Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 90: #-Forget The Past And Protect The Present Penelope Askary
Moments before Edmund Gerwyn met the soul of the real Penelope Askary...
"Hi, Penelope."
The greeting made Penelope blink and turn her head around. She smiled at a beautiful woman in a pink dress, who immediately hugged her tightly. The woman stroked her hair gently and lovingly, making Penelope feel better.
"Hi, Goddess."
"Wow, you still remember me?" asked Goddess Elleia in disbelief. The woman chuckled and kissed Penelope on the forehead. Then, the Goddess cupped Penelope’s face. "Most people I visit in dreams won’t be able to remember me when they see me again."
"Maybe it’s because they’re stupid," chuckled Penelope. She shrugged. "How could I forget a Goddess as beautiful as you?"
"Or, maybe because you are a special woman." Goddess Elleia laughed and took a deep breath. "My Dear, Penelope, what are you doing sitting here and not returning to your world?"
Penelope frowned. "What?"
"You’ve been here for too long, Penelope. This is not a good place for you. This place is very beautiful, yes, I admit it. But, it is not the time for you to stay here yet. You are still needed in your world, Honey. Your parents, your older brother, the knights and maids who loved you very much, and most of all your husband, Edmund Gerwyn. Have you forgotten how he fought tooth and nail to find you and save you?"
Penelope groaned softly and held her aching head. She took a step back, causing the Goddess’s hands to slip away from her face. Then, Penelope could remember the details of what happened to her. Philleo Aaron’s kidnapping, the man’s torture, the madman’s desire to kill the child she was carrying, and... the arrival of Edmund Gerwyn, who saved her life and brought her back to Gerwyn’s mansion.
"My child!" Penelope exclaimed. She immediately held her stomach with both hands. Her face was pale and her eyes flashed in panic. "What about my child? Did I fail to protect my child? Did my child die as Phileo Aaron wished?"
"My Dear, Penelope, calm down," said the Goddess, holding Penelope’s hand tightly. The woman smiled gently and stroked Penelope’s belly with her other hand. "Your child is fine. They’re strong kids. They stayed with you because they wanted to be born into this world. They are eager to see you and Edmund."
Penelope blinked. "They?"
"You will have two children," said Goddess Elleia. The woman hugged Penelope again and rubbed her back. "Twins. Boy and girl."
Hearing that, Penelope couldn’t hold back her tears of joy. She was crying while covering her mouth with both hands. When the Goddess let go of her embrace, Penelope immediately wiped the tears from her face.
"I... will be a Mother of twins?"
"Yes," nodded Goddess Elleia. "Therefore, go back to your world. Everyone is waiting for you, especially your husband. During this week, Edmund Gerwyn never left your side. The man didn’t eat properly and was even afraid to sleep. He’s afraid that if he sleeps later, you’ll disappear from his presence again. If the Duke continues like this, I’m afraid he’ll get sick. You don’t want your husband to get sick, do you?"
Penelope shook her head and looked down. "I... apologize for making everyone afraid and worried, Goddess."
"It’s fine. None of this is your fault." Goddess Elleia stroked Penelope’s delicate cheeks gently. "I also have to tell you something, Penelope."
Penelope raised an eyebrow and nodded. The woman suddenly felt anxious, for some reason.
"I know you know everything that happened to the real Penelope Askary through a book. A novel. But, you can also feel what the real Penelope Askary felt when that woman was tortured and killed because you are a piece of Penelope Askary’s soul that I sent to another world when I turned back time for the second life of the real Penelope Askary." Goddess Elleia looked at Penelope with a serious look. "But, does that book explain the end of the story of everyone in this empire, Penelope?"
"Yes?" Penelope shook her head. "Wait a moment, Goddess. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about."
"Penelope... it’s going to end badly. This empire will be destroyed. That’s what the Goddess of Darkness wanted. That woman wants to rule the world, Honey. She might say she needs a villain or villainess to make the main character grow and shine. But, in the end, she killed and destroyed all of them. And... the one chosen by the Goddess of Darkness to destroy this empire is... Edmund Gerwyn."
Penelope froze. Her eyes widened. Her hands clenched tightly and her heart was beating very fast.
"What...?"
"In Penelope Askary’s first life, when the real Penelope Askary died because she was killed by Edmund Gerwyn and Sebastian De Louis, things were back to normal. However, not long after that, Edmund was constantly having nightmares and was overcome by darkness in his heart. Darkness bestowed by the Goddess of Darkness. The woman felt happy because she could toy with the minds and hearts of everyone. She made them kill each other, and so did Edmund Gerwyn. The man, consumed by his jealousy at not being able to win Isabella Lysander’s love in his first life, kidnaps the woman and tries to make her, his. However, Sebastian De Louis came to Isabella’s rescue. I, who couldn’t just sit idly by watching my children who I loved kill each other, decided to give some of my power to Isabella so that she could purify Edmund. But, Isabella wasn’t strong enough to do so. In the end, Edmund killed Isabella and Sebastian, then everyone in the empire, and... killed himself."
"Suicide...?" Penelope asked in disbelief. The woman covered her mouth with both hands and started crying again.
"Edmund managed to come to his senses and could not accept the fact that he had destroyed this empire with his two hands. He suddenly lost his mind and decided to kill himself."
Penelope was silent. The woman looked down and cried loudly. Seeing that, Goddess Elleia smiled and wiped away the tears on Penelope’s beautiful face.
"That’s why I decided to turn back time for all of you. I decided to give my strength to you and my strength matches your body. Not like when I gave it to Isabella in your first life. You can stop all those horrible things from now on, Penelope. I will help you. We will save this empire from the evil plans of the Goddess of Darkness."
Penelope nodded firmly. Her eyes were serious.
"You are right. I will not allow Edmund to experience the same suffering he experienced in his first life! This time, I will make Edmund Gerwyn happy."
###
"Do you intend to kill me again with that sword of yours, Duke Edmund?" asked the real Penelope Askary, whose body was visibly transparent. The woman smiled amused. "Are you sure you can stab my heart with that sword? Wouldn’t that sword just penetrate my body? I’m just a soul, Duke. Or, you can call me a ghost."
"A ghost?" Edmund snorted. "There are no ghosts in this world! You must have been ordered by Philleo Aaron, right? That man used his magic to create a resemblance to my wife so that I would be tricked and that man could kidnap my wife again!"
Penelope’s soul shrugged. "It’s up to you if you don’t believe me. But, I really am Penelope Askary. I once lived in that body," She pointed toward Penelope, who still closed her eyes on the bed. "In my first life. At that time, I was obsessed with the Crown Prince and always tormented Isabella Lysander because the Crown Prince loved her. You also loved that woman and in the end, killed me because you didn’t want to see that woman suffer because of me anymore."
Edmund gulped. He remembered Penelope staring at him as if he had lost his mind the moment he showed his interest in her. Penelope even said that he loved Isabella Lysander and not her. Was... all that because of the memories of her first life?
"So... I’ve killed the woman I love with my own two hands...?" muttered Edmund. The man dropped his sword on the floor and held his head in both hands. His blue eyes widened. The man was starting to have trouble breathing. "I... I..."
"Stop it, Duke," Penelope said in a firm tone. Hearing that, Edmund looked up and looked at Penelope. "Back then, you didn’t love me. You hate me. We may be friends as kids but that doesn’t last into our adulthood. I understand why you killed me. You just want to protect the woman you love even though you know she doesn’t love you. I’m mad at you and have a grudge against you, it’s true. But... you’ve shown me that you’ve changed."
"We... know each other since we were both children? We’ve been friends since we were kids?" asked Edmund in disbelief. "Why can’t I remember it?"
The real Penelope Askary shrugged. "I also do not know. But, that’s not important. I came here just to visit my body which already has a new soul. I want this woman to open her eyes immediately so that you will no longer suffer." The woman in a white dress approached Edmund. Now, Edmund could see that the woman in front of him really looked like a ghost. The white-dressed woman even floated in the air. "Forget the past and protect the present Penelope Askary, who is now before you, Duke Edmund."
"But, you—"
The white-dressed woman shook her head with a sad smile. "My time to live is only limited to when you killed me, Duke. I told you, I am angry and hate you. I have a grudge against you. I even ordered this woman to keep her distance and stay away from you, Isabella, and Sebastian. I don’t want what happened to me to happen to her too. She’s a good woman. She deserves to be loved. And you proved to me that you are much different from you in our first life. You don’t hate this woman. You really love her. That’s why, I came to wake her up so you won’t feel sad and lonely anymore."
"But..." Edmund looked at Penelope, who was still lying on the bed. He smiled sadly and his body trembled for fear that Penelope would never open her eyes again. "She still wouldn’t open her eyes. Until when do I have to wait for her to wake up?"
"She will wake up," said Penelope’s soul. The woman smiled and pointed at the bed. "She’s awake."
Edmund’s blue eyes widened when he saw Penelope Askary rise from her lying position. The tears suddenly streamed down Edmund’s handsome face.
"Penny...?" He called in disbelief.
Penelope Askary smiled and cried like Edmund.
"Hi, Ed. I miss you. And, I’m sorry for leaving you alone for so long and causing you to suffer."
