"Cromwell? That...the Lord Protector who executed the Muggle king?"

Dumbledore frowned, saying softly with some shock.

Not having deeply studied non-magical history, he only had a vague, general impression: about three hundred years ago, a man named Cromwell forced the British king to abdicate, dissolved Parliament, and was eventually executed for "treason"—the first and only monarch in history to be executed for "treason."

"No wonder, Nicolas, the victory of the people? That certainly fits your identity."

Under the influence of dazzling magical power, it's easy to overlook another of Dumbledore's remarkable talents.

Aside from Newt Scamander, it would be hard to find a second wizard in the magical world who could be compared to Albus Dumbledore in the fields of language and writing. If reasoning backward from the conclusion, he could easily make associations based on the name.

Nicolas (nikolaos) originates from ancient Greek.

It is actually a phrase: νikη (niko), λαo? (laos), symbolizing the people and victory, respectively.

In fact, the name was not so common in the British region during the Middle Ages.

"Uh, not that one—"

Eileen scratched her cheek and glanced at "Sir Nicholas," who also looked shocked.

Ghosts do not deliberately try to understand historical changes after death. As far as Eileen knew, ghosts usually choose to separate themselves from their past relatives and social circles to avoid affecting the normal lives of the living too much.

Obviously, a certain staunch "Royalist" did not know the great achievements of his descendants.

"It was Oliver Cromwell who executed Charles I, and Mr. Nick, I mean Richard, the nephew of Thomas Cromwell, happened to be Oliver Cromwell's great-grandfather—uh, I might have forgotten to mention that before—"

Eileen glanced at Nick, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, and quickly added.

"It's also a kind of karma, I guess. Charles I died in the same way that Henry VIII executed you."

"...Miss Kaslana, you've investigated thoroughly."

Nearly Headless Nick took a deep look at Eileen and said softly with a profound expression.

"Those materials and wills should be scattered in various corners. I'm curious how you collected them all?"

"That's what I've been wondering, too."

Dumbledore shrugged, smiling thoughtfully.

"Miss Kaslana, can your divination abilities see into the past?"

"Not exactly, this is another ability of mine—"

Eileen blinked her eyes quite adorably, snapped her fingers, and said softly with a smug look.

"Money. Or rather...the power of capital."

She walked to the cooking table and placed 《Hogwarts Ghosts》, 《The Tudor Dynasty》, 《Studies in English Puritanism》, 《Cromwell Property Change Records》, 《Gringotts Dormant Account Inquiry and Reply》...one by one on the table.

"Recently, Tianming sponsored the English Premier League and became the first shareholder in this emerging sport—as a kind businessman stimulating employment and saving the Great Depression, the government is happy to fulfill some of our simple requirements. As for Gringotts, these records are permanently kept anyway. Never underestimate the goblins' obsession in this regard."

"As I once said, wherever mortals go, there must be traces..."

Eileen glanced at "Sir Nicholas," who was deep in thought, and said sweetly.

"However, you don't have to worry, all these materials are now in my hands—the loopholes you inadvertently left before can all be patched up now—of course, before that, maybe you should briefly introduce that period of history..."

"Has the power of capital become so strong in this era?"

Nearly Headless Nick pondered for a moment, sighing softly with a complex mood.

Strictly speaking, the capitalization of the modern world is still built on his reforms and legislation back then.

"I understand, then I'll simply say a few things—things that are written in books, or not written."

Then, he began to tell them about the past as it was.

Nick spoke for about a quarter of an hour, and everyone listened attentively, the kitchen silent.

He talked about how the struggle between the non-magical world and the magical world continued in his time, and how he painstakingly persuaded Henry VIII to use non-magical rules to successfully expel the influence of the Roman Curia;

He also talked about the ideological dispute between him and the former Queen Anne, and how to end the conflict more gently;

He even talked about how, when he chose to establish a parliament, reshape the legal system, and let the non-magical world control its own future, the magical world and the Curia joined forces for a final revenge...

"Very admirable," Professor Dumbledore said, clapping gently as he paused, "persisting in what you believe is right in front of your friends and camp—I have to say, you are a Gryffindor through and through—but there's one thing I don't understand, why are these respectable stories buried, Sir Nicholas?"

Nick took a deep look at Nicolas Flamel, took a breath, and continued.

He told Dumbledore that this was the final result of all the top wizards discussing at the time. They couldn't let future generations think that wizards had the ability to interfere with and control the vast Muggle kingdom—this would inevitably corrupt rapidly at some point in the future.

There could be no more wars between the magical world and the non-magical world, between wizards and Muggles.

In the two hundred years before Nick was born, the human world experienced the most tragic and heaviest secret war.

Countless wizarding families lost their children, and hundreds of millions of innocent Muggles also died in the subsequent revenge. Hatred was like a rotating mire, devouring countless lives...

It was not until the appearance of the Philosopher's Stone that this meaningless struggle was barely ended.

"The Philosopher's Stone?" Dumbledore frowned, looking at Nicolas Flamel inquiringly.

"I'm not the only one in this world who possesses the Philosopher's Stone..."

Nicolas Flamel shifted his gaze uncomfortably, staring blankly at the 【Magician】 card in his hand.

"Unlike some young people, I chose to escape in the first place—the only comforting thing is that the 'devilish' gift of the Philosopher's Stone played a crucial role at that special time. And when things are about to settle down, we have to hurry up and hide it first: that gem is too attractive to everyone."

Eileen's eyes flickered.

Sure enough, I didn't expect to have an extra harvest today!

Since learning about Paracelsus's experience, she had been wondering about the reason for the magical disappearance of the Black Death.

From the current situation, it was indeed the power from the Philosopher's Stone.

As a famous "plague doctor" in the Middle Ages and the founder of healing spells, Paracelsus's reputation in the field of healers was much greater than in alchemy.

That's why Eileen didn't gather everyone for the "new member" joining interview.

If Grindelwald could still get away with it before, then he wouldn't be able to act anymore in the face of this kind of memory segment.

At the same time, Nick's voice became hesitant.

He had been avoiding mentioning the present and the future—mentioning Miss Kaslana.

At this moment, the little witch who had found all the truth was standing there, listening to his story with great interest, as if she were a patient judge listening to the lawyers' statements, and waiting for him to finally give a conclusion.

If he refused at this time, maybe he could still return everything to its original trajectory?

Nick thought seriously.

His era was over... How could he be sure that the world integration node that people were looking forward to would really be opened in the hands of this little witch? Dumbledore didn't manage to do it more than fifty years ago either.

Nick subconsciously turned his gaze to Dumbledore.

The headmaster of Hogwarts just smiled faintly, and the firelight flashed quickly on his half-moon spectacles.

"What I'm most interested in now is," Dumbledore said gently, "what reason did Miss Kaslana use to persuade you to give up your original plan, and what field did you later get involved in? As far as I know, this doesn't seem to be in the plan, does it?"

Dumbledore's gaze shot down from his long hooked nose and fell on Eileen's face.

This kind of sudden attack was not the first time Dumbledore had encountered it.

According to Dumbledore's understanding of Eileen Kaslana, the methods that this white-haired furball was best at were mostly the old tricks that dark lords liked most: coercion, enticement... or, directly deceiving...

"Well, you're right, I threatened Mr. Nick."

Facing Dumbledore's oppressive gaze, Eileen admitted frankly.

"If he's willing to help me solve the problem, then starting tomorrow, 'Nearly Headless Nick' will be dead—and replaced by the reappearing Thomas Cromwell, or rather, the Earl of Essex. Gringotts will issue a statement announcing the discovery of a sealed property to be transferred, and any wizard who provides relevant clues will be rewarded..."

"Of course, before that, I believe the ghosts will also get new news."

Eileen's mouth raised, and the little ahoge on her head swayed arrogantly from side to side, and she said softly casually.

"Tsk tsk tsk—in order to hide the name, not hesitating to set up a layout for hundreds of years, just to cover up the wizard's former victory, I wonder how many people will be surprised by this story? And how many ancient magical families will speak out because of this?"

"...I don't understand, Miss Kaslana, is it really necessary to do this?"

Dumbledore sighed softly, rubbing his brow wearily.

As time went by, Dumbledore had long ceased to treat this little witch as an ordinary student: when they began to talk about things based on the o5 Council, she was the "Miss Fool" in the most central position.

"Unprecedented power is gathering around you, a powerful force I have never seen before—it is even enough to subvert the Ministry of Magic in an instant, achieving the ambition that Voldemort spent decades unable to achieve. Even so, you are still constantly accumulating more top wizards, using various unsettling and unexpected methods..."

"The pinnacle duel of the last wizarding war, 1945, Professor, you against the dark lord Grindelwald."

Eileen twirled her silver hair with her fingers, and said calmly.

"In the end, you successfully defeated the dark lord and, using imprisoning him for life as a bargaining chip, exchanged for some concessions from the magical society—and more than forty years later in Salzburg, I personally saw the black veil falling again, countless old people gathered into an ocean, a city turned into 'Grindelwald'—I will never forget that scene."

"At that moment, I thought, if one day I become the person driving the world, I must do everything I can to defeat everyone."

"Now the opportunity for a new world is before our eyes, I must consider whether this is the only opportunity in this life for me, and even the entire magical world."

"I believe that magical civilization and human civilization have achieved the glory they have today, you, Grindelwald, Mr. Nick, Mr. Flamel... countless pioneers have made indelible contributions."

"To recast the glory of magical civilization and usher in a new era is our inescapable duty."

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Yay!