Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 89: #-Penelope Askary Won’t Open Her Eyes
Everyone in Gerwyn’s mansion was busy preparing all the necessities their Duchess would need.
When they learned that the Duchess had been kidnapped by her own trusted knight, they were very sad and hoped that the Duchess would soon return to Gerwyn’s mansion safely. Then, anger rose within them for Philleo Aaron. The man managed to fool all of them with his innocent face and kind-hearted attitude. They couldn’t believe this handsome man had the heart to kidnap Penelope Askary. Then, when the information about the Duchess, who had been found and was on her way back to Gerwyn’s mansion reached them, they were very happy. But, that happiness didn’t last long when they saw how the condition of the Duchess was when she was brought back to the mansion.
"Sarah!"
Sarah turned her head when she heard her name being called. The woman wiped the tears off her face and forced a smile. Seeing Sarah’s sad expression, the two maids who called her just now were also sad.
"I’m sorry because I haven’t been able to help you guys," Sarah said in a low voice. "I... have to be by the Duchess’s side. I want to make sure the Duchess is okay."
"It’s okay, we understand," said one of the two maids. "Sarah, don’t be sad, hm? I’m sure the Duchess will open her eyes soon. We have to pray to the Goddess Elleia so that the Goddess will save the Duchess."
Sarah nodded.
"How is the Duchess currently doing?" asked the other maid. "I was really shocked when the Duke came home with the Duchess in the middle of the night. What surprised me even more was seeing the Duchess’s extremely worrisome condition. Sir Philleo is a cruel bastard! He had the heart to do this to the Duchess whom he had served from a long time ago. Wasn’t the Duchess’ older brother a close friend of Sir Philleo?"
"You are right. I can’t believe he can do this either." Sarah clenched her fists and stared intently at the floor beneath her feet. "I will never forgive Philleo Aaron if something bad happens to the Duchess and the child she is carrying."
"What about the Duke?"
Sarah took a deep breath and turned her head. She glanced at the closed door of the Duke and Duchess’s bedroom.
"The Duke doesn’t want to leave the Duchess’s side," Sarah replied. "The Duke doesn’t want to eat and doesn’t want to rest. Though the Duke was injured because he fought with Philleo to save the Duchess’ life, he did not want his wounds to be treated by the doctors. The Duke continued to hold the Duchess’ hand tightly as if he wanted to keep checking the Duchess’ temperature. He wanted to give the Duchess his body warmth so that the Duchess would open her eyes immediately."
"Poor our Duke," said one of the maids. "The Duke loves the Duchess very much. The Duke has never known love after losing both of his parents. Therefore, when the Duke married the Duchess and it was shown that he really loved the Duchess, we were very happy and hoped that the Duke and Duchess would live happily ever after with their children in the future."
Sarah took a deep breath and nodded.
"Let’s leave the Duke and Duchess alone for now. We must serve Prince Ethan and Crown Prince Helios, as well as the other knights, who helped the Duke save the Duchess."
###
Edmund Gerwyn looked at Penelope Askary, who was closing her eyes.
The Duke hoped that his wife was just sleeping. Then, if he rubbed her pretty face, Edmund hoped that Penelope would be disturbed and open her eyes. And then, she would scold him for disturbing her sleep. However, all of Edmund’s hopes were in vain. From the time he managed to save Penelope from Philleo’s hands until he brought Penelope back to this mansion, the woman was unconscious and wouldn’t open her eyes even though Edmund had called her name repeatedly and begged her.
"Hey," said Edmund in a gentle tone with a faint smile. He stroked Penelope’s cheek very carefully as if he was afraid to hurt the beautiful woman. "Honey, aren’t you tired of closing your eyes all the time? Hmm? Don’t you want to open your eyes and see me? I need you, Penny. Please, don’t torture and punish me like this. Are you mad because I came too late to save you? If you’re angry, wouldn’t it be better for you to curse at me and beat me than to sleep like this?" Edmund kissed the back of Penelope’s hand and tightened his grip on Penelope’s hand. The Duke rested his head on Penelope’s pillow, next to the Duchess’s. He closed his eyes. "Penny, I met the Goddess. The Goddess said that that bastard Philleo didn’t feed you for two days. Aren’t you very hungry right now, Honey? Our children are also very hungry, right? Wake up, Honey. Open your eyes and eat a lot. If you don’t eat, you and our children will be in danger."
Suddenly, Penelope’s body emitted a pink light. Edmund opened his eyes and blinked. The man was very surprised. Then, his body was thrown and hit the wall behind him. Edmund groaned and struggled to his feet. He turned his head when he heard his bedroom door open with one push.
"Your Grace, what happened?!" shouted Edgar. He helped Edmund and checked on the Duke’s condition. "Why are you vomiting blood, Your Grace?"
Shortly after Edgar entered the room, Ethan, Helios, and Jeremy also ran into the room because they heard a loud crash. Ethan looked at Edmund, then at his little sister. He widened his eyes when he saw Penelope surrounded by a dazzling pink light.
"Penny!"
"Wait!" Edmund immediately held Ethan’s arm when he saw his brother-in-law intending to approach Penelope. "You’d be thrown out like me if you approached Penny."
"What?" whispered Ethan in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Helios gulped and walked with cautious steps toward Penelope. He reached out and touched the pink light on Penelope’s body with his index finger. Then, Helios hissed in pain and immediately pulled his hand back. It was as if an electric current was shocking him. The Crown Prince of the Abelavish Empire turned his head to Edmund and the others.
"This is magic. And, this magic is much higher than mine and Philleo Aaron’s magic." Helios approached Edmund. "I think the Duchess feels threatened by the existence of all of us."
"I’m her husband," Edmund growled. "There’s no way she’d feel scared and threatened because of my presence!"
"Currently, the Duchess is unconscious, Duke Edmund. She doesn’t know who is the enemy and who is her family. I guess, it’s her subconscious that commands her brain to activate her magic so it can protect her from her enemies." Helios smacked Jeremy on the head as his knight made a fuss just because of the small cut on his index finger. "However, I didn’t know that the Duchess had magical powers. And, this magic power felt familiar. Like the magic power of the saintesses in the temples. It’s like the magic of the Goddess Elleia. The color of the light is like the color of Goddess Elleia’s light."
Edmund took a deep breath and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Penny has indeed inherited the powers of Goddess Elleia, Your Highness. If saintesses only have one of the two main powers of the Goddess, then Penny has both at once. Penny was visited several times by the Goddess Elleia in her dreams and the Goddess gave her that power. Healing and purifying power. I hope Your Highness will not tell this to anyone else let alone the temple. I don’t want them to do weird things to my wife."
"I see," nodded Helios. He looked at Jeremy who also nodded. "Then Duke, I guess the Duchess activated her magic power subconsciously because she wanted to heal herself. Or, it’s also possible that your children within the Duchess’s womb inherited the same powers as the Duchess. You said that the Duchess was deprived of food for two days by Philleo Aaron, right? If so, perhaps your children and the Duchess activated their healing powers so they would be fine."
Edmund smiled faintly and nodded. "Perhaps you are right, Your Highness," said the man in a tired tone. He tried to reach out because he wanted to touch Penelope but the woman’s magic pushed Edmund back. "But, I want Penny to allow me to stay by her side. I want to be with her and my children."
As if hearing Edmund’s wish, the pink light surrounding Penelope’s body opened. Edmund blinked and tried to get closer to her again. Then, this time the man managed to approach Penelope and sat beside her. He held Penelope’s hand again, making the Duke heave a sigh of relief and kiss Penelope’s lips lovingly. The pink light that was opened before now closed again.
"I will stay here to keep you company until you open your eyes, Penny," whispered Edmund. "You don’t have to be afraid of anything. I will chase away everything that scares you."
###
It had been a week since Edmund had found Penelope.
She still didn’t want to open her eyes. Ethan Askary had returned to his family’s mansion and decided not to tell his parents about his little sister’s kidnapping so as not to make them worry and panic. Every day, Ethan would come to visit Penelope bringing her favorite flowers and her favorite cakes. He also came to scold and force Edmund so that the man would eat even a little. Meanwhile, Helios Rune Abelavish returned to the Abelavish empire a few days after they managed to save Penelope.
The curtains in Penelope’s room fluttered because of the gust of wind. The pink light still continued to surround Penelope’s body and only allowed Edmund Gerwyn to enter or exit it. However, today Edmund was forced to leave Penelope in the room alone because he had something to finish first in his study. Because of that, Edmund did not know if someone had entered their room through the bedroom window that was left open. Someone with a white dress and long hair. Someone approached Penelope’s bed and reached out to caress Penelope’s head.
"Wake up," said the person in a gentle tone. "You’ve been asleep for too long, Penelope Askary. Open your eyes. Some people love you in this mansion, who are waiting for you to open your eyes."
When the bedroom door opened, the mysterious figure turned her head. She smiled at the man who froze in his place and widened his eyes. The long-haired figure waved her hand at the man.
"Hello, Duke Edmund," She greeted awkwardly. "I didn’t expect to see you again after so long. More precisely, after you killed me at that time."
"What...?" Edmund Gerwyn gulped and clenched his fists tightly. His heart was pounding so fast that it made Edmund’s chest ache. The man shook his head frantically. "No! This is not possible! Penny? Why are you standing there while your body is on the bed?! Are you... no way! Did you decide to die and leave me alone in this world, Honey?!"
The figure chuckled and snorted. "Didn’t I say I only saw you again this time after you killed me at that time?"
Edmund frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I am indeed Penelope Askary," nodded the woman. "But, I’m just Penelope Askary’s soul from my first life. In my first life, you and Sebastian De Louis killed me so cruelly, Duke Edmund."
