Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 118: #-Trapped In A Dream World
Sienna ate her cup of instant noodles while glancing at Edmund Gerwyn.
The woman had accepted that she had returned to her old world and become Sienna again. Maybe for her, it was just a very long dream but Sienna knew that world was real for the people who lived in it. Like Edmund Gerwyn, who is still by her side right now. The handsome man looked transparent, like a ghost. Earlier, Sienna was hysterical because she was completely confused by everything that was happening in her life.
"Edmund Gerwyn," Sienna called. The woman took a deep breath and looked firmly at Edmund. "How long are you going to stay here and haunt me?"
"Until you come home with me, Penny."
Sienna massaged the bridge of her nose. "With all due respect to Duke Edmund, I am not Penelope Askary. I am Sienna. I had returned to my world and was living my life as Sienna once again. So, I’m not going home with you. All of that was just a dream to me."
"What are you talking about, Penny?" asked Edmund in a sad tone. So was the expression on his face. His blue eyes met Sienna’s light brown eyes. "I told you that I don’t care who you are. If you want to live to be Sienna, then I will accept it. If you decide to be Penelope Askary, I accept that too. I want you to come back to me and our children. Raven and Ocean are crying, Honey. They need you." Edmund smiled faintly. "And, don’t call me by that name. Call me by my nickname, Penny. Call me Ed as usual."
"Stop!" Sienna exclaimed. The woman rose from her chair and pointed at Edmund. "I don’t want to hear anything more about things related to that world! I am Sienna now. It was only a dream when I lived as Penelope Askary! Even though in this world I’m not rich, even though I don’t have the status of a noble, even though I have to work hard and suffer, I don’t have to face such terrible things! I don’t have to face Philleo Aaron and Sebastian De Louis! I don’t need to face Goddess Oizys, who wants my divine power!" Sienna tried to catch her ragged breaths.
"Don’t you love me anymore?"
Edmund’s question made Sienna freeze. The woman was wide-eyed. Her heart was pounding. It felt like she couldn’t breathe properly. She looked away and didn’t realize that Edmund’s transparent figure had approached her and was standing right in front of her.
"Answer me, Penny," said Edmund in a gentle tone. He stretched out his right hand and caressed Sienna’s head affectionately. His hands couldn’t touch Sienna but Edmund was sure if Sienna could feel his touch for some reason. "Don’t you love me anymore? Don’t you need me and our children anymore? Do you really want to throw us out?"
"I didn’t—" Sienna looked at Edmund and fell silent. The woman gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and lowered her head. What? What would she say to Edmund? Why couldn’t she say anything even though she had thought of all the things she wanted to say? "I don’t...."
Edmund smiled and knelt before Sienna. The woman froze and didn’t know how to react. If Edmund knelt before Penelope Askary, that would still be acceptable because Penelope was his wife and they were both of equal noble status. But, right now she was just a poor commoner. They are from different worlds. What was Edmund kneeling before her for?
Meanwhile, Edmund looked up so he could see Penelope’s face. The man smiled warmly and wiped away the tears streaming down Sienna’s pretty face. Realizing that Sienna flinched and immediately touched her own face. Since when has she been crying? And, why is she crying?
"Don’t cry, Penny," said Edmund. "You know I can’t see you cry, right? Calm down. I will stay here with you. Whatever your form, whatever your appearance, I will still love you, Penelope Askary."
After saying this, Edmund went to another room. In her place, Sienna fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands. The woman was crying so hard that her body was shaking violently. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"What should I do...? I don’t know what to do now."
###
Ethan and Isabella stood in front of Penelope’s bed.
They looked at Penelope with worried looks. Especially Ethan. He doesn’t know how many times the little sister he loved so much had to experience terrible things and suffering like this. He glanced at Edmund. The man still faithfully sat beside Penelope. Edmund hadn’t slept at all since yesterday when he found and saved Penelope. The Duke also had not touched his food and drink.
"Duke, you should rest even if it’s just for a bit," Ethan said. He approached Edmund and squeezed his shoulder. "If you continue like this, you will get sick."
"I’m all right," said Edmund. He was still holding tight to Penelope’s hand which felt cold. "How can I eat and rest if my wife is in this condition? She’s suffering, Ethan. I don’t even know what happened to her at this time and what she experienced in that dream world. What if she meets Goddess Oizys in her dream world and the Goddess torments her? What if that was the reason why Penny still hadn’t opened her eyes? The healing and purification powers of the twins didn’t work on Penny. Penny’s power inside her is not active as usual either." Edmund clenched his jaw and looked at Ethan. Ethan froze in surprise when he saw the dark bags under the Duke’s eyes. Even Edmund’s eyes were starting to look red. "I will never leave this place until I see Penny open her eyes."
"I’m sorry, Duke," Isabella said suddenly, making Ethan and Edmund look her way. "If only I had told you and Ethan about what I saw sooner, I’m sure the Duchess would have been rescued in time." The woman lowered her head and bit her lip.
"Isabel, I have a question for you," said Edmund. He didn’t blame Isabella at all. He actually blamed himself for not being by Penelope’s side to protect her. "Do you have magic power or something?"
Isabella raised her head and shook her head.
"Then, how did you get that vision?"
"I don’t know either," the woman shook her head again. "All of a sudden, I saw Philleo Aaron carrying the Duchess. Just like when I felt something strange when I came to this mansion with Ethan back then. I felt something bad was going on and immediately asked you where the Duchess was."
"That’s because you have mana in your body. Meaning, you have magic power."
Those words made Isabella, Ethan, and Edmund turn their heads toward the door. Sarah opened the door to Edmund and Penelope’s bedroom and bowed. Beside her, the figure of a man with green hair and eyes was seen. Claude Sylvester. The man stepped inside and looked at Isabella.
"You, what are you doing here?" asked Edmund in a confused tone. He frowned. "I thought you weren’t in the magic tower."
"Yeah, that’s why I couldn’t come here yesterday when the magic tower got information about the Duchess’ condition. I came right away as soon as I heard the information from my friend earlier." Claude cleared his throat and pointed at Isabella. "You have magical powers, Lady. The flow of mana in your body is so great. You will become a talented and powerful wizard in the future."
Hearing that, Ethan and Edmund looked at each other. Was this matter known to Marquess Lysander?
"Meanwhile, the Duchess’ condition..." Claude opened his palm and a magic circle appeared above Penelope’s body. The green light appeared, then disappeared along with the magic circle. Claude was pushed back a few steps then frowned. "She... was hit by black magic."
"What?!" shouted Edmund, Ethan, and Isabella.
"It’s because of black magic," Claude repeated. He stared firmly at Edmund. "That’s why the Duchess doesn’t open her eyes. She was trapped inside another world created by black magic. That’s why none of the doctors, priest, and a wizard can help the Duchess if their powers are no match for that black magic."
"Philleo Aaron," growled Edmund. "I will definitely kill him!"
When Edmund came to save Penelope, Philleo Aaron immediately ran away with his magic. Currently, Jellal, Chris, and Ren were looking for the whereabouts of that jerk and there were still no reports coming in at all.
"Can you save my little sister?" asked Ethan hopefully.
"I... might be able to do it. However, it all depends on the wishes of the victim."
"What do you mean?" asked Edmund in a panicked tone.
Claude gulped. "Here’s the thing. Let’s pretend the Duchess is in another world. The world was created by the black magic user. The world that no one else knew about was the world the Duchess had longed for. If the Duchess had a desire to be in this world and refused to accept the fact that it was a fake world, then she would continue to be stuck in it. It doesn’t matter how many high-level wizards like me can save her."
Edmund froze. He remembered Penelope’s story about her old world. In her old world, Penelope lives as Sienna. Even though she always suffers, in that world there are no monsters, no magic, nothing that can make her afraid and traumatized like in this world. If Penelope was currently trapped in that world because of Philleo Aaron’s black magic or maybe because Goddess Oizys intervened without their knowledge, then Edmund could understand why Penelope wouldn’t open her eyes and no one had been able to help her until now.
"I will try to enter into her world." Claude snapped his finger and the green magic circle appeared again. Then, another magic circle appeared above it and it was red. "Duke, do you want to come with me?"
"Yes," Edmund nodded firmly. The man stands. "I’m going to pick up my wife."
"But, this is quite a dangerous journey. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Edmund Gerwyn smiled coldly. "Anything or anyone who dares stand in my way of saving my Duchess, I am ready to fight them. I’m not afraid of anything, Claude Sylvester. Even if it means risking my life, I will still save Penelope Askary."
