Money, supplies, money...
Scanning through those documents, Lys could only see torrents of Galleons flowing away from her exhausted upperclassman.
These Ministry of Magic people were absolutely ruthless!
They knew that if they confiscated the Malfoy family's assets, those assets would have to be transparently accounted for. But if they continued bleeding them dry through ongoing extortion, that money would flow straight into their own vaults.
Besides, the evidence they held consisted entirely of ambiguous accusations—insufficient to directly prove Malfoy was a Death Eater.
Threats were effective, but actually bringing him down was complex and risky.
So this approach was most advantageous for them.
But Lys quickly offered Lucius her suggestions: the Shafiq family, who had held judicial positions for generations, wanted materials, while that family deeply rooted in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, using materials as a cover, actually wanted Galleons.
Cater to their preferences, scratch their itches, and her frazzled upperclassman could save at least a third of his Galleons.
Lucius wasn't incapable of thinking this through, but everything had happened so suddenly and overwhelmingly that he was too exhausted to think clearly.
The most important thing now was to shut their mouths as quickly as possible—they couldn't be given any chance to speak.
Because once one person opened their mouth to say something, the others would worry about missing out on benefits and quickly follow suit. Then Malfoy would be in real trouble.
"They're all distancing themselves from me." Lucius's gray-blue eyes regarded Lys with cold assessment.
The instant reversal of status made him feel as if he'd returned overnight to the year his father suddenly died—predatory wolves circling, one misstep meaning blood and carnage.
But now, someone stood beside him offering precious intelligence and support.
"No need—we're bound together pretty tightly." Seeing no objection from him, Lys directly pulled over the nearby correspondence and related documents to examine.
Lucius smiled silently, shaking his head as he began arranging things according to Lys's suggestions.
"Smith loves antiques. If I remember correctly, you have two items in your collection room that would be perfect for her. Don't send potions—their family needs them but won't appreciate the gesture. And wait a couple days, otherwise they'll think you're coveting the Smith family and threatening them."
Lys rapidly flipped through the documents Lucius had pushed over, sharing intelligence she'd gathered while navigating between British and German nobility during this period.
Lucius wasn't polite about it—he took the information and used it immediately, pointing out anything inappropriate directly.
He felt Lys was far too conservative in utilizing intelligence. Lys just smiled without comment.
After that, Lys kept waiting for legal channels to leave the country to open, minimizing any possibility of being watched.
But while Lys had patience to wait, she never expected someone would eagerly deliver the opportunity to return to Germany right into her hands.
The reason was that the Ministry of Magic's new staff member sent to Germany to replace Lys's work had made a complete mess of the cooperation.
He claimed that Britain's wizarding world was currently in a special period, and righteously hoped German nobles would understand any delays in materials and payments.
Anyone who pressed too hard about overdue matters would be accused of lacking compassion, or simply not be received or dealt with at all.
He couldn't distinguish material grades, kept all accounts in chaos, yet remained self-righteous about it.
German nobles demanded Britain fulfill previous contracts and declared they wouldn't continue trading afterward.
Many partnerships were on the verge of collapse. Such a massive revenue stream naturally couldn't be allowed to collapse by those shrewd Ministry people.
But now, due to the Dark Lord's disappearance, the Ministry was in complete chaos.
Among those with available time who could be sent, not one could clean up those messes—especially when Britain's supply side genuinely had problems.
After much deliberation, they actually sent someone to Lucius's door, proposing that Lys resume her original position. While Lys was still confused about the situation, Lucius seized the opportunity.
Seeing those duplicitous old foxes and officials gave Lys a headache. She felt those officials always had ulterior motives in their speech, making it impossible to know what was really hidden behind their proposed conditions.
By the end, she simply wore a numb expression, which somehow made her appear mysteriously profound.
Hearing Lucius deflecting for her, she eventually just handed the matter over to him: "No benefits is fine, but upperclassman, don't sell me out."
Lucius's eyes held understanding and pride. "Of course not. Slytherin friendship is precious, and Malfoys are never stingy with friends."
Lys was somewhat surprised by this statement, but seeing Lucius lift his head, she didn't know what to say.
She just gave a dry laugh, earning a disdainful look from Lucius.
Taking advantage of this moment when the Ministry temporarily needed him, Lucius reclaimed partial control over this revenue stream.
He also escaped some petty nobles' opportunistic attacks and predatory behavior.
For this, he promised Lys would return to her position, and the delayed materials and payments would be resolved by the Ministry and Lucius leading various nobles.
Of course, most of it would still be Lucius and the nobles' responsibility.
After all, while those Ministry people didn't want to give Lucius breathing room, they couldn't think of better alternatives.
No one wanted to sign documents acknowledging resource losses—that would mean incompetence and stains during their tenure.
"I really just wanted to throw you over there as a mascot, Stalys. You've truly exceeded my expectations."
After dismissing those insatiably greedy old foxes, Lucius looked at Lys with complex emotions.
He hadn't expected that beyond profit connections, those old foxes would allow him breathing room for other reasons...
Pressure from German upper circles, specifically demanding Stalys's presence, had tied this revenue stream's survival to his junior's existence. For a moment, her presence was actually pivotal!
Though even without his junior he was confident about weathering this storm, her presence made things considerably easier. This unexpected development almost made Lucius want to laugh.
Lys thought: There are many things that would exceed your expectations. I just hope that if your beloved lord returns someday, you won't regret these words you're saying to those Ministry officials now...
Forget it, better he doesn't return. Let this upperclassman stay proud...
"Since things are settled, I'll visit the Smith family later. I'll take those two antiques directly."
Lys mentioned seemingly casually, "Upperclassman, have a house-elf accompany me to the storeroom later."
She deliberately timed this—the new house-elf Dobby was tending to little Malfoy, Feifei was preparing lunch, and having Narcissa accompany her to fetch two antiques clearly wouldn't align with Lucius's previous statements.
Sure enough, "Just go get them yourself."
Seeing Lucius agree somewhat unexpectedly, Lys turned and left the study.
The Smith family didn't actually need her personal visit—this was just Lys's excuse to enter the Malfoy family storeroom.
Standing outside the storeroom, she hoped this time she could overturn her previous suspicions.
Standing two steps away, Lys kept pinching her left arm's injury, using pain to prevent herself from being tempted.
Sensing fluctuations similar to the locket, looking at the shabby notebook in the crystal box, her mind went blank with confusion before spacing out again.
"The storeroom alarm has been ringing for ages—can't find what you're looking for? Also, your snake seems to be looking for you!"
"Junior?"
Lucius looked at his bewildered junior standing in the collection room with a headache. "Anyway, it's all over now. Do you want to get checked at St. Mungo's again? I don't mean anything by it, but..."
Lucius tapped his temple, then levitated the twisting Gabon through the air to Lys.
"I've noticed these past few days—you're always distracted. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
He was just short of directly asking if Lys's brain had problems again, if she wasn't quite lucid, since she'd even forgotten to bring her snake.
Lys caught Gabon from the air and gently exhaled.
She hadn't forgotten—she deliberately hadn't brought him.
She was afraid Gabon would be frightened.
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