"Because of Dumbledore's obstruction." Delaine paused, then said, "Also because many foolish people cannot understand your great strategy and foresight."
"Dumbledore?"
Grindelwald slowly said, "When Dumbledore avoided meeting me, my cause had already shown signs of failure."
"The whole world thinks my power is unstoppable, but only I know, everything has deviated from our... my initial ideals..."
He closed his eyes, as if he was back in that narrow, cold prison, feeding on his failures over and over again, chewing, regretting—
If during the duel, he hadn't overly trusted the power of the Elder Wand... neglected honing his skills... perhaps he wouldn't have lost to Dumbledore.
If he had been slightly more lenient in his measures toward Muggles, perhaps his subordinates wouldn't have quietly chosen betrayal.
If he had initially killed all the Qilins, not let the election be decided by creatures he couldn't control...
If he could have completely brought Credence into his fold, letting that simple-minded boy willingly charge for him...
If he hadn't underestimated Scamander because of his seemingly foolish appearance, and had killed him early on...
Even earlier... if he had been more patient with Abeforth and Ariana, realizing how important those two burdens were to Dumbledore...
Perhaps everything would have been different.
But counting one by one, Grindelwald found there were too many turning points in fate he needed to change.
The collapse of the empire wasn't sudden; countless mistakes led to his eventual failure. Reflecting on the past, it seems every time he stood at a crossroads, he chose the wrong path.
In the long recollection, Grindelwald finally understood, it wasn't Dumbledore who defeated him, but he himself.
From the beginning, he made wrong decisions, using brutal and extreme rule to turn himself into the enemy of the world, so no matter how thriving the situation seemed, it was hot oil cooking fire; burning fiercely, but extinguished to find there was no fuel beneath.
Because he challenged not Muggles, nor the cowardly evasive thinking formed by wizards' hundreds of years of survival, but the inherent order of the world, and the fundamental interests and morals of all people.
"I didn't lose to Dumbledore; I lost to myself... I lost in the arrogance and ignorance of youth."
Grindelwald emphasized again, looking at his loyal subordinates, showing a peaceful smile, stating the fact he was finally willing to admit after long contemplation.
"Brutal rule cannot last long, Gunter, no matter how beautiful the prospect, it can't surpass the pain directly in front of us."
"Fifty years ago, we made enemies everywhere, isolated and helpless, seeming strong, but even internally there were countless conflicts, and countless people were doubting and resisting."
"To eliminate opposition, we removed everyone who opposed us— even if they were once our partners, our kin... even if they were actually right..."
"This is wrong."
Grindelwald sighed deeply, saying, "Contradictions and problems always exist, covering people's mouths and not allowing them to speak, this is the most dangerous."
"Those who are like-minded with us are comrades, those who have different ideas from us, are they necessarily enemies?"
"You see, I didn't gain understanding from killing many people before, now I've only killed a little and gained it easily."
He extended his finger, tapping the newspaper on the table. The newspaper was in a thick pile, printed with different texts, and emitted the smell of ink.
These were the Magic World news collected by his subordinates from various countries.
Before these newspapers were delivered to Grindelwald, Delaine had quickly reviewed them to ensure there were no insulting comments written on them.
Simultaneously, he unexpectedly found that many articles praised the recent actions of the Witch Pure Party, reemphasizing the threats Muggles posed to wizards, which few had said in the past except the Witch Pure Party.
Of course, there were also some people writing lengthy analyses of Grindelwald's conspiracies, intending to awaken wizards' memories of the bloody history of the Witch Pure Party.
But the wizards who experienced those dark times are now a minority group, most are adopting an optimistic and supportive attitude, and even many believe that Grindelwald has received sufficient punishment in prison, repented, and corrected his thoughts.
"Those who have made mistakes are more suited to be rulers than those who have always been right because they know which choices are wrong."—This is a popular saying recently.
The Witch Pure Party was ruthless in killing, yet its reputation unexpectedly improved.
"Think again about those around you, Gunter, do they now feel pain or glory from killing? After the action ends, do they feel empty and confused from venting their dissatisfaction with life, or do they enhanced their identity recognition and pride?"
"Seemingly similar actions result in such a huge difference due to that small difference, this is the key to determining success or failure."
Grindelwald spoke somewhat erratically, Delaine felt like he understood, but also somewhat bemused.
"Sir, I don't understand."
He half-knelt, looked up, and said, "Do we have to be like Dumbledore... to protect Muggles? Protect those who persecute us? Are we supposed to be the secret Ministry of Magic? Like so-called champions of justice?"