Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 22: #-Edmund’s Nightmare, Sebastian’s Jealousy, And The Kiss
It’s dark.
This place was so dark, it made Edmund’s fists clenched. Surprisingly, even though this place was very dark, Edmund could see his surroundings. He didn’t fall, even though he was walking. His heart raced and the discomfort began to overwhelm him. It was the same as how he had felt before when he was overcome with rage and tortured those two bastards who dared hurt Penelope Askary. He was tied to this dark place, unable to break free.
"How is it for me to get out of this dark and cold place?" muttered Edmund. "I can’t waste my time here. I have to meet with Penelope and make sure she’s all right."
"You want to make sure I’m okay, Duke Edmund?"
The question with a cold voice made Edmund stop in his tracks. He recognized the voice everywhere. Edmund looked around, looking for Penelope Askary. The blue-eyed man ran as fast as he could and stopped when he felt a little tired.
"Penelope?!" shouted Edmund. "Penelope Askary, where are you?! Are you okay?!"
"I’m not okay, Duke Edmund."
Penelope’s words made Edmund flinch and harden his jaw. As he had expected, Penelope Askary must be very hurt by the actions of those two bastards. Edmund should have tortured them further and taken their lives. When Edmund turned around, intending to look for Penelope again for fear that something bad would happen to the golden-eyed woman, Edmund froze. His blue eyes widened.
In front of Edmund, Penelope Askary stood with her head down. Even so, her golden eyes lifted to meet Edmund’s. Her beautiful blue hair looked very messy. Her pretty face was pale and lost its light. Her entire petite body was injured and covered in blood. And, when Penelope raised her head, Edmund could see a long gash running down the woman’s neck. Edmund’s heart was forced to stop for a moment until it was beating so fast that it was painful for him.
"Pene... lope...?" called Edmund in a choked tone. He reached out and approached Penelope with slow steps. Edmund’s athletic body was trembling violently and his handsome face was very pale. It was as if all the blood within his body had disappeared. "What happened to you? Who... did this to you...?"
Penelope is just silent. She shot Edmund with a look full of hatred. A look that could make Edmund stop his steps. The man shook his head and started to cry.
"No...don’t give me that look..." Edmund said in a shaken tone. "Why... are you looking at me like you really hate me, Penelope...?"
"I do hate you," Penelope replied in a sharp tone. Then, from her left chest, blood gushed out and hit Edmund’s handsome face. The man gasped and shouted. He didn’t want to see Penelope hurt like this. At least, not in that woman’s heart. It was the place on which Penelope depended for her life. If her heart gets injured, Penelope, his adorable little bunny will die and leave him! "You see this wound in my heart, Duke Edmund? This is a wound given by you."
Edmund froze again. The man fell to his knees and looked up when he realized Penelope was standing right in front of him. Penelope looked down and Edmund looked up. Tears continued to stream down Edmund’s handsome face. The man shook his head frantically. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
"No! That’s impossible, Penelope. I can’t hurt you! I can’t possibly kill you!"
"This is the truth, Duke Edmund," Penelope said coldly. Then, blood came out again from her left chest and also from her mouth. Seeing that, Edmund shouted again. Panic and worried screams. The fear overtook him. Edmund stood and cupped Penelope’s face.
"No! No! Say no more, Penelope. We will treat your wound. You’ll be fine. You will—"
Edmund could not finish his words. His blue eyes widened even more, it made Edmund afraid that at any moment they would pop out of their place. That’s because he saw Penelope’s head suddenly detached from her body. Edmund immediately fell to his knees again and his body trembled even more violently. Those golden eyes were still looking at Edmund, even though her head had fallen to the ground.
"Remember that it was you who brought this great suffering upon me, Duke Edmund. You’ve killed me. You will kill me. Remember it well."
"No!" Edmund shook his head frantically. "No!"
###
"Your Highness, I have already done the task you wanted. I’ve come to the palace, calmed Duke Edmund down, and brought that man back to normal. Then, why am I not allowed to go home?"
Penelope Askary’s annoyed question made Sebastian De Louis stare at her. Sebastian’s green eyes tried to enter Penelope’s world, but the woman would not let him. Sebastian felt that Penelope was building a wall as high and thick as possible so that he couldn’t get inside. This made Sebastian annoyed and even more curious. Why could Penelope who loved him so much in the past, so obsessed with him, now forget about him?
"How close are you with Ed?"
Penelope blinked and frowned. When she intends to go home using Tristan’s teleportation magic, Sebastian forbids it. The man took her into one of the rooms and told the maid to prepare tea and sweets. The man also told Philleo Aaron to wait outside the room accompanied by Jade.
"Why would His Highness ask such a strange thing?" Penelope asked back. The woman took a deep breath and massaged the bridge of her nose. "With all due respect, Your Highness... I do not have any special relationship with Duke Edmund. I fear him, just as I fear Your Highness. Besides, if I have such a close and special relationship with Duke Edmund, wouldn’t it all have nothing to do with Your Highness?"
Penelope’s words were true, therefore Sebastian could not refute them. However, if Sebastian imagines that Penelope and Edmund have a special relationship and even become lovers, Sebastian doesn’t seem to want to accept it and doesn’t like that fact too, for some reason. Penelope is nothing more than a woman who was obsessed with him in the past, that’s true. The woman Sebastian hates because he always bullied Isabella. But now, Sebastian does not like the idea of Penelope forgetting him and is in a relationship with another man.
"If I said that I would be jealous if you and Ed had a close and special relationship, what would you do?" asked Sebastian curiously. This is weird. Even though Isabella was in a room not far from this room, Sebastian ignored her instead and spent his time chatting with other women. But, Sebastian didn’t feel guilty at all. After all, he’s the Crown Prince. If he becomes an emperor in the future, he could have an empress and a concubine at the same time.
Hearing Sebastian’s words, Penelope froze. In the next second, the golden-eyed woman got goosebumps and hugged her own body. Her golden eyes shot at the Crown Prince with both disbelief and disgust, causing Sebastian to blink and snort.
"Fine! I’m sorry for saying such a strange thing to you. So, you can stop looking at me like I’m a disgusting bastard or something."
Penelope cleared her throat and drank the tea from her cup. "I didn’t say anything."
"I wish I knew that you would change drastically and become this attractive woman," muttered Sebastian, causing Penelope to tilt her head and look at Sebastian with innocent eyes.
"Excuse me, what did Your Highness say just now?" asked the woman in a confused tone. "I can’t hear it."
"No, forget it," Sebastian grumbled. The man took a deep breath and combed his red hair using his fingers. "I—"
Suddenly, the door of the room opened with a loud bang. Sebastian and Penelope were surprised and both stared at the open door. They both looked confused and looked panicked at the panting Edmund Gerwyn. The man’s face was still very pale. His blue eyes weren’t as bright as usual. Edmund’s blue eyes also flashed with fear and anxiety. Then, the man walked with long, wide steps toward Penelope who was already standing, and subconsciously approached Sebastian who had stood up first.
"Duke Edmund!" Philleo and Jade shouted together. The two men limped and coughed. Sebastian suspected that Edmund had injured the two knights by trying to keep him out. Sebastian did tell Philleo and Jade to forbid anyone who wanted to enter this room and interrupt his conversation with Penelope.
Seeing Edmund acting strangely, Penelope felt a little scared. But, she convinced herself that Edmund would not hurt her. If Edmund meant to hurt her, didn’t he already do that? Penelope saw Edmund’s condition. The man looked shaken. And... Oh my God! Is the man crying? His face was also sweating a lot!
Realizing Penelope was approaching him, Sebastian immediately stretched out his hand to the side, in front of Penelope’s body, to protect the woman from Edmund who was getting closer to the two of them. Sebastian’s green eyes glared at Edmund. He swallowed hard, afraid that Edmund was still overcome by the darkness and anger in his heart.
"Edmund Gerwyn," Sebastian growled. "I order you to stop and—"
However, Sebastian could not finish his words. It wasn’t only the man who widened his eyes, but also Penelope, Philleo, and Jade when Edmund took Penelope’s hand and brought her tiny body into his arms. Edmund hugged Penelope tightly, making Penelope wince because she felt a little difficult to breathe. Edmund hid his face into Penelope’s shoulder and neck, making Penelope confused about how to react. She stared at Sebastian, making the Crown Prince shake his head as a sign that he did not know what was happening to his best friend.
"Err... Ed?" Penelope called in a doubtful tone. She smiled awkwardly. "What is wrong? Are you okay?"
Edmund’s hug grew stronger, making Penelope wince in pain. Seeing that, Philleo widened his eyes and tried to get closer to keep Edmund away from his Lady, but Penelope shook her head firmly. The woman didn’t want to take the risk that Edmund would get angry and hurt Philleo. Even though it was frustrating because he couldn’t do anything, Philleo was forced to follow Penelope’s orders. Philleo’s jaw clenched, his teeth gritted, and his hands clenched tightly at his sides.
"I... didn’t kill you...," whispered Edmund.
The whisper that only Penelope could hear made her frown.
"Yes?"
Edmund let go of his hug and cupped Penelope’s face. His blue eyes trembled as he looked into Penelope’s golden eyes which were very beautiful. Edmund looked at Penelope from head to toe, making sure that the woman in front of him was okay. Living for him, still breathing for him.
"I can’t possibly do that."
What had Edmund Gerwyn been talking about since earlier? Penelope said in her heart. Why had he been saying such nonsensical things like that? Killed her? Did Edmund have nightmares about the incident in the original Penelope Askary’s first life, where the man killed Penelope cruelly and brutally?
"I’m alive and well, Ed," Penelope said in a calm tone, trying her best to reassure Edmund. It was very dangerous if Edmund suddenly sank back into the darkness in his heart if this panic and fear overtook him. "You saw for yourself, didn’t you? I’m fine. I—"
Penelope’s golden eyes widened. She could hear the people around her gasping. Edmund didn’t do anything dangerous. At least, harmless to all of them. However, what Edmund Gerwyn is currently doing is very dangerous for Penelope’s heart health. Because, that man who was called the cruelest man and the cold-hearted man in the De Louis empire, was currently kissing Penelope on the lips!
"Wha—?!" Philleo shouted as he snapped out of his shock.
"Huh?!" This was the reaction of Sebastian De Louis, with his green eyes wide open.
"Oh Dear," Jade muttered as he turned his blushing face away. The man even looked innocent because he covered his face with both hands.
After kissing Penelope on the lips, as if he had done nothing, Edmund smiled gently at Penelope while stroking her lips with his thumb. Then, the man just fainted, making Penelope also fall to her knees because her legs felt weak like jelly. Penelope’s face started to heat up and was blushing hard. The woman was busy covering her lips with her hands while glancing at Edmund who had fainted nearby. She didn’t even hear Philleo’s words asking how she was right now.
Oh, Dear Lord!
What did Duke Edmund Gerwyn just do to her lips?!
