"...Mr. Caslana?"

Upon hearing this title, Benítez paused for a moment, a touch of inexplicable nostalgia flashing in his eyes.

Come to think of it, the first time Aileen was called in for a parent-teacher conference at the Scottish public elementary school, he was addressed the same way.

According to the elementary school teacher, that strong-willed child had concocted a lively "Caslana Family" among her classmates.

But it all ended with his rash parent-teacher conference, and after he subconsciously corrected the other parents' addresses, the whole class knew about Aileen's orphan status.

"Yes, I am Aileen's father—and you are...?"

Fleeting memories flashed through Benítez's mind. The middle-aged priest quickly composed himself and looked perplexedly at the old-fashioned gentleman not far away.

Unlike most of the students' parents, the middle-aged man standing at the corner was wearing a well-tailored handmade robe, his light golden hair was neatly combed, and a silver cane carved with delicate openwork patterns was at his side. His elegant, somewhat aloof, and cold demeanor was reminiscent of the British Royal Family on television. His attire alone made it clear that the man was definitely a high-ranking figure.

What confused Benítez somewhat was that the man's gaze at him carried a strange wariness, or perhaps...

Benítez's peripheral vision inadvertently swept over Aileen standing next to him, and he frowned slightly—was he wary of his little witch?

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You see, ever since he vaguely learned that "his daughter" might be the underground empress who controlled the magical world, Benítez felt that nothing could surprise him anymore.

"Lucius Malfoy, a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. My son, Draco, is in the same class as Miss Caslana."

Lucius said elegantly and calmly, his pale gray eyes thoughtfully scrutinizing Benítez as he tentatively spoke.

"I'm sorry, but as far as I know—Miss Caslana was originally living in a Muggle orphanage..."

As one of the few people who knew the identity of the "Demon Princess," Lucius's mind had been churning non-stop since he saw Benítez and Aileen appear in the classroom.

Although Dumbledore hadn't detailed Grindelwald's adoption process, or the story of the "Demon Princess," he was still able to see a lot of information thanks to his position on the school board.

"Oh, yes. Actually... I'm the director of that orphanage—José Benítez. Nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy."

Benítez nodded generously, smiled as he explained, and took the initiative to extend his hand towards Mr. Malfoy.

Regardless, the other party was one of the school's governors and the father of Aileen's classmate. These basic courtesies were still necessary.

"The director of a Muggle orphanage? But... your attire looks quite distinctive."

Lucius frowned slightly, a flash of arrogance and aversion quickly flitting across his eyes, but it soon disappeared into a cold calm.

Under the rather playful gaze of a certain little witch, Mr. Malfoy reluctantly extended his hand and quickly touched Benítez's right hand.

Lucius's gaze roamed over Benítez's solemn, simple priest's robe, and he said quietly, his silver-gray eyes flickering with thoughts.

"What I mean is, I thought you were... well, one of us—your clothes don't seem like other Muggles—"

He glanced at Mr. Granger, who was having a "heated debate" with Hermione not far away, and hummed almost imperceptibly, "—not quite the same. I thought you were one of us..."

"Oh? You mean this outfit? This is a priest's robe. I came in a bit of a hurry and didn't have time to change,"

Benítez paused, lowered his head to look at his robe, scratched his cheek apologetically, and explained with a smile.

"Perhaps you haven't learned much about these things, but in the non-magical world, there are many churches and religions, and I happen to be working in a related field—"

"Monk? Clergyman? Of course I know—"

Lucius raised his eyebrows slightly, but before he could finish speaking, a burst of joyful greetings suddenly came from not far away.

"Ohohoho—welcome, young priest! I told you, old Peeves never lies!"

Not far away, several milky white, translucent ghosts floated out of the stairs and walls one after another.

At the very front was a ghost with a wide face, a large mouth, and round, bright eyes—Hogwarts's undisputed strongest troublemaker (non-living).

"Peeves, what do you want to do? This is my dad—"

Aileen narrowed her eyes slightly, looked warily at the suddenly appearing small ghost, and said softly.

She could suppress almost all of the ghosts and creatures in Hogwarts Castle by 100%, but she couldn't completely grasp this poltergeist born from the will of Hogwarts students.

Even in a Hogwarts where "Dumbledore has disappeared," the only means by which Aileen can restrain Peeves is a mutually destructive outcome. Destroying Hogwarts Castle can, to some extent, threaten Peeves—after all, Peeves merely represents the "rebellion of young people," while Aileen's heart hides an "evil sufficient to destroy the world."

"Oh, don't worry, Hogwarts student big sister—I'm just leading everyone over to see the fun. This is a live Muggle priest!"

Peeves grinned, grabbed his ankle, somersaulted in mid-air, and roared past Benítez's head.

Then, he sat cross-legged on Benítez's head, gesturing crudely below.

Anyway, Muggles couldn't see ghosts. Aside from causing trouble for the castle's caretakers and prefects, its greatest pleasure was openly playing pranks.

Ever since hearing that Aileen's "Muggle dad" had come to Hogwarts Castle, Peeves quickly realized his opportunity had come. He was going to regain the title of number one mischief-maker.

Peeves made faces at Benítez while shaking his legs, looking arrogantly at Aileen directly below.

"Of course, provided that you admit that old Peeves is the most amazing mischief expert. Otherwise, it might be more than just 'watching' the fun—"

At the same time, Lucius Malfoy also took a few steps back, staring at Peeves warily.

As a former Slytherin prefect, he still remembered how troublesome Peeves was. When he was in school, he was often teased by this annoying thing.

"See... the fun?"

Aileen repeated softly, a spark of fire rising in her eyes.

"Holding a parent-teacher conference in the castle, are you trying to start a war? Perhaps you should change the time and place..."

Obviously, Peeves's current posture didn't look like he wanted to quietly watch the fun.

Several trash cans filled with waste paper floated in the air, along with some erasers covered in chalk dust.

"Oh, oh, oh, Miss Caslana seems angry! How scary!"

Peeves spun around excitedly in the air, waving his right hand boredly, and the combat props he had carefully prepared fell to the ground with a crash.

"We're friends, just joking around... The great Peeves gives you some face, but I still think this will be more interesting—"

"Huh? Are you and Aileen friends, little guy?"

Just then, Benítez suddenly looked up and looked at the strange little ghost sitting cross-legged in mid-air and chattering.

"Friends?! The great Peeves is merely temporarily admiring this guy—"

Peeves retorted subconsciously, as if his fur had been blown up.

But its voice suddenly stuck halfway, like a duck suddenly strangled by the throat.

"Y-you can see the great Peeves?!"

Peeves looked at the middle-aged priest looking up at him below with disbelief.

Then, he quickly turned his head and shouted at the unremarkable wall behind everyone.

"Fat Friar! Fat Friar! Your companion has come. Come out quickly—good heavens, there really are monks who know magic!"

"Alas... Peeves..."

Accompanied by a sigh, a chubby little monk-like ghost "squeezed" out of the wall next to him.

Peeves might find it difficult to understand that clergymen who can see ghosts are not necessarily monks who know magic, especially after the two worlds have been separated.

He looked at Benítez with a complicated expression, his gaze sliding over the man's bulging arm muscles, and he said softly with some melancholy.

"Hello, sir—welcome to Hogwarts."

Hundreds of years ago, he was also a clergyman.

Until... the Inquisition discovered that he had conjured a barrel of fine wine for the thirsty poor...

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Yay!

Chapter 1246 Melancholy Fat Friar