The group exchanged a few more thoughts, and although unease about the future still lingered, they ultimately reached a consensus: for now, it was best to stay put and observe. No sudden moves—just silence before the storm.
As the atmosphere began to ease slightly, Adrian chuckled and said, "But in just a few more days, Marcellus should be discharged, right?"
Elise nodded in agreement, her expression lightening for the first time in a while. "That's something worth celebrating."
Livia turned to Marcellus, a soft warmth in her eyes. "Yeah. Finally, you won't have to rot away in this dreary hospital room."
But to their surprise, Marcellus merely glanced around at them, then quietly said, "…No. I'd like to stay here a little longer."
The room went still. Everyone froze.
Adrian blinked, uncertain he'd heard correctly. "Did you say… stay?"
Elise frowned slightly. "But the doctors said your recovery's been going remarkably well. Another day or two of observation and you're good to go. Why would you want to remain here?"
A heavy silence fell over the room. Only Livia's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of understanding flashing across her gaze. She didn't speak, but lowered her eyes quietly, withholding any opinion.
Marcellus looked up at the ceiling, where the fading light cast shifting shadows across the tiles. He said softly, "I just feel… more at ease here."
He paused, then added, almost defensively, "Maybe it's the quiet. Helps me think more clearly. And besides—" he gave a faint smile, light but deliberate, "—staying in the hospital is a kind of smokescreen, isn't it? It might make our enemies think I'm still too weak to act. That could give us a tactical edge."
His gaze flicked to Livia, then back to the others as he continued, "And like Livia mentioned before—I'll be able to monitor you, Adrian, and Elise regularly. Check for any signs of the Grail's influence. Isn't that reason enough?"
The others still looked unsure, but couldn't come up with a solid argument against him.
Livia, however, listened in silence, a quiet ripple stirring within her heart.
He's afraid the Grail might affect him, she thought. That's the real reason. He wants to stay close to it… to confront it, or perhaps to resist it. Maybe he's hoping the next fragment appears soon, and he can reach it first. She didn't speak those thoughts aloud. She simply lowered her lashes, her expression gentle, but firm.
And almost as if in response, Marcellus thought quietly to himself: I don't want to stray too far from here… I don't want it to unravel me more than it already has.
Of course, he had other reasons too—reasons he still couldn't voice aloud.
Adrian opened his mouth again, as though he wanted to argue, but Livia raised a hand slightly, stopping him with a calm, decisive gesture.
She looked at Marcellus, her voice soft but resolute: "Then stay. I'll stay with you."
Her words weren't loud, but their certainty settled over the room like a stilling breeze, quieting everything.
Marcellus turned to her, stunned into silence.
In that instant, something in him shifted—not in theory, not through logic, but through something far less tangible.
Does she… truly understand me? Could I really tell her everything?
No one objected again. With Livia's position made clear, the rest had no reason—or perhaps no right—to insist further.
Once they had all confirmed the current course of action, they fell back into silence, aware that speculation would do no good now. Edgar, Eryx, Jim—none of them had revealed their next move. For the moment, their side could only wait.
Wait for the undertow to stir beneath the still surface.
Wait for the enemy to make one wrong move.
Wait for fate to crack—just a little—so they could strike.