Edmund Gerwyn had just finished his work in the study and ca into his bedroom when he saw Penelope Askary shifting restlessly on the bed.
The man frowned and imdiately 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 tis faster than usual and this was torturing her.
"Penny, calm down. Edmund imdiately 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 co 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 imdiately 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 until we both beco 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 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 . 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 an?
So... he’s going to kill the woman he loves—for the second ti—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 exclaid. She stared down at her trembling palms. "Because in the future, it’s as if I’m possessed by sothing evil. I destroyed this empire, Ed. I even killed the twins. That’s why you killed ."
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?
"Ed, I’m sorry," Penelope said, wiping the tears off her face. She smiled sadly. "But, could you give so ti to calm down over the next few days?"
"What...?"
"Please, don’t co near yet. I know you will never hurt . But, the dream is too real for , 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 , I could feel the pain. Please, forgive ."
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 ti to calm down."
###
Penelope and Edmund had not slept in the sa room for two days.
Edmund let Penelope sleep in their bedroom while he slept in his study. Unbeknownst to Edmund, Penelope always ca 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 t a wizard, who was known to be smart and strong at the magic tower. She knew about this person because this person was ntioned in the original novel. His na is Claude Sylvester. The man was twenty years old, just like Edmund and Ethan. Penelope ca to the magic tower together with Edgar and Chris. Of course, this was already known by Edmund.
"What brought the Duchess here to see ?" asked Claude when the man ca into the eting room after his colleague called him. The handso man has the sa hair and eye color: green.
"I heard you are the most powerful wizard in this magic tower," Penelope said. "I want you to help learn magic."
Claude blinked. "Yes?"
"Teach 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 ta 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 ti. 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. "Co to Gerwyn’s mansion, Claude. We will learn magic at my mansion."
Claude just nodded and imdiately 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 t, 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 ? 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 ti, 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 sa 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 imdiately 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 imdiately froze while gulping when faced with Edmund Gerwyn. Claude imdiately 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 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 ?"
"Yes," Penelope nodded. The woman chuckled. "You rember when you were jealous of the candy I was licking at that ti, 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 imdiately hugged Penelope tightly. Penelope, who was shocked, could only gasp and widen her eyes.
"Penny, you’re talking to ! You don’t look afraid of either. Does that an you won’t be avoiding 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 until I’m ready to face you again."
’Because this ti, I’m going to practice magic so I can get stronger and I’m going to make sure that nightmare won’t co true,’ Penelope added inside her heart.
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