Penelope opened her eyes and blinked.
She didn’t recognize this room. The feeling of deja vu that had begun to rise inside Penelope made the woman panic. She got up from her lying position in one swift motion and glanced around the room. Had she died without herself knowing it and now she was reincarnated into another person’s body? If that was the case, who had she beco and what novel was she from? However, when the door to this room was opened from the outside and Penelope could see a man with silver hair and purple eyes entering the room, Penelope imdiately felt relieved.
"Sir Phileo!" Penelope exclaid. The woman smiled faintly. Even so, Penelope felt strange because Philleo’s attitude seed different from usual. The man didn’t smile back and it was as if there was an eerie aura surrounding Philleo. "I was shocked when I woke up in an unfamiliar room like this. Where is this? And, where is Duke Edmund? What was going on while I was sleeping?"
Phileo didn’t answer. The man sat on the bed, facing Penelope. Then, the man reached out and touched Penelope’s face. Philleo caressed Penelope’s cheek before the woman jerked Philleo’s hand away roughly and gave him a sharp look.
"What are you doing, Philleo Aaron?" Penelope asked coldly. "Don’t act impolitely toward ! Have you forgotten who I am? I am the Duchess you serve!"
"My Penelope, Darling," Philleo called. The man smiled but the smile was not as gentle as it used to be in Penelope’s eyes. Philleo’s smile was terrifying and it made Penelope’s body tremble. "There is no Duke Edmund here. There’s only you and . We can be happy just the two of us. We don’t need anyone else. Isn’t it? You’ve been waiting for this day since long ago, right? Spending the rest of your life with ." Philleo imdiately hugged Penelope’s body tightly and inhaled her scent deeply.
Hearing Philleo’s words, Penelope was shocked and disgusted at the man. She struggled violently in Philleo’s arms and imdiately used all her strength to push the body of the man in front of her. Then, after being released from Philleo’s embrace, Penelope imdiately slapped his cheek very hard. The sound of her slap echoed throughout the room. After that, Penelope ran to the bedroom door and tried to open it. However, the door wouldn’t open, for so reason. Penelope was sure that Philleo had not locked the door.
"I locked the door with my magic, My Beloved Penelope." Philleo got off the bed and laughed. He approached Penelope, who was still trying to open the door in front of her and then hugged her from behind. Startled, Penelope scread and elbowed Philleo in the stomach. Instead of feeling hurt, Philleo just laughed again. He took a step back and let Penelope run toward the window.
As Penelope opened the window and ran out onto the balcony, the woman decided to just jump down. She was sure she would be fine if this room was only on the second floor. However, Penelope froze when she saw the sea below the balcony of this room. All around Penelope, there is only the sea. There is no land, no mansions or other buildings.
"I purposely chose this place to be our new ho together, Penelope," said Philleo in a gentle tone. He walked slowly to the balcony and stood behind the guardrail. Seeing that, Penelope flinched and created so distance from the scary man. Even though she was very scared, Penelope knew she had to be brave to face Philleo to protect the child she was carrying. "This mansion is my secret mansion that I bought when I was at the academy. Nobody knows this place. Not even Ethan knew. So, no one will be able to find you here. Starting today, it’s just the two of us."
"No!" Penelope exclaid. The woman shook her head firmly. "Edmund will definitely find ! He will always find !"
Phileo laughed. "Oh, do you an because of the tracking magic that the wizard of the Gerwyn family put on your body, Penelope? I managed to get rid of that tracking magic and replaced it with another magic that makes you not be found by anyone! I don’t know if you know this or not but I had strong magic all along. I just don’t want others to know that I can do magic."
Penelope gulped. She stared at the sea in front of her with expectant eyes. Should she just jump into the sea and swim to the shore or sothing?
"I know what you’re thinking but I think you should get rid of those strange thoughts. You will not survive if you jump into the sea." Philleo tried to approach Penelope again but Penelope ran elsewhere and growled at the man. Penelope gave Philleo a murderous look, making Philleo chuckle. "Yeah, I really like this attitude of yours. You look very defiant in my eyes, My Beloved Penelope. And that makes even more obsessed with you. Get so rest. I’ll be back in an hour to check on you."
After saying that, Philleo ca out of the room while whistling. The tension that Penelope felt now disappeared and her legs imdiately felt weak. The woman finally fell to her knees and lowered her head. She hugged her own body which was trembling violently. The tears started dripping. Penelope didn’t even care about the sea breeze that was so strong right now.
"Ed...," Penelope whispered. "Please, quickly find and our child. Please, save us. We miss you."
###
"What?!"
Ethan Askary pounded his desk and imdiately got up from the chair. He walked with long and wide steps toward Edmund, who was sitting on the sofa. The man looked down and looked like a broken robot. Ethan growled and clenched his jaw. He pulled Edmund’s collar until his brother-in-law stood up. Ethan’s eyes were sharp and cold while Edmund’s eyes looked flat and empty.
"My little sister was kidnapped by Philleo Aaron?!" Ethan asked. He tried to control his voice so that his parents couldn’t hear the commotion going on in his study. anwhile, Edgar and Callix, who also entered Ethan’s study and stood near the door of Ethan’s study, could only give a worried look and could do nothing but watch Edmund and Ethan. "How did Penny get kidnapped by Philleo? What the hell happened, Duke Edmund?!"
"Prince Ethan," called Edgar. He was sure that Edmund Gerwyn would not speak again. His mind must have been on Penelope right now. Edmund must be busy figuring out how he could locate Penelope and save her. "Can I give you the details of the kidnapping of Duchess Penelope last night?"
Ethan looked at Edgar and imdiately pushed Edmund. The man approached Edgar and glared at him.
"Tell everything," Ethan growled.
Edgar told everything. From Edmund’s suspicions, Chris’ report about Philleo’s strange behavior, and Penelope’s kidnapping last night. Ethan listened as his fists clenched at his sides.
"I told you to watch over Phil and protect Penny, Duke Edmund!" Ethan shouted in a frustrated tone as he ruffled his hair. He stood again in front of Edmund, who was still silent. The man seed to have lost his soul. Just like when Edmund couldn’t find Penelope and begged Ethan to tell him where Penelope was. "I told you he’s starting to obsess over Penny! That his actions were starting to get suspicious. You also heard how he confessed his feelings in front of Penny that ti when you were disguised as a maid nad Emma, right?! How could you be this careless, Duke?! Now, where should we look for Penny?!"
The atmosphere in Edmund’s study turned tense. Edgar and Callix looked at each other and decided to approach Ethan and Edmund. Callix pulled Ethan firmly so that the man would create so distance from Edmund while Edgar held Edmund.
"Your Grace, let’s go ho," said Edgar in a coaxing tone. The man smiled. "I know you are worried about the Duchess. I’m also very worried about the Duchess, as well as Sarah, Chris, Jellal, and the others. But, you need rest even if only for a while, Your Grace. That way, you can search and find the Duchess in full force."
"The Abelavish Empire," muttered Edmund.
"Yes?" Edgar blinked and frowned. "What did you say just now, Your Grace?"
Edmund looked up and looked at Ethan. "We have to go to the Abelavish empire and ask Crown Prince Helios to help track down Penny. The man has great magic, which is on par with the magicians in the magic tower. I don’t want to ask the magic tower for help since they are Sebastian’s people. I’m going to the Abelavish Empire right now. Will you co with , Brother-in-law?"
"Do you need to ask a question that you already know the answer to? If it’s for my little sister, I’ll do anything!" Ethan looked at Callix. "Call, bring two other knights with us. And, tell everyone in the mansion not to tell my parents that Duke Edmund is here."
###
It was late and Philleo didn’t co to bring her food at all.
Penelope actually didn’t want to eat anything Philleo brought if he brought her food. But, because she is currently pregnant, Penelope must eat on ti to provide nutrients and vitamins to the child, who is in her womb. However, from this morning until tonight, Philleo only brought her water.
The bedroom door opened and Penelope imdiately looked up to look at Philleo. Penelope’s gaze was still the sa as this morning. The woman wanted to go to Philleo so badly and beat him up but she couldn’t do that anymore. This afternoon, when Philleo ca to bring more water, Penelope tried to attack him so she could escape from this place. However, the woman’s efforts were in vain, and as a result, Philleo handcuffed Penelope’s hands and feet using magic.
"Did you miss , Penelope?" asked Philleo in a gentle tone. His eyes flashed with adoration and his smile looked as scary as this morning. He put the water on the table and sat down beside Penelope. The man stroked Penelope’s blue hair and Penelope couldn’t do anything because of her handcuffed condition. "I brought you water. Humans can survive just by drinking water, right?"
Penelope clenched her jaw and threw away her pride for the child in her womb.
"Please, give so food. I’m hungry, Philleo," Penelope said. "My child also needs food. If not, I will lose my child. You only want , right? I won’t be able to go anywhere because of your magic. And I don’t want anything bad to happen to my child."
Philleo grabbed Penelope’s chin, making Penelope’s heart beat really fast. The woman gulped. Philleo’s purple eyes looked scary but Penelope was against his gaze.
"That’s my goal, My Beloved Penelope," said Philleo. "I want to get rid of the child you are carrying. I want to kill your child because your child is a hindrance to my relationship with you. I don’t want Edmund Gerwyn’s flesh and blood to be born into this world. Since I didn’t have the heart to kill you—I an, I didn’t have the heart to stab you in the stomach to make the baby die—then I did it another way. I will starve you until you finally lose Edmund’s child in your womb, Honey."
Penelope widened her eyes and froze.
"Don’t worry," Philleo chuckled. "I’ll make sure you’re okay even if you don’t get any food but not that damned baby. I will make sure the baby dies."
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