4:37 PM:
Morven slowly opened his eyes. His head no longer hurt, but Marcus still hadn't returned.
He rose quietly from the leather chair, glanced around his office, took a deep breath, and stepped out. Since he hadn't closed the door when he entered, he left it open again and headed toward the stairs to go downstairs.
Morven descended the stairs and walked to the coat rack. As always, he put on his coat and hat. He stared at his cane for a moment, took a deep breath, pulled out the watch from his coat pocket, and checked it.
"…Oh, it's exactly 4:37!"
He took another deep breath, closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them, he picked up his cane. He opened the door gently and stepped outside.
Outside the House / Another Visit:
Morven walked quietly through the Mayfair shops, took a deep breath, and decided to head toward the harbor. He thought to himself,
"Ah… why is Marcus taking so long…"
As he walked, he reached the same fruit vendor again. He took a deep breath, approached, and slipped his hand into his pocket, ready to bribe if needed.
The vendor, spotting Morven, quickly grabbed an apple and tossed it toward him.
Morven caught it with his left hand and looked at the vendor.
"Something wrong!?"
The vendor took a deep breath and said with a gentle smile,
"Nothing special… pay for it first!"
Morven placed three bronze coins on the vendor's wooden table with a hint of annoyance.
"Fine… tell me what's going on!?"
The vendor stared at Morven in surprise.
"You know I sell fruit pricier than others, yet you still pay me!?"
Morven sighed and said,
"Yes, because with three bronze coins, you should give me at least half a basket of apples. But I don't need the money, so it doesn't matter to me!"
The vendor rubbed his head, thought for a moment, and said,
"This morning, after you came and left, a big fight broke out a few minutes later among the people selling stuff along this route…"
Morven nodded quietly, waiting for the vendor to continue. The vendor went on,
"I got dragged into it too, and later I found out some men from the Minister of Taxation showed up… they forced taxes out of all of us!"
Morven smiled and said,
"So what!? You mean the Taxation Ministry— the minister himself just checks the taxes!"
The vendor let out a long, deep breath.
"What can I say… that's all the info I've got!"
Morven looked at the apple in his hand and asked,
"So, no news from the harbor!? Nothing else happened!?"
The vendor smiled and said,
"No, sir, no news!"
Morven thanked the vendor with a smile and started walking back toward his house.
6:01 PM, Dusk:
Morven reached his house, took a deep breath, eager to talk to Edward and William as soon as possible, but he wasn't sure if they had arrived yet.
He quietly inserted the key into the door, but as soon as he did, someone opened it from the inside.
Morven froze, wondering who was in his house, until he saw Marcus.
Marcus smiled warmly at Morven and lunged to hug him, but Morven dodged. Marcus stumbled down a couple of the front steps, barely regaining his balance, and said,
"Hey, why'd you dodge!?"
Morven stared at Marcus and asked,
"Did you bring Edward and William!?"
Marcus opened his mouth to speak when the door opened wider, and the voices of two familiar people rang out. One said cheerfully,
"Hello, boss!"
The other said politely and calmly,
"Greetings and respect to you… my lord."
Morven turned, surprised, and saw the two men…