Link's expression was about the same as Emily's.
As someone familiar with Muggle history, he even felt like an envoy who had once come to the Palace of Versailles to pay respects to the "Sun King Louis XIV."
Just as much of a country bumpkin.
Fortunately, Link wasn't Charles II.
He wouldn't become obsessed after witnessing France's dazzling world and luxury, then start desperately copying French fashion after being restored.
To Link, excessive luxury and indulgence were actually bad signs.
They often represented that a nation had already begun to rot from within.
The upper nobility did almost nothing all day, living in drunken pleasure.
And what happened in the end...
Link would not repeat their mistakes.
It was indeed necessary to appropriately develop culture, especially learning from a certain beautiful country that was currently exporting its culture and ideology across the world.
But pure extravagance and indulgence?
'Forget it.'
'That had no meaning at all.'
Though that was what he thought, facing all the luxury before him, Link still felt intense curiosity about the owner of this estate.
'What kind of person could be this extravagant?'
Amid Link's curiosity, the carriage slowly landed in an open area behind the estate.
This was probably a place specifically used for parking flying carriages or landing flying brooms and other aerial vehicles.
There were even many guiding lines drawn on the ground to assist with landing.
After Link and Emily got off, Krell reached out to unfasten the winged horses' reins, intending to lead them to the nearby stables to rest and eat.
But Dumbledore stopped him.
Under Krell's puzzled gaze, Dumbledore smiled slightly and snapped his fingers.
Click!
A crisp mechanical sound came from the direction of the stables.
Then a square-shaped robot emerged from the stable wall, extending two legs and six mechanical arms as it waved them and walked over.
It pushed past Krell who was in the way, then skillfully untied the reins, led the winged horses into the stable, fed them, and gave them water.
As it worked, music was even playing from a round mesh opening in its chest, seemingly to soothe the horses.
This scene left Krell, Link, and the others stunned.
Although it looked strange, it was clearly a robot specifically built to care for horses and livestock.
They had never seen such advanced alchemy technology in England.
"Don't just stand there. Let's go inside."
Dumbledore smiled slightly and walked toward the villa not far away.
Link, Emily, and the others quickly came to their senses and followed.
They passed through the garden, through decorated corridors, and finally entered the main hall of the villa.
During this not particularly long walk, Emily exclaimed in amazement more than ten times.
There was no helping it. The interior decorations and landscaping of the estate were far more exquisite than anyone could imagine.
From a single floor tile to an entire garden, everything was maintained by dedicated alchemical robots.
Under the efforts of these robots, every detail had been perfected to the extreme. The entire area carried a unique charm that combined modern style with classical elegance.
As for the interior of the villa, there was even less need to mention it.
Describing it as magnificent and resplendent would actually be an insult.
Compared to this place, the golden hall of the British Ministry of Magic looked like a public restroom.
Link was actually somewhat better off.
Deep down, he was still Xia at heart. What he truly liked was understated luxury. Small bridges over flowing water beside homes. The quiet harmony between people and nature like in the Suzhou gardens.
The endless sea of irises in this estate, the brightly colored European-style gardens, and the palace-like luxurious decoration were indeed beautiful to him as well.
But they always carried a bit of a nouveau riche feeling, like a pile of gold shaped into excrement.
Even if it was priceless, even if it could be called beautiful in appearance, it had no artistic soul.
Emily and Krell were different.
As people from the same cultural sphere, the scenery of this estate perfectly matched their aesthetic tastes.
Right now, both of them were so captivated they were almost losing themselves.
Dumbledore understood their reactions very well and let them continue looking around the main hall.
Meanwhile, he snapped his fingers again out of thin air.
As the crisp sound echoed through the spacious hall, another alchemical robot walked out.
Compared to the robots outside that cared for horses and maintained the gardens, this one was clearly much closer to a human in appearance.
Whether it was the number of limbs or its body shape and face, it closely resembled a normal human.
It even wore a butler's uniform, and its bearing and movements while walking were almost indistinguishable from a human butler.
"Prepare rooms for us. And also prepare some lunch.", Dumbledore said slowly.
Hearing this, the robot butler nodded respectfully, then walked away with the same dignified and solemn steps.
"Alchemical robots can even do this kind of work?"
Krell swallowed and couldn't help asking.
All along, he had been the most competent and loyal head steward of the Flamel family.
Nearly all the family's affairs were issued through him.
This would have been absolutely impossible in other families.
Because under such a system, if the head steward had even the slightest ulterior motive, the entire family could face disaster.
Only he, Krell, was different.
He had served three and a half generations of Flamel family heads (in his eyes, Madam Flamel only counted as half a head).
He had been loyal his entire life, proving his devotion through time and actions. Only then did he earn such great honor and trust.
This had always been something Krell was proud of.
But now, from the robots he had just seen, Krell felt a strong sense of crisis.
How could humans be more reliable than robots?
Even if a person was loyal, as long as they had a human heart, they couldn't be absolutely loyal.
And if alchemical robots really could do the same work as a butler, would Link choose to bring back a robot butler to replace him?
That wasn't impossible.
After all, Link had only recently suggested he retire and enjoy life.
Krell knew that from Link's perspective, this was pure kindness.
He wanted him to live his later years without worry.
But to Krell, it wasn't like that at all.
As a house-elf, even though he had abandoned most of the habits and thinking of house-elves, some things were deeply engraved in his DNA.
So-called authority and responsibility had already merged into his life.
Dying while fulfilling his duties was the ending he wanted most.
So he had a feeling that if he really did retire peacefully, he probably wouldn't even live a year.
But these things couldn't be said to Link.
Some things only counted if Link understood them himself.
If he said them out loud, the meaning would change.
Dumbledore had only just met Krell and naturally couldn't understand his thoughts. He simply thought Krell wanted to take one of the robots home, so he shook his head and said,
"Don't get any ideas."
"Although it looks very intelligent, in reality it only follows preset programs. Without preconfigured commands, it can't even understand what you're saying. So it absolutely cannot replace a human butler."
Krell relaxed after hearing that.
Meanwhile, Link and Emily grew even more curious.
Even with the flaws Dumbledore mentioned, this was still extremely impressive technology, far beyond what ordinary people or even wealthy individuals could possess.
Emily exchanged a glance with Link and stepped forward.
"Professor Dumbledore, then who exactly is the owner of this estate?"
Dumbledore fell silent for a moment, then said leisurely, "Strictly speaking, the owner of this estate should be me."
Hearing this, Link and Emily, along with Krell, were all shocked.
Actually, before Dumbledore answered, they had already imagined countless names.
Even if Dumbledore had said this was an ancient estate left behind by the Four Founders, they wouldn't have been surprised.
But no matter what, they had never imagined this estate would belong to Dumbledore himself.
After all, Dumbledore had always given the impression of living simply, avoiding fame, and not accumulating wealth.
It was precisely this personality that had earned him the respect of countless people.
Right now, the feeling in Emily's and Krell's hearts was like that of a naïve young man just entering society who suddenly hears that someone working at the Red Cross, despite coming from a modest background, lives surrounded by luxury cars, gold and silver, a grand mansion, and extravagant living.
Link was even more irritated.
Because he instinctively recalled how Dumbledore had previously misappropriated Hogwarts funds.
He had originally thought Dumbledore only did that to support the many members of the Order of the Phoenix in their fight against Voldemort.
But after seeing this estate's luxury with his own eyes, he no longer thought so.
Was it possible that Dumbledore had also diverted some, or even a large portion, of those public funds into this estate?
It was very possible.
Everyone's changing expressions were noticed by Dumbledore.
He immediately sensed what they were thinking.
He quickly smiled bitterly and said, "What are you all thinking? This estate was gifted to me by my old friend Nicolas Flamel. Aside from the one time I came here to accept it, this is only my second visit."
Hearing this, Link and the others all relaxed.
So it was Nicolas Flamel's house.
Then it was fine.
Nicolas Flamel was definitely the greatest alchemist in magical history.
His most famous achievement was inventing the Philosopher's Stone and using its power to achieve immortality. Together with his wife, he had lived for over six hundred years.
Perhaps many people don't really understand what six hundred years means.
Just seeing the number, it doesn't seem especially small or especially large. It's hard to grasp its true impact.
But if expressed another way, people would understand just how incredible it was.
For example, Nicolas Flamel was a man from the fourteenth century.
Even an ordinary worker, if they had lived from the early Ming dynasty until now without illness or disaster, should have become wealthy by now.
Not to mention Nicolas Flamel was a grand alchemist.
Hundreds of years of research allowed him to continuously invent countless alchemical technologies.
Most of the alchemical techniques in today's magical world could be said to rely on Flamel's patented technologies.
Although Flamel later opened most of his patents to the public, the patent fees paid to him annually by alchemist associations around the world were still astronomical.
And besides granting immortality, the Philosopher's Stone also had the ability to turn stone into gold.
So with all that combined, whether Muggle currency or wizard currency, Flamel lacked neither.
He had so much money that even magic couldn't finish counting it.
So him owning a place like this was completely normal.
In fact, compared to his wealth, this estate might even be considered somewhat modest.
"Ah!"
Krell let out a long sigh.
"A mansion this luxurious just given away like that. I suppose Lord Nicolas Flamel must have moved into an even more magnificent new residence, right?"
Emily nodded as well.
A trace of longing appeared on her face.
This estate alone had already exceeded her understanding of luxury.
She couldn't even imagine how extravagant Nicolas Flamel's new home must be.
If possible, she really wanted to visit it.
Hearing this, Link shook his head and said, "In fact, starting in the eighteenth century, Nicolas Flamel and his wife retired to a small, ordinary, even somewhat shabby house in Devon."
"The two of them also became theater enthusiasts, occasionally going to the Paris Opera House to watch Muggle plays. And that small house is where they lived the longest."
"How is that possible?", Krell practically shouted in disbelief.
"No one would abandon a wealthy and luxurious life just to suffer in a small house like that! Unless they were crazy!"
Perhaps to strengthen his argument, Krell continued, "I've seen far too many people, including those who claim they have no interest in money!"
"But those are just sour words to comfort themselves when they have no other choice! When you truly pile wealth in front of them, without exception they all become crazy, greedy, and fearless of death!"
"Even those great nobles who grew up wealthy and never lacked money, once the amount of wealth reaches a certain level, they too cannot avoid greed."
"Humans are actually just like the dragons of legend!"
"Humans instinctively want to possess anything shiny and golden!"
"This is human nature!"
"It will never change!"
Krell spoke passionately, but the more one listened, the more reasonable it sounded.
Competing for resources was an animal instinct.
Humans, although intelligent creatures, still couldn't escape this instinct.
Because it concerned the continuation of their own lives, as well as the number of partners and descendants they could have.
In modern society, with the emergence of money, human greed for resources quickly turned into concrete greed for money.
This was almost impossible to argue against.
But hearing this, Dumbledore only smiled bitterly and said, "Perhaps… Nicolas Flamel, my old friend, really is crazy."