Chapter 647: Britain’s Silver-Tongued Menace, Barty Crouch Jr

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Voldemort was smiling.

But even separated by thousands of miles, Barty could still feel the naked killing intent and cold indifference behind that smile. If his answer displeased the Dark Lord even slightly, he knew without a doubt that Voldemort would put him at the very top of his kill list.

"My Lord," Barty replied at once, "it wasn’t that Lestrange’s question left me speechless. I simply disdained answering such treasonous nonsense."

Bellatrix froze for a second before glaring at him viciously. "Crouch, what the hell do you mean by that?! Just admit you wanted to play hero and betrayed our Lord!"

Barty didn’t even look at her. He met Voldemort’s gaze for a brief moment, then lowered his head again.

"I am a Death Eater. A dark wizard personally taught by Lord Voldemort."

"When my lord and master were humiliated and I could do nothing to help, that was my first sin."

"When my master suspected me of secretly leaking his whereabouts, then regardless of whether I actually did it or not, the fact that my master suspected me means I must have failed somewhere. That is my second sin."

"As for Lestrange asking whether I’m some kind of hero..." He lifted his head, eyes blazing with fanatic devotion. "Then let me answer properly. If betraying my master could somehow make me a hero, then I would rather die than be called one."

At that, Barty’s voice rose with fervor. "Because the very first lesson Master ever taught me... was loyalty!"

Barty paused then continued, "But master, since that’s the case, why would Bellatrix Lestrange call someone who betrayed you a hero?" His eyes sharpened. "Unless... Unless she’s long harbored thoughts of her own."

Gilderoy Lockhart, who had been sitting there silently with his head down, doing everything possible to shrink his presence, cautiously looked up.

The look in his eyes was... indescribable. And way too complicated.

Seriously, man... how are you this good at talking?

"Bella, you really do have sharp instincts." Voldemort suddenly turned toward her, so furious he actually laughed. "Good. Very good. What a wonderful speech. Our Barty truly is a ’heroic man.’"

"I, Voldemort, have always admired heroes in my life. You. Dumbledore. Potter. Riddle. Ah yes, and your little allies and backers too. Those Sun-Chasers. I admire them all, Barty!"

"My Lord." Barty abruptly raised his head again, meeting Voldemort’s eyes without the slightest hint of guilt. "I have no allies. No backers."

"I graduated in 1980... no, I followed you even before graduation. You are my father. My teacher. And my master."

"If we’re talking about backing, then you are my only backing. If we’re talking about allies, then I can only ever be my master’s servant."

At this point, the way Lockhart looked at Barty had evolved beyond admiration. It was worship now.

Even Voldemort himself was getting mentally thrown off.

All the fury he’d built up, all the barbed accusations and venomous baiting from earlier, had completely failed to affect Barty in the slightest.

Every ounce of anger and suspicion felt like a punch thrown into cotton, with nowhere for the force to land. It left him incredibly frustrated.

So after all this... Barty was actually absurdly loyal?

Then who was it?

Who the hell had been working with the Sun-Chasers and leaking his location?

Now the way Voldemort looked at the two people beside him became noticeably different.

Bellatrix had already been battered senseless by Barty’s relentless verbal combo and couldn’t think of a single rebuttal. But the killing intent radiating from Voldemort jolted her survival instincts awake, and her sluggish brain finally started turning again.

"Crouch, those are some pretty words," Bellatrix snarled, glaring at him viciously. "You’re only acting fearless because you’re all the way in Britain, far from the Lord’s side. If your conscience is really clean, then come back. Let my lord inspect you personally and see whether you’re truly loyal!"

"Fine."

Bellatrix stared at him in shock.

Barty had agreed instantly, without even a moment of hesitation.

"My Lord, I recently learned that Tom Riddle is planning to host a grand banquet. I originally intended to find a chance to infiltrate it. But since you suspect me, I’ll come see you tomorrow instead."

Voldemort stared at him silently for several seconds before finally forcing out a smile. "There’s no need, Barty. My child, I believe you. Today was merely to make Bella and Lockhart believe in your loyalty as well."

"Then... should I still go back?" Barty asked.

Voldemort shook his head, "Continue getting close to Tom Riddle. Try to gather information on the Sun-Chasers through him or Dumbledore."

"That’s enough. I need to rest now. Do your job well, Barty. I won’t be stingy with rewards."

With that, Voldemort severed the connection to the Lume-Lens.

Andros’s final attack had hit far harder than expected. Voldemort still hadn’t fully recovered from his injuries, mostly because he didn’t want to abandon this body. That was also why he hadn’t eaten the golden apple yet. He was worried the artifact’s power would be wasted on healing him instead.

...

..

"Hmph. That was all it took to fool him? Dark Lord... you’ve really grown timid."

Barty sneered as he climbed to his feet, casually flicking his wand to brush the dust from his robes.

This whole ordeal had been absurdly easy.

And because of that, he’d seen something important: Voldemort was weak.

The Dark Lord of old had been absolute. When he suspected someone, he never needed evidence, nor did he care about excuses. He trusted only his own instincts.

Back then, he’d executed several Death Eaters merely suspected of being spies.

But now?

Now Voldemort knew fear.

He had realized that his power was no longer enough to dominate everything. Because of that, he feared losing what strength he still possessed. Even servants like Barty, people he once viewed as disposable tools, had become assets he was reluctant to throw away.

That was why he’d forced himself to stay rational and avoid acting recklessly without solid proof.

And when Barty said he would personally go see Voldemort, it hadn’t been a bluff at all.

He truly wanted to go.

Because Grindelwald had promised he would go with him when he went to meet Voldemort,

Maybe they could eliminate Voldemort for good.

As for the incredibly questionable morality of bringing your new boss to kill your old boss, Barty honestly saw no problem with it.

True, Voldemort had taught him his very first lesson: loyalty.

But in the Crouch household, Barty Crouch Jr had mastered another lesson all on his own.... Never stay loyal to the past.

"Next," he muttered, pulling out his Codex, "I’ll follow Lord Grindelwald’s plan and make the Sun-Chasers clash with Voldemort."

He began writing up his report.

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