no reason for William Devonshire to send my father a letter!"
But Lucius—having finished reading—set the letter down and, with a dazed expression, said:
"Is it really so impossible?"
"You all saw what just happened—
That overwhelming magical power, capable of forcing us into retreat,
was something beyond our comprehension.
Would someone like that need to disguise themselves as someone else?"
"And if we really want to confirm whether this was from William Devonshire,
all it takes is a few phone calls."
Draco and Narcissa fell silent at that.
For an ordinary person, contacting William Devonshire was impossible.
But the Malfoys still had connections in high places.
If they made a call to the Devonshire estate, identifying themselves and stating their purpose,
it wouldn't be surprising if they got a direct response from William himself.
Still, Narcissa remained uneasy.
"I'm worried this is a trap," she admitted.
"After all, our family has no prior connection to the Devonshires.
Why would he suddenly send you an invitation?"
That was the real question.
Even though the letter stated that the reason for the meeting was basic magic theory,
Lucius had his doubts.
If William was already that powerful, why would he need beginner-level spellbooks and theories from the Malfoys?
Could someone with such terrifying magical strength really be a muggle-born wizard with no formal training?
That… was hard to believe.
Having also read the letter, Narcissa's face showed deep concern.
"This doesn't make sense… Are we supposed to believe that he still needs to learn magic?"
Lucius rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"Merlin's beard… I wish I knew!"
As the Malfoys struggled to make sense of the situation, Draco suddenly spoke up.
"Maybe… William Devonshire never studied English wizardry at all," he suggested.
"Maybe he learned a different kind of magic."
At first, Lucius and Narcissa instinctively felt irritated—perhaps even offended by the idea.
But at the same time…
They felt a strange sense of relief.
Maybe it wasn't that they were weak…
Maybe it was just that English wizardry was weaker than his magic.
Just as Lucius was about to make a few calls, a golden portal suddenly appeared above the dining table.
Before the four Malfoys could react, a shower of golden light poured out of the portal.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the room as countless gold coins rained onto the table.
"Gold coins!"
In mere seconds, the empty parts of the dining table—where food and silverware had once been— were piled high with brilliant, shining gold coins.
They stacked neatly, forming towers as they continued pouring down.
Then, a calm voice filled the room:
"10,000 Devonshire gold coins—consider this an advance payment.
I'll be waiting for you in London, Lucius Malfoy."
The four Malfoys, momentarily blinded by the sheer golden brilliance,
snapped out of their daze the moment they heard William's voice.
"That… that was William Devonshire speaking?!"
"Who else could it be?" Lucius murmured, lifting a gold coin to inspect it.
Under the light, the coin's glow was even more dazzling.
"Do you see the way this coin shines?"
Draco, Narcissa, and Astoria instinctively picked up a coin each.
Without even looking closely, they immediately understood what Lucius meant.
The gold coins shimmered unnaturally, their surfaces radiating energy.
"These coins contain a rare extraterrestrial metal," Lucius explained.
"So unless someone else has access to the resources of Mars,
I can't think of anyone else who could casually send us 10,000 of these."
"Not to mention…" Lucius continued, holding up a coin,
"10,000 Devonshire gold coins equal one ton of gold—
$20 million dollars, or £13.4 million pounds."
"Who else but William Devonshire has the audacity to use a ton of gold as a mere deposit?"
Narcissa, Draco, and Astoria all nodded.
Anyone who had watched the news recently knew that gold was meaningless to William.
"Enough," Lucius said.
"Narcissa, help me prepare a gift.
I'll change into formal attire and head to London.
I need to make proper preparations before meeting Devonshire.
I won't allow myself to look undignified in his presence."
"Of course, dear," Narcissa replied.
But her mind was no longer on pure-blood ideology.
She understood one thing very clearly—
The Devonshire family was older, nobler, and more prestigious than the Malfoys ever were.
Adding William's personal achievements, his colossal wealth, and the golden mountain on their dining table…
For the first time, she stopped believing that Draco was the greatest man of his generation.
It wasn't even a fair comparison.
An Hour Later
At 2 PM, Lucius, carrying a fine Chinese porcelain piece and a few rare Malfoy spellbooks,
hurried into a vintage Rolls-Royce, briefly bidding farewell to Narcissa, Draco, and Astoria before ordering the driver to head to London.
Meanwhile, outside Malfoy Manor, hidden watchers—who had been monitoring the Malfoys—reported back:
"Lucius Malfoy has left the manor—but instead of Apparating, he took a car."
The news left those receiving the report utterly baffled.
(End of Chapter)
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