6 Chapter 6: the Silver household (part 2)

Markus's POV:

While sitting in the carriage an awkward atmosphere plays out in front of Markus.

Zen was sitting in front of him tending to his every need while trying to strike up a conversation with the boy by asking various things about Markus like his favourite food and drink, the level of education he's received, how does he feel about his childhood so far etc.

Markus only answered the bare minimum required to put up his act as a "long lost prodigal son of Aidan Silver" while making sure to not let a single unnecessary word slip from his tongue, although this could have backfired disastrously since Zen's sharp intuition could've deduced that no child would be this thoughtful about everything they say therefore raising suspicion about Markus's character, Markus successfully made Zen come to the conclusion that it was just because of how especially conscientious beyond his age Markus was, showcasing his "prodigal" mindset.

Markus's acting skills were on full display here, convincingly portraying an innocent but unusually mature 9 year old while leaving no crack in his act, it's like this "mask" was intricately carved out and polished before being put on by Markus and he was eternally grateful for that, since both Kazuki and Markus had one thing that they both lacked to a crippling degree and that was social skills, one was a university graduate with a minor social anxiety disorder only making friends with people who actively reached out to him and the other was a cold blooded child assassin trained at birth to be less man and more machine-like in every way. Usually this wouldn't be a problem for Markus since the Exforia inside of him would've suppressed his anxiety and increased his focus on the task at hand allowing Markus to display his full capabilities without hindrance but because Markus regained his humanity through merging with Kazuki the whole situation became exponentially more stressful than it was supposed to be in the game.

((Calm down, imagine it like the dialogue option screen in the game))

Following the teachings of his past life, Markus tried to imagine this scenario in front of him right now as the usual dialogue option segments of the game, this was highly effective as Markus became more calm and collected by relating this situation to a simple game in his head rather than an actual social conversation.

In fires of Valentia when the player is not busy strategizing, grinding exp, farming items and just plain playing other parts of the game they were always in the middle of a dialogue between two or more characters and since fires of Valentia took some hints from dating sims and Otome games every dialogue option you pick can affect your play through drastically, this applied even more strongly to the major decisions in critical parts of the game's climax.

"You are surprisingly knowledgeable master Markus, not to mention very good with your words too, why is that anyway? It's not bad if you acted a bit more spoiled as befitting of your age you know?"

Zen's tone was relaxed and carefree as to try and alleviate Markus's worries.

""I apologise, my mother taught me to always be strict with myself as to not accidentally make grave mistakes in life, she said that if I make a single fault especially while in the capital it'll affect me for the rest of my life""

Markus reply was as soft-spoken as his natural voice would allow, as he was still trying to conform the parts of his speech and demeanour as well as the way he acted in order to perfectly fit into the fiction of "Markus Silver" that had been created by Executor's fabrication.

"Ah yes, your mother was a scholar of magecraft as well as a lecturer so it is to be expected, you've probably gone through an even higher education than a normal duke's child"

Zen continued to evaluate Markus's character as he has been doing this entire time.

""Erm...I'm not fully aware of the level of education an average ducal house provides so I can't comment on that but my mother did place excessive importance in knowledge so she made sure to put me through a very rigorous training all my life""

Markus exercised extreme humility in retaliation against Zen's scrutiny as a form of caution.

"Humble and smart at the same time not to forget extremely meticulous in his actions...I see so this is what makes him a prodigy"

Zen muttered in a low voice as to not let Markus hear it, but since Markus was trained extensively in the arts of gathering information of course he heard everything but decided not to comment on it.

"If I remember correctly your mother's name was Merilyn right? Might I inquire as to why she's not accompanying you on this journey to the capital? Lord Aidan refused to share anything so I'm quite curious"

Putting his bright smile back on Zen asked

Zen's POV:

""...""

Markus was quiet for a moment, his eyes casting down on the floor of the carriage.

""She's...as of last week she's no longer with me...""

With a seemingly solemn face Markus said.

"Oh, I see..."

(I've messed up)

Realizing his mistake Zen scratched the back of his head while smiling bitterly.

(Bereft of a beloved parental figure at such a young age...my my master Aidan, you've brought home quite a troublesome kid)

Zen thought as he was trying to find the best way to lessen the gloomy atmosphere.

(What a strong willed child, despite losing a parent so soon he's not giving in to neither grief nor pressure from the change in living environment, is this also an expression of his prodigal abilities?)

"I deeply apologize for my thoughtless question master Markus, although I can never truly understand your pain, I'm sorry for your loss"

Returning to his strict and respectful tone Zen bowed as he figured that honestly apologizing to Markus was the only solution in this situation.

(Judging by the fact he hasn't fully opened up to me despite me acting relaxed, if I try to console him with warm sweet words, it will only end up insulting his pain as he'll see through it immediately)

Zen thought.

""Oh no, please raise your head it's not your fault that things turned out this way""

Markus said urging Zen to drop the apologetic state that he's in.

"I thank you for your kindness master Markus"

Lifting his head, Zen once again tried to get Markus to open up more to him but with more reserve this time.

"Back on topic, I've been informed that you have been taught both Magic and Swordsmanship ever since the day you were born is that correct? If so you wouldn't mind undergoing a little test once we arrive at the estate would you?"

""Erm, no I wouldn't mind""

Markus answered timidly.

"Fantastic! I'll be sure to prepare a great welcome for master Markus once he's done"

""Anou...I would prefer it if it wasn't something too extravagant""

Acting reserved, Markus replied.

"No need to hold back, you are undoubtedly the star of today's show, so by all means please try to enjoy yourself"

Zen said while giving Markus a kind smile.

Markus's POV:

((Phew!...I guessed that worked, he shouldn't give me any more questions out of guilt and I didn't accidentally let any unfavorable information slip, although I wouldn't say that I've gained his complete trust even though it would be more ideal that way, I can at least say that I've successfully led this conversation in a favorable direction...))

Markus was waiting impatiently for Zen to ask about "Merilyn" (who doesn't even exist by the way, she's a fictional character created through Executor's brainwashing of Aidan Silver) in order to stop Zen from scrutinizing him on his past.

((With this I should be able to slip into the Silver house's ranks as Aidan's long lost son, I'll use this chance to exploit the Silver house's resources for my training as well as to further my plans for the future))

Markus thought as he began going over the nits and bits of his plan one last time.

((If things go according to schedule, I should be introduced to Sophia by the end of the year, which is...5 months 12 days and 3 hours from now, until then I must obtain that ability from Starfell lake as well as increase my stats as much as possible))