Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 109: #-The Crown Prince Is Free! The Head Priest, A Friend Or A Foe?
When Philleo Aaron had disappeared from his sight, Edmund Gerwyn immediately threw away his sword and ran toward Penelope Askary and the twins.
"Penny, are you alright? What about our children?" asked Edmund in a panicked and worried tone. He knelt in front of Penelope, who was still holding her twins while sobbing. Seeing Penelope’s trembling body, and hearing Penelope’s painful cries, Edmund immediately hardened his jaw and bit his lip. He hugged Penelope’s body carefully so as not to hurt the twins in Penelope’s arms.
Ethan Askary, who had just arrived before his little sister, immediately knelt behind Penelope and stroked her hair affectionately. He kissed Penelope on the head and said, "Penny, calm down. Everything is fine. You managed to protect Raven and Ocean very well. You managed to drive away Philleo Aaron without the help of Duke Edmund or anyone else. You’re a strong woman. So, don’t cry and make the twins sad. Children can feel their parents’ grief, Penny."
Edmund let go of his hug and cupped Penelope’s face. The man wiped the tears off Penelope’s cheeks and widened his eyes when he saw the blood on the corners of her lips. Edmund’s heart beat twice as fast as usual. The anger was starting to overwhelm him. So is the darkness. Edmund couldn’t think straight and all that was going through his head was how he could find Philleo Aaron and torture that bastard until he begged to be killed!
Sensing an extremely negative aura, even to the point of choking her, Penelope froze. Raven and Ocean immediately cried loudly in Penelope’s arms. The twins struggled, making Ethan frown, and so did Isabella and Sarah. Penelope immediately handed Raven and Ocean to Ethan and Isabella, then cupped Edmund’s face. The man’s blue eyes stared blankly.
"Ed, pull yourself together," Penelope said. The woman brought her forehead and Edmund’s forehead together, then closed her eyes. "Take a deep breath, Ed. Don’t let anger and darkness rule you. As you can see, I’m fine."
Penelope began to concentrate. She begged in her heart that the darkness in Edmund’s heart could disappear soon. Then, that pink light came out of her body and flowed into Edmund’s body. Miraculously, Raven and Ocean also seemed to help Penelope. While crying, the twins stretched out their tiny hands toward Edmund and the pink light came out of their tiny hands.
A few seconds passed and Edmund began to come to his senses. The man frowned when he saw how close Penelope’s face was to his. He could also see the worried and panicked faces of Ethan, Isabella, and Sarah. And then, since when did Chris and Jellal stand behind Penelope and seemed to be preparing to attack him?
"What’s wrong with you guys?" asked Edmund to the two shadow knights.
Penelope, who also just noticed the presence of Chris and Jellal behind her, quickly smiled at Edmund and shook her head. She wiped the tears off her cheeks. "It’s fine. They had just arrived because they wanted to help. Are you okay?"
"What? Why do you ask like that? Shouldn’t I be the one asking if you’re okay or not?" Edmund kissed Penelope on the forehead. "I’m sorry that I came late to protect you and the children." The Duke looked at Raven and Ocean who had calmed down. The twins smiled happily at him, making Edmund’s heart warm and the man kissed Raven and Ocean’s forehead alternately. "I’m sorry, kids. Father promised something like this would not happen again in the future."
Perhaps because the tension inside her had melted away, Penelope immediately lowered her guard. The woman felt very tired. Her body also ached because she had been thrown and rolled on the ground when she fought with Philleo. The woman suddenly fainted in Edmund’s arms, making Edmund widen his eyes, freeze, and panic.
Before Penelope fainted, she heard Edmund’s voice shouting her name repeatedly.
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Sebastian De Louis smiled as he closed his eyes and inhaled the scent outside the palace.
Finally! For nine months he was locked up in his own palace because he lost a duel with Edmund Gerwyn. Now is the time for Sebastian to get revenge on that bastard Duke. So far, Sebastian had gotten a lot of information about things that happened outside the palace. One of them was the birth of twins named Raven Gerwyn and Ocean Gerwyn.
"So, Penelope has given birth to her children," chuckled Sebastian. The man licked his own lips and let the afternoon breeze flutter his hair. "I can start my plan to take Penelope from Edmund. But, what should I do?" The Crown Prince rubbed his chin and glanced behind him when he felt someone’s presence. "Tristan, is that you?"
"Yes, Your Highness," replied Tristan, Sebastian’s shadow knight. The man knelt. "I brought you some information that might be of use to Your Highness."
Sebastian turned his body and crossed his arms. "Tell me."
"The daughter of Marquess Brown, Lady Elisha Brown, likes Duke Edmund, Your Highness. She was very obsessed with Duke Edmund and had a tantrum in her mansion when she found out that Duke Edmund and Duchess Penelope were married."
Hearing that, Sebastian grinned. He came up with a really good idea. Isabella Lysander may have failed to seduce Edmund Gerwyn in the past to destroy his marriage with Penelope Askary. However, Elisha Brown was different from Isabella. The woman is famous for her sexy body and her technique of seducing men. Sebastian believes Edmund will be seduced by Elisha and he will make Penelope hate Edmund because of this.
"Tristan, meet in secret with Lady Elisha Brown. Tell her to meet me at my palace the day after tomorrow. I will offer her a good job."
###
The head priest stood up from the couch as Edmund and Penelope walked into the living room of Gerwyn’s mansion.
Penelope smiled at the head priest while Edmund gave the man a flat expression. From the look in Edmund’s eyes, the head priest knew that the Duke didn’t really like his presence there.
"Greetings to the Duke and Duchess Gerwyn. May the light of Goddess Elleia always be with you." The head priest bowed in greeting. "I’m sorry if my coming here disturbed the Duke and Duchess."
"If you already knew you are coming here just to bother us, then why did you still come here, head priest?" grunted Edmund. "You’ve disturbed a husband and wife who are—"
"That’s all right, head priest," Penelope said, cutting Edmund off. The woman looked at Edmund with a sharp gaze, making Edmund frown and look away. "What is the problem? Is there anything we can help you with?"
"Err... you see, Duchess. Regarding the Duchess’ power, the temple wants—"
"No!"
The head priest blinked. The man and Penelope turned their heads to Edmund Gerwyn who crossed his arms and gave the head priest a murderous look.
"I will not allow them to ask my Duchess to do things that will exhaust her or hurt her. I won’t let the temple, the palace, or even an empire exploit my wife’s power!"
The head priest scratched his head and looked at Penelope. The Duchess took a deep breath, then rubbed Edmund’s arm reassuringly.
"Ed, we haven’t even heard what the head priest is going to say. You can’t make him feel uncomfortable like this."
"I already know what’s in the heads of those people from the temple, Penny," grumbled Edmund. He combed his hair using his fingers. "They want to take advantage of you. What else do they need from the power of a Goddess that you have?" Edmund looked at the head priest. "Go back to the temple and tell the people there that I won’t allow you to use my wife’s power or make my wife live in the temple!"
"Duke, this is for the safety of the empire," said the head priest. "I had another prophecy in my dream a few days ago. Without Duchess Penelope, everyone would die, and so would this empire."
Penelope was silent. The woman recalled the conversation she had with Goddess Oizys back then. The Goddess said that Edmund Gerwyn would destroy this empire just like that man did in their first life. Secretly, Penelope glanced at Edmund. She must do something so that her husband does not do that.
"I—"
Penelope didn’t finish her words when she heard the sound of a baby crying. The woman blinked and ran out of the living room. Behind her, Edmund followed, as did the head priest.
Arriving at the twins’ room, Penelope went straight to the cot bed. The woman smiled reassuringly and patted the twins’ bodies lightly while rocking their cot bed and wiping away the tears on their faces.
"Shh, Raven, Ocean, what’s wrong with you guys? Hmm? Did you have a bad dream? Don’t worry, Mother is here."
"Where’s Sarah?" asked Edmund, who entered the twins’ room. He glanced at the head priest, who was following him, and let him. Even though he was irritated by the request of the head priest and the temple, they weren’t bad people. So, the head priest wouldn’t do bad or strange things to his children.
"I told her to rest a bit," Penelope said. "I feel sorry for Sarah because she looks really tired and didn’t get any proper rest."
As the head priest stood beside Edmund, the man looked at the twins with a smile. He looked at Penelope and said, "Duchess, your children are so adorable. Would you allow me to give my blessings to them?"
"Of course," Penelope replied happily. "I would love it if you would do it, head priest!"
The bespectacled man nodded and smiled even more. He reached out, ready to touch Raven and Ocean. However, the man’s hand could not touch the twins. Penelope and Edmund could see an electric current between the twins and the head priest’s hand reaching out to them. Then, the head priest’s body was thrown and hit the wall. The man groaned in pain and coughed up blood.
"What is—"
The head priest widened his eyes and didn’t finish his words when he saw the sword was right in front of his face. He looked up and gulped when he saw Edmund Gerwyn giving him a murderous look.
"What are you going to do to my children, you son of a bitch?"
