After Returning Home / Around Midnight:
Exhausted from the day, Morven tossed his cane and hat into a corner upon reaching home. He threw his coat over the wooden railing and climbed the stairs. When his right foot hit the fourth step, he took a deep breath, turned to Marcus, and said in a tired tone,
"I'm exhausted… tidy up my coat and stuff. Don't stay up too late either—go to sleep."
Marcus, seeing how tired Morven was, smiled and bowed slightly out of respect.
"Okay, Master. Have a good night."
Morven felt a bit cheered by Marcus's gesture and smiled. He turned and continued up the stairs.
After Morven left, Marcus took a deep breath, scratched his head, and headed toward the kitchen, thinking to himself,
"It's been a while since we used the kitchen… as far as I remember, we've been getting food from takeouts or restaurants."
Morven reached his room upstairs, flopped onto his bed, and muttered,
"Damn… I'm so tired."
He fell asleep right where he landed.
Marcus opened the kitchen door, coughed a few times from the thick dust, and said,
"Wow… did we have a desert in our house and I didn't know!?"
He chuckled quietly and thought to himself,
"Why did I say that out loud!?"
He ran his finger along a wooden cabinet, saw the dust on it, and thought,
"No… it's not worth it now, I'm not in the mood. I'll clean it tomorrow…"
He wiped his finger on his pants, closed the kitchen door, tidied up Morven's things and coat, put them back in place, then climbed the stairs. After reaching his room, he lay on his bed and fell asleep.
8:00 AM, November 20, 1797:
Morven had woken up an hour ago and left the house in his usual clothes. He was walking toward the harbor when someone running bumped into him. He tried to stop them but noticed several people were rushing toward the harbor square.
Surprised, he approached a vendor and asked,
"What's happening? Why are some people running toward the harbor square!?"
The vendor, focused on his work, snapped,
"Why should you care? What's it to you!?"
Morven took a deep breath, placed three bronze coins on a wooden crate, and said,
"I wanted two apples…"
Seeing the coins and hearing Morven, the vendor said,
"Well, sir, if you're buying, I'll tell you. There's a rumor that the minister's dead son's servant's body was found in the Thames River—that means she's dead too."
Morven was deeply shocked. He grabbed the two apples and stepped away from the vendor, quickening his pace toward the harbor.
When he arrived and saw the crowd, he realized Elizabeth's body had indeed been found. As he stood there, a familiar voice came from behind him.
Lucien said calmly and friendly,
"Hello, brother…"
Morven turned, startled to see Lucien, and said,
"What are you doing here!?"
Lucien walked over and stood a short distance from Morven, saying,
"Do I need your permission to move around the city!?"
Morven replied coolly with a smile,
"No, what a silly thing to say. You can go anywhere—even to the graveyard!"
Lucien, still calm on the surface, said,
"By the way, why did you kill Elizabeth? What did that poor servant do!?"
Morven was taken aback by Lucien's words. He fell silent for a few seconds, unsure of what had happened, and asked,
"What… do you mean!?"
Lucien answered with the same calm,
"Oh, you don't know!? Last night, as I was walking by the Thames and passing the harbor, I saw you and your apprentice… and a girl struggling for her life on a boat while you didn't care at all!"
Morven struggled to keep his composure and said,
"And I suppose you made sure her body was found, didn't you!?"
Lucien smiled and said,
"Oh, why not!?"
He leaned closer to Morven's ear and whispered,
"I'll do anything to ruin and defeat you… brother!"
Then he walked past Morven and left.
Morven stood frozen, furious and wanting to kill Lucien, but he knew that attacking him there would mean his own death. Instead, he walked quickly all the way from the harbor to his house.
When he got home, he carefully placed his cane, coat, and hat in their spots, then rushed upstairs to Marcus's room.
Around 9:00 AM:
Marcus was sitting in his room, reading a book, when the door suddenly opened, startling him. Seeing Morven, he was even more surprised and said,
"Didn't you go for your morning walk!?"
Morven gave a cold smile and said to Marcus,
"Bring William and Edward to me… get those two here by tonight!"
Marcus was shocked but felt that opposing Morven would lead to trouble, so he just nodded and asked,
"Something wrong, Master!?"
Morven clenched his fists tightly and, with the same smile, replied,
"No, nothing's wrong. Just a nosy person saw us cause Elizabeth's death, and I'm going to get rid of him no matter what. If you understand, go… hurry up."
Marcus nodded, put on a coat over his clothes, and said to Morven,
"I'll go get William and Edward as you ordered… can you step out of the doorway!?"
Morven rubbed his head and leaned against the door, saying,
"Fine, go… at least be back with those two by early evening!"
Marcus nodded and rushed out of the room, hurrying down the stairs and out of the house.
Morven stepped out of Marcus's room, closed the door behind him, went to his office, opened it, and sat on one of the leather chairs. He muttered,
"My head… damn, I'm so angry."
He closed his eyes to calm down but ended up falling asleep.