Restriction Order

"I… am not your daughter?" stuttered Edna, still unable to believe the information she had just heard. It hurt her so deeply.

"I'm sorry, Edna."

Edna now understood. No wonder she could never be accepted in this family. No wonder her father never wanted to put Westfall's name behind her name. That was because they were not real father and daughter. Nothing bound them to become a family.

"Edna… I have lost Lucy, and I don't want to lose you either. Even though we don't share blood, I have considered you like my daughter. I planned to adopt you and explain everything, but you left the house before I could explain everything."

"Don't you want to marry me to Jonathan?" Edna asked in a slightly high tone. "I ran away because I didn't want to marry that pedophile!"

"Alright, alright. I have to admit it was also my fault! I ran out of ideas to make my wife and Jonathan understood. I agreed to their request, so I could think of another way, Edna."

Edna still thought it didn't make sense. The girl tried to piece everything together and her mind was blank. She lost her way and didn't know what to do.

"It is my fault for being an indecisive head of the family. I know it's already too late. But will you forgive me, Edna? If you forgive me, I want us to go back to being a real father and daughter. I plan to legally adopt you as my daughter."

"But I've become a criminal, Dad. You wrote down my name and spread it throughout the kingdom. I'm a cursed child. I won't be able to make you happy. I will only bring you bad luck."

"There's no such thing as a cursed child, Edna."

Edna averted her face.

Seeing it, Marquess Westfall understood that the girl needed some time to think. He couldn't keep pushing her. Edna had been with him for more than seven years, and he had manipulated the girl to continue serving the Westfall family by giving her blood every week.

Edna probably felt exhausted physically, as well as mentally.

"So, in essence, I am not your daughter. Do you know anything about Duke Ashryver?" asked Edna. She was curious about her real biological parents.

"Duke Ashryver never wanted to talk about your origins. So, all the passengers on the ship never know about you."

Edna held her aching chest. Even Duke Ashryver, the only person who might know of her real parents, had died, and she couldn't ask someone who already died.

The more Edna tried to remember, the more dizzy her head became. It was as though a thick fog prevented her from venturing too far.

Edna gave up and just let it be. The Marquess saw Edna's pained face, then stood up. He left the room to give the girl some time to think.

Feeling everything so messed up, Edna rubbed her face. Too much happened in her life. Why couldn't she live normally at all? She just wanted to live like the people in the city; got up early and did their work to earn money before coming back in the evening to rest.

Even that simple thing was hard for her to achieve.

Edna thought for a moment to reorganize herself. She needed to leave this family once again. She wasn't Marquess Westfall's daughter.

The guilt she felt earlier instantly vanished into a bitterness that made her want to bawl.

Edna no longer had to worry about them. They had no blood ties with her. She had to make sure that she left this city as soon as possible. And this time, it must be without anyone's help.

"Edna, say something," said Marquess Westfall.

"My head is very dizzy. Too much too digested at once," said Edna while holding her head.

In her head, the buzzing wouldn't stop ringing. Although she was dizzy and nauseous, she kept trying to recall anything about her parents and erase the thick fog clouding her memories.

"Ugh..." Edna groaned in pain.

"Edna!" Marquess Westfall panicked.

The door suddenly opened. Edna and Marquess Westfall turned their heads sideways. An unfamiliar man was standing in the doorway. Marchioness Westfall, Marionette, as well as Jonathan stood with his head down behind the man.

"Prince!?" called Marquess Westfall who immediately stood up and saluted.

The man, who was probably in his thirties, looked at Edna.

"Is she the culprit?" asked the man.

Edna was too confused by the situation. Moreover, her head still felt dizzy.

"That's right, Your Highness," answered a guard.

"Then, take the girl to the Royal Court."

"P-prince! What does this mean?! Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Marquess Westfall tried to prevent the Royal Guards from arresting Edna. Confused with her situation, Edna just probed what was going on. But everything happened so fast. The girl couldn't ask for help or question anyone about this. She also tried to reach for her father's hand, but it was in vain.

Marchioness Westfall didn't look happy with what was happening.

Jonathan and Marionette only threw a pitying look. Marquess Westfall was still trying to break through the guards' barricade to bring Edna back.

"Dad?" called Edna in a limp voice, because she still didn't understand what was happening, and the reason she was dragged by the Prince to the Royal Court.

The last thing Edna saw before her head was covered with a cloth was her father screaming her name and falling to the ground. Two Royal Guards then stopped him from chasing her.

***

The cloth covering Edna's head was removed. After getting used to the dim light at the Westfall residence, she felt that the light in this place was too bright and made her dizzy. Moreover, there were many faint voices ringing around her.

Edna looked around her carefully. Dozens of nobles with immaculate and beautiful clothes were condescendingly looking at her. She sat on a small podium in the middle of the room with her hands tied to an iron pillar. It prevented her from running away.

The nobles' gazes were full of hatred. They seemed like looking at a filth that was not worth looking at. Edna felt increasingly inferior and frightened. She wanted to cry, but she knew that if she cried, it would only make the people there loathe her even more.