Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 13: #-Meet Isabella Lysander, The Original Female Lead
Penelope Askary knew that the current situation would get worse if she didn’t stop it soon.
The golden-eyed woman thought hard about how to prevent Edmund Gerwyn and Philleo Aaron from fighting and killing each other. Even though Philleo Aaron was a formidable knight and recognized for his prowess by the empire, he was still nothing compared to Duke Edmund Gerwyn. Penelope was sure the fight between the two men would only take two minutes—no, one minute—and Edmund would kill Philleo instantly.
"Duke Edmund—I mean, Ed!" Penelope exclaimed. She really couldn’t adjust to calling the cruel man of the highest status after the imperial family by his nickname. Penelope tried to smile when those blue eyes stared at her. Yaiks! Why are you even mad at me?! Penelope shouted in panic inside her heart. "Ed, please forgive Sir Philleo just this once, hm? I think Sir Philleo is tired, so he can’t think properly. He only wanted to protect me, where I was the noblewoman he served. Shouldn’t you be proud and pleased with Sir Philleo’s behavior because he doesn’t want to see me looked down upon by other nobles? Not that I’m saying that you’re looking down on me of course. You know what I mean, don’t you?"
Edmund Gerwyn fell silent. Those golden eyes that looked beautiful and dazzling slightly trembled. This blue-haired woman still looked at him as if he was a monster that was about to kill her cruelly. Edmund’s jaw tightened. He vowed to find the person who had dared to say such nonsense to Penelope, who accused him of wanting to kill this beautiful woman, and tortured him to death!
"If that’s what you want," said Edmund in a firm tone. Then, the man looked back at Philleo. That bastard knight still dared to give him a challenging look. "You have Penelope Askary to thank. Because of this lady of yours, I spare your life, Philleo Aaron."
Philleo only lowered his head in response. Before long, he said, "Thank you for your kindness, Duke Edmund. And pardon my rudeness to you just now. I’m not thinking straight. May Elleia’s light always be with you."
Edmund Gerwyn snorted and carried Penelope Askary who was still in his arms to the Askary family’s carriage. He seated her carefully in the carriage, then get into it as well. Seeing that, Penelope frowned in confusion. The woman forced a smile and cleared her throat before speaking in a choked tone.
"Err... Ed? What are you doing in my carriage?"
"Escort you home," said Edmund briefly.
"Yes?" Penelope blinked. She started to panic on the spot. The woman looked at Philleo who was outside the carriage with the same panicked look, but Philleo couldn’t do anything to help her. No, when Penelope had just saved her knight’s life from Edmund’s sword. Dammit! "Why do you want to escort me home? I mean, didn’t you come to the palace because you wanted to meet the Crown Prince? You must have important business at the palace, right? What if the Crown Prince gets mad at you because you didn’t see him? I can go home alone, Ed. After all, there is Sir Philleo who will protect me with his life on the line. So—"
"Penelope Askary, don’t you want me here?"
Penelope blinked. "Yes?"
"You look like you don’t want me to be here." Edmund shrugged and crossed his arms. His blue eyes look like the sharp eyes of an eagle, ready to pounce on its prey. And the prey in question is, of course, Penelope. "I’m much better at protecting you, Penelope. Compared to a lowly knight like Philleo Aaron, that guy is nothing."
Hearing Edmund continue to insult and belittle Philleo, Penelope became irritated. She forgot her fear of Edmund and took a deep breath. Her current annoyance was the same as when she was facing Sebastian De Louis just now. The golden-eyed woman then glanced coldly at Edmund, causing Edmund’s eyebrows to raise one and he smiled secretly. A smile that Penelope could not see.
"With all due respect, Duke Edmund Gerwyn," Penelope said sharply. The woman now spoke formally to Edmund. "Please don’t ever insult my knight again. I don’t know what made you hate Sir Philleo so much, but I hope you can stop it from now on. I will not allow anyone to insult and belittle my people. Do you understand?"
This was the first time Edmund saw Penelope dare to face him, since the carriage accident that time made her change drastically. It wasn’t quite the same as Penelope had been before she had the carriage accident, but at least it was much better than when she had been scared in the face of him. Edmund leaned forward, pinning Penelope in his athletic body so she couldn’t move. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
When Penelope realized that she had crossed her line and dared to go against Edmund’s words, the woman began to panic and worry. Wouldn’t this be like hastening her death? Penelope was about to get off the carriage when Edmund’s athletic body drew close to her and locked her up. Penelope froze and swallowed, then smiled awkwardly.
"You dare to talk back to me, Penelope Askary?" asked Edmund in an unpredictable tone. Edmund’s blue eyes seemed to stab Penelope, making the woman scream in her heart.
"No! How could I possibly dare go against this esteemed Duke Edmund?" Penelope shook her head frantically. "I... I’m sorry, Duke Edmund. I was wrong. But... Please don’t insult my people again in the future. That would make me sad." The woman lowered her head to avoid eye contact with Edmund.
Edmund stared at Penelope for a few seconds, then touched her blue hair. The man then kissed Penelope’s blue hair, making Penelope freeze again and hold her breath. She could feel her heart pounding and might explode any second. Moreover, Edmund’s face was very close to Penelope’s, so she could see Edmund’s sharp and beautiful blue irises at the same time.
"Call me Ed," whispered Edmund. "And never speak formally to me again, even if you are mad at me, Penelope." The man backed away and got off the carriage. "I apologize for upsetting and saddening you with what I said to your people. Then I will let you go home with Sir Philleo." Edmund then closed the carriage door and approached Philleo. He stared at the man in front of him with a cold and sharp gaze.
Since Penelope had already defended him from Edmund, Philleo felt it was pointless if he continued to fight Edmund. He didn’t want Penelope to get into trouble with Edmund because of his inability to control his own emotions. Because of that, Philleo kept his head down even though he wanted to oppose Edmund’s sharp gaze.
"You’re lucky that Penelope cares about you, Philleo Aaron. Protect that woman well. If I hear and know that something happened to Penelope Askary on the way back from the palace today, I swear I will sever your head from your body. Remember that."
As Edmund Gerwyn climbed the stairs to enter the palace, Philleo Aaron gave him a cold look. The expression on his face showed how much he hated Edmund.
"Sir Phileo? What are you doing? Let us go home. I’m hungry and I can’t wait to eat with brother Ethan."
When Philleo heard Penelope’s soft voice, the man immediately changed his expression. He looked at Penelope and smiled gently. His eyes flashed warmly and the man nodded.
"Yes, My Lady."
###
"Sarah, how about this?"
Sarah smiled and looked at the green dress in Penelope’s hand. They were at a famous boutique in the imperial capital, looking for dresses to wear for the banquet at the palace next week. This opportunity was also used by Penelope to get some fresh air. Meeting the Crown Prince, and facing Edmund Gerwyn, all of that made Penelope Askary quite stressed, and wanted to clear her head.
"That suits you, My Lady. The green of the dress matches the blue hair of yours." Sarah nodded and looked at the white dress. She took it and tilted her head. Her smile widened. "My Lady, how about this white dress? Apart from going well with your blue hair and golden eyes, this dress is really beautiful. This dress will look elegant on your body, My Lady. The models will also make you look like a Goddess! It looks like this dress model was taken based on the goddess Elleia’s dress model. Isn’t that right, My Lady?"
"Is it true?" Penelope looked at the white dress in Sarah’s hands and smiled happily. "You are right. This dress is very beautiful and elegant. I’ll buy it. But, I will use it for my birthday party. What do you think? Then, for the banquet in the palace, I will wear this green dress. I love the color. Sarah, you won’t be angry if I wear this green dress for a banquet at the palace, will you?"
Sarah blinked and laughed softly. "My Lady, how could I dare to be angry because My Lady wants to wear that dress? I will like whatever My Lady chooses."
As Penelope turned her body, she accidentally collided with someone. Penelope and the person both screamed and fell. Penelope winced and let Sarah help her up.
"My Lady! Are you alright?" Sarah asked in a worried and panicked tone. The woman then looked at the blonde-haired woman and the blue dress in front of her. "Hey, Lady! Don’t you know who My Lady is? How dare you try to hurt her!"
"Sarah, stop. I am alright." Penelope smiled and tried to calm Sarah down. When she saw that her maid had calmed down and nodded in understanding, Penelope looked at the blonde woman in front of her. "Lady, are you okay?"
When the blonde woman looked up, Penelope froze. Penelope’s golden eyes widened. Subconsciously, Penelope stepped back. If this was the original novel, Penelope would have scolded the woman in front of her and the woman would have stepped back to avoid her.
"Isabella... Lysander?" Penelope muttered in a choked tone.
"I’m so sorry! Please, forgive me, Princess Penelope!" Isabella Lysander said with a panicked tone and a pale face. Her brown eyes seemed to tremble with fear. "I accidentally bumped into the Princess! Please forgive me just this once, Princess Penelope!"
The people around Penelope started whispering, talking about Penelope, and accusing her of having done something evil that made a fragile woman like Isabella Lysander tremble in fear. Everyone in the De Louis empire knew that Penelope Askary had always been bullying Isabella Lysander. Hearing the words that were accused by the people around her even in a small voice, made Penelope scared to death. The woman was afraid if the Crown Prince and Duke Edmund Gerwyn heard of this, the two men would find her and kill her.
No! Penelope didn’t want to die at the hands of those two men! She wants to live!
Without saying anything, Penelope ran out of the boutique. Sarah chased while shouting her name. However, Penelope had no intention of stopping running. The woman did not see a carriage speeding toward her.
"My Lady! Watch out!" Sarah shouted. The woman widened her eyes and her face turned pale when she saw the horses about to crash into Penelope.
Penelope, who heard Sarah’s panicked screams, stopped running. The woman turned her head and her body froze when she saw the horses intend to run into her. Penelope’s golden eyes widened and she closed them while screaming. Will this be the end of her life? Was she destined to die, even though Penelope tried her best to survive?
"What were you doing there, Penelope Askary?"
The exasperated question made Penelope frown. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at the man standing with his back to her. In his hand was a sword stained with blood. The horses that had been about to crash into Penelope, were now dead covered in blood. Then, the man who had helped her turned around. His handsome face was stained with the blood of the horse he had killed and his blue eyes stared at Penelope.
"Ed?"
"Didn’t I tell you never to get hurt again, even if I wasn’t around you?" asked Edmund Gerwyn in a sharp, exasperated tone. "You really are a stubborn woman, Penelope Askary. You must prepare your heart because I will scold you in a moment!"
