My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 191, Chapter 188: The enemy is ashamed, I'll go and take off his clothes!

The establishment of the Ministry of Magic was not as simple as just announcing it and then ending it.

Even with the administrative system that the Ministry of Magic in Lan Kingdom has already begun to establish, the new civil servants of the Ministry of Magic will still be very busy for a long time to come.

In addition, their armed forces must remain constantly on guard against the Soviet Magic Committee to the east.

However, there's no need to be too nervous about this.

The division within the magical community of the Soviet Union is an inevitable trend. This is not only happening within the original Soviet Union, but also because many other countries' magical governments do not want to see an official organization like the Soviet Magic Council, with such a large number of wizards and such strong overall power, exist.

Take, for example, the Magic Congress of the United States.

After the Ministry of Magic of Lan declared independence, the Magical Congress of the United States was the first magical government to publicly acknowledge its political status and establish diplomatic relations with it.

Subsequently, the younger brothers in the Americas followed suit after seeing their leader's statement, and for a time the newly established Ministry of Magic of Lan Kingdom was unparalleled in the magical world.

But the most important factor in allowing the Ministry of Magic of Lan to gain a foothold in the wizarding world was the recognition from Albus Dumbledore, the president of the International Confederation of Wizards, who accepted the Ministry of Magic of Lan as one of the Confederation's members.

Meanwhile, Yelena Shaik, as the first Minister of Magic of the Kingdom of Lan, was busiest on the day the Ministry of Magic was established. She personally received more than a dozen representatives from the Ministry of Magic of various countries, signed various magical contracts, and also dealt with various unexpected events that occurred on the first day of the new government's official administration.

She was busy until midnight before returning to her new home in Kyiv, exhausted.

"Go back and rest, Hallena. You've been running around with me all day, you must be exhausted."

Using her secretary's illusionary teleportation, Yelena arrived at her front door and spoke softly to the secretary assigned to her by the Ministry of Magic.

Halena appeared extremely respectful to Yelena, even to the point of worship, and she bowed to Yelena.

"You've worked hard too, Minister Shayk. Please get some rest. I'll pick you up tomorrow."

Watching her secretary teleport away, Yelena couldn't help but shake her head and smile. This young girl not only served as her secretary but also doubled as her driver.

She rubbed her slightly sore eyes, pushed open the gate, and walked into the courtyard assigned to her by the Ministry of Magic. Inside was a two-story building with a neatly manicured garden in front.

Such a yard would naturally require some care and attention, but she didn't need to worry about it; the house-elves assigned by the Department of Magic would arrive tomorrow.

Just as she was about to turn around and close the courtyard gate, a pair of large hands suddenly grabbed the doorknob.

Yelena was initially startled. Although most of the Soviet Committee spies in Kiev had been eliminated, there were bound to be some who slipped through the net. But when she saw the person who had arrived, the tension on her face immediately turned into surprise.

"Hubert!"

She exclaimed excitedly, then pushed open the door and gave him a tight hug.

Lynn held his hands high, looking at Yelena who was hugging him with a blank expression, and struggled to break free from her embrace.

"Hey, it's only been half a day, but you're acting like we've been through a life-or-death situation. Besides, you're a minister now, and you're hugging and kissing a man in front of your own house. Aren't you worried about the impact? I'm worried about my own reputation."

Yelena released Lynn, her face slightly flushed, and chuckled, "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth."

She led Lynn into her new home. Lynn sat on the sofa, and Yelena made him tea while looking him up and down. Only after confirming that Lynn was not missing any limbs did she breathe a sigh of relief and ask.

"So you killed Ivanov?"

Lynn took the teacup from her hand: "They're dead. I threw their bodies into the sea."

"Congratulations on getting your revenge."

"Congratulations on your new appointment."

They toasted each other lightly with tea instead of wine.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, they had been through thick and thin together, so there wasn't much formality in their conversation, and Lynn went straight to the point.

"My trip to the Soviet Union is coming to an end, so have you decided what kind of reward you'll give me? Let me make it clear first, I won't accept a low price."

Lynn still had that snobbish look on her face, but Yelena couldn't bring herself to dislike him. She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you interested in living in Lan? You can move here with your daughter, and I can arrange a house for you next door to mine. Then you can work your way up in the Lan Ministry of Magic. With your abilities, I reckon you wouldn't even need me to help you; just a little guidance would be enough to get Ivanov's position in the Soviet Union. How about that compensation?"

Lynn's face showed no sign of pleasure, but rather a look of disdain as she stared at her.

"You've only been a minister for one day, and you're already using these political tactics on me? Is this how you pay me? You're trying to tie me to Lancaster and make me work for you!"

"That's not what I meant." As if afraid Lynn would misunderstand, Yelena quickly explained, "If you don't want any constraints, you don't have to work at the Ministry of Magic. Don't you like traveling all over the world? It would be lonely for your daughter to stay at home with only house-elves for company. You can move next door to me, and I'll help you take care of your daughter and even sponsor your travels."

Lynn pondered the meaning behind Yelena's words, and the more he listened, the more something seemed amiss.

Is she trying to make herself a kept woman?

Lynn gave Yelena a strange look and asked out of the blue, "I remember you told me you'd be 29 in a month, right?"

Yelena leaned against the sofa with her long legs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, looking somewhat shy.

"I am quite a bit younger than you."

"hehe."

Lynn scoffed, "There are quite a few. I feel embarrassed even calling you 'sister'."

Yelena didn't understand what he meant, and Lynn felt that he couldn't talk to her about this topic for too long, otherwise the conversation would go astray.

"Let's put your life-saving money aside for now and talk about the second thing you owe me."

"What? Didn't I already repay the last life-saving favor?" Yelena looked at him blankly.

"You should know Alice Lungard and Matthias Lungard, right?" Lynn said, naming his biological parents.

Yelena's expression changed, and she suddenly felt a sense of fear.

Few people remember those two names now, let alone know about her relationship with them.

Why would Lynn know all this? Did he find out after he met me, or did he contact me after he already knew about this?

So their meeting was not a coincidence, but a premeditated conspiracy.

February 1st, starting with an early update (ˊωˋ*)

(End of this chapter)