The werewolves ignored him and turned to Ivan. When he nodded in agreement, they released him.
The elder Rosier dusted himself off, then trotted to Ivan's side.
"You did well, Rosier! Saved me a lot of trouble…" Ivan said with satisfaction as he patted Rosier Senior on the shoulder.
He deliberately destroyed the magical lights in the conference room in order to prevent any damage to the staff.
Before releasing the spell, Ivan was worried that Rosier Senior would not understand what he was saying, but Rosier did it better than he expected, causing a civil war that made capturing the werewolves much easier.
Rosier didn't take any credit for Ivan's praise.
He was well aware that his greatest value was now gone, and that his future treatment would be dependent on this young wizard's opinion, so the old Rosier humbly stated that the success of this operation was due to the guidance of Sir Harls, and that he had only done what he was told.
While the old Rosier was sucking up, Foley and the others, who were tied up, started cursing.
"Rozier, you bloody bastard! Disgraceful traitor!"
"I knew you were a nasty piece of work. Do you think they'll let you go when we're finished?"
…
The more Foley and the others cursed, the more unimpressed Rosier looked. To him, they were the wails of defeated dogs, which meant nothing.
Nott, who was also tied up, did not berate Ivan like the others. He quietly looked at Ivan's young face and suddenly asked.
"What about Alicia? If I'm not mistaken, you're her child, Ivan Hals, aren't you? Is she so comfortable with letting you do something so dangerous that she won't see me herself?"
Nott had never met Ivan, but he was able to guess Ivan's identity from his age and the way Rosier Senior addressed him.
Ivan turned and glanced at Nott, but did not reply.
Rosier looked at Nott with contempt. His ignorance was laughable.
"No, that's not right! Alicia was a decoy, and you're the real culprit!" Nott was not stupid, and he quickly realised what was going on from their reaction. He stared at Ivan in shock, unable to believe his own assumptions.
But this was apparently the only possibility!
Otherwise, why would old Rosier act so humble in front of him, as humble as a house dog…
It must be noted that when he mentioned Alicia, Rosier didn't show any obvious reaction.
The snake's transformation and subsequent combination magic were not something that an ordinary wizard could perform. Even if he used his full strength, he would not be able to do it.
It could be seen that this young sorcerer's strength exceeded his peers, and even many adult sorcerers!
Even so, having a thirteen or fourteen-year-old wizard take the lead was quite comical.
"You betrayed us to join this brat? Play house with him? You're getting worse, Rosier!" Nott mocked.
Ivan frowned. He knew his age would lead to unnecessary trouble.
This time, however, before he could do anything, the loyal old Rosier did not hesitate to give him a few good kicks, one of which landed squarely on his nose.
"Insolence! How dare you insult the great Lord Hales!" Not satisfied with just a few kicks, old Rossier pulled out his wand and tried to cast a Cruciatus Curse on Nott.
"That's enough… stop!" Ivan waved his hand to stop old Rosier. He had some questions he wanted to ask, in case he tortured Nott to death.
When old Rosier stopped, Nott slowly straightened up. There was still some blood on his face. He coughed a few times and spoke in a defeated voice.
"You win, boy! The Wizarding Market at Knockturn Alley is yours from this day forth, and if you will release my nephew, I can assure you that the Nottes will never again oppose you…"
'Nephew?'
Ivan thought of the dead Reese Nott, but decided not to share this information.
"Have you made a mistake, Mr Nott? The Wizarding Market is now in my hands, whether you like it or not. Isn't it a little late for you to use that as leverage?"
In the chaos of Knockturn Alley, everyone did shady work, and it was always the one with the bigger fist who called the shots.
The Wizarding Market had never been sanctioned by the Ministry of Magic. It was a semi-illegal underground black market, with no title deeds or anything like that. Whoever owned this place owned it!
So Nott's claim seemed especially ridiculous to Ivan!
Nott ignored Ivan's jeers and continued, "You wouldn't dare kill me anyway, would you? I'll give you whatever you want. We're not enemies. There's no need to fight to the death!"
"Not necessarily, Mr Nott! Are you so sure I won't kill you?" Yvonne shook her head. She had no intention of letting him go.