Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 40: #-She Missed The Cruel Duke

Ethan Askary was working on the reports that Duke Askary had given him when Philleo Aaron walked into his study without even knocking on the door.

Ethan should be angry because of Philleo’s impolite behavior right now. However, the man let it go because he considered Philleo Aaron as his best friend, not his family’s knight. Even so, if Philleo did something like this again in the future, then Ethan would not allow it. Philleo Aaron is a knight serving the Askary family. He may be the son of a noble, but his status is still below Ethan’s.

"Where’s your little sister?" asked Philleo in a cold tone, when the man was already standing in front of Ethan’s desk.

Without looking at Philleo, Ethan replied, "On vacation. Didn’t I tell you two days ago? Aren’t you tired of asking the same thing over and over again, Phill?"

Philleo gritted his teeth. Hearing that, Ethan glanced at Philleo and raised an eyebrow when he saw the expression on Philleo’s face that the man had never shown before. That expression looks so cold with eyes that shine sharply as if they have no mercy.

"Hey, Phil, your lips will bleed and hurt if you keep biting them like that," Ethan grumbled. The man put down his pen and crossed his arms. "Why are you behaving like this?"

"That’s because you deliberately sent me away when your little sister was away on vacation! You know that I’m her knight, right?! I have to stay beside her to protect her! What if something bad happened to her?! Haven’t you thought about that, Ethan?!" Philleo didn’t even call Ethan Young Master anymore as usual. Ethan did permit Philleo to call his name if they were alone.

"Phill, I’m not that stupid to let Penny go unprotected," Ethan took a deep breath. He massaged his temples, confused by Philleo’s current attitude. "Penny went with Sarah and Dame Rosaline."

"Compared to Dame Rosaline, I far surpass her, Ethan! I can protect Penelope better than Dame Rosaline!"

Ethan glared at Philleo when he said his little sister’s name. The man stood up from his chair, then faced Philleo. Philleo met Ethan’s gaze while clenching his fists at his sides. His jaw clenched and the man couldn’t control the anger that was building up inside him.

"I don’t remember ever giving you permission to call my little sister by her name, Philleo Aaron," Ethan said coldly. "You’re my friend, that’s why I permit you to call my name. However, you are my little sister’s knight. She is the woman you serve. You can’t just say her name so easily like that."

"Ethan! At a time like this, you can still—"

"I speak to you as your master, not as your friend, Philleo Aaron," growled Ethan. For some reason, he felt that there was something strange about Philleo’s current attitude. "Behave yourself. You look really dangerous right now. You seem obsessed with my little sister. If I see you continue to act like this, I will pull you from Penelope’s side and replace you with someone else." Ethan walked past Philleo and stopped right at his study door. "And, remember this. It’s Penny who doesn’t want you to know about her current location. She wants to go on vacation with the women. She doesn’t want to be disturbed by the presence of a man."

As Ethan left his study, Philleo growled. The man punched the nearby wall repeatedly until his knuckles were bleeding and bruised. His breath is ragged. His eyes were sharp and full of anger. He bit his lip again and this time it bled. The man growled again, then laughed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"She’s only allowed to be by my side," said Philleo in a sharp tone. "Penelope Askary is only mine. She’s my precious doll. I will not let that beautiful cat out of my hands, out of my arms. I will catch her and lock her in a cage. A cage that I will fill with love."

###

"What?"

The Crown Prince’s aide took a deep breath and didn’t dare to look at the face of the man in front of him. Recently, the Crown Prince had been giving him such strange orders. The man will tell him to find information about Penelope Askary. What she was doing, who she talked to and spent her time with, which man was close to her besides Duke Edmund Gerwyn, and much, much more. There was still a lot of work for the Crown Prince to complete rather than thinking about such unreasonable things. After all, didn’t the Crown Prince already have Isabella Lysander as the woman he loved and would become the Crown Princess soon?

"As I reported before, Your Highness, Princess Penelope is away on vacation to the South."

"A Vacation?" Sebastian De Louis stood up from his chair and walked toward the aide while stroking his chin. "Do you know where it is? I mean, the place that Penelope visited."

The aide shook his head. "Forgive me, Your Highness. Everyone in the Askary mansion doesn’t know where Princess Penelope has gone. They were only told that she went on vacation to the South together with her maid named Sarah and a female knight named Rosaline."

"She didn’t bring Philleo Aaron?" asked Sebastian in disbelief. "Isn’t that man the only one who has great abilities among the knights in the Askary family?"

"I heard that when Princess Penelope left for the South, Sir Philleo was carrying out an errand given to him by little Duke Ethan."

Sebastian frowned. He seemed to be thinking. Should he follow Penelope to the South? For some reason, he missed her a lot and wanted to chat with her. Although Penelope’s attitude is so cold to him, Sebastian will not give up. He wanted to get her attention. Penelope Askary succeeded in making him feel challenged.

"I heard that Duke Edmund also went to the South to look for Princess Penelope, Your Highness." The report made Sebastian click his tongue in annoyance and cross his arms. He stared off into the distance. Edmund Gerwyn always followed Penelope Askary. If Sebastian had known that things would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have asked Edmund to investigate the drastic changes that had happened to Penelope at that time. Sebastian regrets having told Edmund to do it, thus making the man obsessed with Penelope, and seems to be starting to fall in love with the woman. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Get the carriage ready," Sebastian said in a firm tone, causing his aide to blink and open his mouth.

"Yes?"

"I’m going to the South to catch up with Penelope and Edmund."

When Sebastian had left the room, the aide could only groan as he fell to his knees and rubbed his face with both hands.

"Your Highness, you still have a lot of work..." whined the aide.

###

The morning air in the North was completely cool and so different from the air in the imperial capital.

Penelope is eating her breakfast in the front yard of her family’s summer house. The woman smiled and took a deep breath of the cool air. Since Dame Rosaline was her knight here, Penelope automatically told her about her pregnancy. Just like Ethan and Sarah, Rosaline was furious when she found out that Duke Edmund was the man who dared to sleep with Penelope and made her pregnant. Rosaline also intended to kill Edmund, but Penelope immediately prevented it and explained what really happened. Even though she still didn’t accept it, Rosaline no longer thought about killing the Duke.

"My Lady, did you like the food?" Sarah asked with a smile. Rosaline stood behind Penelope’s chair to protect her.

"Yes, I like it." Penelope nodded.

"But why do you look so displeased, My Lady? Are you not in the mood to eat your breakfast?" Sarah stared at the food on Penelope’s plate. "There is still plenty of food left, My Lady. You must not be like this, My Lady. At this time, you are not only feeding yourself. You must also feed your baby who is growing and developing in your womb, My Lady."

"Sarah’s right," Rosaline nodded. "Or, does My Lady wish to eat something else? I can find whatever food My Lady wants."

Penelope laughed and shook her head. She rubbed her still-flat stomach. "No, no. I really like this food. It’s just that I really can’t eat too much, Sarah, Dame Rosaline. I’m still having morning sickness. I feel nauseous when I see food. But, I still force myself to eat so my baby can get lots of nutrients."

Sarah and Rosaline looked at each other with worried eyes. Early pregnancy is very difficult for a pregnant woman.

"Is it because My Lady’s baby is the son or daughter of Duke Edmund, so My Lady’s baby always causes trouble for My Lady like his or her father?" Sarah said, making Penelope blink and laugh while Rosaline smacked the maid’s head lightly.

"Sarah, watch your mouth!" scolded Rosaline.

"It’s alright, Dame Rosaline. I was amused by Sarah’s words just now. I’m sure Sarah didn’t say that on purpose." Penelope rubbed her stomach again. "This baby is my child. Even though I didn’t love the baby’s father, even though the baby’s father really hated me and had almost killed me, this child didn’t have anything wrong. The baby can’t choose who his or her parents are. I just hope I can be a good mother for the baby and can make the baby a child who is loved by many people."

Sarah and Rosaline smiled.

"I’m sure, My Lady will be the perfect mother for the baby, My Lady."

Penelope nodded. Then, when the woman accidentally saw two men walking in the distance, her golden eyes widened. She stood up from her chair. Her heart was pounding so hard. Her legs felt weak, making her want to fall to her knees.

"My Lady? What is it?" asked Sarah who looked worried. She looked in the direction Penelope was staring and frowned. "Does My Lady know the two men over there?"

"Sarah! Isn’t that Duke—" When Penelope looked back at the man while pointing at him, Penelope stopped her words. She frowned when she saw the two men talking while laughing. That’s weird. Wasn’t that man Edmund Gerwyn? Just now... she swears she saw Edmund Gerwyn there! That man was Edmund Gerwyn!

"The Duke?" Rosaline frowned. "Do you mean that man is Duke Edmund? My Lady, it’s not Duke Edmund. Are you... thinking of Duke Edmund right now? Do you miss Duke Edmund, My Lady?"

"Huh?!" Penelope shook her head frantically. Her face looks panicked. Not only that, but she could also feel her face getting hot, so Sarah and Rosaline could see Penelope’s blushing face. "No! There’s no way I’d miss Duke Edmund!"

"But, My Lady—"

"Sarah, Rosaline," Penelope grumbled. The woman returned to her chair. "I want to be alone."

After Sarah and Rosaline left her side, Penelope immediately covered her face with both hands and groaned under her breath. The woman bit her lip and pressed hard on her left chest, where her heart continued to beat wildly.

"I... miss Edmund Gerwyn?!" Penelope looked down at her belly and rubbed it. "Do you miss your father, Honey? Is that why you made Mom miss that jerk too?"