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“What the hell…?”
Aurelian stepped into his small vault and froze.
The sight inside dragged the curse out of him before he could stop it.
Catherine hurried in the moment she heard his voice.
“Master Aurelian, what hap…”
Her words died halfway through.
The vault that should have been stacked with Galleons was empty.
Stripped bare.
It looked as if someone had robbed it and then taken the time to sweep up after themselves.
A faint draft stirred the dust on the floor, revealing the single gold coin left behind.
Aurelian bent down, picked up the lone Galleon, and closed his fingers around it.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
“Master Aurelian…”
Catherine watched him with open worry, and a little fear.
“Do not say it.” His voice came out low and tight.
“This was definitely those two again.
Can they stop setting me up for five minutes?
Am I even their real son?”
A vein stood out at his temple.
Catherine understood exactly who he meant.
Her expression turned helpless.
“Maybe this time it was not Lord and Lady Pendragon,” she said carefully.
“Perhaps Gringotts made a mistake managing the vault.”
Even she did not believe it.
Ordinary thieves could not break through Gringotts security, and anyone strong enough to do it would not risk so much for a child’s private savings.
“Catherine,” Aurelian said, “do you believe that?”
She gave an embarrassed little laugh and wisely stopped defending Miles and Elaine.
The situation fit their style far too well.
“Come on.
Let us ask those greedy goblins what happened.”
Arguing in the vault would only waste time.
Aurelian dropped the lone Galleon into his pocket and walked out.
Catherine followed, watching his back and feeling, absurdly, as if she could see a bleak wind blowing around him.
“Manager, did my parents open this vault before I arrived?”
The goblin who had brought them down bowed respectfully.
“Master Aurelian, I am afraid I do not know.
I only began this shift two days ago.”
“Then bring me the goblin who was on duty before you.”
The manager escorted them back to the surface and led them into a private room.
A short while later, he returned with another goblin.
“Master Aurelian, I have been informed of the matter,” the newcomer said.
“Lady Pendragon did indeed visit Gringotts a few days ago.
She opened your vault and transferred all its contents to the main Pendragon family vault.”
Aurelian’s face went blank with resignation.
It was exactly what he had expected.
His parents had done it.
“And you simply let her move all of it?” he demanded.
“Is Gringotts management always this loose?
How am I supposed to trust this bank with my money?”
He was furious, and the two goblins were the only convenient targets in front of him.
“Master Aurelian,” one of them said, shrinking back, “it was done with your authorization.”
“When did I authorize anything?”
“Because of your age, you cannot hold a completely independent personal vault.
The vault is registered under House Pendragon.
Anyone with the authority of the head of House Pendragon may open it freely.
We explained this at the time.”
“I…”
Aurelian choked on his own anger.
Now that the goblin said it, he did remember something like that.
“Out.
Both of you.”
The realization only made him more depressed.
He drove the goblins out of the room with a sharp gesture.
“Master Aurelian, please do not be angry,” Catherine said once they were alone.
“Lady Pendragon may only have meant it as a joke.”
“Catherine, do not make excuses for her.
We told them this morning that we were coming to Diagon Alley.
They could have warned me before we left.
They did not.
That means they wanted me to walk into it.”
By then, Aurelian could practically see Miles and Elaine wearing the smug expressions of people whose scheme had succeeded perfectly.
“Ah…”
Catherine had no answer to that.
…
At the same time, inside House Pendragon’s castle, Elaine was practically bouncing through the drawing room.
“I am smiling because I won, because I won,” she sang under her breath, then burst into laughter.
“That brat must be furious right now.”
She could already imagine Aurelian’s face.
“Honestly, Elaine.” Miles watched her with helpless amusement.
“You are almost thirty, and you still play with him like a child.
Are you not worried he will come back and turn the castle upside down?”
“That boy walks around every day acting like a tiny adult, nose in the air and smug as can be.
I am his mother.
I have to remind him of my authority.”
Elaine huffed, then shot her husband a look.
“Besides, what right do you have to criticize me?
The things you have done are not much better.”
Miles’s face reddened, and he immediately stopped laughing at her.
“Fine.
Do as you like.
He is going to come home looking for you anyway.”
“Hmph.
I already know how to deal with him.
Now, I am going to check on the banquet preparations.”
Elaine left the drawing room in excellent spirits.
…
Back at Gringotts, Aurelian sat gloomily in the private room.
He had called the manager in again and tried to open the main Pendragon vault, only to be told that his key did not carry the authority of the family head.
It could open a Pendragon vault only once per day, and he had already used that chance.
“No way around it.
I will have to go home and ask them for money.”
After thinking it through and finding no better option, Aurelian stood, resigned to returning with Catherine and demanding his money back from his mother.
“Wait, Master Aurelian.
I have an idea.”
Catherine suddenly brightened and pulled a small stack of banknotes from her bag.
“I kept some pounds aside for emergencies instead of exchanging all of them into Galleons.
They should be useful now.”
“Catherine, I could kiss you.”
Aurelian’s face lit up.
Before she could react, he hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Catherine went scarlet at the sudden attack and gave him an indignant look.
Aurelian, naturally, paid no attention.
He was already humming in victory.
“You want me to surrender?
Not that easily.
Mother, you were one move short.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.