Lucius: "Perhaps I Came at the Wrong Time"

As the prisoners looted like mad, crying and revelry never ceased in the entrance hall.

Now, the entire hall had become the prisoners' playground, while every well-dressed Pure-blood had become a helpless lamb at the mercy of the greedy prisoners.

"Five hundred Galleons! I'm rich!"

Excited cheers constantly erupted from the prisoners, further inflaming their enthusiasm.

"Tell me, are you hiding any more Galleons? Don't play dumb!"

Suddenly, after seeing everyone else make a killing while he himself had not even gotten a few Galleons, one prisoner was overcome by jealousy. He pointed his wand at a Pure-blood wizard's head and ordered him to hand over all his possessions.

Helpless, the Pure-blood, who had still harbored a faint hope of getting lucky, saw the wand continuously flashing green. He swallowed fearfully and obediently handed over his wealth.

After all, as Pure-bloods, most of their assets were kept in vaults at Gringotts. The money they carried on them was only a small portion.

To stay alive, they could afford to give it up. Their lives mattered most.

The other prisoners' eyes lit up at the sight, and they all raised their wands to imitate him.

At once, the looting in the entrance hall became fervent once more.

Finally, after roughly ten minutes, every prisoner wore a satisfied smile.

From the lifeless expressions on those Pure-bloods' faces, it was clear that they had lost quite a bit of wealth.

However, a small number of people had not been bothered by the prisoners. Without exception, they were all lowborn Muggle-born wizards.

"Enough, stop." Only after seeing that the prisoners had vented the violence in their hearts did Lester step forward. "We're only teaching these Pure-bloods a small lesson."

"Now, we're going to storm the Ministry of Magic and let them know that Muggle-born wizards aren't to be trifled with either!"

The moment Lester finished speaking, the other prisoners immediately erupted into cheers, green light continuously flickering from their wands.

Robbing just these few people had already made them filthy rich.

If they robbed all the high-ranking officials inside the Ministry of Magic, wouldn't they become wealthy beyond imagination?

Why the hell would they still need to be dark wizards then?

Just as Lester's prisoner army was brimming with morale and preparing to take the Ministry of Magic in one stroke, a gilded fireplace in the entrance hall suddenly flared brightly.

Clearly, someone was using the fireplace to travel into the Ministry of Magic.

For an instant, the air in the entrance hall froze. Every wizard—whether the prisoners who had just made a fortune, the helpless Pure-bloods, or the Muggle-born wizards who had not been robbed and had merely been frightened—focused their eyes on that fireplace.

They could hardly be blamed. This person's timing was simply too perfect.

The robbery had just ended, the robbers were preparing to leave, and then this unlucky fellow had carelessly traveled in. He was truly unfortunate.

If he was a poor Muggle-born wizard, it would be fine. Seeing that there was little money to be had, these deranged prisoners would pretend not to notice him and let him go. But if he happened to be a noble aristocrat, then he would be in trouble.

Quite a few Pure-bloods who had been robbed down to their underwear now wore gloating expressions, eager to see who this unlucky person was.

As for the prisoners who had just made a small fortune and still did not feel satisfied, they were like starving wolves that had gone hungry for days. Their eyes gleamed with a terrifying green light as they stared fixedly at the flickering flames.

At last, under everyone's expectant gazes, a golden cane emerged from the fireplace first.

Gorgeous patterns covered the cane's shaft, and a precious ruby as large as a pigeon egg was firmly set into it.

The instant that magnificent cane appeared, every wizard in the entrance hall unconsciously held their breath.

Upon seeing the extravagant cane, the prisoners' greedy eyes nearly popped out of their sockets with excitement.

A moment later, an arrogant blond man slowly stepped out of the fireplace.

The man first dusted off nonexistent grime from his clothes with great disdain, muttering that he ought to donate ten thousand Galleons to the Ministry of Magic in exchange for the privilege of entering it directly.

Suddenly, the arrogant man sensed that the atmosphere in the entrance hall was strangely off.

"Are you... conducting some sort of drill?"

Lucius looked at the hundreds of wands casually discarded across the floor, as well as the many elaborately dressed wizards lying on the ground with lifeless expressions and their faces turned toward the ceiling.

Then he saw the several corpses by the wall, tortured beyond recognition, and felt as though he had come to the wrong place.

The Ministry of Magic entrance hall in his memory should have been dazzlingly lit and magnificently luxurious.

Why did it now look so much like a disaster site after a terrifying attack by dark wizards?

Looking again at the dark wizards who were constantly sizing him up with greedy eyes, Lucius only wanted to leave this hellhole immediately.

"Gulp!"

Instinctively swallowing, Lucius, who had already realized something was wrong, turned to head back into the fireplace.

However, before Lucius could turn around, the prisoners, who had long since lost all patience, surged forward.

They barely even used spells before knocking Lucius to the ground.

They did not refrain from using spells because they had suddenly found their consciences, but because Lucius was dressed far too richly.

That cane alone was worth ten thousand Galleons. If one of them used the Killing Curse and accidentally damaged something valuable, the other prisoners would probably kill him.

So, they chose the most primitive method and simply robbed him with their own hands.

Already scared out of his wits, Lucius was instantly thrown to the ground by the frenzied prisoners.

He had barely let out a pained groan before he felt countless hands frantically groping over his body.

"Ah! Rob me if you want, but why are you touching my ass?!"

Lucius glared furiously at the lecherous old man mixed into the crowd, who wore a filthy grin while pawing at his body.

If the prisoners wanted to rob him of money, then so be it.

After all, the Malfoy family had plenty of money. He could treat it as paying to avert disaster.

But chastity was something he only had one of. If those perverted prisoners took it from him...

At the thought, Lucius shuddered instinctively.

Several minutes later, Lucius, who had originally been impeccably dressed, had been stripped completely clean by the greedy prisoners.

His snow-white skin was exposed directly to the air. Only a pair of underwear bearing the Malfoy family crest remained intact on his body.

At that moment, Lucius lay on the floor in utter despair, staring blankly at the golden ceiling of the entrance hall. Clearly, he had been completely broken.

After a long while, tears streaming down his face, Lucius slowly said, "Perhaps I came at the wrong time."