The queen gave Jacob a brief nod before her attention ged to the remaining items on the desk.

  Three shiny, official-looking badges rested atop sealed envelopes, and beside them was a single, small booklet. The badges, with their unmistakable designs, clearly resembled those used by w enfort, while the booklet was unmistakably a passport.

  The queen pced her hand on one of the badges and fixed her gaze on Maverick.

  "United Kingdom Criminal Iigatioment CID," she expined, her voice calm and straighttothepoint. "ander rank, with the corresponding clearance level." She paused aured to the sed badge. "This one—Military Intelligence, Se Six. MI6 agent credentials."

  Her hand moved to the third item. It was red and gold, its design more orhan official. "This signifies yent status in the Double-0 squad," she said, her tone measured and precise. "It will be invaluable, both within the military and when w with iional agencies..."

  If there was ohing Maverick appreciated most about Queen Elizabeth, it was her no-nonsense approach. She didn't waste time. She didn't leave you hanging. She always got straight to the point.

  She sat up straighter, her tone ging slightly. "With these, most doors will open for you. I trust you've been briefed ohing over the past few weeks, so I won't go into the details."

  Maveriodded. He had indeed been thhly briefed ohing—from standard operational procedures to the off-the-books protocols. He uood the privileges these identities granted, and just as importantly, the limits of what he could and couldn't do.

  Finally, she focused o item. "I know wizards like you hop across borders with a flick of a wand," she said with a slight smile, "but if you ever o travel the old-fashioned way, this will e in handy." She pushed the passport toward him.

  "This grants you hassle-free travel within NATO, the oh tries, Europe... well, you get the idea."

  Maverick picked it up. The passport was red, much like any other, but he khis small booklet would be vital for the many tasks he o aplish over the wo years.

  The handover was quid effit.

  Maverick didn't raise any questions. He simply transferred everything into his ring. All he o know had already been covered.

  It was time for the real versation.

  This meeting wasn't just for the queen to present Maverick with impressive ons and gadgets. She had asked to see him alone, without Edward. Maverick had expected this moment, and he was curious to see if she would ask anything different now that his mentor wasn't present.

  As an excellent host, Queen Elizabeth had arranged a private dihe three of them sat together, engaging in casual versation, until the queen finally steered the discussion back to the matter at hand. Once again, she inquired about Maverick's future pns. Maverick's response was unged, as he gave the same answer he had before.

  Then she delved into more serious topics. She asked Maverick what he thought about the magical world, its future, and if it could ever live openly alongside the non-magical world. She even brought up the Statute of Secrecy, asking if he had any ideas about ging or ending it. These were bold questions she wouldn't dare raise in front of a magical minister or a speaker.

  Maverick wasn't bothered, though he was a little surprised she asked him. He decided to be even bolder and shared his real thoughts about it.

  He expined his hypothesis that the Statute of Secrecy likely wouldn't st another decade, given the rapid advas in Muggle teology. It would be wiser, he argued, to gradually trol the narrative and introduce the magical world to Muggles in a measured way, rather thahe truth explode on the front page of some random neer.

  He then id out how he would approach this task, expining his strategy step by step. The queen listetentively, occasionally raising questions of her own, while his father too joined in, sharing his own thoughts as they talked.

  The versation then shifted to the sequences of such a ge. Maverick gave a simple example, paring it to how nuclear ons had stopped nations from going to war. He said the magical world had its own kind of deterrents in the form of powerful witches and wizards.

  Each Arch-Magus, he expined, was akin to a nuclear powerhouse, and no try would dare provoke such strength.

  This, he expined, would help prevent the chaos that could e from merging the two worlds.

  The queen brought up some serious s, including the potential trouble frious extremists. Maverick responded fidently, expining that the information age was already ging how people thought. Over time, he said, those groups would likely bee a small, isoted minority.

  His ho insights seemed to strike a chord with the queen. From her expressions and the emotions he picked up on, it was clear she appreciated his openness.

  The lohey talked, the more Maverick felt like sharing with her. After thinking it over for a moment, he shared some of his ideas for ging the outdated ways of British noble wizards.

  He expined his approach, detailing how he po ence the o accept Muggle-born wizards and even non-magical individuals.

  The queen wholeheartedly supported his vision. She enced him, emphasizing that ohe magical world iably stepped into the open, she didn't want Britain to g behind as a backward, divided nation.

  The diretched on for more than two hours, c a wide range of topics.

  This was her opportunity to ask all the questions, opinions, and requests she hadn't voiced during their first meeting, restraihen by Edward's presence.

  Maveriswered everything thhly, addressing her s and expectations. Her requests were reasonable and aligned with the ditions he had set when agreeing to work with her gover.

  As the versations unfolded, Maverick realized the queen truly held no prejudice against wizards. She genuinely wa together all aspects of her nation—magical, non-magical, superhuman, and supernatural. A united nation was her ultimate goal.

  Of course, she wasn't a saint. There was selfish motive behind it: she would remain the supreme authority of this unified nation.

  From what Maverick could tell, she also seemed vihat the wizarding world's secrets wouldn't stay hidden for much longer. It was clear she was already preparing for that eventuality.

  Before that, the queen wanted Maverick firmly on her side. By now, she had grasped the scope of Maverick's potential, uanding how powerful he could bee. It was evident she saw him as a future trump card—someone who could ehat even after the magical world stepped out of hiding, she or her desdants would retain ultimate authority over the nation. Maverick's strength, she believed, would be key to keeping that power close to her.

  Maverick didn't care about any of the politics. He valued order, and her vision aligned with his. He had no desire to rule or himself with who goverhe nation. In fact, if it were up to him, he'd prefer a non-magical leader to hold supreme authority over both the magical and non-magical sides.

  After all, wizards were a minority, and they weren't the only ones with extraordinary abilities. More importantly, Maverick firmly believed that teology, not magic, would be the most reliable foraintaining order in the long run.

  And even if a future monarch tried to twist things and py dirty politics, well, Maveriew how to hahat game too—and he wouldn't leave anything to ce.

  They dined and talked, their versation spanning a wide range of topics, until the clock approached nine.

  Before they parted ways, Maverick offered the queen a personal reassurance, promising to stand by her side as long as her iions and as prioritized the good of the nation—for both magical and non-magical people.

  This didn't mean Maverick was willing to bee a puppet, nor did it suggest he had any sense of nationalist ego. Far from it. He had big pns for the future—pns that included amassih and building his own force. What he needed most was order, and he knew he had to stay close to the ones enf it.

  The magical side would take time, but Maverick had pns to ehe higher circles of magical authority as well.

  Everything he did, every decision he made, was calcuted. But only time would reveal whether his choices today were right .

  —————————

  Author's Note:

  Just a quick update — up to Chapter 74 is already avaible on P AT r30n!

  PAT r30n [.] / RyanFic