Chapter 516

After a brief pause, Zhang Qiu suddenly slapped her forehead and said cheerfully, “Oh, no need to go ourselves—there’s someone who can speak for us.”

Harry followed her gaze to Lin Shuanghe, who was standing nearby, lost in thought.

“Me?”

“Of course. First, you’re majoring in diplomacy—you’re excellent at maintaining an air of superiority while conveying your intentions, right?” Zhang Qiu said smugly. “Second, hiding behind a diplomat highlights the gap in status even more.”

Harry began to consider the logic behind her words, while Zhang Qiu quickly added her third point: “Finally, I want to see what position the domestic side plans to assign you in this farce of the Princess Wencheng.”

“Indeed, I can deliver this message—I’m being considered for a role like private advisor or steward…”

That made sense. Harry immediately recalled Princess Sarah. As a simple girl who loved outdoor activities, she needed someone clever, like Charles, to shoulder the political burdens of her title.

“But our tradition doesn’t have such a position.”

“...It’s called a ‘wedding nurse.’”

Harry didn’t understand the vague Chinese term, but from her constipated expression, it was clearly not a flattering one.

“Harry, you can still think of it as an advisor role,” Zhang Qiu said, snapping out of her grin and waving her hand before turning serious. “Now, I need to explain the background and our intentions to you.”

“Draco Malfoy, the sole heir of the Malfoy family, is currently caught in a love triangle between Pansy Parkinson and Astoria Greengrass. We’ve decided to intervene and support Pansy, for the following reasons.”

“From a strategic standpoint, Pansy is more rational, has greater managerial experience, and is easier to control; backing her as Lady Malfoy will greatly benefit our future integration and utilization of pure-blood family resources. In contrast, Astoria is emotionally impulsive and chronically ill—she’s not a reliable partner.”

“Emotionally, Pansy has stood by Draco through thick and thin, even when he was at his lowest, never wavering in her support. We believe she deserves proper reward—not another tired tale of childhood love losing to a new flame.”

“So what we need you to do is, as his private advisor, subtly convey our support for Pansy to Lucius and Narcissa, to counter Astoria’s recent advantage in this love triangle,” Zhang Qiu concluded. “And there’s another benefit: it elevates Harry to a higher position, avoiding the interpersonal risks of directly intervening.”

Though these words sounded convoluted to Harry, they were perfectly clear to Lin Shuanghe—even slightly colloquial—but that didn’t matter. She grasped Zhang Qiu’s intent at once and readily accepted the task.

“And Harry, I’ve thought of another task for you,” Zhang Qiu said, stroking her chin. “Privately offer Pansy the support of the Dark Lord.”

“The Dark Lord’s support?” Harry objected, frowning. “You haven’t forgotten that the Dark Lord’s rule is built on violence—if you asked Voldemort, he’d just kill Astoria outright!”

“Overstated, overstated,” Zhang Qiu rubbed her forehead. “I meant we could help Pansy gain power beyond ordinary wizards… but now that you say it, yes, that kind of power could indeed kill Astoria.”

“Fortunately, Pansy probably won’t actually do it—and the Knight’s Belt won’t endorse such thoughts,” Zhang Qiu took a deep breath. “If Master truly plans to re-isolate ourselves, I think now’s the perfect time to secure a few more belts.”

“Super-wizard powers seem to be included in the dowry list,” Lin Shuanghe added. “We could take one belt first—but is a belt enough? Don’t we need other powers?”

“Other powers?” Harry was now genuinely surprised.

“We have many methods to enhance physical strength and combat power to achieve super-wizard levels—generally called [Martial Arts] or [Gongfa]…”

“Just the belt,” Zhang Qiu interrupted. “First, the belt limits the heart to benevolence and enhances defense—perfect for a high schooler like Pansy who suddenly gains power. Second, the belt and Knightly power become a shared topic between her and Draco—a new subject the Greengrasses can’t interrupt.”

After Lin Shuanghe left, Harry and Zhang Qiu exchanged a few private remarks until she returned with a belt and two empty bottles.

“I’m curious what kind of power Pansy will seek,” Harry said, standing to return to school.

“According to the formula manual, the best fit for her might be the Magical Girl + Lion Dog combo,” Zhang Qiu smirked.

Harry held back a laugh, feigned seriousness, waved goodbye, then pushed open the pub door and headed toward the school.

The belt was held by Harry for a week, until he confirmed Draco had returned home and spoken with his parents—only then did Harry begin looking for an opportunity to deliver the belt to Pansy.

But the Empress’s Pai proved far more effective than expected—Draco once again became inseparable from Pansy. Though their interactions were no longer as natural, they were undeniably spending real time together.

Helpless, Harry found Eve in the common room and said, “Find a chance to get Pansy alone—Zhang Qiu got a belt for her.”

“Why give it to her?” Ron grumbled.

“Why do I have to call her?” Eve also began to protest.

“I think I want a belt too,” Ginny added, voicing her discontent.

Harry didn’t understand why he’d suddenly been surrounded—he sighed and sat down. “This is complicated. Let me explain slowly.”

It took about half an hour for Harry to detail all the considerations, interspersed with many of Zhang Qiu’s views—lovers always champion their partner’s opinions on third parties, and Harry himself hadn’t fully realized it.

“So choosing Pansy as Draco’s wife benefits us more,” Ginny was the first to grasp it, her expression thoughtful. “And the belt is a form of powerful backing.”

“But then Draco’s true love becomes meaningless, ignored by everyone,” Ron said, showing a flicker of sympathy for the defeated rival.

Eve placed a hand on his shoulder and said casually, “The world works this way—the Malfoys are at a disadvantage in the grand game, so their little master’s opinion doesn’t matter.”

Harry felt something was off and added, “But from another angle, Draco and Astoria aren’t true love either—Draco probably chose Astoria simply because she’s prettier.”

“What if it is true love?” Ginny asked.

“Hmm—if he’s willing to defy everything for true love, his Knightly power would surge rapidly—that’s something we’d know quickly. If that happens, that power alone might make us reconsider.” Harry’s thoughts drifted. “In that case, the Knight system is truly a brilliant invention.”

“When someone suffers injustice, they gain power through it—and use that power to break the injustice. It respects the reality of ‘might makes right’ while offering a path toward an ideal society—or a correction mechanism. Of course, this relies on magic’s ability to transcend conservation of energy—perhaps that’s the core of Dumbledore’s model.” Harry gestured as he spoke. “More broadly, with the wizarding world as a transcendent force, we should monitor Muggle governance: Are they building a better world? Do they respect basic human rights? Are there actions violating simple morality? I think this is the future direction—how the two worlds should relate. It’s also a deconstruction and dialectical use of the internal slogan ‘Wizard Rule Over Muggles.’”

Without thinking, Eve linked her arm through Ron’s. “So complicated,” she said, indifferent.

Ginny touched her cheek, then suddenly asked, “So if power alone matters, does the prince even matter?”

“Asking that question means you don’t really like princes,” Eve shrugged.

A long silence settled over the corner of the common room. Then Harry finally spoke—his true, deeply considered view, from the perspective of a power holder.

“The prince still matters. He offers a possibility: if the day comes when the wizarding world must intervene in Muggle governance, the prince’s presence can prevent unnecessary bloodshed during power transitions.” Harry paused. “But even then, bloodshed remains inevitable. So as long as Muggle society remains within acceptable bounds, we should seriously consider how to make the world better without bloodshed.”

“So, Ginny and I should… give each other more chances to fall in love,” Ginny said hesitantly.

“You’re right,” Ron’s gaze drifted. “That’s right.”

Before the atmosphere grew too strange, Eve stood up and interrupted: “I’ll go talk to Pansy—after all, for her, the world really has become better.”