"No, not the Church." Douglas shook his head.
Douglas turned around, his gaze sweeping over Marco.
"Someone wanted me to come to Italy."
"More precisely, they wanted an interesting little story to unfold here between me and the Church."
"And your Ashen Claw Tribe just happened to be caught up in it... perhaps you don't even count as pawns."
Marco breathed heavily.
"A werewolf tribe, repeatedly persecuted by the Church and left with nowhere to turn, appealed for help to me, a United Kingdom Wizard who improved the Wolfsbane Potion."
"I came and helped you, which would naturally put me in conflict with the Church's Adam Project."
"When that happened, whether I suffered a setback in the conflict or the Church lost face because of my intervention, either outcome would give the person behind the scenes a useful bargaining chip."
Douglas's words were like a cold front from Siberia, instantly piercing the flickering firelight in the cave and burrowing into Marco's bones.
The composure as a leader that he took such pride in cracked inch by inch before this cruel truth. Marco forced himself to calm down, his mind racing. A terrifying thought surfaced in his heart. "Was it... someone inside the Ministry of Magic?"
"Your guess is very close to the truth." Douglas's gaze deepened a little. "Or rather, this is precisely the truth Lorenzo wants me to see."
"Lorenzo Dino, my old friend, may sincerely hope I can help you, but he also hopes to use me to stir up Italy's stagnant waters, particularly to cause a certain amount of trouble for his immediate superior and the Church."
"An uncontrollable Hogwarts professor running rampant on their turf would leave certain people tearing their hair out, regardless of the outcome..."
"Stirring up Italy's murky waters and giving certain people