Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 139: #-Please, Don’t Hate Her And Avoid Her, Older Brother
Ethan Askary groaned softly and opened his eyes.
He frowned and glanced around. This place was unfamiliar to him. Everything is dominated by white. But, this strange place didn’t give Ethan a dangerous feeling. He actually felt comfortable and peaceful. The man stood up and started walking. Even though Ethan had gone far, he still couldn’t find the exit or find his family and other people.
"Am I dead?" Ethan muttered. The man stopped walking and looked down. He chuckled and took a deep breath, then rubbed his face with both hands. "Dammit! I don’t want to die yet. I haven’t even married Isabel, haven’t had children with Isabel, and haven’t made that woman happy. Why, Goddess? Why should I die? Can’t I get revenge on that bastard Crown Prince?"
Suddenly, a pink light appeared in front of Ethan. The man covered his eyes with his right arm because the pink light was very dazzling. After he was sure the pink light had disappeared, Ethan looked forward and froze. The man widened his eyes. His heart was beating twice as fast as usual and it made Ethan confused. Isn’t he dead? Isn’t it true that if someone dies, their heart won’t be able to beat again? But, right now that wasn’t what Ethan had to worry about. The man walked quickly toward the figure in front of him, who smiled at him, then grabbed both of her shoulders firmly.
"Penelope Askary, what are you doing here?!" Ethan exclaimed in panic. Ethan cupped Penelope’s face and shook his head frantically. "No, no! There’s no way you’ll die like me! Who hurt you and put you here like me, Penny? This is not a good place for you! It’s not time for you to die yet! What about Raven and Ocean? They are still very young and need you, Penny! And, what did Edmund Gerwyn do that he could let you go to this place?!"
Penelope blinked and laughed. The woman held Ethan’s wrists which were still cupping her face, then lowered the man’s hands. Then, Penelope smiled gently.
"Older brother, I am not your little sister," said Penelope.
"What...?" Ethan froze. "What nonsense are you spouting right now, Penny? You are my little sister who I love so much! Since you were born until now, I have loved you very much and could not possibly mistake you for someone else!" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Well, I am Penelope Askary," nodded the woman. "But, I’m not the Penelope Askary you know, Brother. I am Penelope Askary from a different time."
Ethan frowned. He tried to understand Penelope’s words but couldn’t. The man massaged his temples and opened his right palm, asking Penelope to stop for a moment.
"Wait a minute. I don’t understand. What do you mean from a different time?"
Penelope pointed forward. There, a chair and table are available. Ethan frowned again. Wasn’t there nothing in this place just now?
"What if I explain everything over there?" Penelope walked first and sat in the available chair. After thinking for a while, Ethan had no choice but to follow Penelope. He stared wide-eyed when he saw cakes and tea suddenly appear on the table. "Please eat, Brother. These foods and drinks are not dangerous at all."
Ethan smiled bitterly. "Even if it’s dangerous, I won’t die, right? Because I’m dead right now."
"No, Brother."
Ethan blinked and looked into the golden eyes of his little sister that he liked so much.
"Brother is not dead yet. This is not a world for the dead. Well, technically, this is the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. But, Brother Ethan will be fine."
"Why would you say something like that?"
"Because, I asked Goddess Elleia for Brother to come here. I want to meet Brother because I miss you. Then, I also have to tell you something. Something very important."
For some reason, Ethan became nervous. He swallowed hard and clenched his fists under the table.
"Brother, I am Penelope Askary from our first life."
"What?!"
"This is your second life, Brother. Also, the second life of Penelope Askary and the others," said Penelope again. She had to explain to Ethan because she thought this was the best. "Meanwhile, the me sitting in front of you right now is the soul of Penelope Askary from our first life."
"Wait a minute. Soul? First life? What does this mean, Penny?" Ethan could feel that his head was going to explode any minute.
Penelope chuckled and took a deep breath. She started explaining from beginning to the end. Ethan listened seriously without interrupting. His face turned pale and his heart continued to beat fast. Cold sweat began to drip down his handsome face. His body also started to feel cold.
"No way...," Ethan shook his head. "So, in your first life, you... died because you were killed by your own husband?"
Penelope nodded. "Of course, it wasn’t Edmund’s fault, Brother. At that time, I became the cruelest woman in the De Louis empire. I always tortured everyone, especially Isabella Lysander, a woman close to Edmund Gerwyn. He and Sebastian De Louis didn’t accept it and—"
"That is no reason for them to cruelly kill you!" Ethan shouted without the man realizing. The man’s body trembled with anger and sadness. It really hurt when he heard about the experience that his little sister had to go through. Even though Penelope said it happened in the first life, even though it was hard for Ethan to believe it, Ethan still couldn’t imagine how Penelope had to feel the pain when she was tortured and killed by Edmund and Sebastian. "My poor little sister... Oh, Goddess. You’ve suffered. You’re suffering so much. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you."
Penelope smiled faintly. The woman got up from her chair and hugged Ethan’s neck from behind. She stroked Ethan’s hair gently. Ethan is currently crying.
"It already happened, Brother. I’m not angry or sad. That is my destiny. It was my fault too." Penelope kissed Ethan’s head. "Isn’t Penelope Askary still alive now?"
"But, she’s not my real little sister, is she?!" Ethan exclaimed. He wiped the tears on his face and turned his head. "She’s just a soul from another world that entered your body to replace you because, for the second time, you died as a result of being killed during that carriage accident, right?"
Penelope knelt in front of Ethan and held his hands tightly.
"Brother, listen to me," said Penelope. "Technically, the soul that is in Penelope Askary’s body right now is me. My soul. When I was reborn in this second life, Goddess Elleia divided my soul into two. One of my souls was sent to that other world. A modern world. A world full of extraordinary things that would never exist in this world."
Ethan was silent.
"Her name is Sienna. She’s an orphan. She’s lonely. She wants a family. She wants love and affection. At first, Sienna was very afraid when she found out she was already in this world, in the body of a villainess like me. But, Sienna survived. She changed everything. She prevented the deaths of those around her. Do you know that Mother and Father should have died because they ate the cake that Irish Meldon gave them at that time?"
Ethan remembered that very well. Penelope has prevented their parents from eating the poisoned cake and is looking for the one who did it. She is the one who catches the culprits in a short time and punishes them. Of course, Penelope asked Edmund to punish them because the woman didn’t feel like she had the heart to do it.
"So, please accept her to be your little sister because she is your little sister. Please, don’t hate her or avoid her, Brother. Likewise Edmund Gerwyn. There was a misunderstanding between me and Edmund in our first life and everything will be revealed when all these problems are resolved."
Penelope stood up, as did Ethan. The woman hugged Ethan and kissed him on both cheeks.
"Take good care of yourself, Brother. Take care of Mother and Father, as well as Sienna. No, I mean Penelope Askary, who now lives with you. I will always see you from here. I will protect all of you as much as I can from this place."
"Penny!"
Slowly, Penelope Askary disappeared. The woman smiled and waved.
"I love you, Brother Ethan."
###
Ethan Askary got up with one swift movement, making Edgar and Jeremy jump in surprise and curse under their breath.
The two knights rubbed their chests in surprise. They are still where they were. The place where Sebastian stabbed Ethan’s heart. The man caught his breath and swallowed hard. He glanced around then focused on Edgar and Jeremy.
"Prince Ethan? Are you okay?" Edgar asked in a doubtful tone. "You don’t have any serious injuries, right?"
Hearing that, Jeremy snorted and pushed Edgar’s forehead with his index finger.
"Sir Edgar, how can you ask like that? Of course, Prince Ethan was seriously injured. His heart was stabbed by that bastard Crown Prince—I mean, Crown Prince Sebastian. Prince Ethan almost died. Luckily, Duchess Penelope came and saved Prince Ethan’s life."
"My little sister saved me?" Ethan asked. He was reminded of his conversation with Penelope Askary’s soul from his first life. The man smiled faintly. Penelope was right. Sienna, who is now in her little sister’s body, is a good woman. "Where is she now?"
Edgar and Jeremy looked at each other, then looked at Ethan with worried eyes.
"Prince Ethan, Duchess Penelope was furious when she found out that the Crown Prince had stabbed your heart. The Duchess came here to save you. But...."
"But?" Ethan urged Edgar. "Quickly, tell me what happened, Edgar!"
Jeremy squeezed Edgar’s shoulder and nodded. According to him, Ethan has the right to know what happened to his little sister.
"Because of that immense anger, the Duchess was controlled by the darkness in her heart," answered Edgar. "The Duchess suddenly had black magic and attacked everyone."
"Black... magic?" Ethan widened his eyes and looked around him. The situation around him was very messy. Many people were crying and groaning in pain. "They... are they all injured because of Penny’s black magic?"
"No one was hurt, Prince," Jeremy said. "I mean, no one was seriously injured. And now, Duke Edmund and His Highness Helios are chasing Duchess Penelope because the Duchess went to kill His Highness Sebastian."
Ethan immediately stood up.
"We have to go after them," said Ethan in a firm tone. "I have to get my little sister back to normal!"
