Maidenhead is adjacent to Windsor and has become a commuter hotspot for London due to the construction of the transcontinental rail line.
Lucius was in a manor on the banks of the Thames River. Although the manor was far less grand than the Malfoy Family manor, it was safe enough because it was not on the Ministry of Magic's list.
As time went by, Lucius became increasingly uneasy.
According to the plan, the black wizard he hired had already completed his mission.
Another 10 minutes passed, and there was still no news.
Just as he turned on the projection screen to ask a question, a shadow suddenly appeared in the sky above the manor.
Lucius's gray pupils contracted instantly as he stared in horror at a white figure crashing through the roof and landing in front of him.
"Good afternoon—" Vincent slowly removed the Imposter Mask. "Mr. Lucius Malfoy."
He casually tossed aside an eyeball covered in silver frost.
Judging from its size, the eyeball appears to be human, and the faintly emanating evil aura suggests that this is a Dark Magic artifact.
The black velvet carpet was so smooth that the eyeballs rolled all the way to Lucius's feet.
The smell of blood, a strong smell of blood.
Lucius stared intently at the eyeball covered in silver frost at his feet. It was a Dark Magic item he had bought at a high price, capable of accurately locking onto and attacking targets.
Clearly, the operation failed.
That damned dark wizard has no principles whatsoever; he actually dared to reveal that he was the employer.
Vincent snapped his fingers, causing a chair that was placed next to Lucius to fly behind him.
He smiled and sat down. "How ironic, Mr. Malfoy. Your ancestors came to Britain with William the Conqueror, while today I wiped out the black wizards you hired outside the castle he ordered to be built."
Lucius's face was unusually grim.
"Didn't your Malfoy Family fall out with the royal family? Why don't you let those dark wizards attack the castle directly?"
Vincent leaned back in his chair, watching him with great interest. "What are you worried about? The last bit of affection you have left with the royal family? Or is it—"
"Wayne!" Lucius shouted through gritted teeth, "Why should I consider the royal family? You underestimate the Malfoy Family!"
Vincent shook his head dismissively. "The Malfoy Family, born noble? Before the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy came into being, didn't you always intermarry and do business with Muggle?"
"Wayne!"
"Now, you are nothing but Voldemort's lackeys."
"Wayne!" Lucius's eyes were bloodshot as he forcefully overturned the exquisitely carved ebony coffee table in front of him.
Vincent swung his hand and smashed it to pieces. "Am I wrong?"
He slowly took out the Serpent Staff. "You want to offer this to Voldemort to gain his trust, but you've all misunderstood something."
His Serpent Staff rested on the spotless black velvet carpet. "This is not Salazar Slytherin's Serpent Staff, this is my Serpent Staff, Vincent Wayne's Serpent Staff."
Lucius's mind went blank; the immense magical power emanating from the Serpent Staff made it hard for him to breathe.
"Huh?" Vincent withdrew his magic with little interest. "Mr. Malfoy, where's your wand?"
Faced with the teasing, the pale-faced Lucius simply snorted coldly.
"Let me guess, is your wand with Voldemort?"
Another cold snort.
"So you're not even a dog in Voldemort's eyes."
Lucius clenched his fists tightly, unable to bear Vincent's teasing any longer.
He lacked his usual elegance and composure, pointing his finger at Vincent's nose and cursing, "You little bastard, what are you so smug about! Don't forget, you're now the Ministry of Magic's most wanted criminal!"
"Thank you for reminding me." Vincent waved his hand expressionlessly, Lucius immediately lost control and fell off his chair.
"I am a criminal, it's time to do something befitting my status as a criminal."
An invisible magical force pressed down on Lucius, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free.
Vincent beckoned to him with a disdainful gesture, "Alright, Mr. Malfoy, we need to have a serious talk about your precious life."
Lucius was thrown back into his chair with a resentful look in his eyes.
"I've been friends with Draco for a while, so I won't make things too difficult for you."
Humiliation, a humiliation all too familiar.
These days, he has endured this humiliating helplessness every moment.
Today, he was even severely humiliated by Vincent, Muggle-born.
In the face of absolute power, any schemes and tricks are futile.
Lucius finally faced reality and tried his best to suppress the raging anger within him.
"Wayne, what do you want?"
Vincent casually spread his hands, "It depends on how you view your life."
"Ha—" Lucius sneered repeatedly, "1 million Gold Galleons."
Vincent raised his chin slightly in disdain. "Only this much? You didn't give all your family fortune to Voldemort, did you?"
Lucius scoffed, "I can give you more, but I need time."
Installment payments are out of the question. Who knows when he might anger Voldemort and suddenly die?
"I want land, all the Malfoy Family's lands abroad."
Lucius's eyes narrowed into slits, his hidden killing intent seeming ready to erupt at any moment.
The Malfoy Family has existed for nearly a thousand years. Although they sold off a large amount of land they bought from Muggle due to the enactment of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, this manor is just the tip of the iceberg, and much more remains deeply hidden.
"All of them?" Lucius scoffed again. "Fine, deal!"
The fact that they agreed so readily suggests something's fishy.
Vincent tossed him a pre-written magic Contract, saying, "Sign your name, and we'll be even."
Lucius took the Contract, opened it, and his face turned extremely ugly.
Three top-tier wine estates in the Bordeaux, France, five hidden oil fields in Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, rare earth mines in Telemark County, Norway, and uranium mines in Siberia and the Far East of Russia...
These are lands that the Malfoy Family has secretly purchased over the past century, and they are all of extremely high strategic importance.
Lucius was filled with trepidation.
It hasn't even been an hour since the operation started, so how exactly did Vincent find out about these places?
Could it be a prior investigation...? No, it's about the group of Wizards' Purity Party elders he rescued in Germany.
Lucius promptly signed his name on the magic Contract.
These old men have quite a bit of influence; whether or not there was prior investigation is no longer important.
Given his past record in Azkaban, everyone assumed Vincent had only broken into Eckstag Prison on a whim, but now it seems things are not so simple.
Lucius was a smart man and seemed to have already vaguely guessed what was going on.
Vincent carefully put away the magic Contract, and as he stood up, he lightly snapped his fingers, pulling Lucius from the chair to stand in front of him.
"Mr. Malfoy, if you don't get anything out of him, Voldemort certainly won't let you go, will he?"
"Wayne, what do you want to do!"
"I'll give you an excuse."
Lucius crashed uncontrollably into the arched doors and windows, landing heavily on the lawn outside the manor and being dragged for dozens of meters.
He sat up, disheveled and embarrassed, his eyes filled with resentment as the La Voiture Noire faded into the distance above the manor.
After a moment, he calmed down.
Whether his guess is correct or not, Vincent, Muggle-born, is no longer the same as before, and is no longer the little wizard that he can manipulate at will.