Upon learning of the sudden attack at Gerwyn’s mansion and hearing information that Philleo Aaron intended to kidnap his grandchildren, Duke Askary and his wife imdiately rushed to their son-in-law’s mansion.
The Duke and Duchess Askary are so worried about Ethan and Penelope. Of course, they were also worried about the twins, Raven and Ocean. These cute babies must experience terrible terror from Philleo Aaron. At first, the Duke and Duchess Askary were very surprised and could not believe that their family’s knight, a friend of their son whom they had considered as their own son, had the heart to kidnap their daughter because he was obsessed with wanting to make Penelope his. And now, they got another piece of bad news about the man wanting to kidnap the twins.
When the Duke and Duchess arrived at Gerwyn’s mansion, they both froze and widened their eyes. Gerwyn’s big and luxurious mansion was a ss. Lots of damage could be seen everywhere. Many knights were injured and were being treated by other servants. Seeing that, Duchess Askary imdiately panicked and grabbed her husband’s arm.
"Honey, what if sothing bad happens to Penny, Edmund, and the twins? Then, isn’t Ethan here too? Oh my God, Honey! What should we do?!"
Duke Askary cleared his throat and rubbed his wife’s shoulder. "Relax, Duchess. I’m sure our children will be fine. We better go in now to see their condition." Duke Askary blinked when he saw his wife leaving him while running. "Du—Duchess?! Duchess, don’t run, Honey! You’re not young anymore! You have beco a Granny!"
Duchess Askary stopped running and glared at Duke Askary. "So what if I’ve beco a Grandmother?! Am I not allowed to run when I beco a Grandmother?!"
"That’s not what I ant, Honey."
"Shut up and move your feet quickly, Old Man! You’re slow as a snail!"
Duke Askary could only take a deep breath and massage the bridge of his nose. From when they were young until now, he had never been able to win against his wife. His wife was still as fierce and frightening as ever. Only in the presence of their children would the Duchess be gentle and warm. But, when it ca to him, the Duchess was more fierce. Even so, of course, Duke Askary loved his wife very much. Out of all the won in De Louis’ empire, the Duchess was the only woman, who managed to catch his eye.
"Mother? Father?"
Duke Askary looked up and smiled at Penelope, who had just greeted him and his wife. Duke Askary shook his head in amusent when he saw his wife running toward Penelope and hugging her tightly while crying. She kissed Penelope’s forehead and face, making Penelope chuckle and try to calm her crying Mother.
"My daughter, my baby, are you all right?" asked Duchess Askary. She cupped Penelope’s face and saw the bruises on her daughter’s white neck. "Oh my God, your neck?! What’s wrong with your neck, Honey?! Who did this to you?!"
Penelope, who was helping heal the knights at Gerwyn’s mansion with her healing power, didn’t expect that her parents would co here. Now, she was confused about what kind of answer to give. There was no way she could say the bruises on her neck were due to her own older brother’s actions.
"That’s because of , Mother."
Penelope blinked and turned her head. She could see Ethan coming toward her with Edmund Gerwyn holding the twins in both arms. It’s funny to see that handso and cool man holding two babies at the sa ti. But, now was not the ti to laugh about it.
"What do you an?" asked Duke Askary.
"I... strangled Penny."
"HUH?!" shouted the Duke and Duchess Askary together. The two of them looked at Ethan and Penelope in turn.
"I didn’t do it on purpose, Mother, Father," Ethan said apologetically. "I... was overco by anger and darkness within . I can’t seem to recognize anyone, including Penny. I consider them all my enemies."
Duchess Askary imdiately hit Ethan’s shoulders and arms repeatedly. "You! Why did you get possessed by the darkness in your heart, huh?! Who made you weak like that?! Did Mother ever raise you to be a weak man?"
"Isabella Lysander."
The Duke and Duchess Askary glanced at Edmund. The young Duke shrugged.
"Ethan beca weak because he loved Isabella Lysander and he didn’t accept that Isabella Lysander got hurt while saving him, Father, Mother. So, Ethan got angry and wanted to kill Philleo Aaron." Edmund reports everything that happened to Ethan. "Right now, Isabella is still resting in one of the rooms in this mansion. She’s still unconscious."
Ethan grunted at Edmund in annoyance. He glanced at his Father and Mother in turn, then took a deep breath. "What Duke Edmund said is true. I love Isabella. I love the woman who is always near the Crown Prince. I can’t lie about my feelings for her, Father, Mother. I’m sorry that I caused trouble for the both of you."
Seeing how Ethan kept apologizing, Penelope imdiately shook her head.
"Father, Mother, Brother Ethan didn’t do anything wrong. Is it wrong if Brother Ethan loves Isabel? Isabel is not engaged to the Crown Prince. She’s a free woman. I support them because Isabel also loves Brother Ethan."
Duke and Duchess Askary looked at each other again. Ethan Askary is an unpredictable man. The man never showed anyone his weaknesses and what he liked. Everything was just for Penelope, that’s what the Duke and Duchess Askary knew. Because Ethan really cares about his little sister. Therefore, when they heard Ethan say for the first ti that he loved a woman, they were delighted. They will support Ethan no matter what.
"That can’t be happening."
The words made Penelope blink. She and everyone, who was nearby, turned their heads around and stared at the source of the voice. Marquess Lysander ca with two n dressed all in black. The two n covered their mouths and noses with cloth. It was as if they wanted to hide their identity. It was as if they were people from a secret organization.
"Chris, Jellal."
The call from Edmund made Chris and Jellal appear. They stood before the Duke and the Askary family, then drew their swords to protect them from Marquess Lysander and his two n.
"I appreciate that you love my daughter, Prince Ethan," said Marquess Lysander in a firm tone. The man stopped walking, and so did his two n. He smiled coldly. Disdainful smile. Realizing that, Penelope felt very angry. She wanted to say sothing to defend Ethan but the man imdiately gripped her hand tightly and shook his head. Ethan looked at Penelope and smiled. "But, my daughter only loves the Crown Prince. Isabel only considers Prince Ethan as a friend. So far, Isabel has never had a male friend like Prince Ethan. Because of that, Isabel misinterpreted her feelings. She will marry the Crown Prince and will beco the Empress of this empire."
"You speak as if my son doesn’t deserve your daughter, Marquess Lysander," said Duke Askary with a mysterious smile. Cold smile. The smile that Penelope never knew. Her Father was a gentleman. Penelope never thought she would see her Father act like this. "All the won in this empire want Ethan Askary as their husband, Marquess. But, my son chose your daughter. He loves your daughter. It is an honor, Marquess. My son chooses a woman, who is only from the Marquess family, at a ti when he could choose won, who are much higher in the status of nobility than your family. Oh, I know. You really want your daughter to marry the Crown Prince because you have a hidden plan, right?"
Marquess Lysander froze. He stared at Duke Askary with a hateful gaze.
"What do you an, Duke?"
Duke Askary laughed and snorted. He had already heard the information from Edmund. When Penelope was going to et him at the mansion but instead she was attacked by Philleo Aaron, Edmund sent a letter through his shadow knight. In the letter, Edmund said sothing that really surprised him. Marquess Lysander made human sacrifices in this empire and took all the magic power possessed by the commoners.
"By the way, Marquess," said Duke Askary, deliberately not answering the man’s question. "I have plans to create a special organization for the commoners, who possess magic power and holy power. I’ll have so wizards from the magic tower as well as so priests from the temple to teach those commoners how to use their powers properly. I will imdiately discuss this with the Emperor and Empress. I think they would totally approve of that. Isn’t that right, Marquess?"
Marquess Lysander clenched his fists and widened his eyes. He bit his lip until it bled. That made Duke Askary raise an eyebrow and tilt his head.
"Marquess, why do you look so surprised? Is there sothing wrong with what I just said? Oh, no. Your lips are bleeding, Marquess. Should I call soone to treat you?" asked Duke Askary in a mocking tone.
"Sorry, but I have to pick up my daughter. I received information that she was in this mansion and fell victim to the attack of the forr knight of your family, Philleo Aaron." Marquess Lysander took another step. He looked at Ethan with a sharp gaze, while Ethan just smiled.
"Marquess Lysander, Isabel is not here."
The man stopped walking and looked at Ethan with a cold gaze. "What do you an?"
"I’ve hidden Isabel in a safe place."
"You—"
"Did you think I would let Isabel live in such a horrible mansion like yours? You always torture her, don’t you? Don’t you wanna know how she got to be in this mansion? It was because I ca to your mansion and took Isabel away after she was seriously injured because you beat her up."
Duke Askary widened his eyes and Duchess Askary covered her mouth with both hands.
"Marquess Lysander, is what I heard true?" growled Duke Askary. "You tortured your own daughter until she was seriously injured?"
"So what?" challenged Marquess Lysander. The man crossed his arms. "I am her Father and I have the right to scold her or torture her as I please."
"Are you really her Father?"
Penelope’s question made everyone look at her curiously. The woman ca forward and stood before the Marquess.
"I ask you, Marquess Lysander. Are you really Isabel’s biological Father? Or, were you just a cruel man, who raised Isabel from the commoners’ territory, made her your daughter because she possessed great magical power, and wanted to use Isabel for your own gain?"
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