Chapter 52 Tragic Childhood
[The person leading the team is a tall female knight with blonde hair and blue eyes. The strong aura she exudes when she waves her hands and moves makes you subconsciously look away.]
["According to reports from the public, the two of you are suspected of fraud. Please follow us to the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius." The blonde and blue-eyed female knight in the lead said, and then the Knights of Favonius behind her escorted the two to the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius.]
[You were so young, how could you have ever seen such a scene? The Knights of Favonius hadn't even started asking questions, but you were already scared and confessed everything. As a result, the old thief was thrown into prison as he deserved.]
[In fact, as an accomplice, you should have been imprisoned as well, but seeing that you were too young, the Knights of Favonius gave up on imprisoning you and planned to send you to the Cathedral of Favonius.]
[The West Wind Cathedral often adopts orphans, so the decision of the West Wind Knights is also reasonable.]
[However, at this time, the female knight who led the arrest of you and the old thief stood up and said that she could adopt you as her daughter, because your age is about the same as her two daughters, and the three of you can become friends.]
[Only then did you know that the name of this female knight was Frederica Gunnhildr.]
[You were young and didn't know what the surname "Gunnhildr" meant in Mondstadt, so when you saw the gorgeous, neat, and clean Gunnhildr Mansion, you were so shocked that you were speechless.]
[In this mansion, you also met your two "sisters," six-year-old Barbara Gunnhildr and eight-year-old Jean Gunnhildr. The two girls had no objection to having a younger sister. Instead, they were very happy because they had an extra playmate, especially Barbara. Jean often had to practice swordsmanship, so she couldn't play with Barbara often. So Barbara sometimes felt lonely, and your appearance just solved this problem, so Barbara liked you very much.]
[You gradually adapted to life in the mansion under the care of the two sisters, and your face gradually became more smiling. Frederica not only allowed you to visit the old thief frequently but also promised you that after the old thief's sentence was over, he would be allowed to settle down in Mondstadt so that you could visit him frequently in the future.]
[It seems that everything is going in the right direction, and you are looking forward to your future life.]
[However, amidst the daily laughter and joy, the seeds of conflict have already been planted…]
[Seamus Pegg was once a famous adventurer on the continent. After arriving in Mondstadt, he fell in love with Frederica and eventually, they got married. He became Frederica's husband and Jean and Barbara's father. He is currently the bishop of the Church of Favonius and is known as the "Cardinal of the Dawn" in Mondstadt.]
[Seamus has no problem with you, but he has a lot of problems with Frederica taking you in as her daughter without consulting him.]
[Seamus thinks that Frederica's adoption of you as a foster daughter without permission is very irresponsible to Jean and Barbara. You should know that Frederica has a large fortune. If she casually adopts a foster daughter like this, will the foster daughter compete with Jean and Barbara for the family property in the future?]
[Even if the adopted daughter does not have the right to inherit the family property, facing the huge amount of property, it is inevitable that she will have some crooked thoughts. What if the adopted daughter wants to kill Jean and Barbara and inherit the Gunnhildr family's property alone after she grows up?]
[Seamus's original intention was to let Frederica realize this problem in advance, so that she would not adopt other orphans in the future, or in other words, she should seriously consider the problems that might arise in the future before adopting other orphans, or at least talk to herself about it first, and not adopt other orphans without authorization and without any consideration.]
[But when these words reached Frederica's ears, they completely changed their meaning. She thought Seamus just had a problem with her adopting you. She accused Seamus of being a cold-blooded animal without emotions. The two had a big fight over this matter.]
[And all of this was overheard by you who had just sat down to rest after playing tired.]
[That night, you secretly found Frederica and cried and said that you didn't need the inheritance right of the family property. You also said that you would leave with the old thief after he was released from prison and hoped that she and Seamus would not quarrel because of you.]
[In response, Frederica hugged you and kissed you gently on the forehead, telling you not to worry about it.]
[From that day on, you began to change. You no longer continued to enjoy your carefree life in Gunnhildr's house but began to take the initiative to do some maid work. You no longer claimed to be Jean and Barbara's sister. When playing, you always gave way to them and treated yourself as their subordinate.]
[Frederica noticed your change, so she went to Seamus to debate again. As a result, the two of them had another big quarrel and left unhappily. This quarrel made the conflict between Frederica and Seamus completely public. Everyone in Mondstadt knew about it, including the two sisters Jean and Barbara.]
[After the two sisters learned the reason for their parents' quarrel, their attitude towards you also changed a little.]
[Barbara, who often plays with you, knows that you have no ill intentions, so she often comes to comfort you who feel guilty. On the contrary, Jean is a little upset about this, and her attitude towards you is a little colder than before. As the conflict between their parents intensifies, Jean's attitude towards you becomes colder and colder. Finally, when Seamus takes Barbara away from Gunnhildr's house, Jean completely ignores you.]
[After a while, Frederica and Seamus, who had already left the Gunnhildr family, officially divorced. From then on, Jean's attitude towards you became completely disgusted.]
[In Jean's opinion, it was your arrival that broke up her happy family. So after her parents divorced, Jean often deliberately ordered you to do some dirty and tiring work. Although Frederica often criticized Jean for this, Jean never thought she had done anything wrong. Instead, she took out her anger at her mother's criticism on you.]
[Jean's actions have undoubtedly deviated from the chivalry she pursued, but the young Jean didn't care at all. To her, there was no need to talk about chivalry for you, the person who destroyed her family. She just wanted you to leave Gunnhildr's house as soon as possible so that her father and mother could make peace with each other, and then they could become the familiar, happy, and warm family she was used to, instead of this incomplete and broken home.]
[However, although Jean tried every means to drive you out of this house, you still endured all kinds of punishments from Jean and continued to live in Gunnhildr's house.]
[Because although you are young, you are very smart. Everyone in Mondstadt knows that because of you, Frederica and her husband, who were once in love, divorced. It is impossible for anyone in Mondstadt to continue to adopt you. You can only continue to live in Gunnhildr's house. This is the last place in Mondstadt that allows you to exist.]
[Of course, you carry guilt towards Frederica and hatred towards Jean in your heart, and continuing to live in Gunnhildr's house has become a torture for you. The reason you continue to stay here is because you are waiting for the old thief to be released from prison. You have already made up your mind that as long as you wait for the old thief to be released from prison, you will leave Mondstadt with him and never plan to come back.]
[But not long after, you heard the next bad news—the old thief died in prison.]
[Originally, the old thief was already over sixty when he adopted you. Now he is nearly seventy, which is already longer than most Mondstadt people. Moreover, you and the old thief have been running around in the past few years, and his health has become worse and worse. Finally, in the prison of Mondstadt, the old thief closed his eyes and never opened them again.]
[This news is undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for you. Ever since you can remember, you have been dependent on the old thief. You have long regarded him as your own family. Now that the old thief is dead, you find that there is no one in the world who cares about you anymore.]
[In a blink of an eye, another week has passed. Ever since you learned that the old thief had died, you have been living in a daze. Frederica has searched for doctors in Mondstadt and Liyue for you, but they are completely unable to do anything about it.]
[Except for the physical weakness caused by long-term malnutrition, you don't have any disease. The reason you became like this is entirely because of the great mental shock. The doctor can't do much except help prescribe some drugs to stabilize the mind.]
[Therefore, Frederica can only place her hope on time, hoping that your mental condition will improve with the passage of time.]
[If there is anything relatively good during this period, it is that Jean finally stopped deliberately asking you to do all kinds of dirty and tiring work—anyway, you can't do it with your current mental state, and her attitude towards you has returned to its original coldness.]
[6 years old: After a year of careful care from Frederica, you finally came out of the haze. However, your personality has changed a lot. You have become more timid, introverted, and afraid of others. You seldom speak to people. Even Barbara, who used to be close to you, feels that you have become very strange. Occasionally, she would comfort you, but you still seemed unable to restore the innocent and lively appearance of the past.]
[8 years old: You gradually adapted to your new personality and gradually became accustomed to life in Gunnhildr's house. You finally adjusted your attitude. Even if you no longer hope to leave Mondstadt with the old thief, you no longer have the idea of leaving Mondstadt to live a carefree life.]
[However, you are not happy at all. The conflict between Frederica and Seamus still has a serious impact on you. As long as you see the Gunnhild family with the original happy scene, your heart will still be in great pain, as if it was cut by a knife. Even now, you are still unable to adapt to such a happy scene.]
[Jean's attitude towards you has changed again. Although she doesn't deliberately ask you to do dirty work, her attitude towards you is always cold and indifferent. After all, you are still the source of her family's rupture in her eyes.]
[Fortunately, Barbara's attitude towards you is still as kind as before. Even if you have become timid and introverted, Barbara is always willing to be your friend.]
[Even so, you still have a vague sense of inferiority. Although you know that Barbara is really kind to you, you still feel that you are unworthy to be her friend.]
[As the years go by, you no longer have the idea of leaving Mondstadt to live a carefree life. However, this kind of life still makes you feel extremely painful. Even if Barbara is always by your side, you are still suffering from the impact of your past experiences and can't get rid of the pain caused by the original conflict between Frederica and Seamus .]
[The years went by, and you grew up slowly. The incident of that year has gradually faded away from everyone's memory, and you are becoming a little bit more accustomed to your current life. But you still couldn't forget the pain of that year. You couldn't forget the original happy scene of the Gunnhildr family.]
[Despite this, the family of Gunnhild finally became the same as before, and the family lived happily and harmoniously. The old thief is no longer there, but Frederica has adopted several more orphans.]
[Jean, who has grown up, has become an outstanding knight. She is very dedicated to her duties and is loved by everyone in Mondstadt. As for you, you have already been accustomed to life in the Gunnhildr family. Although you are still timid and introverted, you have gradually learned to adjust yourself to your current situation. The painful memories of the past are still there, but they no longer control your life completely.]
[The days are still going on. The Gunnhildr family is still living happily, and you are also living under the Gunnhildr's roof. Even if the old thief is no longer around, you have gradually learned to adapt to your new life.]