Vid blinked, a fleeting thought of the cup not returned after washing flashed through his mind.
He nodded slightly, not denying: "Professor Dumbledore did come, but he has already left."
Grindelwald's lips curved into an ambiguous smile: "It seems he is particularly attentive to you. What, is he worried you might become the next Dark Wizard?"
Vid said calmly, "He said my approach was not wrong."
"Crack!"
For a moment, Vid thought the glass in his room suddenly shattered.
He glanced at the window, and when he turned back, he saw Grindelwald, seemingly unfazed, leaning against the doorframe.
"Oh?" The old man raised an eyebrow, his nostrils twitching slightly: "He can actually endorse slaughter?"
Vid blinked calmly, saying: "What Professor Dumbledore agreed with was the necessity of eliminating the 'Prometheus' existence."
"Ha! So you think… you were understood and supported by Dumbledore?"
Grindelwald sneered: "Albus Dumbledore is just that type of person! He knows how to give you just the right amount of recognition, making you think he is on your side!"
He couldn't help but pace back and forth in the room, angrily saying:
"But behind his approval, there's always a string called 'rules'! When you accidentally touch that string, he will turn against you without hesitation!"
"We once established a Blood Alliance, vowing never to harm each other! And what happened? He kept obstructing me, threatening me, betraying our shared dreams and betraying his youthful self!"
Vid remained silent.
If one didn't know the inside details, merely observing Grindelwald's earnest fury, they might believe Dumbledore to be truly a treacherous person.
But in reality…
[When Ariana died, weren't you the first to flee? The Blood Alliance shattered because you wanted to use Dumbledore's nephew to kill Dumbledore, who was hindering you?]
He muttered this to himself, his face possibly showing a few hints of disdain.
Grindelwald suddenly stopped in front of Vid, looking down at him, patting his shoulder:
"Never fully trust Dumbledore, kid! Don't let him see the part inside you that you can't reveal."
His smile brimmed with sarcasm:
"Indeed, he will admire your courage to ignite the flame because he harbors deep disdain for this world."
"But he can never fully stand by your side—because in those so-called 'noble' souls, there is always something invisible, reigning above everyone else!"
"No matter how much he admires you, likes you, praises you, don't get carried away! When your actions conflict with his beliefs, abandoning you for him… isn't betrayal, but a necessary sacrifice."
"But I am different, Vid… I look forward to seeing how much you can illuminate this night sky!"
…
In the quiet of the night, Vid's room finally regained its peace.
He held the snail, walking to the window, looking at the thousands of lights in the city.
The Snail Puppet extended its antennae, asking softly: "Master… what did that man come here for?"
"Hmm? You mean Grindelwald?"
Vid chuckled, saying: "Probably to warn me—be cautious about the people around me, check if disguises over there have loopholes to patch, and that the enemies here have guessed I'm in the United States, things like that?"
"Is… is that so?" The Snail Puppet's eyes turned into tiny dots: "I thought he came just to slander Dumbledore."
Vid couldn't help but laugh.
What someone truly wants to say isn't in their grand, passionate speeches, but silently hidden within the spaces between words.
Grindelwald is quite aware his past ways don't work, so what truly fills him with resentment isn't Dumbledore's 'betrayal,' but something else.
Vid recalled the scene shown by Dumbledore in the memory illusion—
Grindelwald sent word to Dumbledore, expressing regret for his past actions and wishing to see Dumbledore.
But Dumbledore ruthlessly rejected him.
Vid's lips curled into a meaningful smile.
Only to hear the Snail Puppet breathe a sigh of relief, whispering: "So what he just said was all slander against Professor Dumbledore? Thank goodness! If Dumbledore couldn't be trusted, I would feel terrified."
Vid's smile suddenly vanished, and he fell silent.
The Snail Puppet asked worriedly: "Master… did I say something wrong?"
"No." Vid patted its shell, saying: "Let's get back to work."
"... Okay."
The snail crawled onto the desk, its eyes emitting light once more. Vid, however, drew the curtains and brewed himself another cup of coffee.
On the gray-white walls, dozens of real-time images from the streets and alleys of New York were divided and frequently switched.
The humanoid Puppets weren't in the hotel, but various animal Puppets emerged from the wardrobe space, each occupying a comfortable spot, staring at the screen, recording and analyzing everything they saw.
Their intelligence might not match the humanoid Puppets, but their basic analytical skills were comparable to ordinary people. Moreover, they were numerous, with two or three focusing on one camera, far surpassing the attention and diligence of the same number of humans completing this task.
The screen's shimmering flow moved in Vid's eyes, but he couldn't help but lose focus, as Grindelwald's words seemed to echo in his ears again—
"Never fully trust Dumbledore!"
"In those so-called 'noble' souls, there is always something invisible, reigning above everyone else!"
Vid took a sip of fragrant coffee, lowered his eyes, thinking:
Dumbledore was right.
Grindelwald… truly excels at manipulating hearts.
…
Outside the Harrington Family's mansion, a bright yellow line stretched across as a boundary. Police cars were stationed nearby, some journalists were restrained at a distance, their telephoto lenses aimed at the luxurious building.
Selena Goldstein and Rex Grim got out of the black sedan, wearing impeccably tailored black suits with their badges of senior agents hanging on their chests.
Grim noticed some cameras pointed at them from afar, he frowned.
Selena said: "Stay professional! Handle everything they've captured afterward."
"I know." Grim murmured: "I just… ever since that day's footage, I've loathed such things."
Selena nodded in understanding.
Nowadays, she feels the same, suddenly having a sense of being targeted by a natural enemy when a Muggle camera is pointed at her.