"Oh..."
Danitz obediently hopped out like a 176-pound child. As he left, he even remembered to bite the door handle and pull the door shut, though he still could not help saying, "Captain, I'll be right outside... ready to rush in and protect you at any moment."
"Please have a seat, if you don't mind."
Edward pointed at the sofa Danitz had scorched black. "Your crew member just burned this."
She nodded and sat down, then took out a small pouch. "There's about 500 pounds here, as compensation for what Danitz did tonight."
Edward accepted it without ceremony and opened it for a look. "That'll do."
Then Edwina took out a picture depicting a young man standing in a square, smiling. "I've taken the liberty of disturbing you because there's something I'd like to confirm with you."
"May I ask, is this you?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, but judging by his appearance alone, he does seem to bear some resemblance to me."
Was this the picture Danitz had said Captain Edwina often looked at? Edward's first instinct upon seeing the picture was that the person depicted was himself.
But that was impossible...
Edwina asked again, "Your name is Edward? Is that your given name or your surname?"
He shrugged. "My given name. I'm an orphan. I don't have a surname."
"How old are you?"
"Almost seventeen."
"You've never met your family, is that right?"
"That's right."
"What sort of people do you think your parents might be?"
"..."
Edward frowned. "Ma'am, isn't it rather impolite to ask an orphan what he thinks of his family?"
She froze briefly, then hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry. I forgot to consider your feelings. I only wanted to confirm a few things."
Edward nodded and said, "Before that, could you answer a