Rosier went on and on, trying his best to excuse himself and compliment Ivan.
However, under his watchful eye, Ivan's reaction was very calm. He just stared at him in silence, his dark eyes seeming to see through everything.
Rosier's voice trailed off and he stopped, looking embarrassed…
Yvonne tapped her index finger on the table, looking at the fence-sitter and wondering what to do with him.
With Legilimency running the entire time, Ivan naturally knew that Rosier was not as loyal as he claimed to be.
When Avery suggested that he join the Death Eaters, Rosier declined, but did give it some thought.
Because of this, Ivan mentally placed Rosier in a camp where he could not be trusted.
However, he had not, strictly speaking, committed any acts of treachery. At best, his mind was weak. Given that Rosier was the first pure-blood wizard to surrender to him, Ivan had no intention of capturing or killing him…
With that in mind, Ivan made his decision. He casually lifted his wand and waved it.
Rosier's heart leapt into his throat at the sight, and he thought he was about to follow in Avery's footsteps.
However, after waiting for a while, the pain he expected did not come. Confused, he looked in the direction Ivan was pointing. There was a seat in an inconspicuous corner of the table, obviously shorter than the others.
However, Rosier didn't seem to mind at all. His heart was filled with excitement and joy, and he knew that at least his life was saved.
Ivan's voice reached his ears at the same time.
"I don't want there to be a next time, understand?" Ivan said, putting his wand away.
Rosier nodded frantically, feeling a lingering fear. He was secretly glad that he had taken the initiative to stand up and sincerely admit his mistake. Now that he was exempted from punishment, the last seat had indeed been reserved for him.
However, Rosier did not know that he was thinking too much.
Prior to the meeting, Avery was the only betrayer Ivan was able to identify, and the only reason he removed five seats was to lure out more potential enemies.
'Why five?'
Because setting up too many empty seats could cause panic, and could even lead Avery and the others to think they had the numbers and fight back.
If it was too little, it wouldn't have any effect, so five seemed just right to Ivan. He didn't expect it to actually work…
Looking at Avery and the others, who were still kneeling in front of him and begging, Ivan waved his hand in annoyance. He looked at Fran, who was standing at the side, and instructed, "Take them away and lock them up. I still lack some experimental subjects for my magical experiments!"
Ivan was not prepared to send these traitors to their deaths with a few bolts of Avada Kedavra, as that would be too cruel, and too much killing and unrestrained unleashing of dark magic might affect his mind.
Therefore, it was better to recycle them and use them as experimental subjects for practicing magic or developing potions.
It was a win-win move to show off one's humanity and make full use of resources to quickly improve one's magic!
Unfortunately, the wizards who were dragged away did not think so. When they heard that Ivan was going to use them as guinea pigs, their faces turned ashen.
Rosier and the others, who were watching the fight, looked at Avery and the others with pity.
It is clear to all present that their leader, Ivan Hals, has been conducting some particularly brutal magical experiments since last year.
The prisoners were usually alive and kicking when they were summoned, but when they came out of their rooms, they became listless and fearful.
From the outside, no one was injured, but they all lost their memories of that time.
Therefore, there was speculation that Ivan Hals was working on a soul-destroying Dark Art, which necessitated such strict secrecy.
As a result, there were often prisoners who could not withstand the mental pressure after learning the "truth" and chose to end their lives early in prison…
Ivan's mouth twitched as he examined the thoughts running through everyone's minds. Last summer, he had only found a few prisoners to practice the Imperius Curse, the Fear Charm, and Legilimency.
The Memory Charm was used to erase the memories of the prisoners in order to hide the fact that they were Legilimers.
No wonder he felt that his magic practice subjects were always "consumed" especially quickly. It turned out that it was all a misunderstanding…
"Ha, hahahaha ~"
Yvonne was lost in her thoughts when a peal of laughter filled the silent meeting room. Curious, she followed the sound and was surprised to find it was Avery, who had been dragged to the door.
"Shut up!" Flan, who was holding Avery by the collar, was annoyed and punched him hard in the stomach.
"Let him go first, Flun!" Ivan said with interest, wondering how Avery could still laugh.
Flunyan released his grip, and Avery fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, glaring at everyone in the room.
"You won't be happy for long. Knockturn Alley is the master's next target. The Dark Lord will not let you go…"
Avery turned his attention back to Ivan, speaking through gritted teeth. "This time you will not be so lucky as to escape from your master…"
Avery's words caused a stir in the crowd, not only because of the threat posed by the Dark Lord, but also because of the message contained within them.
"What? You haven't told them what happened that night?" Avery asked sarcastically.
He witnessed Ivan fleeing from the Dark Lord in the graveyard, which was why he eventually decided to sell out and join the Dark Lord.
As soon as he said this, Avery was prepared to provoke Ivan into murder.
Death is sometimes a relief, as it at least means that one does not have to suffer for a long time.
However, to Avery's surprise, Ivan looked calm and did not seem to be affected by his words.
"What do you want me to talk about, Avery? About the Dark Lord's exploits?
For example, he fought a famous fifteen-year-old boy, Harry Potter, over his father's grave in front of dozens of Death Eaters? The result was a tie?"
"Or do you want me to paraphrase how the Dark Lord nearly killed himself after I rescued Harry Potter?"
(PS: One Update)