Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 477 The Gentleman and the Madwoman

Regulus drew a second set of loops inside the copper sheet, sharing the same set of nodes as the first set, but with a completely different path.

The key is that the nodes of the two sets of loops must be precisely aligned. If they are not aligned, the two sets of loops will interfere with each other at the nodes, and the copper plate will either get stuck in the intermediate state and not be able to come out, or it will crash directly.

Spatial perception is deployed to locate the three-dimensional coordinates of each node inside the copper sheet.

This is also one of his strengths: the multi-node positioning ability honed through spatial networking and the multi-line parallel control honed through mental segmentation. Using these for this is like using a deadly curse to kill a mosquito.

He transferred the concept of spatial nodes to alchemical loops, where a set of nodes is shared by two sets of paths, but they are not on the same plane.

Loop A runs through the upper half of the copper sheet, and loop B runs through the lower half. They intersect at the node but do not touch each other.

The nodes for the first loop have been lit up, and he is drawing the second loop in parallel next to it.

The path shifts to another layer of the copper sheet, avoiding the trajectory of loop A, taking a detour, and connecting to the other side of the same set of nodes.

The two loops coexist in the same copper plate. Magic can switch paths at nodes, but cannot use both loops simultaneously.

Once finished, input magic power to activate the second loop.

The copper sheet changed from a faint silver to a pale gold, and another set of patterns emerged on its surface, arranged along the loop path.

Enter it again, and it turns back to silver, with the pattern changing accordingly.

I switched back and forth several times; the switching speed was extremely fast, and the input was responded to immediately without any delay.

The principle has been successfully verified, and reversibility is feasible.

Regulus placed the copper plate on the table, stood up, and walked to the window.

The hillside outside glowed golden in the evening light, and Baruch's dark red figure was running back from the west slope toward the main house.

Its eight legs kicked up dust as it ran, then stopped halfway, turned its head back to look at the area it was managing, and then turned back to continue running.

It ran to the base of the main house wall, looked up at the windowsill, and then launched itself up from the ground to the second-floor windowsill, landing in front of Regulus.

With two clattering sounds from its chelicerae, it jumped from the windowsill into the room and began rubbing the mud off its legs on the floor.

I've been here for almost ten days, and nothing has happened.

The Ministry of Magic personnel came once and never returned. There was no second attempt, no strangers appeared near the manor, and the protective charms showed no signs of being touched.

Felix routinely patrols the surrounding area every day, keeping it spotless.

It's too quiet.

The Death Eaters are tracking his movements. His father's intelligence clearly stated that he came to France to make himself known, and that he was there to prepare for a confrontation.

But ten days have passed, and nothing has come of it.

A name flashed through his mind: Bella.

If Bella were in charge of this, she would be so quiet and patient. It's not like her; it's unlikely that she would wait so long quietly.

So it's probably not Bella, but perhaps another, more patient person from the Death Eaters' side.

Regulus leaned against the window frame, looking at the distant hillside.

He hoped the people who came would be interesting, and not just send two Death Eaters on the periphery to test the waters and then run away; that wouldn't even qualify as a warm-up.

Ideally, he should be able to fight, be smart enough, and be able to get him moving.

These past few days he's been reading and practicing alchemy; life has been too peaceful. He likes peace, but he has some things bottled up inside him that he doesn't know where to put.

The silence had made him a little restless.

Regulus watched as the last glimmer of gold on the distant hillside sank behind the ridgeline, and the sky transitioned from orange-red to dark blue.

He looked away.

......

Cassis, a small port on the Mediterranean coast, is located 30 kilometers east of Marseille.

A small seaside tavern is nestled in a crevice in the harbor's stone wall. The windows of the private rooms on the second floor face east, and the midday sun shines in from the sea, illuminating the grain of the wooden tabletops clearly.

Outside the window is the harbor, where several fishing boats bob on the water, their masts adorned with patched nets, and seagulls perch on the wooden piers, pecking at their feathers.

On the table was an opened bottle of red wine, two glasses, a plate of black olives, and a plate of sliced ​​baguette bread.

The wines are local; Cassis is more famous for its white and rosé wines, but this shop's red wines are not bad either, at least the vintages on the labels are old enough. The bread is untouched, and two olives are missing.

There were two people sitting in the private room.

Victor Delacroix sat by the window; he was in his fifties, tall, and lean.

His dark brown hair was combed back into a slicked-back style, with two faint silver strands extending backward from his temples. The amount of white hair he had at his age didn't quite match the amount of white hair one would expect, suggesting he had taken some effort to style it.

He had a long, well-defined face with high cheekbones, a sharp nose that looked sculpted, and deep blue eyes with deeper sockets than the average Frenchman.

Her skin was the pale white common in the upper class of northern France; it was well-maintained and showed little sign of sun damage.

I must have looked great when I was young. Now that I'm over fifty, my good looks have turned into a refined quality honed by experience and maturity.

He wore a light sand-colored wizard's robe, made of linen and silk, with a cut far more elaborate than that of an ordinary French wizard. A silver brooch, shaped like a soaring eagle, was pinned to his collar, its workmanship exquisite.

Her fingers were long and clean, her nails were neatly trimmed, and she held the wine glass, turning it around before drinking, looking at the wine tears clinging to the glass, and then bringing it close to her nose to smell it.

From head to toe, from fingers to the angle at which he holds the wine glass, he exudes gentlemanly elegance.

But what he did had nothing to do with being a gentleman.

Victor Delacroix runs the largest magical creature smuggling network in southern France, stretching from the Mediterranean coast to North Africa, and from Spain to Greece.

The fur of the Moon Demon, the horn and hair of the Unicorn, the liver and heart vessels of the Dragon, the feathers of the Ball Bird, the stinger of the Sphinx, and the scales of the Serpent Demon.

As long as you can afford the price, you can get anything.

The French Ministry of Magic knew of his existence and what he was doing, but had never obtained any evidence to bring to court.

He spent twenty years in the gray area, never crossing the line to the point where the French Ministry of Magic had to take action.

He was measured, patient, and had enough middlemen and scapegoats. Those who truly crossed the line had long since rotted in the Mediterranean Sea, and the blame couldn't be placed on him.

The woman sitting opposite him was pouring herself a drink.

Bellatrix Lestrange has thick, curly black hair tied back, revealing her entire face.

The forehead is full, the brow bone is high and clear, and the eyebrows are thick and dark, with a slight upward curve at the end.

Her eyes were the Black family's grey eyes, with large pupils and dark, almost black irises. Her eyelashes were long and thick, pointing straight out, making her gaze direct from any angle.

A high, straight nose, full lips, and a jawline that runs straight down from the ear to the chin without any extra curves.

The beauty of the Black family was amplified in her; her skin was white and delicate, her features were more intense, her contours were sharper, her frame was larger, and her figure was taller.

She wore a dark green robe, tailored to fit her waist, with a neckline lower than usual, revealing her collarbone and neck.

The cuffs are tightened, and the belt is tied at the high waist, making the waistline appear very long.

She wore no extra adornments because she didn't need them; her very presence was an adornment.

Dangerous beauty makes you want to look at it more, but after looking at it, you feel unsafe.

Bella finished pouring the wine, put the bottle back on the table, lightly touched the neck of the bottle with her fingers before letting go, then picked up the glass, but didn't drink it, just looked at the streaks of wine left on the glass.

Delacroix waited until she put down the wine bottle before speaking in elegant English, drawing out each vowel and carrying the pleasant rhythm of French: "Mrs. Lestrange—"

Bella's gray eyes flickered, her pupils contracting sharply in the midday light, and her voice, though gentle, held a sharp edge: "Black."

Her expression and tone didn't match; her lips were slightly pursed, but the corners of her mouth drooped down, her eyes were cold, and every muscle on her face seemed to be distancing itself from her voice.

Delacroix looked at her, raising his eyebrows slightly, just enough to express his confusion.

It's interesting that a woman who already has the last name Lestrange made him call her Black.

He nodded slightly, still in the same tone: "Miss Black?"

Bella's lips twitched slightly.

Delacroix raised his glass in a gesture of respect: "So, what can I do for you?"

Bella's eye twitched slightly, causing the muscles on half of her face to twitch along with it. The movement was small and quick, so fast that the sunlight didn't even have time to cast a shadow on her face.

"In southern Provence there is a Black family estate that has been in operation for hundreds of years, with a small area for magical creatures to inhabit."

Moonfox, Horned Beast, Vine Serpent, Ball Runner, Niffler, and the cellar should contain a wine reserve accumulated over hundreds of years, along with some other miscellaneous items.

She raised her gray eyes and met Delacroix's blue eyes directly.

"The manor is currently undergoing spring protection maintenance, and the protection in some areas has been temporarily downgraded. The heir of the Black family is currently at the manor."

One corner of her mouth twitched upwards, while the other remained droopy: "Thirteen years old."

Delacroix didn't respond immediately after hearing this. He twirled the wine glass in his hand, took a sip, put it down, and gently stroked the rim of the glass with his fingers, his gaze fixed on Bella's face.

He knew that estate; it was the Black family's property in the south of France, and its protective spells were ridiculously thick, never having had any security breaches.

He also knew about the several magical animals in the manor; each of them had a fixed demand on the black market and each was valuable.

Especially the symbiotic scales of the vine snake, which are almost never seen in Marseille's smuggling circles.

The vine snake only coexists with specific varieties of old grapevines and cannot be artificially cultivated. The last time he saw one in person was more than ten years ago when an Italian smuggler offered an outrageous price.

As for wine, some vintages from centuries-old vineyards have disappeared from the market.

There are also old vines that can be used to make wands. They can be picked, processed a little, and sold. These are in high demand everywhere, and the price is even higher on the black market.

Delacroix's gaze toward Bella was fairly gentlemanly, but there was no appreciation in it; appreciating a beautiful woman was too ordinary for him.

A woman who married into the Lestrange family but called herself Black used Black's name to get him to rob the Black family's manor.