Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 154: #-Out Of Control
That afternoon, Penelope, Edmund, and the others went to the garden in the De Louis imperial square.
They decided to have a picnic there. Two of Edmund’s shadow knights, Chris and Jellal, as well as Edgar and Jeremy, join the picnic to protect their masters. Sarah also came along because she was in charge of taking care of the twins, Raven and Ocean.
Edmund smiled when he saw Penelope laughing happily. It felt like it had been a long time since he saw his wife this happy. All the problems that continuously come into the woman’s life must make her very stressed. But, all this time, Penelope had almost never complained to him. The woman didn’t want to cause Edmund any trouble, that’s what Edmund guessed. In fact, Edmund really wanted Penelope to depend on him. Whatever that woman did, even if it got him into trouble, Edmund wouldn’t be angry and wouldn’t care. Penelope Askary was free to get him into as much trouble as his wife wanted.
When he saw Isabella Lysander beside Penelope, Edmund’s smile disappeared. The anger and hatred returned inside his heart. It made him suffocate. The Duke closed his eyes and growled under his breath. He wanted to scream. He wanted to curse Isabella and torture her because that woman was the source of Penelope’s suffering in her previous life. That woman had separated him from Penelope. That woman made him kill Penelope whom he loved so much.
"Duke," Helios called. The man had noticed the strangeness of Edmund’s behavior since he came to Gerwyn’s mansion. However, Helios chose to remain silent because he didn’t want to interfere. But, Helios was afraid that if he left Edmund like this, the man would be overcome by the darkness in his heart again. Helios probably didn’t know whether Edmund was acting strange because he was angry or had a problem but judging from the expression on his face, Helios was sure the man was angry. And, since earlier, the person Edmund saw was Isabella Lysander. "Are you okay?"
Edmund shrugged. "I’m fine, Your Highness. Why do you ask like that?"
"Well... your face tells me that you’re angry." Helios glanced at Isabella. "And I know, the person who made you like this was Isabella Lysander. You keep giving Isabella Lysander angry, no, hateful looks." Then, Helios glanced at Ethan, who was chatting with Penelope and Isabella. "And, doesn’t Ethan Askary also suspect that you are angry with his lover?"
Edmund clicked his tongue in annoyance and massaged his temples. He stood up and that made Penelope look at him.
"Honey, where are you going?" Penelope asked in a confused tone. "Do you have to finish your work?"
Edmund smiled and shook his head. "No. I’ll just go there for a moment," pointed out the Duke. "I wanted to... get some fresh air for a bit. You play here with them and the twins. I will be right back."
Seeing Edmund leave, Helios sighed and stood up as well. He immediately ran after Edmund without saying goodbye to Penelope and the others. Jeremy also ran with his master. Seeing that, Penelope, Ethan, and Isabella looked at each other.
"Penny, your husband’s behavior has been very strange since earlier," said Ethan in a firm tone. "Did something happen between you? Are you guys fighting?"
"No," shook Penelope. "I don’t think there’s anything strange about Ed, Brother."
"Is it true?" Ethan frowned and rubbed his chin. "But, I feel like he’s hiding something, Penny. Moreover, your husband doesn’t seem to like Isabel’s presence."
Hearing that, Penelope froze. The woman cleared her throat and smiled awkwardly. She scratched her cheek and waved her hand.
"Maybe it’s just Brother Ethan’s imagination. It was impossible for Edmund to dislike Isabel’s presence. It’s better if we discuss something else. So, what about your and Isabel’s relationship, Brother?"
Meanwhile, Helios managed to catch up with Edmund. The Duke was standing in front of a lake. He put his hands in his pockets and turned his head when he realized Helios was standing next to him.
"You cannot lie to me, Duke Edmund," said Helios. "You know what? You’re not good at hiding the expression on your face."
Edmund stared at the lake in front of him. In that lake, Penelope once jumped. The woman almost drowned. At that time, Penelope began to change. The woman was very afraid when she met him. At that time, Edmund did not know what happened to the woman who was known as the cruelest woman in the De Louis empire. She only said that a mysterious person told her that he and Sebastian De Louis planned the woman’s murder. However, Edmund eventually finds out that Penelope is afraid of him because of their first life where he killed her so cruelly.
And all because of Isabella Lysander!
"Your Highness," called Edmund after a moment of silence. "You know about the new soul in Penelope Askary’s body, right? A soul that comes from another world. The soul belongs to a woman named Sienna."
Helios nodded. He accidentally overheard Edmund and Penelope’s conversation at that time about another world where the woman named Sienna lived before coming to this world and possessing Penelope Askary’s body. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
"For all she knows, Sebastian De Louis and I killed her in our first life. Then, Goddess Elleia came to see my wife."
"Goddess Elleia herself?!" Helios exclaimed in disbelief. It seems that Penelope Askary is really a Saintess chosen directly by the Goddess.
"Penelope wants to see what happened in our first life," said Edmund, continuing the story. "Because the information we receive varies. The fragment of Penelope Askary’s soul from our first life said something else, while the fragment of my soul from our first life also said something else. That’s why Goddess Elleia gave my wife the opportunity to see the actual incident through a dream."
"And? What information did the Duchess get?" Helios asked.
Edmund was silent. He lowered his head and clenched his fists at his sides. The Duke growled.
"Isabella Lysander is the root of all the problems in her previous life, Your Highness!" exclaimed Edmund. He was starting to lose control. His anger and hatred for Isabella Lysander began to surface. "She was the one who cornered Penelope! She threatened Penelope that she would hurt and kill me and her family if Penelope didn’t comply with that woman’s wishes. She told Penelope to break up with me, telling me that she was in love with Sebastian. She also told Penelope to do bad things that ended up making me and Sebastian kill her!" Edmund looked at Helios with a sharp gaze. "Isabella Lysander makes my wife suffer! She has black magic and she is controlling my wife’s mind so that my wife will cause chaos in the De Louis empire!"
Helios was silent. The man froze. He didn’t think there was a previous life for all of them.
"What...?"
The voice made Helios and Edmund turn their heads around. Helios widened his eyes while Edmund stared flatly at Ethan Askary. The man approached him and immediately grabbed his collar. However, Edmund remained calm. He didn’t react.
"What nonsense were you talking about just now, Edmund Gerwyn?" Ethan growled.
"Nonsense, you say?" Edmund laughed and snorted. He jerked Ethan’s hands away from his body. "Ethan, you also know that the soul that is in your little sister’s body right now is a soul from another world. You also know that we have a first life that is over. You’ve met Penelope Askary’s soul from her first life, haven’t you?"
Ethan was silent.
"Did you know she died because she was killed by me and Sebastian? I was just as shocked as you when I found out about this. But, what shocked me more was when Goddess Elleia showed Penny that Isabella Lysander was the real Villainess! That woman has black magic! She threatened my Penny! She separated me from Penny in our previous life! We’re almost getting married, Ethan! The worst thing is, Isabella asked Penelope to do something that would make me so angry and hate her that I would end up killing her! I killed the woman I loved so much with my own two hands because of the crimes committed by the woman you loved in this life!"
Ethan shook his head. He took a step back. Helios and Jeremy, who could hear the despair, frustration, and anger in Edmund Gerwyn’s voice, could only remain silent and avert their gazes.
"If it wasn’t for Penny who really loves Isabella Lysander and is good friends with her, if it weren’t for you who really loves her and is going to marry her, maybe I would have tortured and killed your lover when I found out this fact, Ethan Askary!" Edmund groaned and threw a rock into the lake. "Do you know how much my heart hurts when I hear the suffering my wife had to go through in her previous life?! I don’t want her to suffer any more! So, don’t you dare blame me or lecture me if I act coldly toward your lover because I really hate her!" Edmund approached Ethan. His blue eyes were sharp and cold. "I hate Isabella Lysander so much that I really want to kill her with my own two hands!"
