After Sunset:
Morven stood by the office window in the dark, watching people pass by. A knock came at the door. He stopped staring at the street, looked at the sky instead, took a deep breath, and said,
"Come in, Marcus…"
Marcus opened the door quietly, stared at Morven, and said,
"I did what you asked…"
Morven closed his eyes, smiled, and said,
"Good… this way is better."
Marcus, still looking at Morven, fully opened the door and said,
"But… was it really necessary!?"
Morven's smile faded. He opened his eyes, turned to look at Marcus, and said,
"Yes, it was necessary—more than you can imagine. Maybe I'll tell you, or maybe you'll figure it out yourself!"
Marcus took a deep breath and just nodded. He turned quietly into the hallway and closed the door with a slight bow.
Now alone again, Morven smirked and thought to himself,
"You'll never come back… Elizabeth. That's the only thing I'm sure of right now!"
As Marcus moved farther from Morven's room, he thought to himself,
"When he says it's necessary, it is… and when he says it's not, it isn't…"
After the Fifth Bell:
Morven wore his long coat, held his cane in his right hand, and put on his top hat. He leaned against the wall by the front door, lost in his thoughts. The rain was still falling, but lightly now, not as heavy as this morning.
Marcus finally got ready and hurried down the stairs. Seeing Morven deep in thought, he stared for a moment until Morven suddenly said,
"Well, look who's finally ready…"
Marcus looked at him in surprise and said,
"How did you even know I was coming!? Your eyes were closed…!"
Morven sighed, opened his eyes slowly, and stared into Marcus's eyes.
"If I don't recognize your footsteps, I wouldn't recognize my own…"
Marcus tilted his head in surprise, swallowed hard, and said,
"What you just said… what does it mean!? I'm sure you meant something, but what…!"
Morven just smiled, opened the door, gestured to Marcus, and said,
"You'll understand later… for now, go outside. We need to head to the harbor… and don't be scared of anything for no reason."
Marcus ran his hand through his hair but quickly pulled it out, saying,
"Seriously, now!?"
Morven's look turned serious. He glanced at Marcus from the corner of his eye and said quietly,
"I said we need to go to the harbor…"
Without another word, Marcus ran toward the door and stepped outside. He stopped at the bottom of the steps, took a deep breath to shake off the tension, and thought to himself,
"More like I'm the master here!"
After seeing Morven walk off without caring about his state, Marcus took three deep breaths, then started running to catch up with him.
The Sixth Bell / The Harbor / End of a Pawn:
Morven stood at the harbor with Marcus. He quietly pulled out his silver pocket watch from his coat, checked the time, when suddenly a familiar voice reached him—it was Elizabeth.
"Mr. Blacktide, I'm sorry for being late!"
Morven took a deep breath at the sound, tucked his watch back into his coat, smiled, and turned toward Elizabeth, who was running toward them.
When Elizabeth reached them, she bowed slightly, glanced at Marcus, and said to Morven,
"Mr. Blacktide, he… I mean… is he… your apprentice!?"
Morven sighed, turned his head, and stared at the boat.
"You came here to escape, not to ask about my personal life…"
Seeing the boat Morven was looking at, Elizabeth lit up with joy. She ran toward it, looked at the boatman, then turned back to Morven and said,
"Thank you so much, Mr. Blacktide!"
Morven nodded slightly. Marcus stayed behind Morven the whole time, as Morven had instructed him to, acting like a silent guard, just watching…
Elizabeth boarded the boat. As the boatman started rowing, she waved at Marcus and Morven.
Morven kept his smile until he slowly raised his cane and tapped it on the ground.
Without Elizabeth noticing, the boatman grabbed her from behind—his right hand over her mouth, his left hand on her throat—and began choking her. Elizabeth stretched out her hand toward Morven and Marcus for help, but they paid no attention.
Morven turned quietly and started walking away from the harbor. Marcus, still frozen, heard Morven say softly,
"What's wrong with you…"
Marcus took a deep breath and chuckled nervously.
"Nothing, just… they vanished into the fog so fast… I wanted to see the moment all her hopes died…!"
Morven took a deep breath, stared at the moon in the sky, and said,
"Her death wasn't interesting. I prefer watching people burn—that's why it didn't excite me much. Anyway, that's enough. Let's go…"
Marcus stopped laughing and returned to his usual self. He jogged to catch up with Morven, stopped running once he was close, and they both started heading home.