The leader of the masked Aurors was Dawlish, so behind them should be...
"I didn't expect that the Minister of Magic would actually be the protective umbrella for the magical world's biggest smuggler. No wonder the Auror Office has been trying to find evidence to arrest Howard for so many years but has never succeeded."
Hearing this, Dawlish forcibly suppressed his inner shock, showing just the right amount of confusion and mockery as he sneered disdainfully. "If Fudge really was behind us, we wouldn't have been tricked by you today. First getting Scrimgeour to come after us, then playing the mantis stalking the cicada while you were the oriole, catching us all in one net. This kind of plan was probably thought up by you, wasn't it?"
"Whether I thought it up doesn't matter; whether Fudge is behind you doesn't matter either. These things are all quite irrelevant to me."
"Then what does matter to you?"
"From now on, you submit to me. Of course, on the surface you're still Fudge's people. What do you think?"
Dawlish had no doubts whatsoever and immediately nodded. "Fine, I'll express my submission to you right now."
As soon as his words ended, Dawlish saw Sean's half-smiling expression, then immediately felt pain on his left cheek as he took a hard slap from Sean. He felt dizzy and spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with teeth.
"Do you think you're being funny?"
"I, I've already submitted."
Slap! Another hard slap.
Dawlish lay on the ground with both cheeks red and swollen, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes to the ground.
"You think just saying you submit means you've submitted? Empty words mean nothing. You say you submit, then expect me to let you go? Are you an idiot, or do you think I'm an idiot?"
"You, you already know my identity and have leverage over me. Isn't that enough?"
"You still think I'm an idiot!"
Speaking, Sean raised his hand again, but this time Dawlish hurriedly rushed to Sean's feet, hugging his thigh and saying repeatedly, "Can't hit anymore, can't hit anymore. If you keep hitting, I'll be beaten to death. Half my teeth have already fallen out. Just tell me, what do I need to do for you to feel at ease? Whatever you say, I'll do. That should work, right?"
"Mm..." Sean nodded with some satisfaction. "This attitude of yours is acceptable. Here's a contract. Sign it."
He took out a roll of parchment and placed it in front of Dawlish.
Reaching out to open the parchment, Dawlish looked at the contents, and his face immediately turned deathly pale. This wasn't a contract at all; it was basically a slave deed! If he signed this thing, he would become Sean's slave, Sean's dog. If Sean told him to go east, he couldn't go west. If told to eat dung, he'd have to eat it happily, and after finishing he'd have to loudly praise how delicious it was and how he'd never eaten such tasty dung before. Otherwise, even wanting to die would be a luxury!
"This, this can't be signed, this..."
"Mm, you can choose not to sign. I'll go handle some other matters first. After I'm done, you can give me your answer. If you don't want to sign, then die."
Sean walked to the other side, where Howard was trembling with fear.
Of Howard's four bodyguards, two were Sean's people from the start and naturally turned against him just now. No need to say more. As for the other two, they had already been abandoned to become trophies for Scrimgeour's Aurors. Having troubled others for a whole night, some benefits had to be given. Sean wasn't someone who did things carelessly.
Well... if giving away two Dark Wizard bodyguards who knew no secrets counted as being considerate.
"Who are you? Are all these people your subordinates? Including Marlowe, including these two bodyguards who were originally loyal to me?"
"First, I need to correct you. Marlowe and your two bodyguards were originally my people. From the very beginning when they entered Knockturn Alley, they were following my orders."
"What do you want?"
"I want you!"
Howard showed a terrified expression and unconsciously tightened his clothes.
"I mean your control over the smuggling business, your control over Dark wizards, and the things in your head. I want you to submit to me."
Howard looked at Sean. After thinking briefly and looking up at the guarded Aurors outside, recalling various things from before, he suddenly said to Sean, "I can submit to you, and I can even sign those contracts of yours, but there are two conditions. You must include protecting my wife and children in the contract. You cannot harm them. The second condition is that they must all sign your contracts. As long as all those Aurors outside sign contracts, I'll submit to you unconditionally."
Looking at Howard, Sean suddenly smiled. He slowly nodded. "It seems you've figured some things out. But that's fine. Figuring it out is even better. Anyway, when you leave here, there's only one possibility."
Turning back outside, Sean came before Dawlish again.
"Have you decided, Dawlish?"
Dawlish looked at Sean, somewhat confused. "This fast?"
"How long do you want? Should I give you a month to think?"
Dawlish smiled awkwardly and said tentatively, "Um, could some terms of the contract be modified?"
"Mm, die then."
Raising his wand, Sean prepared to cast magic to completely eliminate Dawlish.
Just then, Dawlish very decisively reached out to use magic and signed his name on the contract.
Looking at the completed contract, Dawlish felt like his heart was dead, but at the same time, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was alive.
Putting away his wand, Sean gave the contract to Marlowe. "Go get the others to sign. For those who won't sign, don't wait. Kill them directly."
"Yes, Master."
Nodding, Sean returned to Howard. "After this, you'll continue as usual. Without my orders, you can pretend today never happened. However you lived before, continue living that way. I think you understand what I mean, right?"
"I understand."
At this time, Marlowe brought over the contracts that all the masked Aurors had signed. Sean took them and handed them to Howard. "Sign it."
Glancing at the names above and confirming that everyone outside had signed, Howard didn't even look at the terms and directly signed his name.
Seeing this scene, Sean leaned over and said quietly, "I'm glad you signed the contract so readily, because I really didn't want to threaten you with your family. Of course, I mean your real wife and children you sent to Japan."