"What? Sirs, what are you doing? Why are you here?" Clement struggled to sit up, staring blankly at the four people in front of him, but still instinctively used respectful language.
"How dare you ask us? I want to ask you, why was the information about the park leaked?" The Silver Spear, played by Alan, questioned Clement in a familiar voice. "Did you betray us?"
When Clement heard the voice, his heart skipped a beat. Isn't that the voice of Golden Knight? Did he personally come to the park? What did he mean by betrayal? And why am I lying on the ground now? This isn't even my office. Hearing Golden Knight's familiar voice, Clement had no doubts and quickly asked, "What do you mean by that? I don't understand. What betrayal? I have never thought of betraying the club!"
"Then why is it rumored that the club secretly operates a breeding park? Now even the location of No. 1 Park has been revealed, and all the matters of those civilian groups have also been exposed!" Alan pressed him angrily. "Do you know that Andre and his subordinates are ready to attack this place!"
"What?" Clement looked at Alan in shock. "How is that possible? I've never heard any rumors like that!"
"Still arguing with me! My insider in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has told me everything. Andre is already organizing people to attack this park. If I hadn't reacted in time, this place would have been cleared out long ago. Besides you, who frequently comes and goes, who else could have leaked the information?" Alan wasn't sure if the Silver Springs had an insider in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but he asked himself, if he were Peter, he would definitely plant someone around Andre, so now he was prepared to bluff whether there was one or not.
"You mean Virgil? No way, did he make a mistake?" Clement asked without questioning, blurting it out.
And just as Clement said Virgil's name, Andre's heart trembled, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. Fortunately, he was wearing a mask at the time, so he didn't give anything away. Alan also noticed Andre's abnormality at this time, so he glanced at Andre, signaling him to calm down and not alarm Clement. Andre nodded imperceptibly, then forced himself to suppress the shock and anger in his heart. At the same time, he also realized the value of interrogating Clement at this moment. If this matter were done later, the consequences might be unimaginable.
However, Clement was in a panic at this time and did not notice the abnormality of the people in front of him. He truly believed that what the Golden Knight said was true. At this moment, he was desperately trying to recall if he had inadvertently revealed any secrets that allowed outsiders to discover the truth about this place. But after a moment of thought, he was still at a loss, completely unaware of where the problem lay. But now, in his eyes, he had been suspected by Golden Knight, and if this charge of betrayal were confirmed, he would be truly finished. Clement knew the club's methods.
"Sir, you know that I have always been loyal to the club. I have no need to betray the club at all. I think either Virgil's side made a mistake, or the problem lies elsewhere," Clement argued incoherently.
"No need to betray the club?" Golden Knight snorted coldly. "You've never been allowed to join the club and become an official Silver Spear. Dare you say you don't hold a grudge? How much benefit did Andre and his people give you to make you turn against us?"
"Absolutely not! Golden Knight!" Clement's mind was instantly thrown into disarray when he saw that the other party had almost concluded that he was a traitor.
To be honest, he also knew that Golden Knight and the other Silver Spears had been dangling him. With his achievements, let alone becoming an ordinary Short Spear, even becoming a Spear directly would not be a problem. The club was simply holding back Clement's promotion because his public identity was too useful. But this did not mean that he would choose to betray the club because of it, so Clement argued urgently, "Sir, please be clear, I was personally introduced by you to become a club collaborator, have you forgotten?"
He knew that the other party was now stubbornly convinced, and Clement, in an extremely agitated state, also played the emotional card. "We have known each other for over thirty years. You should know my character, and over all these years, how many things have I done for the club and for you? If the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Andre knew about these things, I wouldn't have a good end either."
"Do you not think it's too late to talk about the past with me now? People say you can know a person's face but not their heart. How do I know you haven't been acting with me all these years?" Alan said, then gently raised his hand and took off his mask, revealing the face identical to Peter's underneath.
Clement saw Peter's face under Golden Knight's mask, and there was no surprise in his eyes, only his face turned pale. He knew that this was an expression Peter would only display when he was extremely angry. Meanwhile, Amelia and Andre, among others, saw that Clement had no doubts about Peter's identity, further confirming what Alan had said earlier: Peter was a member of the Silver Spears, and he had known Clement for a long time, having personally developed and promoted him.
"Since you keep bringing up the past, I'll give you another chance now." Alan, with Peter's face, said in a low voice, "Let me hear you recount everything you've done over the years, and let me see if your memory is confused. Remember, look into my eyes when you speak!"
"Yes, sir." Clement knew that Peter wanted to test him for lies, but this was exactly what he wanted, and seeing Peter's true face did not cause any suspicion. In fact, this was also because his mind was completely in disarray at the moment. If Clement could have remained calm and thought rationally, perhaps he would not have been so easily deceived. For example, why would Golden Knight dare to remove his mask in front of the other three Silver Spears, and then so abruptly ask him to recount past events? Everything about it seemed abnormal. But all Clement could think of now was to show his loyalty to Golden Knight; he had no time to consider anything else.
"I still remember, thirty years ago, I was just a small-time errand boy at Tris Cauldron Shop. I was fortunate enough to meet you then. Oh, by the way, you didn't go by this name back then. And ever since I met you, I've had good fortune. It was you who sponsored me, allowing me to start my own magic supplies business. I will never forget that." Clement's expression was one of piety mixed with gratitude.
However, Alan, as Peter, showed no reaction to his fawning. Seeing this, Clement immediately continued, "With your help, I earned my first pot of gold, and it was from then on that you started involving me in smuggling, introducing me to the club. Over all these years, I can't even count how many magical creatures I've transported, guarded, and looked after for the club. If Andre's people knew my background, there would be no possibility of negotiating."
"So, if Andre is willing to overlook your past, you're willing to accept their terms?" Peter sneered, curling his lip, completely unmoved by Clement's emotional appeal.
"No, that's not what I mean." Clement, seeing that Peter had misunderstood him, quickly explained, and then continued, "Besides my help in managing magical creatures for the club, just talking about the dirty work I've done for you over the past decade, Andre would absolutely never forgive me." Clement said, then tentatively glanced at Peter, finding that the other party was still unmoved, and immediately said, "Do you still remember fifteen years ago? That's when you started using the identity of Dario Peter, and it was from then on that you changed this skin to its current appearance."
*This skin?* Alan's heart sank when he heard this. Could it be that Golden Knight, in addition to having the means to appear in two places at once, also had a way to change his appearance? Could that guy also be a Metamorphmagus? However, this hint of doubt had just appeared when he suppressed it. Now was not the time to dwell on these things. This interrogation required a very high level of acting from him, and he couldn't let Clement see through him.
His indifference did indeed deceive Clement, so he immediately offered other proofs of loyalty. "Even if you don't care about this at all, from that time on, you ordered me to start contacting civilian groups in East Germany and West Germany, and to try to integrate with and lead them. After so many years of effort, the West German Endeavor Society that I lead, and the Munich Alliance that split from it, have over hundreds of wizards under them, and their core collaborators are close to a hundred people. Have you forgotten? It's by instigating them that we've been able to intensify the conflict between East Germany and West Germany all these years. I actually knew from the beginning that your ideal was to completely divide Germany, and many civilian groups in East Germany are also collaborators of the club."
"Like the East German Progress Union, I know that the Phoenix of the club is in contact with them, and it was she who incited and manipulated an East German wizard to kill the eldest son of the Schmidt family in a public place back then, and then used public opinion to make the East German Progress Union shelter that East German wizard. This is why the Schmidt family and their allied families fully support you and advance and retreat with you in the Wizengamot, further promoting the division bill, isn't it?"
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