At those words, the tycoons immediately grew interested.
To be honest, they were not actually worried that Tver would join forces with Ian Russell to kidnap them or threaten them.
It simply would not be worth it.
They might be the leaders of major powers, but they were still only leaders.
If the coercion went too far, their heirs, subordinates, and even their families would never sacrifice themselves to save them for the sake of their own interests.
So the method Tver had used to get in was enough to make them even more curious.
If they could break into every rival's hideout this way, they would be unstoppable in this world.
Several old foxes came to the same conclusion at almost the same time, exchanging meaningful looks with one another.
"Yes and no," Tver said with a cryptic smile.
"But first, let me introduce myself." He stepped in front of Williams and shook his hand, catching him slightly off guard. "My name is Tver Fawley. I come from an ancient Pure-blood family."
"Pure-blood?"
"Ancient?"
They frowned, their expressions turning a little strange.
Of course, there were plenty of old families in the financial world. The Rothschild family was one famous example.
But to be honest, their strength these days was usually nothing special.
A business passed down through a family line would eventually decline because of the incompetence of some later generation.
So even if such families still survived, in the end they had only two choices. Either endure mediocre leadership and completely lose their control over the economic order, or accept the embrace of outsiders and let their blood descendants become parasites who did nothing but collect money.
Yet Tver seemed to belong to both categories, while at the same time belonging to neither.
"Yes, you may not understand it very well, but that is the truth." Tver walked over to Diana, smiling brightly as he shook her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine."
She gave Tver a subtle wink, but no one else in the room noticed.
"Though I would prefer that you call me Professor Fawley."
"Professor?" Williams asked at once, and the others looked just as curious.
Forget seeing one. They had never even heard of a professor like Tver.
"Yes. A professor at Hogwarts."
Once again, Tver left them with more questions. After making the rounds, he returned to the seat at the head of the table.
"Before we get to the real business, there is one more thing I should mention. I have actually prepared a gift for each of you."
"A gift? Where is it?" Williams asked first without waiting for anyone else.
He looked Tver up and down. In that understated dark blue suit, he did not look as though he could be carrying any substantial gift.
Tver simply pointed at his chest.
"Right in your jacket pocket. Of course, Diana's gift is in your handbag."
Williams immediately pressed a hand to his chest, and his face changed at once.
At some point, a cylindrical object had appeared there.
The others did not look any better.
They immediately thought back to the handshakes. There was no need to think twice. He must have slipped the items into their pockets during that moment.
The problem was that not a single one of them had noticed.
"I have had enough of your tricks. If all you are going to do is put on a magic show here, then you had better start preparing Russell's company for its funeral."
An old Jewish man with the classic strong man's balding hairstyle stood up. He pulled the small bottle from his pocket and, without even looking at it, made to smash it on the floor.
"If I were you, I would not do that, Mr. Joshua."
Tver leaned back against the chair. Even while looking up at Joshua from his seat, his presence did not diminish in the slightest.
Hearing the threat in Tver's tone, Joshua hesitated, then finally glanced at what he was holding.
It was a small transparent glass bottle sealed with a very cheap wooden stopper. Inside was a clear liquid with a faint silver shimmer under the sunlight.
He gave it a shake. The liquid was rather viscous and hardly moved.
The cheap bottle and the strange liquid left him at a loss.
At once, a feeling rose in him. No matter what, he could not throw this thing away.
"I heard that your spine was injured, and that you have only been able to manage it with medication ever since. That bottle of potion is meant to heal you."
"Potion? What is this supposed to be? I am not drinking anything without having it tested first." Joshua gripped the bottle tightly.
The road to becoming a tycoon who controlled the lifeblood of the economy had never been easy. After surviving countless brushes with death, the fact that he had only been left with a spinal problem was already considered fortunate.
The trouble was that spinal injuries were notoriously difficult and painful in medicine. In fact, more than one excellent doctor had suggested that he take a risk and undergo surgery.
But as a rich man, he had unfortunately developed a certain bad habit. He cherished his life too much.
So instead of choosing a surgery with a low success rate, he had continued relying on custom medication to ease the pain.
Tver paid him no attention and looked instead at the others, who had all taken out their potions.
"Mr. Sato, the potion I prepared for you is for your gunshot wound. Do not worry. Even a gunshot wound from thirty years ago can be healed perfectly."
"As for Mr. Williams's problem, well, I think you know it better than I do. But even after it is cured, you should still remember to show some restraint."
"Diana is in excellent health, so I specially prepared a bottle of Felix Felicis for you. I hope good fortune stays by your side."
Diana paused for a moment. She took the small bottle from her handbag and carefully felt the golden potion inside.
"Thank you."
"You are welcome." Tver turned to the last two old men, who were curiously comparing the potions in their hands. "Mr. Roby's troublesome heart disease is much more serious. So the dark liquid in your hand is a potion that will keep your heart comfortable for at least a year."
"And lastly, Mr. Felix. Terminal pancreatic cancer. Even as a wizard, I have heard of the fearsome reputation of this highly fatal cancer."
"Can this save my life?" Felix looked at Tver with complete seriousness.
He was not actually that old, but he was the thinnest person in the room, and all his hair had long since fallen out from treatment.
No matter how rich he was, he still could not buy a cure for pancreatic cancer or any better treatment.
So both he and Roby had already reached the point where they were willing to try anything for the sake of these medicines.
"Of course not."
Tver's expression turned serious at once, but just as Felix tightened his grip on the bottle in disappointment, he smiled.
"All I can guarantee is that you will not die of cancer within a year."
The wizarding world had long since developed many potions for treating human illnesses. That was why you could never find a department for appendicitis at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
It was just that when it came to diseases like heart disease or cancer, conditions that developed over a long period of time, wizards usually stamped them out before they could fully emerge, so there were no dedicated treatment potions for them.
As for the potions in Felix's and Roby's hands, they were not fake either. Tver had developed them himself in the last few days before the holiday, after specially seeking advice from the enthusiastic Madam Pomfrey and the impatient Professor Snape.
That was why their effects were not quite so dramatic.