The next day, Penelope Askary woke up not feeling well.
The woman took a deep breath and held her forehead. Hot. It looks like she has a fever. And, Penelope couldn’t sleep all night either. Even though she and Edmund planned to get married soon, even though she was staying at Gerwyn’s mansion, Penelope asked Edmund not to sleep in the sa room with her. First, Penelope felt embarrassed if she had to sleep with Edmund even though they had sex before and even bathed in the sa bathtub yesterday. Second, Penelope wants to calm herself after eting Isaac Abraham, who has the potential to hurt her in the near future.
"My Lady, are you awake?"
Penelope turned her head toward the door and smiled weakly at Sarah, who opened the door after knocking three tis. Seeing Penelope’s pale face and how her Lady looked weak, Sarah imdiately ran toward her Lady and knelt in front of her. She looked at Penelope with a worried look.
"My Lady, are you sick?" Sarah asked. She stretched out her right hand and gasped as her palm touched Penelope’s forehead. "My Lady, you have a high fever!"
"No, Sarah. I’m fine. Fever is a condition commonly experienced by pregnant won. You know that too, right? You rember when I caught a fever back in the North, right? I’m sure my fever will go away if I rest and eat a lot."
Sarah shook her head and stood up. "But, My Lady, you must still be examined by a doctor. Wait here a mont, My Lady. I will call the doctor and also Duke Edmund."
"What?" Penelope blinked. "Sarah, don’t tell Ed about this. I don’t want to make him panic and worry."
"My Lady, if you hide this from Duke Edmund, that man will go berserk if he finds out too late. If sothing bad happened to the health of My Lady and My Lady’s child, Duke Edmund would surely punish and possibly kill all the servants in this house for failing to know about My Lady’s condition and not being able to take care of My Lady properly. Is that what My Lady wants?"
"Ugh," Penelope groaned and massaged her temples. "You’re right, Sarah. I can’t make everyone in this mansion suffer. I forgot that Ed is an annoying guy, who is overprotective of . He even intends to destroy the peace in this empire just because the neighboring empire’s Crown Prince wants to befriend ."
Sarah chuckled. "I will be right back, My Lady. Is there anything you would like for breakfast this morning?"
Penelope looked thoughtful. Suddenly, she wanted so ice cream. But, was she allowed to eat ice cream in the morning in her condition with a high fever? And now, Penelope just felt that she had a little breathing problem. Sohow, it felt hard to breathe properly. Perhaps, this was due to the high fever she had. Her eyes were also getting blurry.
"Do you think I can have an ice cream for dessert, Sarah?" Penelope asked doubtfully. The woman smiled. "I did only get a little sleep but I dread that I was eating an ice cream with three flavors and underneath it was a sweet banana. Then, there is syrup poured over the ice cream and topped with cherries, and strawberries."
"I want to make it for My Lady but we will ask permission first from the doctor, who will examine My Lady later."
Penelope pouted and nodded. She waited for Sarah to return to her room as she leaned her back against the head of the bed and closed her eyes. Then, a few seconds later, the door to her room opened with a bang. Penelope jumped and blinked. She turned her head and her mouth opened wide as she saw Edmund and Ethan catching their breaths. The two n ran to her bed and imdiately examined her. Edmund sat on the edge of the bed, beside Penelope, while Ethan knelt beside his little sister’s bed.
"Brother Ethan? Why are you here?" Penelope asked in a confused tone.
"Honey, Sarah told that you have a high fever." Edmund touched Penelope’s forehead with the palm of his hand. "Why didn’t you tell you were sick? Why do you have to bear it alone? Just hold on a little longer since I’ve already summoned the imperial doctor. Gerwyn’s family doctor wasn’t here. I heard he has to marry off his daughter."
"Penny, how about we just go back to the mansion? Hmm? You can be examined by our family doctor there," Ethan said. He turned his head and glared at Edmund. "What an irresponsible man you are, Duke Edmund! You can’t properly look after and protect my little sister!"
"Big Brother, Ed, wait a minute," Penelope said, trying to keep the two n from arguing and fighting. "I just have a normal fever. It’s not dangerous. The doctor, who treated when I was in the North region at that ti said that a fever or flu is common for won, who are in their early pregnancy." Penelope smiled and held Edmund’s hand as well as Ethan’s. Then, the woman looked at Ethan. "You haven’t answered my question yet."
"Oh, you’re right," Ethan nodded. "I ca this morning before you woke up. I have sothing to talk to Duke Edmund about Isaac Abraham. I also want to tell him about Isabella Lysander."
Hearing that, Penelope froze. The woman could not hide her annoyed face in front of Ethan. "Brother Ethan, why are you suddenly talking about that woman? Do you have a relationship with that woman? She’s Sebastian De Louis’ woman, Brother. I don’t want any weird and bad rumors about you going around in this empire. I don’t like you having anything to do with Isabella, Big Brother."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you were friends with her."
"I thought so too," Penelope grumbled. "But, she always seduces Ed in front of . She said I had to let Ed go because Ed only loved her and because I loved the Crown Prince. She said I was more deserving of marrying the Crown Prince because my noble status was higher than hers. Then, she also threatened that she would make lose my baby so that Ed would leave ."
"Huh?!" Ethan shouted. The anger started to rise within him. "That woman is really two-faced! She deceives everyone with her pretty face but turns out to be very evil and has a rotten heart! She also insulted you when I accidentally t her at that ti. She said she really hates you. I wanted to tell Duke Edmund to be careful of that snake woman. I also want to tell you about the Lysander family. Last night, I took Isabella Lysander ho to her mansion because she fainted during a festival and I noticed sothing strange in that woman’s mansion."
"What kind of oddity?" asked Edmund. The man raised an eyebrow and smiled gently when he saw Penelope approach him and imdiately hugged him. The woman leaned her face against Edmund’s chest and asked Edmund to rub her head and back repeatedly. "You’ve beco very spoiled since you were pregnant, Penny. You’re really adorable. Give your fever. I will gladly take all your fever away for you to get well."
Ethan snorted at the Duke’s words. "You’re so disgusting," Ethan grumbled. He took a deep breath. "When I took the woman ho, she woke up from her unconscious state. Then, she trembled with fear when her Father greeted . Her face was very pale. It seems that the woman is very afraid of Marquess Lysander."
"Is that a strange thing?" asked Edmund, frowning.
"Of course." Ethan nodded. "Duke, is there a child who is so scared that her body trembles violently when faced with her parents? Unless that person is an adopted child or stepchild, I have never heard of or seen a case where a biological child was so afraid of their parents."
"Unless Marquess Lysander had sothing to hide and Isabella found out about it," Penelope spoke. Her words made Edmund and Ethan stare at the woman. They looked surprised, making Penelope chuckle. "Did I say sothing wrong? I think Isabella knows sothing about her Father. Then, her Father threatened Isabella not to tell anyone about it."
"You’re right," nodded Edmund. "But, what is that man hiding? I an, Marquess Lysander was known as a really nice guy. He always did charity work and helped the commoners. He also runs an orphanage. I don’t think there have ever been any bad rumors regarding the Marquess."
"It’s your job to find out," Penelope said with a shrug. In Edmund’s arms, Penelope looked at Ethan with a serious look. "But, Brother, once again I’m warning you that I don’t want you to have anything to do with Isabella Lysander. If I found out you were around that woman, I would be mad at you and never talk to you again."
Ethan laughed and ruffled his little sister’s hair.
"Alright, Sweetheart. I won’t be seeing her again."
###
It was just yesterday that Ethan promised Penelope he would never have anything to do with Isabella Lysander but now fate has brought him together with her.
Ethan felt like screaming in frustration and getting as far away from this place as possible. But, for so reason, Ethan hesitated. Not because he was attracted to Isabella or fascinated by her beauty. Ethan didn’t leave this place when he saw Isabella because she was standing in front of a fast-flowing river. There was no one in this place except for the woman and him, who was going sowhere to finish his work. He took a deep breath and approached Isabella with slow steps.
"Isabella Lysander."
Ethan’s voice made Isabella flinch. The woman turned around and gasped. However, because Isabella was too shocked, the balance of the woman’s body was lost. Her body fell into the river and she scread. Seeing that, Ethan scratched his head and groaned in annoyance.
"And now, I have to help that woman again even though I promised my little sister that I would have nothing to do with her again," Ethan grumbled. He threw the sword at his waist to a near tree and imdiately jumped into the river to save Isabella’s life.
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