It had been about 6 hours since Lucien left Morven's shop. The time was nearing 4 PM.
Morven sat in the watchmaking room, his head resting on the table with his hands wrapped around it. Meanwhile, Marcus was at the reception desk, handing the last customer of the day their watch and saying goodbye.
Marcus walked into the watchmaking room with a bored look, staring at Morven. He said quietly,
"Something wrong, Master!? You seem off!"
Morven slowly lifted his head and looked at Marcus. Then he turned toward the wall clock in the corner and said softly,
"No… it's nothing. I was just thinking about this morning's events!"
Marcus stared at one of the watchmaking tools, his tone shifting a little.
"Well, why don't you get rid of your brother!?"
Morven took a deep breath and put his head back on the table.
"I don't need to do that seriously… he's not even my rival, just a family member. And that's a family I'm not tied to!"
Marcus tilted his head, scratched the back of his neck, and said,
"I don't know what to say!"
Morven took another deep breath, stood up, rubbed his eyes a little, and said,
"Whatever, let's go!"
Marcus was surprised but laughed loudly and said,
"I'm already standing… you're the one who just got up! Why tell someone who's standing to get up? Where am I supposed to go, the ceiling!?"
Morven calmly put on his coat, picked up his cane, and placed his hat on his head. Then he tossed his cane toward Marcus. Marcus panicked but caught it gently to avoid damaging it. But he wasn't paying attention, and Morven gave him a hard punch in the stomach. Marcus leaned on the cane to hold himself but fell to the ground. Morven picked up the cane and said,
"Haha… that was funny! Too bad you didn't go to the ceiling—you fell on the floor. Now cry about it!"
Marcus, holding his stomach with both hands, said through the pain,
"If you can move that fast, why do you even use a cane… is it just for show!?"
But Morven just cleaned his cane and didn't say a word.
A few minutes passed. When Marcus felt better, Morven said without explanation,
"Are you okay now!? Stop sitting here like some addict, get up, let's go home!"
Marcus drank another glass of water, stared at it in his hand, and said,
"Why don't you have normal glasses? Who drinks water from a wine glass!?"
Morven took a deep breath, ran his hand through his hair until his fingers were fully under it, and said quietly,
"Want another punch!?"
Marcus put the glass on the table, waved his hands, and said,
"No, no, not at all… no extra torture, please!"
Morven pulled his hand out from his hair, slipped it into his coat pocket, raised his cane, tapped it on the ground, and said,
"Okay, get up, let's go!"
Marcus just nodded, and they left the shop together. This time, Morven locked the door to make sure it was secure. They headed toward Morven's house, where Marcus also lived.
Dusk:
Finally, after Marcus caused some trouble in the market—buying new ink or wandering into a women's clothing shop to buy something for his future wife—they arrived late at Morven's house.
Morven opened the door and gestured for Marcus to come in. Marcus walked in proudly with firm steps up to the doorway, but then Morven pushed him inside with his cane from the waist. Morven followed, closed the door, looked at Marcus, and said,
"You've been a clown enough today… that's enough!"
Marcus scratched the back of his head, chuckled quietly, but didn't say anything. He just went upstairs to his room.
Morven glanced at a potted plant, then slowly climbed the stairs and headed to his office.
Night / Around Midnight (00:00):
Morven was in his office, looking through documents and information, reading, or jotting down important notes in another notebook. Then he heard a knock on the door. He rested his hands under his chin, his elbow on the table, and said,
"Come in…"
Marcus quietly opened the door, holding several documents. Without a smile, he said softly,
"Here's the information you wanted…"
Morven smiled, closed his eyes, and said quietly,
"Now… we're ahead."
End of November 18:
Marcus placed the information on Morven's desk and, after a brief explanation, left the office to sleep.
Morven stayed in his office and fell asleep on one of the couches around 1:00 AM.