Businesspeople naturally thought about doing business. But among those present, aside from Mrs. Primpernelle, none of them had even enjoyed the advantages of low costs yet. How could they possibly jump so quickly to thinking about expanding their market?
So only Mrs. Primpernelle reacted first. Or rather, she was simply too familiar with the face mask business she ran with Tver.
Her bright eyes swept over the surprised and puzzled crowd. Then, looking at the amusement in Tver's eyes, she seemed to think of something and curved her lips into a smile.
"You mean helping them sell magical products to muggles?"
With that reminder, everyone immediately understood what Tver meant.
"That violates The Statute of Secrecy!"
Mrs. Muggins's words were like a spark, instantly setting off a commotion in the sitting room.
"Exactly. The Ministry of Magic could never sit back and ignore that!"
"Even when You-Know-Who preached pure-blood supremacy, he never dared openly enslave muggles. Of course, maybe he simply didn't have time…"
"But… aren't we already violating The Statute of Secrecy by purchasing muggle goods?" Zonkos said hesitantly.
He could not bear to give up the low cost of muggle sweets. If violating The Statute of Secrecy could bring several times the profit, he absolutely would not mind taking the risk.
Besides, wasn't Mr. Fawley there, along with the pure-blood families, to stand in front of them?
Everyone fell silent, and the sitting room immediately sank into a strange atmosphere.
Tver and Mrs. Primpernelle watched them calmly, while they frowned and struggled, as if trapped in a difficult problem.
They were not those reckless dark wizards who dared to violate The Statute of Secrecy, which was so deeply rooted in the wizarding world.
More importantly, they all had businesses and fortunes to protect. If they lost the wealth they had painstakingly accumulated because of a moment's greed, the loss would far outweigh the gain.
But on the other hand, just as the saying went, "The most profitable methods are all written into the law." Whether it was purchasing materials from muggles, or going one step further and selling products directly to muggles…
The profits involved were already enough to tempt them into taking risks.
That was why they were struggling, instead of flatly refusing.
Seeing that they had hesitated long enough, Tver laughed lightly, easing some of the tense atmosphere in the room.
"Who said you were violating The Statute of Secrecy?"
"What?"
Everyone had been expecting Tver to give them an excuse convincing enough to persuade them, but this excuse was far too strange.
"The things you purchase are all acquired by Gringotts according to the Ministry of Magic's guidance, and the products you sell are purchased by a certain pure-blood wizard."
At this point, Tver revealed a bright, harmless smile that fit perfectly with the sunlight spilling in through the window. There was not the slightest flaw to be seen on his handsome face.
Just like the bizarre logic in his words.
"From beginning to end, you have never had any contact with muggles. Whether in the Ministry of Magic of any country, or even in the Wizards' Confederation, no one would think you had violated The Statute of Secrecy."
"But… how would the Ministry of Magic put the things we need on Gringotts' procurement list?" Zonkos asked with some anticipation. From Tver's confidence, he had already sensed something.
"Ah, that's something you would have to ask the Ministry officials…"
"It's just that the Minister of Magic happens to be somewhat related to me, the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation has a close relationship with me, the Head of the Auror Office is a good friend of mine, and I happen to be the British representative to the Wizards' Confederation."
Tver leaned lazily back on the sofa, eyes narrowing slightly, his voice carrying a trace of casual indifference.
"If any of you have questions, I can ask them for you. Perhaps they'll give you an answer."
"Pfft." Mrs. Primpernelle could not help laughing softly.
Although she had known that Tver's connections within the Ministry of Magic ran deep, hearing him describe them so casually gave her a strangely amusing sense of security.
Even without counting the pure-blood families' network, this layer of connections alone was enough for them to test the edge of illegality.
So everyone looked at the two of them with complicated expressions. One had begun lazily closing his eyes to rest, while the other was laughing softly beside him.
After watching for a while, Zonkos was the first to laugh cautiously along with her. When everyone's eyes instantly turned to his face, he hurriedly restrained himself as if he had done something wrong.
But that action seemed to flip some strange switch. In the next second, the others began laughing along too.
Some were hesitant, some were worried, but that did not stop their faces from pulling into strained smiles.
In the end, everyone seemed to cast aside their worries and laughed without restraint. Zonkos was the most exaggerated of all, bending over with laughter and wiping away tears as he roared.
Seeing this, Mrs. Primpernelle, who had been the first to laugh, gradually restrained her smile instead. She silently looked at Tver beside her, who still wore a faint smile even while lying back.
If this had been before, she would have admired that face. But now, she was actually trembling with fear.
He was clearly such a young man. She had only begun to notice this heir of the declining Fawley family after she started doing business with Tver.
But now, the methods Tver had shown in controlling human hearts and human nature chilled her from the bottom of her heart.
It was terrifying.
He had merely given these people a self-deceiving excuse, yet he had fully exploited the greed in their hearts and their lucky belief that the law would not punish everyone.
Now, by closing his eyes and pretending to rest, he had given them a chance to wildly release the fear inside them.
From this point on, these people could only follow Tver down this path to the very end.
"It's us."
Tver opened his eyes slightly. With one indifferent glance at Mrs. Primpernelle, he knew what she was worried about.
It was nothing more than the fact that he had revealed too much, making her feel uneasy about being unable to approach him.
After all, they had no way to threaten him at all, while he held their lifeline in his hands.
"Our interests are aligned." He nodded toward Tiffet, who had been so arrogant just a moment ago and was now laughing in little spasms, his face twisted beyond recognition.
"As long as no one does anything that goes against our shared interests, we will always be partners, won't we?"
"Of course." Mrs. Primpernelle hesitated for a moment, but still lowered her eyes and said meekly, "I have always supported every decision you make."
"That's good." Tver did not mind.
No one would be indifferent to having their weak point controlled by someone else. But after enough time passed, they would discover that he did not care about the profits from these businesses at all.
"They don't understand the face mask sales model yet, and I don't plan to help them sell anything. I'll first use my own money to buy the products they produce to test the market."
"Once the time is right, they'll have to find their own ways to sell to muggles…"
This was bait, bait to lure out their greed.
Once they were firmly hooked by the enormous profits, if they wanted to earn even more, they would have to find a way themselves.
Since they had boarded the ship, of course they would have to help row it.
"What about me?" Mrs. Primpernelle glanced at the crowd, whose laughter was gradually fading. They had no idea that Tver had every one of their movements firmly in his grasp.
"I treat everyone the same," Tver said calmly. "So learning more about muggle knowledge, especially knowledge about business, will never be a bad thing."
"I understand." Mrs. Primpernelle took a deep breath, as if gathering all her strength before agreeing.
"But are you really not worried that one of them will expose what happened here? If the public finds out, even the Ministry of Magic won't be able to cover it up, will they?"
Tver blinked, and a mischievous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"This is an illegal business. What does it have to do with me?"
Once the law itself was gone, whether it had anything to do with him would no longer matter at all.