Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 49: #-How Dare You Impregnate My Daughter?!

Before Edmund Gerwyn really thought of starting a war with the Abelavish empire or killing their Crown Prince who was still smiling broadly, Penelope immediately stood on her tiptoes and hugged Edmund’s neck.

Penelope’s action made Edmund raise an eyebrow and smile faintly. He immediately hugged Penelope’s waist so she wouldn’t fall or something. Edmund knew that Penelope was doing this to prevent him from doing something cruel to the Crown Prince of the Abelavish empire. Edmund glanced at Helios Rune Abelavish and was satisfied when he saw the man frown.

"Ed, I’m tired. I want to go home. How about we go home now? Hmm?" Penelope stroked Edmund’s handsome face. "We should make preparations to return to the capital, right? Come on, let’s not waste time here."

"Hey, cute little bunny," Helios called when Edmund opened his mouth to speak to Penelope. "We just met again and now you want to go home already? Don’t you want to get to know me? I want to know you better. We can be friends!"

"Duke Edmund," said Philleo suddenly, causing Edmund and Penelope to turn to look at him. Edmund was surprised that Philleo suddenly spoke to him but the man didn’t really care. "May I teach him a lesson?" asked Philleo, making Penelope blink and Edmund chuckle. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Did you hear that, Your Highness?" Edmund asked Helios. "He is a great knight whose strength was acknowledged by His Highness The Emperor. He is also a knight whose duty is to protect Penelope Askary, my woman whom you always call cute little bunny. I can’t do anything if this man wants to punish you for being so disrespectful to his Lady."

Jeremy immediately bowed before Edmund and Penelope while groaning inside his heart.

"Once again, please forgive my Master, Duke Edmund, Lady Penelope," said Jeremy apologetically. "I will make sure something like this doesn’t happen again in the future."

"Hey, Jeremy! Why do you have to apologize to them? What have I done wrong? I just said hi to the cute little bunny that caught my attention. Is it wrong? I just want to get to know her better and want to be her friend!" Helios snorted and pouted. The man then looked at Edmund. Meanwhile, Penelope didn’t know how to react. Her head hurts from this incident. She had tried to save Helios but the man seemed to have no desire to live in this world anymore. "Duke Edmund, am I not allowed to be friends with her?"

"No," answered Edmund in a firm, sharp tone.

"Why?" whined Helios. "Listen, you should introduce your friends to me. If you have friends, you can’t hide them."

Edmund sighed heavily and immediately took Penelope in his arms. This made Penelope blink again and scream. She immediately wrapped her hands around Edmund’s neck so she wouldn’t fall, even though the woman was sure Edmund would never make her fall. Her face started to heat up again and started to blush. She glanced at the smiling Helios when he realized she was looking at the man and he waved at her.

I pity him, Penelope muttered inside her heart. In Penelope’s eyes, Helios looked like a rabbit that Edmund was about to cook.

"I don’t know if you deliberately didn’t hear what I said earlier or you just didn’t realize it," said Edmund in a cold tone. "His Highness Helios Rune Abelavish, this woman, whom you call a cute little bunny and you think is my friend, is the future Duchess Gerwyn. I will marry her soon. So, I hope that you won’t do anything to anger me or else I will tell Emperor Abelavish, His Highness’ father, that I will start a war with Abelavish’s empire because of your disrespect toward the future Duchess Gerwyn."

Helios’s mouth opened wide when he heard Edmund’s words. He grabbed Jeremy’s arm and shook it, then pointed at Penelope who winced, and Edmund who glared at him.

"Jeremy! Did I hear right?" Helios paled. "That cute little bunny that caught my eye... is she the cruelest Duke Edmund’s woman? So, the gossip you told me about where Duke Edmund came to this region to look for a woman is true? This beautiful woman would become Duke Edmund’s wife? Then, what about me?"

"What does this have to do with you?" asked Edmund in an annoyed tone.

"I like her!" Helios whined in a loud tone. He looked at Edmund and Penelope with pitiful eyes. "I liked that woman from the first time I met her! She is the first woman who managed to catch my eye!"

Edmund growled when he heard that and Penelope started panicking again in Edmund’s arms.

"Ed! Ed! I only love you!" Penelope shouted, cupping the man’s face. She stared hard into Edmund’s eyes. Penelope smiled gently. "In my eyes, there is only you. In my heart, there is only one place and that place already belongs to you. There will be no place for anyone else."

The expression on Edmund’s face was flat, but from the look in his eyes and also from the twitching corners of his lips, Edgar, who had only been keeping quiet to watch the situation, knew that his Master was pleased with Penelope’s words just now. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing war would not break out between the De Louis Empire and the Abelavish empire.

"Did you hear that, Your Highness?" asked Edmund proudly. "My little bunny loves only me and only looks at me. She would never glance in the direction of another man. So, give up on approaching her." Edmund kissed Penelope on the lips before the wide-eyed Helios. Meanwhile, although shocked by Edmund’s actions, Penelope had no strength left to anger or protest. Most importantly, she could leave this place immediately. "In that case, my Duchess and I will be going home now. I will send our wedding invitation to you, Your Highness."

Jeremy bowed to Edmund and Penelope as the two important people from the De Louis empire left with their knights. He glanced at Helios who was now looking down. The man looked like a sad puppy right now.

"Your Highness—"

"I will not give up!"

Jeremy blinked. "Huh?"

Helios lifted his face and grinned widely into the distance. He clenched his fists and raised them into the air. His eyes twinkled.

"They’re still not married, are they? I’m sure I can make her interested in me. I will make her my friend then make her like me!" Helios looked at Jeremy with an excited gaze. "Jeremy, get ready! I will announce to His Highness The Emperor and Her Highness The Empress that I have found a candidate for the position of Crown Princess!"

Jeremy immediately knelt and covered his face with both hands.

"Your Highness, how about you just kill me now?" complained Jeremy. "I would rather die if you behave like this, Your Highness. I would rather die by your hands than by a cruel and cold-blooded man like Duke Edmund." s

###

As scheduled, the next day Edmund and Penelope returned to the capital.

They hired carriages for Edmund and Penelope. Meanwhile, the horses Edmund and Edgar rode from the capital to the North were used by Edgar, Philleo, Sarah, and Rosaline. Edgar rode the horse together with Sarah and Philleo along with Rosaline.

"Are you okay?" asked Edmund, stroking Penelope’s hair and holding her hand tightly. "Are you feeling uncomfortable? What about our child? Did our child feel uncomfortable, then get angry at you and finally make you nauseous?"

Penelope snorted and chuckled. She leaned her head on Edmund’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Penelope really liked Edmund’s soft and warm touch. Being around Edmund always managed to make Penelope feel comfortable and at peace. It seemed that her child really liked Edmund’s presence. Penelope believes that Edmund and their child will become very close in the future.

"I’m fine," Penelope replied. She opened her eyes and glanced at the smiling Edmund. The man kissed Penelope on the forehead. "Ed, when will we reach the capital? I know I decided to run away from the capital because I didn’t want you to know about my pregnancy but I really miss my family."

"We will arrive at night." Edmund now hugged Penelope’s waist from behind and rubbed her stomach to make his child comfortable. "The distance from the North to the capital is not that far. If there are no obstacles or problems, we only need one day’s journey."

"I can’t wait to meet my father, mother, and big brother," Penelope said excitedly. "By the way, I don’t know the reason why you are in the North."

"The Emperor ordered me," Edmund shrugged. "He asked me to kill all the monsters in the North because the empire’s knights couldn’t handle it. I have to thank the Emperor because I was able to find you. Just so you know, I once looked for you in the South. Then, when I couldn’t find you there, I sent Edgar and Chris to find out about your condition because, from the beginning, I was suspicious of your movements. Then, there’s a rumor in the Askary mansion that says you can’t eat properly because you always feel nauseous. Finally, I found out that you are pregnant." Edmund cleared his throat. "And I knelt before Ethan. I begged him to tell me where you were and I told him I love you."

Penelope pulled away from Edmund and blinked. "You knelt in front of Brother Ethan and begged him? You, a respected Duke in the De Louis empire, would do such a lowly thing?"

"I told you I would do anything for you, Penny. That’s how much I love you and our child." Edmund took a deep breath. "But, Ethan didn’t care and kicked me out."

"What about my parents?" Penelope asked in a panicked tone.

"They weren’t in the mansion at the time." Edmund looked at Penelope who looked pale and worried before him. He immediately hugged her and chuckled. "Don’t worry, Penny. I’m sure Duke and Duchess Askary will allow us to get married. I’m sure they will understand if I explain properly. They are not like Ethan Askary who is easily controlled by his emotions. Duke and Duchess Askary are wise people."

Penelope forced a smile and nodded. She just hoped that everything Edmund said was true. Even so, Penelope couldn’t help but feel anxious. She bit her lips and thought about what her parents would say.

As Edmund said, they reached the Askary mansion late at night. Edmund helped Penelope get off the carriage by carrying her. As soon as the door to the mansion was opened, Edmund put Penelope down and the maids who opened the door ran inside to call Duke and Duchess Askary as well as Ethan Askary.

"My Lady, would you like to immediately rest in your room?" Sarah asked. She was walking on Penelope’s right side while Edmund was on her left side. Edmund put his arm around Penelope’s waist and helped her walk inside. The woman looks pale. Apparently, Penelope felt exhausted from this trip.

"I’ll talk to my parents first, Sarah," Penelope replied in a gentle tone. "You go in first." She looked back and nodded at Rosaline and Philleo. "You two too. Thank you for protecting me."

Even though he didn’t want to, Philleo was forced to follow Penelope’s orders. Only Edgar was outside the mansion to wait for his Master.

"Penny?!" shouted Duke and Duchess Askary. Both of them were very surprised when they were told by one of the maids that their daughter had come home. Duchess Askary immediately hugged her daughter and Ethan Askary widened his eyes behind his parents. He didn’t get any information about his little sister’s return at all. "What is wrong, Honey?! Why are you coming home at this time?!"

It was then, Edmund cleared his throat and caught the attention of Duke Askary. The man smiled slightly and nodded.

"Greetings to the Duke and Duchess Askary. May Elleia’s light always be with you," said Edmund.

"Duke Edmund? Why are you with Penny right now? What happened?" asked Duke Askary. The man glanced at Edmund and Penelope in turn. "Please explain to me right now."

Ethan immediately took action. He cleared his throat and ran up to his father while forcing a smile.

"Father, how about we continue this conversation tomorrow?" he suggested. "Penny looks very tired and pale. Duke Edmund must also be feeling tired. So—"

"Penelope Askary is pregnant with my child, Duke Askary."

Edmund’s firm words cut off Ethan’s sentence. The man turned his head quickly and shot Edmund with a murderous look. Meanwhile, Duke and Duchess Askary froze. While Duchess Askary looked at Penelope with a look that was hard to decipher, Duke Askary looked at Edmund with an angry look.

"What did you say?!"

"Forgive me." Edmund stared into Duke Askary’s eyes with a serious look in his eyes. "I know this is a very shameful act. I accidentally impregnated Penelope that night. I can’t control myself and my lust." The man looked at Penelope who looked like she wanted to cry in Duchess Askary’s arms. "But, I love her. I want to marry Penelope. I want to start a happy family with Penelope and our child. I—"

"How dare you impregnate my daughter, Edmund Gerwyn?!" shouted Duke Askary. The man is furious. He pointed at Edmund’s gulping face. Edmund didn’t expect Duke Askary to be this angry at him when he thought the man might be able to accept this information calmly and collected. "Get out of my mansion!"

"Duke, please listen to me first," said Edmund in a panicked tone. "I will take responsibility. I will marry Penelope. I love Penelope and the child she is carrying. I’m sure I can make them happy. I will protect them. I—"

"Do you think I’ll let you marry my daughter after you stained her and got her pregnant before marriage?! You have ruined my daughter’s life, Edmund Gerwyn!" snapped Duke Askary. "Get out of my mansion right now and never see my daughter ever again!"