Dumbledore was very pleased, especially seeing Kael's helpless expression, he almost couldn't help but laugh.
The petty Hogwarts Headmaster hadn't forgotten about all those owls flying in from everywhere, as well as the letters teasing him about wanting to become Minister of Magic.
He's been pondering how to make Kael experience that feeling because he could see that Kael didn't like the tedious work at the Ministry of Magic either.
However, later, when Fudge publicly announced in the newspaper that You-Know-Who had risen again, it turned out to be an unexpected surprise for Dumbledore.
He knew all of this was thanks to Kael, after all, knowing Fudge's character, unless You-Know-Who actually appeared and handed him a wand, he would never admit this.
Because of this, he had almost given up his thoughts of revenge, but unexpectedly, Fudge brought him a surprise that afternoon.
Upon seeing the exemption entry form from the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore almost instinctively signed his name on it, agreeing for Kael to work at the Ministry as a student.
As he told Chris, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, no reason to refuse.
As for Kael's own opinion, that wasn't important.
Dumbledore glanced once more at Kael's speechless demeanor... it was undeniably a fine feeling, he somewhat wanted to eat a slice of egg cream pie.
But when he saw Kael preparing to leave, Dumbledore still called out to stop him.
"Anything else, Professor?" Kael asked expressionlessly, "I need to go back and write a report."
"So quickly into work?" Dumbledore asked, "Can you tell me what it's about? Maybe I could offer some assistance."
"Oh, it's simple..." Kael calmly said, "It's a report on reducing the salary and benefits of the Hogwarts Headmaster. I've always thought a headmaster shouldn't be absent for more than two months without a valid reason."
"That's an excellent proposal." Dumbledore said with a smile, as if what Kael said was unrelated to him.
"But I must clarify one thing, I didn't leave without cause, on the contrary, this time I went to do something very important."
Dumbledore waved his wand, and a gem-encrusted golden ring appeared on the table before him.
Upon seeing this ring, Kael's eyes widened.
"Oh, it seems you've recognized what it is." Dumbledore gazed at Kael's eyes, fingers gently tapping the desk.
"Indeed, a Soul Artifact." Kael said lightly, "I've seen it many times, so is this also Voldemort's?"
Dumbledore didn't reply immediately; he continued staring into Kael's eyes, and moments later spoke softly, "I think apart from him, there shouldn't be a second person in the magic realm who would make a Soul Artifact."
"Yes, perhaps." Kael nodded.
"By the way, I must thank you." Dumbledore extended his arm, revealing the scabbed scars on it.
"You're injured?" Kael asked.
"It's the penalty for breaching the contract." Dumbledore said, "For some reason, I couldn't resist the temptation of this Soul Artifact and thought about using it.
"Fortunately, we had previously set this magic contract; if I had really touched this ring, I'd be at risk of death.
"It's truly embarrassing. I always believed I could resist temptation... You saved my life."
"It's nothing."
Kael shook his head and said, "Voldemort's arrogance always led him to choose extremely precious magic tools as carriers for his Soul Artifacts. To him, these might be symbols of honor, but to others, they might be irresistible treasures.
"In fact, even Nicolas almost couldn't resist wearing Ravenclaw's Diadem when he saw it. It's quite normal for you to have such thoughts, Professor."
"Wait, did you just say Ravenclaw's Diadem?" Dumbledore blinked, looking at Kael with an incredulous expression, "So, when did you find another Soul Artifact?"
"Ahem..."
Kael also realized he let it slip and quickly tried to recover, "Actually, I meant to say Slytherin's Pendant Box... the diadem's been lost for nearly a thousand years, how could I possibly find it."
Yet Dumbledore clearly wouldn't believe such a poor excuse...
"Sometimes the words spoken unintentionally are the most truthful." He said with a complex tone, "When did this happen?"
"Well... not long ago." Kael said softly, "Just about a year ago."
"A year ago?" Dumbledore felt as though he'd been punched in the chest.
Ravenclaw's Diadem, this legendary magical item, is a priceless treasure that alchemists dream of seeing, and he's no exception.
Turns out Kael found it but didn't tell him.
And from what he just implied, Nicolas also knew but didn't inform him.
The two colluded with each other, kept him in the dark for an entire year? Is his nearly century-long friendship with Nicolas really so worthless?
Reflecting on yesterday's meeting, Nicolas looked completely oblivious. Dumbledore felt a chill in his heart and couldn't help but ask:
"Where's the diadem?"
"I don't know." Kael truthfully replied, "Last Christmas I returned from Nicolas's house, Ravenclaw took it and caught up with Ms. Grey, I also don't know where they are now, maybe somewhere in the castle's corner."