Chapter 155: New Meetings
"Master, there is a delegation from Germany here to see you."
I raised a questioning eyebrow at Daphne, who had just entered my office. Only ten minutes ago, I'd finished another lesson with my students, and I'd planned to continue my own studies, but apparently fate had other plans.
"Invite them in."
With a sigh and a few waves of my hand, I returned the textbooks to their places and closed the cabinets so the office would look formal yet comfortable. With another wave of my wand, I summoned a scroll to create the appearance of intense busyness. I'd already read it that morning and given the necessary orders, so I didn't need to worry about making mistakes or missing something during this meeting.
At my words, Daphne smiled and hurried out. Two minutes later, Bella joined me. She wasn't busy, so she could sit in on the meeting.
"Greetings..."
A man addressed me with a slight accent, apparently the head of this delegation.
"And I greet you as well."
I nodded to the man and studied the figure wrapped in chains bearing restraining spells.
"I take it you didn't come here without reason..."
I nodded toward the figure.
"Yes, you understood correctly. The reason for our visit is this woman. You've probably heard there was a breach in Germany..."
I nodded, since I had indeed heard about it. I even knew they'd recovered several Bullheads with pilots. But I'd done nothing, because I hadn't received any data that interested me.
"...and we decided to come to you with an offer."
"An offer?"
"Yes. As far as we know, you're interested in the nonhumans from that world. You even bought a whole group of those animals from the Russians..."
I showed no reaction, but in truth, I wanted to kill him right then. The Faunus, though they hadn't yet fully recovered, had already begun working like demons because they understood they had a chance to truly live like normal people and be no different from those around them.
It was difficult to find sentients more persistent in their labor. Only werewolves and Veela could compete with them in that regard, and they had long since understood that no one in my Quarter treated them poorly. Or rather, perhaps some did look down on them, but the laws of my Quarter granted them equal rights with humans, and no one could simply throw stones at them.
Though with each passing month, there was less and less prejudice against werewolves and Veela, and now against Faunus too.
"And?"
"This female with feline traits is my trophy, and I would like to sell her to you."
"And what do you want for her?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I would like to get a couple of little Veela."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, come on, just hand over a pair of young Veela. I'll raise them, be happy, and hand this little animal over to you..."
He didn't finish, because my wand was already in my hand, and no one in the delegation could oppose a master.
"Bella, be so kind as to contact the German embassy and find out if they actually sent a delegation, and if so, since when slave trading has become an official German trade..."
With a wave of my wand, I created a transparent vessel and immediately placed a copy of the memory inside.
"...this is evidence."
"Good."
"Kreacher, send these people to the cells, but make sure they're completely naked, and fit them with magic blockers."
"It will be done!"
The house-elf appeared before the prisoners with a pop, and with that same pop, disappeared, taking nearly all of them with him.
"You and I will speak again..."
The figure flinched.
"...you understand me, don't you?"
"Yes..."
There was tension and anger in her voice.
"I understand that after ending up in our world, you faced injustice and now see all of us as enemies. However, I ask you not to lump all humans in with those..."
I grimaced slightly and nodded toward the place where the girl's captors had stood.
"...for example, I don't like slavery, and many races coexist in my Quarter, including Faunus, who ended up in our world some time ago."
"Faunus?"
The woman's voice held a note I couldn't identify.
"Yes, Faunus. All of them received medical care and housing, even if it's modest. The children were placed in schools, and the adults were given the opportunity to work on equal terms with other residents, and some of them, as far as I know, will be able to move from assigned housing into their own apartments by the end of this year."
As I spoke, I approached the girl and began circling her, waving my wand.
"They really packed you in."
"Hsssss..."
"Well, no matter. We'll remove all of this gradually. I only ask that you don't cause any trouble. I won't force you. I'm only offering you the chance to stay with me so you can learn a little about the world you've ended up in..."
"Draco..."
The office door opened, and Blake looked in.
"Do you have questions?"
"Yeah..."
The figure I'd been working on froze. She'd been moving slightly before, but once Blake entered the office, she went rigid.
"...well, I don't mind answering your questions. Come in, sit down."
"Um... is this really okay?"
"Yes, yes, let's switch to your world's language. Someone here tried to sell me a Faunus. Honestly, if it had simply been a matter of buying her, I would have purchased and freed her, but they demanded residents of my Quarter as payment."
I said all this in the language of Remnant.
"Um..."
Blake walked into the office uncertainly and sat down.
"Blake..."
The guest's voice was very quiet, but both Blake and I heard it, and we looked at the figure in surprise. I was merely surprised, but my student looked terrified... her ears pressed flat against her head, panic in her eyes... Yet she made no move to run.
"Stop twitching!"
My voice made the woman freeze.
"They've wrapped you in so many charms that removing them will take another five minutes. Every unnecessary movement only extends that time."
"Forgive me..."
"I take it you and Blake know each other?"
"Yes..."
"And for how long?"
"Very..."
The woman began answering in monosyllables.
"I see. Well, then everything will be even simpler. Blake is the head of the Faunus community in my Quarter, so she'll help you settle in for the time being. After that, you can decide whether to remain in my Quarter or seek your happiness elsewhere. The only two mandatory procedures are mental language implantation and a medical examination."
"I... understand..."
"Blake, why are you silent?"
I cast a glance at the girl.
"Or does she know you, and you do not know her?"
"I know her... hello... Mom..."
I froze and looked in surprise first at Blake, then at the frozen figure, who still didn't dare move from the spot.
"So you are Kali?"
"Yes."
"Well... this isn't how I thought I'd meet my future mother-in-law."
"What?!"
The woman turned sharply toward me, her gaze boring into me.
"Mother-in-law?!"
"Well, everything's moving toward Blake becoming one of my three wives. So yes, it's entirely possible you'll become my mother-in-law. And I believe I've already told you not to move. The magic binding you isn't so simple. Of course, it would have been easier to just buy you, after which they'd have handed me the 'keys' to it, and I'd have been able to free you in a matter of seconds..."
I shook my head.
"...but I have no desire to trade the residents of my Quarter. So forgive me, but I had to take a slightly longer path to freeing you."
"I understand..."
I continued waving my wand.
"Still... Blake, I hope you're more discerning when choosing a partner... this time..."
"Mom, nothing's been decided yet, and my relationship with Draco is limited to kisses and sitting together in front of the TV. After all, he's only fourteen."
"Fourteen?!"
Blake's mother flinched slightly.
"You look older."
"Well... training from early childhood."
I shrugged.
"So, it seems..."
A couple more waves of the wand, and all the chains wrapped around the woman fell to the floor.
"Is that all?"
"Wait, now let's check once more, because the robe might also have spells on it..."
And I turned out to be right. The chains had been giving off too much background magical interference, and in my inexperience, I'd mistaken the robe's weak magical signature for residual magic from the chains. But it turned out the robe was an artifact in its own right. So I had to spend another couple of minutes removing the charms from it, then taking it off her.
"Well..."
I shook my head. Under the robe, she was completely naked.
"Draco!"
"Everything will be fine now."
With a couple of waves of my wand, I transfigured my pocket handkerchief into a silk robe and handed it to Kali. She didn't even seem embarrassed.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome..."
I shook my head.
"Draco..."
Bella entered the office.
"...I received a Patronus from the German embassy. They did not send any delegation to us, and when they saw the memories, they promised to look into it. The only thing is, they asked us not to harm the leader, since he is from an ancient House and..."
"Mom..."
I spoke in the language of Remnant.
"...allow me to introduce Kali Belladonna, Blake's mother. Kali, allow me to introduce my mother, Bellatrix Black."
"A pleasure."
"Likewise."
"And yes, of course we will hold negotiations regarding the German side ransoming those men..."
Kali flinched.
"...but it must not only benefit us, but also provide sufficient compensation for Kali, so she can settle comfortably in our world."
"Let him go? He wanted to sell me as a slave!"
Kali hissed.
"Mom..."
Blake moved to her mother's side and wrapped her in an embrace.
...please, I want to punish them too, but without Draco's approval, revenge could only do harm. You rule Menagerie. You must understand that he's responsible not only for me and himself, but also for the residents of the Quarter. Especially since he doesn't rule his own country. The Quarter is under the Queen's authority. Yes, they have autonomy, but..."
"I understand."
"And I didn't say I wasn't going to punish him. It's just that sometimes you punish someone by letting their victim go. We'll finish here, and I'll send a Patronus to Rowena. I think she or her sworn companions know a couple of curses that can't be detected these days."
I smiled unkindly.
"He'll live to regret deciding to trade in sentients, and especially that the sentient in question turned out to be Kali."
"Hm..."
Kali looked me up and down, and I saw approval in her eyes.
"Anything for family?"
"That's the motto of every pure-blood family..."
I shrugged.
"...It's just that many forget that doing so can infringe on the interests of other families, which creates more problems than it solves. So we'll extract everything we can from this situation, after which he'll live... a long life, and suffer from the curse without even realizing he's cursed."
Kali nodded in satisfaction.
"Blake, come, show me everything here..."
"Blake, first take your mother to the bathroom and let her wash up. While she's doing that, you can get some clothes ready for her."
"All right."
She nodded at me and led her mother toward the exit of my office.
Kali
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