Chapter 307 Mr. Riddle's Applause
The memory made Maggie clear-headed. When she saw Draco sitting next to Della on the sofa on the boat, she was still happy in her heart, but that did not affect her policy of driving Draco away.
"It's half past ten, you should go home, Draco," Maggie sat down on the sofa on the left of the two of them, her eyes following Malfoy who was uncomfortable with his presence, and then she gave an irrefutable reason, "You don't want Della to be talked about because you go home too late or even don't come home all night."
"..." Della, who was accustomed to refutation on matters concerning Draco, looked at Maggie and had to admit that Maggie found the right strategy to drive Draco away at the right time.
"Yes, yes!" Draco blushed, stood up immediately, and bowed to Maggie embarrassedly to apologize, "I'll leave now, Mr. Riddle!"
"Why are you so afraid of me? In the eyes of others, they would think I'm a vicious person," Maggie said with a hint of grievance, and then waved her hand, "Let's go, someone will take you back. I don't want others to blame me if you get hurt on the road."
Draco's face turned even redder, perhaps out of shame or annoyance. He felt that Maggie was actually humiliating him, but he couldn't grasp what Maggie was saying, nor could he organize any good words to refute her.
It was Della's farewell hug that gave him some comfort. When his girlfriend's warmth enveloped him, Draco regretted that although he and Della had kissed today, they did not kiss under the mistletoe.
Couples who kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas will get married and stay together forever, and the meaning of this kiss is different.
But who would have thought that there wouldn't be a single mistletoe hanging on Durmstrang's wrecked ship on Christmas!
Draco walked out angrily under the guidance of the young wizard, feeling sorry for the imperfect end of Christmas. Just as he was immersed in this bad mood, a sudden cold wind blew past his ears, and it seemed that a dark shadow flashed by. Draco turned his head subconsciously, but saw nothing except the wooden boat.
He felt terrified and urged the person leading the group to move forward quickly.
Inside the warm and comfortable Durmstrang wooden boat, the meeting organized by Maggie on the spur of the moment also began.
Because it is a temporary organization, Maggie relaxed the conditions. If you really cannot come in person and have a confidant or successor nearby, you can use an agent to come and just prepare a two-way mirror. If you don't even have an agent, you can just use a two-way mirror.
Maggie always tells her subordinates what she means. As long as they do their job well under him, they will have great prospects. Once he says so, he will not have any problem with anyone if they don't show up in person. However, the long table is still full, and most of them are young faces.
Being an agent was a good opportunity to bring the younger generation of the family to Riddle, and that group of people used various methods to help their children seize this opportunity.
Therefore, Maggie, who was wearing a silver mask, sat at the head of the long conference table and looked at this group of young people in their twenties and thirties. He raised his eyebrows but did not say much. He raised his hand and was ready to clap to let Leah in.
"Mr. Abate hasn't entered the meeting room yet," a young man sitting near Maggie whispered to him, "He entered the boat with me."
"Edward Abate?" After getting a nod from the other party, Maggie waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about him. He told me that he was going to see his daughter."
The meticulous face of the middle-aged wizard from Country D in the mirror held by the young man showed a subtle "as expected" expression. He had been dealing with old Abate, also known as Edward Abate, for a long time. Their family had an industry that supplied raw materials to the Abate family. In the past, the name Edward Abate was well-known because he was a mama's boy, a sister-con, a love-brained man and a daughter-slave at different stages.
But his life was really tragic. His widowed mother who raised her children alone was killed by the flu. His teenage sister joined the Witch Party and died in an event. The love of a poor man whom he finally met in middle age died during childbirth. His beloved daughter became involved with the Dark Lord and was exiled from Country Y.
"Okay, everyone, you've been waiting for a long time," Maggie clapped her hands. Leah, who was dressed in a black robe, walked in. The rose on her chest had disappeared. "Let's get down to business. Let's have a relaxed meet-and-greet."
Leah walked to Maggie, who was in the center of her sight, and was about to introduce herself when Della's recognizable cold and crisp voice came over, "Am I late?"
"Just in time, I haven't missed a word yet," Maggie said with a smile on his face. He beckoned Della over, "Shall I make room for you?"
The two young men sitting next to him immediately tensed up their muscles and were about to stand up as if there were thorns under their buttocks, but Della's savior-like voice liberated them the next moment, "No, you don't have to. I just came to see Leah and listen to the current situation and future plans."
As Della spoke, she walked towards the chair next to the conference table. The black skirt, red roses and elegant purple chair matched each other. She adjusted her skirt and sat down, like a lord inspecting the land.
The young people at the scene looked at Della and Maggie, feeling excited. They actually met the two most important people at once. The older generation who had the opportunity to participate in some interviews or silver letter meetings at the scene or in the mirror narrowed their eyes and thought secretly.
Della Riddle seldom convened meetings except for the Christmas ball on the wooden boat before Durmstrang entered school. After Maggie Riddle appeared out of nowhere, everything was under his control. This was the first time that the brother and sister appeared at the meeting at the same time after it was confirmed that the Dark Lord had two bloodlines.
It seems that the person introduced this time is a rare person who is favored by the two Riddles.
Most of the eyes gradually fell on Leah. Leah felt this change and smiled wickedly, "Meet Leah Smith. I am currently Mr. Riddle's exclusive bodyguard. We should have many opportunities to meet in the future."
Exclusive bodyguard, close aides, new eyes and ears.
The smart people present realized that Leah was the new watchdog, the Rochelle chosen by Riddle after he came to Country Y, and one of the people they would contact when they wanted to do things for them in the future.
After a brief silence, the people on the scene began to show themselves through small talk, hoping that Maggie or Della would remember them, and also wanting to leave a good impression on Leah.
It was just as boring as she remembered. Della, who had unknowingly become accustomed to being in a high position, thought so and let out a breath of impatience. Her face was facing the conference table, as if she was observing silently, but she was just staring at the red rose on Maggie's chest.
However, in order to save Leah's face, Della endured the boredom and stayed. The first impression was very important, and she didn't want her little behavior now to be interpreted by a fool in the future as a pretext to set up Leah.
In this way, the meeting and work report continued in an orderly manner. After the process was completed, Maggie chatted with the young people in a friendly manner for a while before asking them to leave the meeting room.
The young men, who had no superiors or elders to look after them, suddenly got out of the high-pressure environment and felt light-hearted as if they had survived a calamity. Their minds were wandering and their mouths were a little careless. Two of the young men began to talk to each other in low voices.
"Why is it a new face? I thought it was the son-in-law's family."
"Me too. According to the news sent back, little Malfoy is very close to Miss Riddle."
"And the only people from Country Y who came were the Abate family. These are Mr. Riddle's people."
"Haven't you heard the news yet? Tonight Miss Riddle and little Nott..."
"But no one from the Nott family has come. Wouldn't the locals be faster than us? I'm almost dying from the rush."
"Didn't you hear Miss Riddle say that this is Mr. Riddle's meeting? All the people here tonight should be Mr. Riddle's people."
"Merlin, this is really a headache. Who knows who is the top or second in command? I'm really afraid that I'll be left on the bench in the future." One of them sighed, and then the cold wind of the winter night blew, freezing them. Their brains also cleared up in the cold wind, and the two looked at each other and shut their mouths tacitly.
At the same time, Della leaned on Leah who was brought back to the room and sighed, "I'm so tired today, Leah."
"I thought you would share this with me first," Leah adjusted Della's shoulders and arms, trying to make the girl feel more comfortable. With her other hand, she gently grasped Della's left hand with a silver ring, "It's not been long since we last met, and you're already taken."
"......" Della looked at the silver light on her hand and felt that she should smile at this moment. However, next to Leah, who rarely allowed her to express her true emotions, she finally didn't force a smile, and the sigh in her words became heavier. "This is a symbol of responsibility and a new stage. I'm still adapting. I'll talk to you later."
"I agree that the new stage is too much responsibility. What's the word?" Leah raised her eyes, hissing, racking her brains to recall the wise words that Elsa, a top student next to her, had said to her. "The cost of falling into the water seems to be this..."
"Sunk cost." Della understood and said it for Leah, who immediately got a big nod from her.
"Yes, sunk cost! You really don't need to put too much pressure on yourself because of a relationship now," Leah smoothed Della's soft long hair, "You still have a long life to live, and you will have many choices. Sometimes you have to try new things. It's a pity to rely on the old to plan for the future."
Yes, it would be a pity to plan for the future based solely on the old.
It was rare for Maggie to have the same ideas as the less educated Leah. He sat at the desk in the bedroom, with the finely crafted silver mask placed aside. The empty eye sockets of the silver mask faced his handsome face, and a letter unfolded between his slender fingers.
'Dear Mr. Riddle'
"I heard that a meeting was held today. Many colleagues will go to Hogwarts with the newspaper's pass. I really envy them for having the good fortune to communicate with you face to face. At present, the Malfoy family has contacted some people from the Ministry of Magic according to your instructions, and the progress is satisfactory."
"I know that the duties you have assigned to me do not allow me to be by your side in a high-profile manner, but I am very eager to meet you. Perhaps the Malfoys can first participate in one or two secret internal meetings? Cooperation with colleagues will also make it easier for the Malfoys to do things for you..."
Why didn't Della receive Lucius's letter?
After the Quidditch World Cup, Maggie had been patiently replying to the letters from Lucius that he had thrown into the trash can. Under the pie of flattery created by his sweet words and elegant writing, Lucius thought he had become the most trusted person around Mr. Riddle.
Della's decentralization gradually changed her understanding of the Riddle force from a white box to a gray box. Some orders given by Maggie that she did not pay attention to changed the internal operations of the force and also falsified the final output results.
"Dear Lucius," Maggie wrote, "I understand your feelings, and I also look forward to the future when you stand by my side closely, but please be patient. Do you remember the grand future we talked about? You are now doing the most important struggle for such a future. Believe me, as long as you calm down and do it, the Malfoy family will be the biggest contributor..."
Before properly handling Della's love relationship, the Malfoy family cannot have anything to do with Della in terms of interests, otherwise it will be even more difficult to break off the relationship.
As the quill scratched across the parchment, Maggie narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to understand the meaning of feelings and responsibilities from Della's perspective.