Chapter 900
Lyra
Chapter 900 Lyra
"Clang, clang, clang..."
The high heels tapped out a leisurely rhythm on the marble floor.
Leila Picqueli, with her usual serious yet approachable expression, nodded to her passing colleague.
As she rounded the corner, she glanced casually at the handrail and saw a glimpse of a hidden corner of clothing quickly disappear behind a filing cabinet.
—Is someone watching her?
Leila's heart skipped a beat, as if she had been lightly stepped on.
She pushed open the office door with a normal expression and entered. Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the blinds, casting stripes of light and dark on the floor.
Leila closed the door, casually took off her coat and hung it up, her gaze sweeping over her desk—neatly stacked documents, a quill pen slanted into an ink bottle, everything as usual.
She sat in the chair, looked around, and her heart began to pound again.
The books on the bookshelf looked messy, arranged neither by type, size, nor color, but in Lyra's mind, she naturally had a way of classifying and sorting them that only she knew best.
In the past, the books were arranged in an orderly fashion, with clear boundaries. But now, several books have appeared in places that do not belong to them.
Look closely, and the changes seem to be everywhere—
The handle on the coffee cup is not at the most convenient angle for me;
The fireplace mantle had also been subtly moved, and a small clump of ashes even clung to the grate.
Not to mention the potted green ivy by the window, where Leila usually had one of its heart-shaped leaves facing her. But now, that leaf had been rotated about ninety degrees.
After sitting silently for a moment, Leila picked up a document and began to review it.
She seemed oblivious to everything, skillfully processing the reports sent from various departments—
Documents that need to be submitted to the Speaker of Congress for review should be placed in one group, while those that need to be categorized and archived should be placed in another group.
If there's a problem with the document, just tap the sticky note next to it with your wand. The palm-sized piece of paper instantly transforms into a paper airplane, which flies away with a whoosh.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye. The pile of documents in front of Leila had been moved to the processed area on the corner of the table. She slowly straightened her somewhat stiff back and a relaxed smile appeared on her face.
Then, Lyra stood up and gently waved her wand:
Some documents flew into the cabinet.
Each file is inserted into its appropriate folder.
Some were thrown into the trash can.
Papers were flying everywhere in the air, folders were rustling, cabinets were opening and closing with a clattering sound, and the occasional sound of trash cans spitting out crumpled pieces of paper was also present.
In an instant, the whole room seemed to come alive.
Amidst the fluttering papers, some sheets pulled from folders became completely inconspicuous.
The seemingly ordinary reports had dense text on the front and were originally blank on the back, but now, under the influence of magic, they faintly showed gray writing marks.
However, the blurry characters only flashed briefly before shattering and disappearing completely.
Lyra's tense nerves finally relaxed once all the papers were back in their proper places. Her anxiety vanished, and a feeling of lightness mixed with fatigue and relaxation washed over her.
Lyra knew perfectly well that anyone who could enter and search her office at the Magical Congress headquarters must have had Hawthorne's permission. In other words, she was a suspect.
But she worked late last night and was one of the first people to arrive at the office this morning, so the other party definitely didn't have enough time to search everything.
Lyra's magic on the paper was very subtle and delicate, almost like using an automatic quill.
Furthermore, she used an encrypted method to write it, so even if an ordinary person were to reproduce the text, they would only see the elegant and composed chairman's assistant's sharp criticisms of everyone around her.
Leila was certain that one night was far from enough time for the investigators to thoroughly examine her hidden secrets.
Considering that there might be hidden surveillance eyes in the office that she herself was unaware of, Leila didn't say a word more, nor did she check whether the hidden files had been read. Instead, she simply and decisively destroyed all the ciphertext on them.
But this is not enough.
Leila picked up the documents that needed to be submitted to Chairman Hawthorne, took a deep breath, put on her usual smile, and walked towards the chairman's office.
In front of Hawthorne was a towering pile of documents, along with numerous letters and invitations. He was wearing glasses and carefully examining a report in his hands.
Leila gently placed the file on the desk, her movements practiced and natural.
Hawthorne glanced up and saw the important points highlighted on the document with colorful sticky notes, and couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, Leila, you always lighten my load a lot."
“It is my pleasure, sir,” Leila said, but did not leave immediately, instead lingering for a moment.
Hawthorne asked, "Is there anything else, Lyra?"
Leila frowned slightly, her face showing just the right amount of hesitation and worry, as if she had gone through a difficult internal struggle before she spoke:
“It’s like this, Mr. Hawthorne… I recently discovered, while organizing trade documents, that Mr. Aldridge Corbitt’s cash flows seem… somewhat unusual.”
"Perhaps I'm overthinking it... but someone discovered that Mr. Corbett also frequently went to Gringotts to exchange gold for Galleons, and the amount was enormous."
"So I'm wondering, could he have some unknown relationship with certain Muggles? Or is he embezzling and using magic to profit in Muggle society...?"
She paused for a moment, then said with some unease, "I don't mean to spy on or question my colleagues, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps I'm just being overly sensitive."
"But I just feel... I feel that no abnormality should be ignored, and if I find anything suspicious, then I should let you know..."
Hawthorne mentally reviewed the list of suspects he had written down, raised his eyes, and gave Lyra a deep look, his gaze scrutinizing but filled with more relief.
“You did a good job, Lyra,” Hawthorne said in a softening tone. “I’ll have Hughes check this out.”
—It really is Ezra Hughes!
Leila quietly pinched her palm, then smiled with relief: "I'm just glad you don't think I'm being nosy."
Hawthorne took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, and, unusually, allowed himself to reveal some of his true emotions.
He sighed, "No country's magical community is as complex as ours. Right now, there are undercurrents within Congress, and quite a few people who are just sitting on their laurels."
"If everyone were as earnest and dedicated as you, always vigilant, and able to prioritize the big picture, that would be wonderful."
(End of this chapter)