"Greetings to Duke and Duchess Askary. May Elleia’s light always be with you both."
Edmund Gerwyn greets a friend of his parents. This year, Edmund is seven years old. He was invited by his parents to co to the Askary family’s mansion. Apart from the fact that both of his parents had business with Duke and Duchess Askary, they also wanted Edmund to be friends with the two children of Duke and Duchess Askary. If Edmund rembered correctly, the nas of the two children were Ethan and Penny.
"May Elleia’s light be with you too, Edmund," said Duchess Askary in a gentle tone. She reached out and caressed Edmund’s black hair gently. "Edmund, why don’t you go to the back garden now? There was Ethan and Penny. They are reading books and playing together. They are shy children, that’s why they don’t want to welco you and your parents." Duchess Askary looked at Duchess Gerwyn apologetically. "I’m sorry, Duchess. I don’t want to force my children to et you if they feel shy to et you. I think I’m not educating them properly enough."
Duchess Gerwyn laughed softly. "It doesn’t matter. I’m also the sa as you. If Ed didn’t want sothing, I would never force him. Kids should do the things they love, right?" The black-haired woman lowered her head and put her hand on Edmund’s head. "Ed, go to the back garden and play with Ethan and Penny. Ethan is your age, while Penny is two years younger than you. So, you should be able to protect Penny because you are a big brother to her. Do you understand, Honey?"
Edmund smiled and nodded. He loved his mother very much and would do whatever her mother told him to do.
"Viola, will you take Edmund to et Ethan and Penny, please?" Duchess Askary said to Viola. Viola was the head maid at the Askary mansion and Duchess Askary had great faith in the young lady. "Don’t forget to prepare tea and sweets for the three of them. Get Sir Jacob to protect Ethan, Penny, and Edmund."
Viola smiled and bowed. "Yes, Duchess."
Arriving at the back garden, Edmund felt fascinated by the place. This garden is so beautiful. Lots of pretty flowers filled the garden. There are also so fruit trees. What caught Edmund’s attention the most was a large tree, where he could see a boy his age reading under the tree.
"Young Master Edmund, it is Young Master Ethan over there. I’ll take you there." Viola bowed to Edmund and waited for Edmund to go first.
After arriving in front of the big tree, Ethan Askary, who was reading a book, looked up when he realized soone was approaching him. The boy looked at Edmund with his red eyes that looked beautiful like rubies with a confused look. Then, Edmund turned to look at Viola who had already bowed.
"Good afternoon, Young Master Ethan. I have co on the orders of the Duchess to introduce Young Master Edmund to you. This is Young Master Edmund Gerwyn, son of the Duke and Duchess Gerwyn."
"Good afternoon," Ethan greeted, nodding. "My na is Ethan Askary."
Edmund nodded too. His blue eyes stared at Ethan with a flat look. Edmund is known as a child who doesn’t talk much. Even though he is still a child, many adults are a little afraid to face him because of his blue eyes which are always cold and sharp. To them, Edmund Gerwyn had a dark aura that no one else could approach. Only his parents could always make Edmund smile and laugh.
"My na is Edmund Gerwyn. I heard from Duchess Askary, you are with your little sister here. What was her na? Penny?"
Ethan snorted and stood up. He pointed at Edmund’s face which still showed his flat expression. It was as if the boy didn’t care about the circumstances around him.
"Don’t call my little sister by her nickna. That na should only be used by and by our parents!"
"But, I don’t know her na. Duchess Askary only calls her by that na," replied Edmund in an indifferent tone.
"Penelope. Her na is Penelope Askary. She is a very beautiful child like a fairy. Her hair is blue like mine. You see that my hair is beautiful like the sea, right? Then, Penny’s eyes are very pretty because they are always sparkling."
"Sparkling?"
Ethan nodded enthusiastically. "My little sister’s eyes are golden!"
Edmund was silent and nodded. He didn’t really care about the story of this boy nad Ethan Askary. For Edmund, Ethan’s behavior was very childish, even though they were both seven years old. Wasn’t Ethan supposed to act maturely since they were all grown up? Seven years is the age that indicates a child is an adult, right?
"Young Master Ethan, where is Lady Penelope?" Viole asked in a confused tone. Earlier, she had only let the two boys talk so the two could beco closer and eventually beco friends. "Has Lady Penelope returned to her room?"
"No," Ethan shook his head innocently.
"What? So, where is Lady Penelope now?" Viola asked in a confused tone. Jacob Granger, who had been assigned by Duchess Askary to protect the three children and was standing not far from Viola, looked up at the tree. The handso man smiled broadly and pointed up.
"Viola, our little lady seems to be having an adventure up there."
Viola looked up and gasped. She covered her mouth with both hands. While Ethan chuckled, Edmund looked up. His blue eyes widened when he saw a very tiny girl sitting there. The little girl lowered her head to look at the people below her. Her hair was blue and reminded Edmund of the sea. Her golden eyes shone very brightly and dazzled him.
"My Lady! What are you doing up there?!" shouted Viola frantically. "That is dangerous, My Lady! How did you get up there?!"
"Our Penny loves to climb, Viola," Ethan said proudly. This made Viola look at him.
"Young Master Ethan! Would you let your little sister do such a dangerous thing? If the Duke and Duchess find out, you will be scolded by them!"
"But Penny wants to get up there. I can’t stop my little sister from doing the things she likes. After all, I’m right here, right under Penny. If Penny falls, I’ll catch her easily," Ethan said in a serious tone. This made Jacob Granger laugh, while Viola sighed heavily and massaged her temples.
"Sir Jacob, please don’t laugh like that. Quickly bring Lady Penelope down!" grunted Viola.
He shrugged. "All right, all right. You are too serious as a person, Viola. If this little thing can make Young Master Ethan and Lady Penelope happy, shouldn’t we let them be?"
When Jacob was about to climb a tree to bring Penelope down, sothing unexpected happened. Penelope, who was five years old, slipped and fell. Seeing that, Viola scread in panic. Ethan and Jacob get ready to catch little Penelope. However, Penelope fell on little Edmund’s body. Even though his back hit the ground and grass, and Penelope landed on top of him, Edmund didn’t scream in pain at all. He looked into Penelope’s golden eyes instead, which widened as she stared back at him. Her blushing pretty face made Edmund smile. The first smile he gave to soone other than his parents. This made Viola and Jacob look at each other, while Ethan looked very annoyed.
"Hello, a beautiful fairy," said Edmund. He smoothed Penelope’s blue hair. "Are you okay?"
Penelope nodded slowly. She hates eting strangers the most. She will always feel afraid and because of that, Penelope prefers to hide. But strangely, with that child under her, Penelope didn’t feel afraid at all.
"My na is Edmund Gerwyn. You can call Ed."
"I... My na is Penelope Askary. You can call Penny."
"Penny..." Edmund nodded and kissed the back of Penelope’s hand. Even though he was a child, Edmund had been taught by his father to always kiss the back of a woman’s hand because that was the basis of etiquette in the empire. "Do you want to be my friend?"
"You want to be my friend?" Penelope asked instead of answering. "Are you also going to be Brother Ethan’s friend? I don’t want Brother Ethan to be lonely."
Edmund glanced at Ethan. Edmund didn’t really want to be friends with Ethan. He was only interested in Penelope. At first, Edmund thought that Ethan had exaggerated his story about his little sister. But, after seeing firsthand how beautiful Penelope Askary was, Edmund wanted to monopolize this adorable little child.
"If that’s what you want," nodded Edmund. The boy then touched Penelope’s blue hair and kissed it. The thing he always saw from his father when the man was alone with his mother. "We will be friends until we grow up and when we grow up, I will co to propose to you. I will ask you to marry and you will beco the future Duchess Gerwyn."
"She can’t!" Ethan shouted. He imdiately pulled his little sister up from above Edmund’s body and hugged her tightly. "You can’t marry my little sister!"
Seeing the three children, Viola and Jacob could only chuckle.
###
"You’re awake?"
That question made Penelope Askary turn her head slowly. She smiled faintly at Edmund Gerwyn who was sitting in a chair beside the bed. Penelope also realized that Edmund’s hand was holding hers so tightly that the woman could feel the warmth from the blue-eyed man’s hand.
"You owe your life, you damn Duke," chuckled Penelope.
Edmund smiled faintly and nodded. "I know," he said in a weak tone. "As long as I live, until I stop breathing, I will always rember this debt. I... I hurt you. I almost killed you. I’m sorry, Penelope."
"It’s not like you at all, Ed," Penelope said. The woman tried to sit up and Edmund helped her very carefully. It was as if he was afraid that Penelope’s fragile body would break if he didn’t treat her as gently as possible. "You are a Duke who has high pride. Looking weak like this doesn’t suit you. This incident is not your fault. I’m hurt like this also not your fault. I know that you’re on a rampage, but I still want to save you. So, let’s forget about this incident. Are you okay after that incident?"
Edmund was silent for a mont then he nodded. "I... fainted."
"Oh yeah? Are you hurt?" Penelope asked in a panicked tone.
"No, not because of that. I guess I’m just a little tired. Besides, I only passed out for a bit."
"Have you eaten?" Penelope asked.
Edmund snorted and shook his head. "I didn’t think about such things, while you were still unconscious, Penelope. I just want to focus on your safety. Are you sure you’re all right? I’ll call the doctor."
Penelope shook her head and restrained Edmund. "No need. I’m fine. Instead of you calling the doctor, how about you get us so food? I’m hungry and I think you also need food to recover your energy. I will wait here."
Edmund nodded and stood up from his chair. When he was already standing by the door, the man turned his head. Then, Edmund imdiately ran toward Penelope and hugged her tightly. His face was hidden between Penelope’s shoulder and neck, making Penelope widen her eyes and blush.
"Ed?! What is wrong?! Why are you hugging ?" Penelope asked in a panicked tone. She was afraid if soone suddenly ca into this room and saw the two of them hugging each other.
"I don’t want to leave you alone. I’m afraid you’ll disappear from again, Penelope," said Edmund. The blue-eyed man then kissed Penelope’s neck. He also sucked and bit Penelope’s neck gently, leaving a red mark there. A sign that Penelope Askary is his. Penelope didn’t realize it because her whole body ached from today’s events. "I will stay here with you. I will call a maid to prepare food for you."
Penelope took a deep breath and was forced to agree with Edmund’s words.
The woman was confused by Edmund’s current attitude, which she judged to be very different from Edmund Gerwyn’s attitude in the original novel.
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