The Wizard Sage Party Fell Short of Expectations, and the First Lesson Could Not Be Missed

In fact, the topic they are discussing right now could be said to concern the very survival of the Malfoy family.

So Lucius quickly came to his senses:

"Oh, sorry, I just suddenly thought of something else."

"It's nothing, it must be something important, right?"

Although Lucius was just lost in thought, he was very... focused.

Manus reviewed what Lucius had just said, though he still found it somewhat forced.

For example, the Malfoy family clearly had no connection with him, so why would Abraxas be so optimistic about him for no apparent reason?

Regardless of one's judgment, choosing Manus requires first recognizing him as an option. Under normal circumstances, given his current status and that of the Wizard Sage Party, he is unlikely to be considered an option in the Malfoy family's future plans.

For example, in matters concerning the future development of the family, are such reasons sufficient and not too hasty...?

However, these are all minor details, within the scope of Wizard's intuitive understanding. Since Lucius has answered each point truthfully, Manus can refrain from pursuing the matter further.

That leaves only one last thing.

Joining the Wizard Sage Party is actually quite simple; all you need to do is pass the ability test.

Manus took out two rolls of parchment and placed them on the table:

"However, what you hope to gain from the Wizard Sage Party, besides knowledge, will likely disappoint you."

Meeting their puzzled gazes, Manus rested his hands on his chin:

"The rules of the Wizard Sage Party are not listed in the confidential documents, so I can assume you have already learned of their contents through your own channels. And in these rules, the Wizard Sage Party has never promised to provide any form of protection to its members— the Wizard Sage Party is merely an academic exchange organization, or rather, a platform."

Manus understood that Lucius might be mistaken because the Wizard Sage Party did indeed provide protection to its members within Hogwarts. This was also the main reason why many people at Hogwarts joined the Wizard Sage Party.

But that was actually an unspoken rule, a deliberate avoidance by Death Eater Prospect within Hogwarts who had already been thwarted once by Manus.

Manus himself, or the entire Wizard Sage Party, never actually stood up for any member of the Wizard Sage Party and went to cause trouble for those Slytherin house Death Eater Prospect. Not even once, directly or indirectly.

No one capable of representing Wizard Sage Party has ever made a commitment on behalf of Wizard Sage Party, nor has anyone offered to guarantee it.

"The fact that the Wizard Sage Party actually protects its members stems from the fear that the Slytherin house Death Eater Prospect have of me, not from the fact that the Wizard Sage Party would actually provide them with protection."

Manus shook his head at Lucius, who was gradually realizing something:

Do you think the You-Know-Who is afraid of me?

Manus then added:

"As for their stance, although the Wizard Sage Party and the Death Eaters are not on the same side, the Wizard Sage Party has no plans to actively oppose the Death Eaters, neither now nor in the future."

Not to mention that everyone joined this organization with the intention of avoiding war, there is no war in this world that can be initiated in a way that is morally just.

As for Voldemort taking action against the Wizard Sage Party on his own initiative, and the Wizard Sage Party retaliating, that's another matter entirely.

Narcissa looked at Lucius somewhat helplessly, only to see Lucius tighten his grip on her hand after a moment's thought, then smile at Manus and say:

"No problem, we still choose to join... What we said before shouldn't affect our current decision, right?"

"Of course not, but you still need to do the problems."

"That's natural."

As former Slytherin Prefects and student leaders, Lucius and Narcissa are also academically gifted, and their family tradition allows them to acquire knowledge beyond the Hogwarts library.

With the coffee and cake almost gone, the two easily achieved the score required to pass the test.

After that, Lucius and Narcissa didn't rush to leave. Instead, they discussed with Manus the questions on the exam they didn't know, and after signing their names, they familiarized themselves with the functions of joining the Wizard Sage Party.

Of course, between the two, the first lesson for joining the Wizard Sage Party is still indispensable: the warning not to sign Magical Contracts casually.

Even with Lucius and Narcissa's excellent control over their expressions, they couldn't help but frown after what happened. However, they had to admit that this lesson was indeed very important, and they could only comfort themselves that nothing serious had actually occurred.

Regardless, the lesson was as effective as ever.

After Manus left, Narcissa looked at Lucius with some confusion. Although she didn't say anything, Lucius knew what she wanted to say.

They definitely wanted to ask him why he still chose to join the Wizard Sage Party after Manus stated that the Wizard Sage Party would not provide them with protection or be hostile to Voldemort.

"Manus's expectations for Wizard Sage Party are indeed somewhat... beyond our expectations."

Lucius carefully chose his words. Although he had been half-forced by Manus to speak frankly for a while, using more ambiguous, or rather, defensive, wording had become an instinct ingrained in his bones.

According to Lucius and Abraxas's plan, Manus's Wizard Sage Party should be like the nascent Death Eaters that Voldemort formed during his student days, the core of his future followers.

The organization's reasons for being established are quite good, and it can openly recruit capable Wizards, and even use this to monopolize high-end knowledge, technology, and related talent.

Without a doubt, this path is very promising and visibly profitable.

But Lucius hadn't expected that Manus really only wanted to build an academic platform.

The King Family is certainly not short of money, but doesn't Manus have any further ambitions? Who would complain about having too much money?

Not to mention that if this organization were to develop, it would only bring substantial benefits to opportunists like him who joined halfway through, while for Manus, the founder, it would bring far more than just Galleons.

Especially given the current situation in the Wizarding World, Voldemort has torn a deep, unhealable hole in the Ministry of Magic's dominance, while Dumbledore, who is capable of confronting Voldemort, is trapped in the name of justice.

Lucius knew very well that Dumbledore's followers would not support him all the way until he turned around and overthrew the Ministry of Magic's rule; at least most of them wouldn't, unless he ran for Minister for Magic.