Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 7: #0-The Unfamiliar Feeling Named Heartache

Edmund Gerwyn couldn’t explain what he was feeling right now.

What was clear, the man was not happy with the fact that Penelope Askary saw him as if he was a scary monster. And then, Penelope’s tears bothered Edmund. It wasn’t fake tears, like his suspicion that Penelope was just acting in front of people to gain their sympathy for the sake of carrying out her sinister plans. These are real tears. The woman who was rumored to be the evil woman in the De Louis empire cried in fear because of his presence.

And Edmund had to admit that he was hurt by it. He was not willing and did not want his presence to become a trauma and great fear that Penelope Askary felt.

"Please get out of here, Duke Edmund!" Penelope shouted again. This time, the woman gave him a fierce look that conveyed her fear. Penelope hugged her body which was shaking so much, then let Ethan hug her tightly. The warmth spread through her body, but all Penelope felt was the chill that was so horrible, which was emitted by Edmund Gerwyn. "Do I have to kneel at your feet for you to leave?"

Edmund’s hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "Why are you afraid of me?"

The question that was asked in a choked tone made Penelope speechless. How could he ask something like that just now? Was he not aware of all the bad and cruel treatment towards the real Penelope before? Even the last one, Edmund Gerwyn pointed his sword without hesitation at her neck, didn’t he? And the man can still ask whether she is afraid of him or not.

"Your Highness Duke Edmund," growled Ethan. He tightened his grip on his little sister’s body which was still trembling violently. His eyes were sharp, doesn’t care and wasn’t afraid of Edmund’s status, which was slightly above him. "With all due respect, I beg you to leave my little sister’s room immediately. Surely you weren’t deaf and heard my little sister’s request just now, right?"

"I don’t want you to interfere, little Duke," said Edmund. His ocean-blue eyes narrowed and flashed with emotion. "This is between me and your sister, Penelope Askary."

"I have nothing to do with you, Duke Edmund!" Penelope shouted. Edmund’s eyes were now on Penelope. "Me and you, we don’t have any kind of relationship, not even friendship, to the extent that you could say we have a business to take care of."

"Do you think I will back down and just walk away, while I don’t know the reasons behind your trauma and fear of me, Penelope Askary?" asked Edmund in a firm tone. "Not at all. I’ll stay here until you tell me why you fainted just by seeing me."

Penelope Askary clenched her jaw and was busy racking her brains to get Edmund Gerwyn out of the way. But, what should she say? Dammit! She couldn’t control her own body. Speaking in such a loud tone just now had brought out quite a lot of strength in Penelope.

"Because I was threatened!"

The silence in the room made Penelope scream inside her heart. Out of many reasons, why did she have to say something like that? Edmund Gerwyn would look for the identity of the person who had dared to threaten her.

"You were threatened?" asked Edmund coldly. "By whom? What did he say to you?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

See?

"Th—that..." Penelope moistened her lower lip. She didn’t know what to answer now, because her sentence just now was just a spontaneous sentence.

"Penny, were you being threatened by someone? What did that person say to you, Penny? Quick, tell me. I will find him and kill him. How dare he threaten my little sister like this. I certainly won’t let him live in peace."

"Wait for your turn, little Duke," growled Edmund. "This is my business. My problem. That damn person has dared to threaten your little sister by bringing up my name so that your little sister is always scared and faints when she meets me. I won’t let him live in peace. I’ll torture him until he begs me that I just take his life immediately."

Penelope gasped in reflex when she saw Edmund Gerwyn approach her bed and sit on the edge. Then, without caring about the existence of Ethan Askary who was glaring fiercely at him, Edmund leaned forward so he could look at Penelope’s face up close. The man dived into Penelope’s two beautiful gold eyes. Golden eyes that emit tears. Without realizing it, Edmund’s hand stretched out and he wiped away the tears that were running down Penelope’s white and tender cheeks.

"Lady Penelope, you must believe me," said Edmund in a firm tone. "I will not let this person who has threatened you live in peace. So tell me, who was that person and what did he say to you?"

Penelope couldn’t dodge anymore. She had to tell Edmund what the real Penelope had said. Besides, Edmund could never find that person, could he? So, let’s make up a bit about his identity.

"I—I don’t know who that person is," Penelope said in a trembling tone. She turned her face away so that Edmund’s hand would no longer rest on her cheek. "He... came to me just before I had an accident. He was wearing a black robe, so I couldn’t see his face." Penelope glanced at Edmund who was still waiting patiently for the story to finish. The woman swallowed hard and hoped that Edmund would soon leave her alone. "And... that person said that... you and the crown prince would... cruelly kill me. You guys had it all planned and that tragic death is coming for me... two months from now. To be precise, on my birthday."

"What?!" Ethan shouted. The man looked at Edmund who froze in place while looking at Penelope with disbelief. "Duke Edmund! What does this mean? Do you intend to kill my little sister? And you will do it together with the crown prince?!" Ethan stood up from Penelope’s bed and pointed at Edmund. Currently, he no longer cared about their etiquette and noble status. "You and the crown prince would kill my little sister just to defend Isabella Lysander, right? Because of that woman, right?!"

"Little Duke," growled Edmund suddenly, having recovered from his shock. The man rubbed his face with one hand. "I couldn’t have acted rashly like that. I’m not that ruthless, to the extent of killing a woman who did nothing, for which I and the crown prince can punish her. I didn’t even make any assassination plans with him." Edmund looked at Penelope whose body flinched. "Lady Penelope, I promise you that I will never kill you like you said just now. I swear I will find the person who gave you that empty threat and drag him before you. I will punish him and torture him until he begs your mercy."

"I—"

"Therefore, can I ask you to stop being afraid every time you meet me?"

Penelope paused and stared at the ocean-blue eyes that matched her hair color.

"Because I can’t stand being stared at with those golden eyes that look full of fear. I don’t want you to be afraid of me, Lady Penelope. I want you to believe me."