"Please...please have tea..."
The house elf who appeared at the table with the tray still looked a little shy as before. As soon as he placed the poured teacup in front of Maka, he immediately stepped aside in a hurry.
Maka was used to seeing all kinds of elves, so she nodded quite easily, and then turned her attention to Lucius opposite.
This is a small living room on the second floor of Malfoy Manor. Although it is certainly much smaller than the main hall downstairs, the decoration is more exquisite and luxurious.
Currently, Maka and Snape were sitting by the window on one side of the small hall. Just by turning their heads slightly, they can face the gorgeous sunshine outside the window and enjoy the beautiful view of the garden downstairs. This is really a good place to drink tea, eat snacks and chat.
At least, the warm sunshine and abundant green can always bring a comfortable and good mood to people.
It's just a pity that the owner Lucius still likes this place very much on weekdays, but now his mind is filled with all kinds of bad premonitions, so how can he still have the energy to enjoy it
"Mr. Malfoy," Maka took a sip of the black tea in the cup and asked while savoring the wonderful aroma, "just now you said... Madam went to MacMillan's house today?"
Snape's previous words paved the way for the following conversation, preventing Lucius from having to bear such a big turn after hearing about his son's condition.
But telling the truth blindly and making Lucius accept the reality was not Maka's purpose - he was not here for a home visit today!
"Ah! Well..."
Lucius's right hand was holding the tea cup, and his left hand was holding the armrest of the chair half loosely and half tightly. He didn't seem to have much energy to think about Maka's question.
Look at his uncomfortable expression, his inner wavering is evident everywhere in his body.
"We, the Malfoy family... have decided to get along with purebloods who didn't get along well before... ah, no no..." He seemed to have realized something was wrong, and quickly changed his words, "I mean, we will be with more people in the future. The wizarding families make friends with each other. Only in this way..."
The Malfoy family immediately joined the pure-blood supremacy team after the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy, and has always maintained a resolutely alienated attitude towards other non-pure-blood wizarding families.
Wizarding families like the MacMillan family, which have no attachment to bloodline at all, were unwilling to take a look in the past - even though the MacMillan family's heritage was no worse than that of the Malfoy family.
But now, after experiencing a crisis that almost overturned, the Malfoys have obviously understood many truths that they had ignored before.
Of course, it is actually correct to say that it is forced by reality.
"The Malfoy family's current choice is the right one," Maka looked at Lucius and said in an unusually direct manner, "Actually, I would say, there is nothing wrong with choosing to be a 'backdrop'. It is also one of the best ways to strive for benefits. 1. As long as you keep an eye on the direction of the wind, you can get the greatest benefits with the least effort, and you don’t have to take the lead personally to take risks—"
What he said was what Lucius had been like before, and he also gave a very positive and positive evaluation. This point made Lucius quite confused, so much so that he even temporarily forgot about his uneasiness just now.
Seeing that her words immediately caught Lucius's attention, Maka couldn't help but nodded secretly.
"But unfortunately, you, Lucius Malfoy, don't have the ability to be a good wallflower." He suddenly changed the subject and said frankly, "So I have to say, you understand this now, that is The greatest benefit you gain from this failure."
"Yeah..." Lucius said a little sadly, "If I could understand earlier... No, I don't think I would have understood it without going through those things, right?"
"Well, coincidentally, I thought so too." Maka smiled unceremoniously.
Although Maka somehow managed to bring the topic to a place thousands of miles away, Snape sitting beside him didn't seem to have any intention of bringing up the topic.
He was just sipping black tea alone and looking at the scenery outside the window expressionlessly.
"Alas..." Lucius sighed heavily after hearing this, "But in the final analysis, I still understand it too late. The current Malfoy family has lost too many... Narcissa and I just We can make some remedies as much as possible so that Draco can have less unnecessary burdens in the future... "
Of course Maka knew what Lucius meant by "losing too much". After all, most of Voldemort's Death Eaters were members of the pure-blood wizarding family. They naturally had many connections with the Malfoy family. interests.
But now, this intricate network of relationships has become dilapidated.
"Don't struggle too much," he suddenly warned. "You parents must remember that your children will see everything you say and do."
"what do you mean?"
Maka's unprepared words would naturally make Lucius deeply confused. But what he said was about Draco, which could be said to be what Lucius was most concerned about right now.
"It means literally," Maka took a sip of tea and then explained, "Maybe you have also felt it - your son Draco Malfoy is also growing up day by day, isn't he?"
As he spoke, he put down the tea cup in his hand, and the expression on his face became more serious.
"In the past, many people looked down upon you, the Malfoy family, and thought you were selfish and arrogant, and didn't take others seriously..."
"Probably the views of those people have not changed much until now."
Maka's words were actually very straightforward, leaving no face for Lucius.
Even though Lucius didn't dare to say anything now, seeing his breathing gradually getting heavier, it was obvious that the remaining self-esteem in his heart was constantly irritating his nerves.
"But," Maka changed the subject again after speaking directly to the other party's sore spot, and her tone softened, "I can also understand from your words, at least when dealing with family members, you and your wife and other parents There is no difference. Even...as far as I know, your wife Narcissa is particularly doting on Malfoy, right?"
He said "That's right" to Snape, and when the latter noticed that Maka glanced this way, he nodded slightly in agreement.
"McLean...Mr. McLean," Lucius couldn't bear the jumpy conversation anymore. He couldn't help but shake off the blond hair that fell from his chest, and said patiently, "What exactly do you want to say?"
But Maka just shrugged.
"What I want to say," he said calmly, "you parents should not work too hard sometimes. When you continue to work hard for your son and your family, you often bring a heavier burden to your son. … If you crush him before he inherits this family, then what’s the point of what you’re doing?”
At this point, Maka paused for a moment, giving Lucius some time to think, and then continued: "I just said - the children are growing up day by day, and they are also watching you day by day. However, in the future, he will take his own path... "
"... You parents can't possibly follow him for the rest of your life, can you?"
"Draco..." Lucius said quietly, "I understand what you said, but -"
Lucius actually listened to Maka's words, but the situation facing the Malfoy family now is really bad. If he left this mess to his son Draco, he, as a father, would really feel guilty.
When Maka saw this, she couldn't help but waved her hand.
"So, while thinking about his future, you should also pay more attention to Draco's thoughts..." He advised, "It would be better to say that the heaviest burden on your family now may not be the external dilemma at all. , but the depressing atmosphere you created after suffering setbacks."
"Is... is that so..." When Lucius heard this, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Yes... Narcissa and I both only blame ourselves for the failure, so we have been forcing ourselves to try to change the status quo..."
"Is it because I always focus on the entire family that I ignore Draco's mood at some point..."
"Draco..." He hesitated and nodded slightly, "Yes, MacLean, maybe you are right...Draco has his own path to take, and we can't always help him. Rather than just trying to help, It puts too much pressure on him to solve problems, why not let him face the problems more easily..."
At this point, Lucius suddenly raised his head, looked directly at Maka and said, "Mr. McClain, did...Draco say something to you?"
"He didn't say anything..."
Maka just said this, and then said: "Mr. Malfoy, I think through what I just said, you have understood some of Draco's thoughts. To be honest, I only considered these things after thinking about them. Whether the judgment I made is really what I thought, I have to verify it one by one later... "
"In short, you first firmly remember what you just understood, and then..." He suddenly knocked on the table and said loudly, "I need you to help me do something-for your son, Draco Malfoy. .”
From Snape's perspective, the pre-noon sunshine was somewhat dazzling, but he still kept his eyes on the world outside the window.
He has always been a little uncomfortable with the so-called family affection, even with his younger sister Tia.