Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 76: #-May I Accompany You, My Lady?

"What nonsense were you talking about just now, Sebastian De Louis?"

The question from Edmund made Sebastian turn his head and smirk at him. The man stood so he could face Edmund. The atmosphere in the room became very tense but Sebastian didn’t care. He meant everything he said to Penelope just now. Even though Edmund was Penelope’s husband, so what? He could have everything he wanted because he was the Crown Prince. A Duke like Edmund Gerwyn didn’t have any power against him.

"You must speak politely to me, Duke Edmund. I am the Crown Prince. I can punish you for this arrogant attitude of yours," said Sebastian in a proud tone.

Hearing that, Edmund laughed and snorted.

"And I can start a rebellion in this empire, Sebastian. Have you ever thought how many nobles are supporting me to ascend the throne to become Emperor even though you are the Crown Prince? Your Father even knows about it and intends to have me as his son to succeed him as Emperor in the future."

Edmund’s words made Sebastian widen his eyes and freeze. His hands clenched tightly at his sides. The anger slowly began to well up inside of him and took over him. He shook his head firmly and pointed to Edmund’s smiling face.

"Nonsense! You must be lying, right?! There’s no way my Father would think like that! There’s also no way that the nobles are supporting you to become Emperor!"

Seeing the debate going on between Edmund and Sebastian, Penelope panicked. The woman gripped Ethan’s hand tightly, making Ethan look at her and smile reassuringly at his little sister. He caressed Penelope’s head gently and refocused on the Duke and Crown Prince’s argument.

"Do you want me to give you the evidence, Your Highness?" asked Edmund. He used a mocking tone to the title of Sebastian he uttered at the end of his question. The man nodded and rubbed his chin. "I can prove it to you. I can name the nobles who support me and don’t wish to see you ascend the throne to become the future Emperor of this De Louis empire. Do you know what they say about you, Your Highness?" Edmund laughed and shook his head. He approached the bed and sat beside Penelope. The man hugged Penelope and Penelope happily hugged her husband back. The woman closed her eyes and smiled into Edmund’s warm chest. Her spoiled attitude toward Edmund made Sebastian harden his jaw and couldn’t hold back the jealousy that was starting to overwhelm him. "They say you are incompetent as a Crown Prince, Your Highness. All you do is take care of a woman instead of caring for the people of this empire."

"Who dares to criticize me like that?!" growled Sebastian.

"Instead of finding out the names of the nobles who are talking about you, how about you talk directly to your Father? I’m sure, His Highness the Emperor will be more than happy to tell you everything. It is a great crisis that you must face and resolve, Your Highness. So, stop bothering my wife and just focus on imperial matters as well as Isabella Lysander’s matters. Take care of your woman! She already dared to slap my wife, threatened to kill our child my wife was carrying, and caused my wife to faint just now."

"What?!" Sebastian was wide-eyed and intended to approach Penelope. However, Ethan immediately confronted him, causing Sebastian to glare at him. "What are you doing right now, little Duke?"

"I respect you as the Crown Prince of this empire, Your Highness," Ethan said in a firm tone. "But, if you continue to make my little sister uncomfortable and keep interfering with my little sister’s marriage to the Duke, then I can’t just sit idly by. I beg you not to approach Penny again. My little sister needs to rest now and she can feel comfortable and happy when she is with her husband."

"You dare to kick me out, Ethan Askary?!" growled Sebastian.

"He can do that," said Edmund proudly. "He’s my brother-in-law. He has the same power as me in this mansion. And most importantly, he is my wife’s older brother. So, he had the right to ban anyone who tried to bother his little sister. Even though you are the Crown Prince, no one has the right to break the bond between the little Duke and my Duchess."

Sebastian looked at Penelope. The woman looked very comfortable in Edmund’s tight embrace. Penelope’s sweet smile never disappeared from her beautiful face. This made Sebastian heartache. The man was furious. Why can’t Penelope open her heart to him? Why did that woman choose Edmund over him? If it was because of the child she was carrying, Sebastian had no problem acknowledging that child as his successor! After all, wasn’t there another option where Penelope could give the child to Edmund after she gave birth to the baby without having to marry Edmund?

"Ed, I want to sleep. I’m tired," Penelope said in a low voice. "I want to sleep with you, in your arms."

Edmund nodded and kissed his wife’s head. Then, he looked at Sebastian. "Your Highness, you have heard what Duchess Penelope said yourself, right? If so, please get out of here. Or, do I need to contact His Highness the Emperor and report to him about your actions to me and my Duchess so that His Highness the Emperor himself will drag you back to the palace?"

"I’m not going to stand idly by, Duke Edmund," Sebastian growled. "I’ll make sure you’ll regret getting into trouble with me! I will make you suffer. I don’t care about our friendship anymore! From this second, you are no longer my friend, Edmund Gerwyn. You are my enemy. I will take Penelope Askary from you and make you helpless and miserable! Remember that!"

After saying that, Sebastian walked out of the Duke and Duchess’ room and closed the door with a slam. Edmund clicked his tongue and massaged the bridge of his nose. He looked at Ethan who shrugged and smiled at Penelope. The man rubbed his little sister’s head lovingly.

"Penny, I’m going home now. Tonight, I will come again to see you with Mother and Father. You must eat a lot and take a good rest. Don’t forget to eat all your favorite cakes I bought for you earlier, okay?"

Penelope opened her eyes and scowled at Ethan.

"You broke your promise. You talked to Isabella Lysander and even had a meal with her alone in a restaurant. I’m mad at you, Brother!"

When Ethan panicked and tried to calm Penelope, Edmund laughed because he was satisfied to see Penelope sulking at her older brother.

###

In the afternoon, Penelope, who was feeling better, decided to take a walk around the mansion.

Edmund’s mansion is so big. Likewise, the courtyard that’s owned by the Duke. The wind that blew made Penelope smile and close her eyes. Edmund has lots of pink roses in the backyard and those are Penelope’s favorite flowers. Because of that, right now Penelope wanted to see the pink roses to make her feel even better.

"My Lady."

The call made Penelope freeze and open her eyes. She turned her head and Philleo Aaron smiled up at her. Even though Penelope had forgiven Philleo for his presumptuous actions at the Askary mansion, Penelope still couldn’t get rid of the uncomfortable feeling in her heart when she faced her knight. Ethan had also warned Penelope not to pay too much attention and not to be too nice to Philleo. Penelope didn’t know the reason why Ethan told her to do all of that.

"My Lady, how are you feeling?" asked the silver-haired man in a gentle tone. In the past, Penelope really liked Philleo’s silver hair and purple eyes. However, after Philleo displayed an attitude as if he was completely obsessed with her, Penelope could no longer like the man’s hair and eyes. "I heard you came home unconscious and feverish. Has your fever gone down?"

Penelope nodded and smiled faintly. "Yes, I’m already fine. Duke has always been by my side to look after me and keep me company. That’s why I was able to recover quickly," Penelope answered. The woman continued to walk toward the courtyard where the pink roses were planted. "What are you doing here, Sir Philleo?"

"I happened to see you walking around and decided to approach you for fear something might happen to you, My Lady," Philleo walked beside Penelope. He glanced at Penelope and smiled. Philleo’s purple eyes flashed with adoration but Penelope didn’t notice. "May I accompany you, My Lady?"

Penelope actually wanted to refuse. But, Philleo looks like a puppy who wants to play with his master right now. After all, Penelope thought that Philleo wouldn’t do unreasonable things like at the Askary mansion at that time because this was Edmund’s mansion. If Philleo does anything weird to her, Penelope could scream right away. The woman was also sure that Jellal was with her, protecting her and watching her from the shadows.

"Of course. It’s a good thing to have someone to talk to while walking around like this," Penelope nodded. The woman pointed at the pink roses in the distance. "Look at that, Sir Philleo. Aren’t those pink roses very pretty?"

Phileo nodded. However, his eyes did not look at the pink roses but at Penelope. The blue hair of the Duchess was blown by the wind, making Penelope’s beauty stand out even more.

"Yes, very pretty," said Philleo in a longing tone. "Because it’s too beautiful, I really want to have it. If I manage to possess it, I swear I will never let it go, My Lady."

Penelope laughed when she heard this.

"You won’t let go of the pink roses if I give them to you? You really are odd, Sir. Since you like it so much, then I will ask the gardener to give it to you as a present."

"Thank you, My Lady," Philleo bowed as Penelope looked up at him. Then, the man let Penelope run to the pink roses and looked at the Duchess with a flat look. "You have permitted me to never let you go. So, that’s what I’ll do, My Lady. Soon, we will live happily ever after. Just the two of us."