The windowpanes rattled in the rain and snow. Though the fireplace blazed fiercely, the room was still rather cold. Albert set out several more enchanted heating stoves while everyone went about their own business in the sitting room.
"Dear, is there something worth being so happy about?"
"It seems Cassandra Vablatsky is dead." Albert stared at the Crystal Ball before him as he spoke words of startling cruelty. "Her whole family is dead too."
Katrina, who had been leafing through her notes, abruptly looked up at Albert. "What is wrong with you? Did you have some kind of grudge against them?"
"No." Albert shook his head. "We never even met."
"Then why would you..."
"Did The Dark Lord ultimately kill her entire family?" Isabelle did not seem surprised in the least. If anything, she looked as though she had expected it.
"Yes. He is The Dark Lord, after all. You can hardly expect him to obediently keep his promises. Cassandra Vablatsky ultimately lost her gamble."
Albert was not surprised by it. Expecting The Dark Lord to show mercy was clearly a very difficult thing.
"Lost her gamble?" Katrina looked utterly confused.
"Cassandra probably offered to help The Dark Lord with Divination in exchange for her family's lives. She knew the chances of him keeping his promise were low, but she gambled anyway. Obviously, she lost in the end. After Cassandra Vablatsky died, The Dark Lord conveniently disposed of her entire family as well." Albert briefly explained the situation.
He actually felt that a Diviner as formidable as Cassandra Vablatsky must have been able to guess the final outcome. Yet, to give her family even a sliver of hope, she had done it anyway. In the end, she had still failed to escape disaster. The thought of it was inexplicably tragic.