The great Dark Lord had returned!
Hearing this news, and hearing Grindelwald confirm it with his own words, Francis immediately clenched his fists in excitement.
He had imagined this day countless times over the years. He had thought about this very moment through endless nights. Now that it had finally arrived, the initial surge of excitement suddenly left him feeling strangely lost.
Damn it. How could he hesitate at his lord's return?
He raised his head with a trace of guilt, only to notice that the expressions of the others around him were even stranger. Their smiles were not as bright as he had expected. Instead, many of them were frowning, looking down at the floor as if they had something to say but could not bring themselves to speak.
It was as though the checkered tiles beneath their feet were the coffins of these old men.
"What kind of expressions are those? Isn't our lord's return something worth celebrating?!"
Francis demanded loudly, clearly dissatisfied, as if venting the cowardice he had felt during his own moment of hesitation.
Looking at their conflicted expressions, Grindelwald understood their thoughts perfectly.
First, he had already failed once. He had no persuasive proof that he could defeat Dumbledore.
Second was their age. Even the youngest among them was already over seventy.
In the wizarding world, that was not exactly the edge of death. But it was obvious they did not have another fifty years to gamble away.
Put together, these two facts created an unbearable risk. If Grindelwald failed again, they would not only lose the rest of their lives, but also watch the achievements of the past fifty years turn to ashes.
Even the boldest gambler would hesitate before placing such a wager.
As for their faith in him... fifty years had passed. Aside from a few unwavering believers, Grindelwald found it perfectly normal that the others might harbor some private doubts.
If they had none at all, he would have been suspicious of their motives.
And that was precisely why he had chosen to come personally and gather them here.
"Don't be like that, Francis."
Grindelwald showed an understanding smile, which only made the Saints feel even more ashamed.
"You have all built families now. You have close friends and relatives, and children who will inherit the responsibilities of your families."
"You cannot, and should not, be forced to suffer the pain of losing all of that."
His gaze shifted slightly toward Francis's grandson.
The gesture struck directly at the softest place in the once utterly loyal follower's heart.
Francis's face flushed red. His eyes struggled for a moment before he suddenly raised his head.
"As long as we do better this time. If we make everything more perfect, then we will definitely…"
"I lost, Francis."
Grindelwald spoke calmly.
"Fifty years ago, at the height of my power, I lost to Dumbledore."
He spoke with complete composure, as though he were discussing the pleasant weather outside rather than his own defeat.
Grindelwald understood something very clearly.
His defeat in the past was a well-known and established fact. Even if he pretended it never happened and refused to mention it again, it would not erase that failure.
So he had to acknowledge it. And he should acknowledge it.
"I... my lord... please don't say that..." Francis and the other Saints were visibly shaken.
This was the first time they had ever seen this proud Dark Lord openly admit his own defeat.
No excuses.
No hesitation.
Just a straightforward admission.
Yet Grindelwald's calm expression unexpectedly made them feel a sense of relief.
A Dark Lord who could admit defeat must have learned from it. Surely this time he would not repeat the same mistakes?
No.
That thought was wrong.
There would be no second chance.
They quickly reminded themselves of that fact.
Grindelwald instantly noticed this slight crack in their resolve.
This was his greatest strength.
"There is nothing I cannot say."
"Ever since I left Nurmengard, I have been thinking about one question."
"Why did I lose to Dumbledore?"
"Was it because I was too weak?"
"Because the power I built was too fragile?"
"Because I failed to deal with that boy Newt in time?"
"Or... because there is a flaw in my ideology?"
His gaze lingered over the group of elderly faces before him, filled with shock and unease.
"How could that be?!" Francis immediately protested.
"Isn't the current development of Muggle society proof that your ideas were correct?"
This time, the others truly agreed with him.
Muggle society had developed far too quickly.
Every time they briefly stepped away from the wizarding world and experienced life among Muggles, they were struck by the same realization.
If wizards continued isolating themselves under the Statute of Secrecy, sooner or later they would be left far behind.
"You are right about that."
"But there are some things I never told you."
"I often said that Muggles should remain in their proper place, just like wizards."
"But in truth, I never had much patience to understand Muggles. And I never stopped certain wizards from persecuting them."
"Deep down, I once believed that Muggles should serve wizards. Like a hierarchy of classes. They should remain at the bottom of society, passively accepting the existence of wizards!"
He suddenly raised his voice.
The Saints were startled.
Grindelwald was quite satisfied with their reaction.
Because this was the truth.
Unlike Tver, Grindelwald's original motivation had always come from two things: the persecution wizards once suffered at the hands of Muggles, and the humiliation of living in hiding.
He wanted to overthrow the Statute of Secrecy for that reason.
But to gather more followers, he spoke differently to different audiences.
To those who simply wanted to break the Statute of Secrecy and allow wizards and Muggles to live openly together, he only emphasized the positive side.
But to the Dark Wizards who hated Muggles, he neither encouraged nor stopped them from harming them.
In fact, in his heart he had always looked down on Muggles as insects.
He would not have hesitated to sacrifice the lives of an entire Muggle city if it served his purpose.
But the wizards who had harmed Muggles and witnessed Grindelwald's indifference toward their lives had long ago been eliminated by Dumbledore and the various Ministries of Magic.
The people present here were different.
Most of them were moderates who simply wanted to overturn the Statute of Secrecy and hoped that wizards and Muggles could coexist.
So when they heard this extreme side of Grindelwald's beliefs, their expressions shifted repeatedly.
Especially those who had Muggles in their families.
Their faces turned grim.
If not for their respect for Grindelwald, and the fact that they had never personally witnessed such things and still clung to a faint illusion about him, some of them might have turned around and left on the spot.
Or even reported him immediately.