Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 111: #-Avoiding Edmund And Learning Magic

Edmund Gerwyn had just finished his work in the study and came into his bedroom when he saw Penelope Askary shifting restlessly on the bed.

The man frowned and immediately ran to the side of the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and held his wife’s hand tightly. Then, he used his other hand to wipe the cold sweat running down Penelope’s face. The woman also babbles in her sleep and cries. This made Edmund anxious.

"Penny, Honey. Open your eyes, Penny," said Edmund in a gentle tone. The man tapped Penelope’s cheek lightly to wake her up from the nightmare that was haunting her.

"No! My children..." Penelope muttered. The woman still had her eyes closed and one of her hands tightly gripped the blanket on her body. "Raven, Ocean... forgive Mother."

"Penny—"

"NO!" Penelope shouted. The woman got up in one quick motion and tried to catch her ragged breaths. Then, she cried so hard that her body trembled violently. Penelope felt as if her lungs were being squeezed so tightly that she had difficulty breathing. Her heart was beating three times faster than usual and this was torturing her.

"Penny, calm down. Edmund immediately embraced the Duchess’ trembling body and stroked her back gently and lovingly. "It was just a bad dream. I am here. Raven and Ocean are fine too."

Penelope did not respond. The woman kept on crying and squeezing Edmund’s clothes. The nightmare had really felt real. No. It will indeed come true in the future. Even though the original plot has changed, she will still die miserably at the hands of her own husband. There is no way to change her destiny.

"I’m going to die...," Penelope muttered in a choked tone. She closed her eyes and hid her face in Edmund’s neck. "I will die."

Hearing that, Edmund froze. The man immediately let go of his arms and cupped Penelope’s face. He looked into his wife’s golden eyes which were full of fear with a firm gaze.

"What are you talking about?" asked Edmund. "You will not die. You’ll be fine. You will always be beside me until we both become old in the future. We will have many children and many grandchildren. I will not let you die easily, Penelope Askary. Like it or not, you are bound to me until I die first. Even when I die, I will still be around you to protect you."

Penelope shook her head firmly. "I’m still going to die soon, Ed. The dream was like a sign to me. A premonition." Penelope opened her eyes and looked at Edmund with a look of despair. "Even though I have tried to change Penelope Askary’s destiny, I will still die in your hands."

Edmund was wide-eyed. His heart was beating fast.

What does it mean?

So... he’s going to kill the woman he loves—for the second time—at this point?

"That would never happen," said Edmund. The man clenched his jaw and clenched his fists at his sides. "I would never do such nonsense, Penny!"

"But, you did!" Penelope exclaimed. She stared down at her trembling palms. "Because in the future, it’s as if I’m possessed by something evil. I destroyed this empire, Ed. I even killed the twins. That’s why you killed me."

Edmund was silent. All of this information was too sudden for him. Edmund doesn’t believe that Penelope will destroy the empire. Isn’t it according to the prophecy received by Gabriel Brown, the head priest, that Penelope Askary is the one who will save the empire? 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Ed, I’m sorry," Penelope said, wiping the tears off her face. She smiled sadly. "But, could you give me some time to calm down over the next few days?"

"What...?"

"Please, don’t come near me yet. I know you will never hurt me. But, the dream is too real for me, Ed. I was scared when I saw you. Even though I know I was the one who was wrong and caused the destruction and death of our children in my dreams but when you killed me, I could feel the pain. Please, forgive me."

Edmund looked down and closed his eyes.

He didn’t want to do this but he also didn’t want to make Penelope more sad and miserable.

"All right," said Edmund in a weary tone. "I’ll give you time to calm down."

###

Penelope and Edmund had not slept in the same room for two days.

Edmund let Penelope sleep in their bedroom while he slept in his study. Unbeknownst to Edmund, Penelope always came to the man’s study every night to check on his condition. Penelope felt lonely but she also felt afraid. The woman felt she was back to the beginning when she had just possessed Penelope Askary’s body and was very afraid of Edmund. But, Penelope knew she couldn’t keep doing this. The incident will happen in the future and Penelope can still find out what made her destroy the empire.

Penelope also met a wizard, who was known to be smart and strong at the magic tower. She knew about this person because this person was mentioned in the original novel. His name is Claude Sylvester. The man was twenty years old, just like Edmund and Ethan. Penelope came to the magic tower together with Edgar and Chris. Of course, this was already known by Edmund.

"What brought the Duchess here to see me?" asked Claude when the man came into the meeting room after his colleague called him. The handsome man has the same hair and eye color: green.

"I heard you are the most powerful wizard in this magic tower," Penelope said. "I want you to help me learn magic."

Claude blinked. "Yes?"

"Teach me how to use magic," Penelope said. She took a breath. "I don’t know if I have magic power or not in my body but I want to learn even if I don’t have any. Magic can be learned by anyone, right?"

"That’s true, but..." Claude scratched his head that didn’t itch. He shot Duchess Gerwyn an appraising look. Such a beautiful and gentle woman was rumored to be the cruelest woman in the empire. She had also managed to tame the cruelest Duke in this empire. Why would Duchess Gerwyn want to learn magic? Does the Duchy not have a wizard, who can teach her or protect her?

"Don’t worry, I won’t ask too much of your time. I’m a fast learner." Penelope smiled and tilted her head. "I will also pay you. What do you think?"

"Not a bad offer," Claude nodded. "So, when does the Duchess want to start?"

"Tomorrow." Penelope stood up from the sofa and approached Claude. She held Claude’s hand with both of hers. This made Claude freeze and widen his eyes. His face heated up rapidly and blushed violently. "Come to Gerwyn’s mansion, Claude. We will learn magic at my mansion."

Claude just nodded and immediately took a deep breath when Penelope let go of his hand and then said goodbye to him. While they were outside, Edgar approached Penelope and spoke in a low voice.

"Duchess, it seems that man likes the Duchess. His face blushed as the Duchess held his hand. Isn’t he a very innocent man?"

"Is it true?" chuckled Penelope.

"Edgar, watch your mouth," Chris grumbled. "Or, I will report you to the Duke. There was no way the Duchess was deliberately seducing the wizard. It seems that the wizard has dirty thoughts! If he dares to approach the Duchess or does anything to make the Duchess feel uncomfortable, I will definitely kill him!"

Penelope laughed and ruffled Edgar and Chris’ hair. "You two are really cute."

###

Edmund felt twice as tired as usual.

Penelope had been avoiding him for a week now. If they accidentally met, the woman would still smile. However, that smile looked awkward, it made Edmund frustrated. He missed his little bunny. If it continues like this, Edmund would really be jealous of the twins because the twins got Penelope’s attention every day.

"I really am a pitiful man who acts childishly," muttered Edmund in a desperate tone. "Is there a Father, who is jealous of his children like me? I guess I’m the only person who acts like that."

When he heard people laughing, Edmund stopped walking and frowned. The sound of laughter that was so beautiful was Penelope’s. The man swallowed hard and continued to walk. This time, faster than before. Then, when Edmund arrived at the backyard of his mansion, Edmund could see Penelope studying magic while chatting and laughing with the wizard that the woman had brought from the magic tower.

Claude Sylvester.

All Edmund knew, Claude was the same age as him. He was also very friendly and could always make Penelope laugh. Not only Penelope, but the twins also looked comfortable around Claude. Edmund’s jealousy grew and he immediately approached Penelope and Claude.

"Looks like you guys are having fun."

That sentence made Penelope and Claude stop their laughter. The two of them turned their heads and Claude immediately froze while gulping when faced with Edmund Gerwyn. Claude immediately bowed to greet the Duke while Penelope suppressed a smile.

"Are you seducing my wife instead of teaching her magic, Claude Sylvester?" asked Edmund in an annoyed tone.

"N—no! How could I do such an unreasonable thing, Duke? We’re just resting for a bit. Then, the Duchess told me a funny story about her and Duke before you two got married and had twins."

Those words made Edmund’s anger lessen a little. The man looked directly at Penelope with sparkling eyes. "Is that true, Penny? Are you talking about me?"

"Yes," Penelope nodded. The woman chuckled. "You remember when you were jealous of the candy I was licking at that time, right? I’m telling him about that. Also, how do you say you’d be jealous of Raven and Ocean if I paid more attention to them than you."

Edmund grinned and immediately hugged Penelope tightly. Penelope, who was shocked, could only gasp and widen her eyes.

"Penny, you’re talking to me! You don’t look afraid of me either. Does that mean you won’t be avoiding me anymore? I can’t stand this loneliness anymore, Penny!"

Penelope blinked, then laughed. The woman returned Edmund’s hug and took a deep breath.

"I’m sorry, Ed. And, thank you for waiting for me until I’m ready to face you again."

’Because this time, I’m going to practice magic so I can get stronger and I’m going to make sure that nightmare won’t come true,’ Penelope added inside her heart.