Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 38: #-Mood Swings In Pregnant Women

This is bad.

Penelope knew that Ethan was angry because he loved her so much and did not accept that his little sister had to get pregnant because of a mistake. Already so, the man who impregnated her was Edmund Gerwyn, a Duke who was hated by Ethan. But Penelope also didn’t want Ethan to die in vain because of his carelessness, who wanted to teach Edmund a lesson. Even though Ethan has good sword skills, his skills are still far below Edmund’s. And, if Ethan came to Edmund and asked the Duke to duel, wouldn’t Ethan have to say the reason behind it? Penelope didn’t want Edmund to know she was pregnant!

"Brother Ethan, please just listen to me for a moment!" Penelope pleaded as she held Ethan’s arm firmly. Her eyes looked at Edmund with a pitiful gaze and the woman had been holding herself back from crying. "I beg you, don’t kill Duke Edmund."

"Do you love him?!" Ethan shouted. "Penny, if you really love him, there is a better way for you to have children with him! Are you doing this because you are frustrated because the Crown Prince never loves you back and prefers other women?"

Oh, Lord! Penelope doesn’t even care if Sebastian De Louis is married to Isabella Lysander or ten other women! And, did Ethan accuse her of loving Edmund? Seriously?!

"I don’t love Duke Edmund, Brother! I already told you that this is a mistake. I’m drunk. I seduced Duke Edmund and Duke Edmund did that to me. So, this wasn’t just Duke Edmund’s fault. It’s our fault, Brother. Please, don’t be hasty. I don’t want Brother Ethan to die at the hands of Duke Edmund."

Ethan clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. The man looked at Penelope who still gave him a pitiful look. A look is full of hope that he would not go to Gerwyn’s mansion to meet Edmund. Ethan then put his arm around his little sister’s waist and pulled her onto the bed. He told Penelope to sit down, then Ethan knelt in front of Penelope.

"Penny, Honey," Ethan caressed his little sister’s hair lovingly. "I really don’t accept you getting this kind of treatment from Duke Edmund. Fine, let’s presume that you’re guilty too. Pretend you’re so drunk you can’t recognize Duke Edmund. Pretend you flirted with the guy first. But, what about Duke Edmund? Is he drunk like you? If he wasn’t drunk, shouldn’t that man have rejected you even if you seduced him and brought you back safely to this mansion?"

Penelope looked down. If she were to assume, it didn’t look like Edmund Gerwyn was drunk that night. Penelope remembered that someone had spoken to her that night, although at the time she had not realized it was Edmund. Dammit! What Ethan said was true. If Edmund was sober, why didn’t the man take her home and instead used the opportunity to sleep with her?

"But, Brother," Penelope said immediately when she saw that Ethan was getting ready to leave. "Please help me just this once. I didn’t want Duke Edmund to know that I was carrying his child. I don’t want him to know I’m pregnant. I... I don’t want to be in any relationship with that guy. I can raise my child alone without Duke Edmund’s help. But, I also don’t want Duke Edmund to die. When my son or daughter grows up, I have to explain to him or her who his or her real father is and why his or her parents can’t live together. If Brother Ethan came to Duke Edmund now and threw a tantrum there, wouldn’t he know I was pregnant? I just want to live quietly and freely with my child, Brother."

Ethan fell silent. The man could see the determined look in Penelope’s eyes. With a heavy sigh, Ethan massaged his temples and nodded.

"Fine, I will comply with all your wishes." Ethan kissed Penelope’s forehead who looked relieved and smiled. "What about father and mother?"

Penelope shook her head. "No, don’t tell them. I don’t want to make them sad and angry. I... I will tell them everything later when I have safely delivered my child." The woman looked down and fiddled with her ten fingers. "Now that I think about it, all I’ve done is embarrass my family, right? I’m really sorry, Brother."

"Don’t talk like that," Ethan said. The man smiled faintly. He hugged Penelope’s body tightly while stroking her hair and back gently. "We all love you so much, Penny. Whatever you do, will never reduce our love for you. We will never hate you."

Penelope could no longer hold back her tears. She cries. Suddenly her mood changed drastically. At first, she was afraid because Ethan wanted to kill Edmund, then she was angry when she realized that Edmund was not drunk that night and should have been able to take her straight home, and now she was suddenly sad and moved by Ethan’s words. Penelope tried to wipe away the tears, but the tears kept streaming down her pretty face.

Dammit! Do women who are pregnant experience frequent mood swings?

"Don’t cry," Ethan pleaded softly. "Forgive me. I snapped at you earlier. I didn’t do it on purpose because I was so worried about you." Ethan took a deep breath. "You are my little sister. You’re precious to me, Penny. You are more valuable than all the jewelry in this world. You’re still so young, but you already have to experience something like this because of that damn Duke." Ethan let go of his hug and cupped Penelope’s face. The man smiled reassuringly. "I will always be by your side, Penny. I will protect you and help you. If you don’t want me to tell Mother and Father, I won’t."

Penelope nodded. "Thank you, Brother. I am very lucky to be born as your little sister."

Ethan laughed and wiped Penelope’s tears away. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I intend to leave this empire." Penelope looked into Ethan’s eyes. "I’ll be staying at our parents’ summer house in the North, Brother."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Over there is the border area between the De Louis empire and the Abelavish empire. It’s dangerous there."

"I know," Penelope nodded. "But, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I will take Sarah with me."

"You’re not taking Philleo?"

Penelope shook her head. "The less people know about my pregnancy, the better it will be for me and my child, Brother. Help me give reasons to my mother and father. Don’t let them come to the North to meet me when I’m already living there. You can do that for me, can’t you, Brother?"

Ethan took a deep breath and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Okay, if that’s what you want. However, please bring one knight with you to protect you, Penny. If you don’t want to bring Philleo Aaron, how about you choose a female knight from this family?"

Penelope fell silent. The next second, the woman nodded.

"I will bring Dame Rosaline."

###

Penelope Askary decided to get some fresh air so her mind could be clear again.

The woman glanced at Philleo Aaron who was faithfully standing beside her. Currently, Penelope was enjoying tea and sweets in one of the restaurants which was famous among the noble women. Sarah sat across from her because Penelope had told her to, even though according to etiquette, a maid certainly shouldn’t be at the same table as the noblewoman she served. But Penelope didn’t care about that.

"Penny?"

The call made Penelope blink and turn her head. She smiled at Isabella Lysander who approached her. Philleo and Sarah immediately bowed to greet Isabella, after that it was Isabella who greeted Penelope because Penelope’s status was higher than hers.

"Isabel, what are you doing here?" Penelope asked after inviting Isabella to sit across from her. Sarah was already standing beside Philleo and a little away from Penelope and Isabella. "Oh, I haven’t asked how you are. How were you after the kidnapping that time? Are you okay?"

Isabella nodded and smiled even more. "I’m fine thanks to you, Penny. I’m grateful to meet you here. I want to thank you for saving me that time."

"You don’t have to think about it. I do not do anything. I’m glad you’re okay."

Isabella looked uncomfortable in her place and that of course did not escape Penelope’s eyes. The woman turned to Philleo and Sarah, telling them to leave. The two people nodded in understanding and gave their Lady and Isabella some privacy.

"Isabel, what’s wrong?" Penelope asked in a gentle tone. "Are you in trouble?"

"Huh? Oh no. I just—" Isabella moistened her lips and held Penelope’s hand tightly. That of course made Penelope blink in confusion and smile awkwardly. "Penny, do you love Duke Edmund?"

"Yes?"

"I... I was at Duke Edmund’s mansion that day when you came. Duke Edmund immediately left me and came to meet you. He looks really happy that you came." Isabella looked down and took a deep breath. "All this time, Duke Edmund has never neglected me like that, Penny. It makes me a little...sad. I don’t want to lose Duke Edmund. I mean, he is my friend. The person who always puts me first and protects me. If he suddenly has a woman he thinks is special, somehow I feel sad and feel lost." Isabella immediately looked up and shook her hands. "Oh, but I don’t mean to forbid you and Duke Edmund from having a special relationship or anything! That’s your right. I just... want to be involved in your relationship. I don’t want you two to leave me. You... get what I mean, don’t you?"

Penelope smiled faintly. She didn’t know how to react. Isabella’s words earlier, if Penelope had to translate them, were: I like Duke Edmund, although I also like Sebastian De Louis. So, can you not get too close to those two men of mine?

It felt like Penelope really wanted to scream in Isabella’s face and say that she was currently pregnant with that jerk’s child. For some reason, Penelope felt annoyed and jealous when she heard Isabella’s words just now. But, wait a minute. Jealous? Because Isabella most likely liked Edmund? Ha! Jealousy is a sign of love and Penelope didn’t love Edmund!

"Isabel, I think you misunderstood. I don’t have any special relationship with Duke Edmund at all. We were just... Well, you could call the two of us friends. I always owed my life to him because he always protected me. I—"

"As I recall, I don’t need to report to you if I want to have a special relationship with Penelope Askary. Just like I told you yesterday."

Those cold words made Penelope and Isabella freeze. The two women turned and beside their table, Edmund Gerwyn was standing. Behind Edmund, Edgar bowed to Penelope and Isabella in greeting.

"Since yesterday you have been controlling my private life, Isabella Lysander. Do you intend to restrain a Duke like me? Just because I’m being nice to you doesn’t mean I have to stay close to you and ignore my feelings for other women. You are not a special woman for me. You are the Crown Prince’s woman."

Isabella stood up and shook her head. "But, I don’t want you to stay away from me. I—"

"Enough!"

Penelope was sick of seeing all this drama. She’s dizzy. She needs to calm down or the baby will be in danger. If something bad happened to the baby, Penelope would throw a tantrum this second! She looked at Edmund and Isabella with a stern look.

"If you two want to fight and argue, please do it somewhere else. Don’t do it in front of me because I just want some peace!" Penelope exclaimed angrily and unconsciously touched her stomach. This made Edmund glance at Penelope’s stomach and stare at her pretty face. "If the two of you have personal matters, please sort it out and don’t bring up my name! I will go first."

Edmund held Penelope’s arm as she wanted to go past him. Then, the man brought Penelope’s body closer to him. He whispered in Penelope’s ear who froze at his question.

"Why do you always hold and touch your stomach when you meet me, Penelope Askary?"