November 19, 12:03 PM:
Morven walked down the stairs slowly and headed toward the dining room. He opened the door quietly and was shocked to see Marcus eating.
He glanced at the meat pie Marcus had brought and said softly,
"Didn't they have anything else for you to bring this!?"
Marcus, with his mouth full, mumbled,
"Uh… no… they didn't."
Morven got a little annoyed, raised his hand to his forehead, rubbed it, and said,
"I'm hungry, stop messing with your food and talk properly!"
As soon as Marcus swallowed, he took another big bite and said,
"Okay… th-this… l-last one…"
Seeing that talking this way with Marcus wasn't working, Morven sat at the table and started eating.
About 45 Minutes Later:
Morven washed his hands with well water for the fifth time, lowered another bucket to fill it, pulled it up, and untied it from the rope.
He gave a gentle smile, lifted the bucket, and walked toward one of the walls in his small courtyard…
Marcus, who was tied up with rope, hands and feet bound, sat in the corner of the courtyard. When he saw Morven coming with the bucket, he shouted,
"I didn't even answer you during lunch—what's this for!?"
Morven stood over Marcus and poured the water over his head, saying,
"Tell me who you're spying for, you traitor!"
As the water hit him, Marcus let out a soft scream and shivered,
"M… m… man, i-it's… c-c-cold!"
Morven chuckled softly, glanced back at the well, then at Marcus, and said,
"That's not my problem—answer now, or I'll get another bucket!"
Marcus, still shivering, stared at Morven and said,
"W… w… which answer… w… which q-q-question!"
Morven took a deep breath, leaned a little toward Marcus, and said,
"I think I asked… didn't they have any other food to bring outside!?"
Marcus sighed deeply with regret and said,
"M… Master, I s-swear… t-to… J-Jesus… th-they didn't!"
Morven stood straight, ran his hand fully through his hair, stared at Marcus for a moment, then pulled his hand out. He took a knife from his pocket and looked at Marcus.
Marcus got scared and said,
"W… w-wait… y-you… y-you're not g-gonna… s-stab me w-with th-that, are you!?"
Morven gave a gentle smile, quickly untied Marcus from the wall with a swift move, pushed him to the ground, and held his neck to keep him still.
Marcus didn't move or say anything, just thought to himself,
"He's not going to kill me!? Why would I die!? Just because the restaurant didn't have other food!?"
But unlike Marcus's thoughts, Morven used the knife to cut the ropes binding him. After cutting them all, he let go of Marcus's neck and put the knife back in his pocket.
As Marcus tried to get up, Morven placed his foot on Marcus's back and said,
"By the way… go see William… don't say who, you know him. Tell him to replace one of his killers with a boatman to take someone out… got it!"
Morven lifted his foot off Marcus and walked toward the house.
Marcus, left sitting in the courtyard, watched Morven go. He scratched his head and said,
"What a mess we got into… but I guess he's got a point somehow!"
3:57 PM, November 19:
Marcus finished his bath, got dressed, and before going to see William, he went to Morven's office. Without knocking, he opened the door and stared at Morven, who was watching people pass by as usual.
Sensing the door open without a knock, Morven knew Marcus had a question. Without waiting, he said,
"What do you want to ask…"
Marcus froze but, standing in the doorway, said,
"Is it really necessary to kill Elizabeth!? I'm not saying don't, but… what's the reason!?"
Morven took a deep breath, stared at the people on the street, and said,
"The reason… let me put it this way… she said she'd leave and never come back, but you can't trust a person's words…"
Marcus stared at Morven, listening quietly.
Morven continued,
"This applies to you and me too. No one is loyal to anyone else… loyalty doesn't mean anything, especially now that we're at war. Anyone can betray, and even if there was no war, I'd get rid of Elizabeth because she could cause trouble. If she comes back to Britain one day or shares what she knows about Britain in France or any other country… she'd be seen as a traitor. And if she mentions me, it'd be even worse…"
Marcus was surprised and asked,
"You don't care about your country, but what does she know about you that she could say!?"
Morven smirked and said,
"I'm a noble now—I could be a target. And who better than me, with only a foolish apprentice and no other guards!?"
Marcus took a deep breath and said,
"I'm the fool again… but you're not weak yourself… so what's the issue!?"
Morven closed his eyes, smiled, and said,
"There's no issue… anything can happen in this fleeting world. Everything I said is a possibility, nothing's certain, but nothing's impossible in this world. Even the world ending tomorrow is possible… so I'm just preventing the chance of Elizabeth talking!"
Marcus tilted his head and asked,
"So you're attached to this world!?"
Morven turned slowly toward Marcus, smiled, opened his eyes gently, and said,
"No… I just want to see how long it takes me to die. The way things are going, it shouldn't take too long…!"
Marcus, not understanding a thing, just nodded and waved his hand as he closed Morven's office door and left the house to see William.
Dusk:
Marcus returned from William's and climbed the stairs to Morven's office, knocking on the door.
Morven stood by the office window in the dark, watching people pass by. Hearing the knock, he stopped staring at the street and looked at the sky instead. He took a deep breath and said,
"Come in, Marcus… [Events of Chapter Six]