A fleeting, almost imperceptible trace of satisfaction flickered in Grindelwald's eyes, yet his face showed only regret and remorse for the past.
"So, I failed… because of my own mistakes, because of my contempt for muggles. The me of the past failed completely."
"In Nurmengard, I spent a full fifty years thinking about why I failed. At first, I couldn't figure it out at all… until ten years ago, when my student, Tver Fawley, appeared."
"You have a student?" Francis's eyes widened in astonishment.
No matter how deep the Dark Lord's thoughts ran, and even though he had just revealed a clear contradiction between his words and actions, in the eyes of the Saints, Grindelwald's pride in his own talent had always been unmistakable.
And yet now, he actually had a student he was willing to teach?!
"That's right!" A clear look of pride appeared on Grindelwald's face.
Even he couldn't help but feel proud to have a student as extraordinarily gifted as Tver!
"Tver's magical talent surpasses even mine. After just ten years of study, his strength is already enough to stand against Dumbledore!"
"More importantly," he spread his arms slightly, as if to contain the pride within him, "he used his ideas to successfully persuade Dumbledore!"
"He showed Dumbledore, along with countless other wizards, the threat posed by muggle technology. And he does not see muggles as our enemies!"
"He led our former enemies, the wizards of the Wizarding Congress, to think together about how to deal with muggles!"
"And even how to overturn The Statute of Secrecy!"
"You mean Tver Fawley, the one who spoke at the Wizarding Congress assembly last summer?" Luc, standing at the edge, asked uncertainly.
"That's right." Grindelwald glanced at him in mild surprise. "You've seen Tver's speech at the Wizarding Congress as well?"
The Wizarding Congress had always been their natural enemy, so the Saints rarely paid attention to anything related to it.
After a moment's hesitation, Luc slowly raised his head under everyone's gaze.
"Yes… because it was the first time the Wizarding Congress had presented something like that. Out of curiosity, I… took a brief look."
He wasn't telling the whole truth. If he weren't usually so easily nervous, that small inconsistency would have been noticed immediately.
In reality, the moment he heard about Tver's speech at the assembly, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and immediately sought out the full version.
Having been influenced by Grindelwald's ideology, he instantly realized that Tver hadn't told the whole truth.
A young man confident enough to speak at such an assembly couldn't possibly lack a corresponding plan.
What Luc, along with many others like him, truly wanted to know was what kind of solution Tver, who had seen through the crisis facing the wizarding world, actually had in mind.
Unfortunately, too many people were trying to contact Tver, and the letters that reached him were almost exclusively from those within the Wizarding Congress.
But now, Grindelwald, as Tver's teacher, quickly made up for this small regret of Luc's.
"Yes. After Tver's speech, the wizards of the Wizarding Congress, for the first time, began to reflect on how outdated and ill-suited The Statute of Secrecy truly is!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you, Tver has no desire to harm muggles. In fact, he doesn't want to see anyone harmed at all."
"In his view, muggles and wizards are complementary equals. Together, we can share in the conveniences brought by both technology and magic!"
"Wizards and muggles are equal. We should not harm one another…"
"What if he's deceiving everyone, just like you did?!"
An elderly wizard stepped forward, unable to contain his indignation, instantly reminding everyone of Grindelwald's earlier confession.
"I asked Tver myself: with such powerful magic and such brilliant ideas, I'm certain Dumbledore wouldn't have minded grooming him as a successor. So why did he still choose someone like me, someone with a stained past, as his teacher?"
"He answered me with complete confidence: it doesn't matter who his teacher is, and my past doesn't matter either."
"Because for the wizarding world, what matters has never been what a person says, but what they do!"
"Those words struck me deeply!"
"I once spoke with dazzling eloquence, persuading wave after wave of wizards. Yet in the end, they still left me, because my actions never matched my words!"
"But Tver… he genuinely wants to bring the wizarding world and the muggle world together in lasting peace, to merge them completely, so that we are all known by a single name, humanity!"
Outside the window, dappled sunlight filtered through the frosted glass and fell over the crowd, carrying a rare warmth, just like those words.
In the past, no matter what their motives were or what they truly believed, under Grindelwald's leadership they always carried a trace of darkness.
Especially with the magical world constantly calling for their destruction, they couldn't help but feel as if they were guilty beyond redemption.
But now, even with nearly the same guiding ideas, their actions suddenly had a justification that was open and righteous.
That was what made Tver different from him.
Grindelwald looked at his former subordinates with a quiet sense of emotion. The expressions on their faces had softened, and there was no sign of anger left over his past deception.
He didn't mind that his former followers were now working under Tver, nor did he care that his own flaws had been exposed to the wizarding world.
In truth, his age and dwindling energy had long made it clear that the future stage would never belong to him or Dumbledore. The one to carry the banner could only be Tver.
Since his reputation as a teacher no longer held much value, there was no point taking it with him to the grave. He might as well make use of what remained of his name to highlight Tver's brilliance in both ability and thought.
To put it plainly, Tver was like someone who had absorbed both the light and darkness of Dumbledore, becoming the kind of leader Grindelwald had once wanted to be. He possessed the ruthless methods of a Dark Lord and the compassion of a saint.
With such a student, it was worth it, even at his age, to evade the watchful eyes of Aurors from various countries and devote himself to persuading others, all to gather his former subordinates once more.
However...
Grindelwald slowly swept his gaze across the people present.
These old wizards had long since lost the ambition of their youth. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that even if they still had the will, they no longer had the strength.
To Tver, they were little more than a starting point, a way to help spread his ideas across the world.
The most crucial steps would still have to be carried out by Tver himself...
He wondered whether this student of his was as skilled at winning people over as he was.
A hint of anticipation curved at the corner of Grindelwald's lips.