The first thing that Penelope saw after waking up is her sister's emerald eyes, Rosalia was shocked at first but she quickly yelled at something, or someone that made Penelope wince.
"Ugh. Rosie, shut up for a moment." Penelope said, sitting up slowly and closing her eyes to let her mind settle.
"Shut up–? Shut up?! You dare tell me that after that Lucas came home with you passed out on his arms?! I almost had a heart attack, you idiot!" Rosalia screeched, Penelope sighs then massaged her temples before opening her eyes only to see Rosalia's eyes watering.
'Ah. I might've really spooked her.' Penelope thought.
Penelope smiled apologetically before opening her arms, Rosalia took the message and burrowed herself into her older sister's arms.
"You scared me! I thought I was going to lose you too! You're not allowed to leave me, okay?! You're not!" Rosalia said, sniffing into her nightgown.
Penelope smiled as she rubs Rosalia's back soothingly, "Yeah. Can't leave my bratty sister alone, lest she be the brattiest."
"Oh shut it." Rosalia sniffed, Penelope turned towards the door when it opened abruptly and saw Roger with Henriella.
"Penelope. You worried all of us, what happened?" Roger said, assisting Henriella to sit.
"Roger, Riella. I apologize if I worried you both, I simply passed out from exhaustion." Penelope said, inclining her head.
"Oh my god, Penny. You look so ugly right now." Rosalia said, pulling away from the hug.
'This brat!'
"You passed out from exhaustion while you were visiting the Princes? How did that happen?" Roger asks, crossing his arms and looking at her questioningly.
Penelope chuckled hesitantly before tucking the stray hairs behind her ear, "Hehe."
"Roger. Penelope just woke up, instead of interrogating your cousin, why don't you go ask the maids to bring her something warm, hm?" Henriella said gently, looking at Roger before smiling towards Penelope.
'Henriella is an angel!'
Roger sighs before nodding his head, but not before sending a stern look at Penelope that clearly says they're going to have to talk about it.
"Are you feeling fine now, Penelope?" Henriella asks gently, smiling at her warmly.
Penelope nodded her head before smiling back, "Yes, I am. Did I worry you guys too much?"
"You did! Sister Riella, tell her how worried we were!" Rosalia said, crossing her arms and glaring at Penelope.
Henriella chuckled at Rosalia softly before looking at Penelope, "You did worry them a lot, Penelope. Rosalia was inconsolable for a day, and Roger left his work for three days to come here."
"See?! You even made Rogie abandon his work!" Rosalia said, huffing.
'Wow. I never thought Roger cared this much for me.'
"Aw, I'm so touched. Would you like a kiss, Rosie?" Penelope teased, making kissy lips.
"Ew! And what do you mean by 'Aw?' What are you? A dog?" Rosalia replied, rolling her eyes.
Penelope was about to stand to teach her sister a lesson when Roger came back, carrying three bouquet of flowers.
"His Highnesses and Sir Felix sent you these. You made them worry, and also you have unanswered letters. Try to answer them when you'll have the time." Roger said, dumping the bouquets infront of Penelope.
Penelope stared at the bouquets infront of her before plucking out the card from the first one.
Dear Penelope,
Hello! Are you awake yet? I just tried my luck, anyway. I sent you these flowers! If you don't know, the flowers are a mixture of Lily of the Incas and Yellow Roses! I hope you'll wake up soon, and may this bouquet liven up your room!
Also, His Highnesses doesn't have any originality in them. They sent you flowers as well after they saw me sending you one.
Yours truly, Felix Robane.
Penelope felt touched at Felix's sincerity as she gently touched the flowers, "Yellow Roses indicates friendship and joy. Felix is so thoughtful."
'Lilian York is really lucky to have him in the future.'
"Are they your suitor or something?" Rosalia asked, checking out the flowers.
"Penelope is engaged to the second Prince, Rosalia." Roger reminds, Rosalia rolls her eyes and muttered something under her breath.
Penelope ignored both of them as Henriella took the bouquet sent by Felix and walked away to arrange it on a vase.
Penelope reached for the second bouquet that is quite similar to Felix's in color. The bouquet is composed of peonies, chrysanthemums, and white tulips.
Penelope,
I apologize for my actions. My brother is even better than before, I suppose I should give you my thanks. Felix and I tried to go and visit you but that red-eyed man kicked us out. Who is he anyway?
Claude.
'That man-child, how dare he kick Felix out? Kicking Claude out is acceptable but not Felix.' Penelope thought in irritation, thinking of grounding Lucas for a month.
And lastly, Penelope reached for the third bouquet that is composed of gardenias, red roses, red tulips, and honeysuckles. Penelope smiled before opening the card attached to it.
Dearest Penelope,
I heard that you passed out trying to save me, I hope you are doing physically and mentally fine. About the incident, can we perhaps have a private chat? You should get better first, and I deeply apologize because I played a part in making you pass out. I hope that this bouquet that I sent you will cheer you up.
Love, Anastacius.
'Ah, right. About Aethernitas. Anastacius might be so confused right now.' Penelope thinks, closing the card and sighing.
"God why must you make my life like this." Penelope groaned in frustration.
'Anyway. I need to rest up and regain my strength, geez. I'll assume that I've been asleep for five days. One more day of sleeping won't be that bad.' Penelope thought before asking Henriella and Rosalia for a favor to place the bouquets on a vase.
———
"The Count is awake!" Was what Lucas greeted her the first thing in the morning, Penelope hummed before looking at the magician.
"His condition?" Penelope asks, placing her teacup down after she took a sip.
Lucas shrugs before plopping himself on the couch inside Penelope's bedroom, "As you expected. He woke up screaming frantically, exclaiming that there were people everywhere in his room and that your Mother is laughing at him. In short, he woke up insane."
"I see. Very well, it's time for me to take on the role of Countess, no?" Penelope said, standing up.
Penelope ditched the dresses for today and just opted for a black fitting pants, and a long-sleeved corseted top. Her long chocolate brown hair has been pulled into a high ponytail as a pair of diamond teardrop earrings dangles on her ears.
"Where are you going?" Lucas asks, standing up from his position and following her like a puppy.
"The Count's room, to check on him. Like the filial daughter that I am." Penelope replies, smiling sweetly at Lucas before opening the door to the Count's bedroom.
The sight that greeted Penelope is enough to warrant a gleeful look on her face, but she quickly masked it because of Butler Hans's presence in the room.
The Count is kneeling infront of Hans, shaking and mumbling incoherent things.
"Hans. Hans. HANS. HANS. Hans. HAns. HANS. She's here... She's here, Hans. She's here." The Count mumbles, hugging Butler Hans's leg.
"Butler Hans, how did this happen?" Penelope asks, playing dumb and acting as if she didn't expect this at all.
The butler looked at her with a lost expression before shaking his head, "I don't– I don't know, My Lady."
Penelope acted sad and kneeled beside the Count, Hans took a step back to give them both space.
"Look at you. Look at the state that you're in right now, you're at your lowest. From a respected and mighty Count, you're now a crazy one. And what can I say? You deserve it, you fucking murderer." Penelope whispers softly into the Count's ear, hugging his head close.
The Count, upon hearing her words, quickly pushed her away hard. Penelope feigned a gasp and a pained look.
"Father! It's me, Penelope!" Penelope exclaimed.
"You devil! You–! You! Hans! Hans! She did this! She did this to me! Seize here, Hans!" The Count said frantically, rubbing his hands together before crawling towards the Butler.
"S-Sire! What are you saying? Lady Penelope is your daughter, Sire!" Butler Hans said, attempting to calm the Count.
Penelope wiped the crocodile tears falling from her eyes and left as if she were on distress. Lucas, who has the front row seats to her acting, gave her an applause and a slow whistle.
"Spectacular acting!" The magician praised, smirking amusedly.
Penelope rolled her eyes before turning away and proceeding towards the study, "Whatever."
Penelope was about to enter the study when she remembered Anastacius.
'I should go meet him, like, right now. The sooner I get it done, the better.' Penelope thought.
The brunette took a step back, before turning and going to find Lucas.
"Hey. Teleport me to the Imperial Palace." Penelope said straightforwardly, standing infront of the magician.
"No." Lucas replied immediately, Penelope rolled her eyes before crossing her arms.
"I'll be quick, I just need to talk with my baby daddy." Penelope said, staring at him defiantly.
"Before that, what are we going to do with the Count's partner in his dirty work?" Lucas asks, ruby eyes fixated on the book he's reading.
'Wow he really doesn't want me to go to the Imperial Palace.'
"I don't know? Burn him, maybe? Save the victims then burn him along with the place?" Penelope shrugs, tucking her neck-length side fringe behind her ear.
[Wow, Host. That's brutal.]
'Mhm. Maybe so, but they deserve it.'
"Can we burn him now?" Lucas exclaims, standing upas his ruby eyes light up with excitement.
"No." Penelope shut him down right away, Lucas's excitement quickly faded away as he glared at Penelope.
"Why not?" He asks, looking way too close to sulking as he looks away.
'Is he really 200+ years old? Because he acts like a child, ALL the time.' Penelope thought in amusement.
[Unfortunately, Yes, Host.]
"Fine, let's go burn him." Penelope agrees, a snort coming out of her when Lucas's mood suddenly changed.
A snap was heard throughout the room and both the black-haired magician, and the lady of the house, disappeared.
———
"Conceal our presence." Penelope says the moment they both arrived infront of a large mansion.
Lucas did as what he was told before following the brunette who's making a beeline towards the warehouse with metal bars blocking the large windows and heavy metal doors being guarded by four guards.
"The mansion is way over there, you know." Lucas says, walking casually with both hands on either of his pockets.
Penelope hums before tapping the first guard on his shoulder and punching him. The other guards were alarmed but they weren't able to do anything when Penelope grabbed the first guard and used her magic to throw him forcefully to the other guards.
"Lucas, knock them out." Penelope orders before pulling the heavy doors open.
What greeted Penelope was enough to make her burn in rage. She already knew that the Count is involved with this kind of illegal business. But still, knowing about it and seeing it for the first time is different.
There were children, ages from 3-10 years old. Women and even elderlies, they're being kept inside the building like they were some kind of an animals rather than humans.
The people inside were frail, their skin is ghostly pale, and they were shivering in cold without a single blanket with them.
"Lucas." Penelope calls blankly, the magician quickly turned his head towards the brunette with a questioning look.
"Huh?"
Penelope turns to Lucas with a calm face, but Lucas didn't miss the ice cold fury dancing in her emerald orbs.
"Place a barrier on this warehouse. We'll come back after we burn that fucking bitch down." Penelope says, turning around with a flourish and marching towards the mansion.
Lucas shrugs before placing a barrier around the warehouse and following after Penelope.
'How many times do I have to tell her that she can't use this much magic because her mana is not that big?' Lucas thought when he saw the knocked out bodies of some guards.
Penelope kicks yet another body that clearly belongs to a guard, away. She's not that strong yes, but she has quite the tricks up her sleeves that she can use in knocking the guards out.
[Host, please do not abuse your mana. You just got recovered, please refrain from using too much magic!]
'Relax, Tongtong. It's not that much.' Penelope assures.
"Do we burn these guards as well?" Penelope hears Lucas ask. The brunette stops her tracks then turned around only to see Lucas using his magic in making the guards's bodies float and piling them up.
'They're involved with the trafficking one way or another.'
"Have you forgotten? We'll burn everything down save for the victims." Penelope replies before proceeding towards the master bedroom where the Count's illegal business partner lies.
She was about to open the door when she felt something sharp being pointed at her nape.
"Move, and you'll die." A man's voice said. Penelope turned around and saw Baron Davis, the Count's partner in human trafficking.
"Baron Davis, I take that you're having a lovely night?" Penelope asks sweetly with her back turned to him.
She slowly turned around, mindful of the sword that's being pointed at her neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Another voice said, a cocky voice that Penelope recognized as Lucas's.
"It's between me and him, Lucas. Stand back." Penelope says, still smiling sweetly at the Baron.
"You, how dare you do this. Who are you anyway?" The Baron says in anger, grip tightening and making the sharp end of the sword graze Penelope's neck, causing a small drop of blood to flow.
"I'm offended that the Baron does not recognize the eldest daughter of his dearest business partner." Penelope says in a faux pained voice.
"Y-You. You're the Count's daughter?!" The Baron asks in shock.
Penelope smiles sweetly, far too sweetly, at his question before bringing a hand up and gripping the blade tightly with her bare hands.
"Why yes, Baron. I'm that Count's daughter. Though, I am quite unsure of his title as the Count anymore." Penelope says, pouting for a bit before her pout turned into a wide grin.
"What? What the hell? Let go of my sword!" The Baron says, trying to pull at his sword but Penelope's grip is tight. So tight that the blade had cut through the skin of her palm, drawing blood.
Penelope saw Lucas taking a step forward from her peripheral so she quickly shot him a look to make him stand back.
Penelope looks away from Lucas then stares at the Baron with her glowing emerald eyes and smiling in a saccharine way.
"Well then, Baron. I just came here to tell you that you're going down today!" Penelope says cheerily.
The Baron gapes in shock at her words, "How dare you, you feeble woman!"
Penelope feigned surprise at his words before yanking the sword away from his grasp with magic and throwing it somewhere. Penelope then grips the Baron's neck with her bloody hand as her eyes glow dangerously.
"Feeble?" Penelope whispers, tightening her grip that will cause for the Baron's airways to be blocked.
"Do you know what happened to the Count? He went batshit insane, shouting hysterics and nonsensical things. Do you want to know the person behind his insanity?" Penelope asks, a smile crossing her face as she watches the Baron's face turn blue, "Yes, Baron. It was me. The one that you called feeble is the one solely responsible for the Count's descent to insanity."
Penelope lets the Baron go and watches amusedly as he went down on his knees, trying to get his breathing back.
[Wow, Host. So badass!]
Penelope crouched down as she traces a finger all over the Baron's face before it stopped on his jaw, lifting his face with her finger.
"And you know what? I'm the same 'feeble' woman that will condemn you, and all the people involved, to death. Don't forget that." Penelope whispers into his ear, emerald eyes gleaming wickedly.
Penelope stoop up straight, kicking the Baron away and nodding at Lucas.
Lucas, who was eagerly watching the scene and waiting for her signal, grinned widely before a magic circle formed on his hand and fire started to spread all throughout the mansion.
Penelope and Lucas both exited the mansion casually, wind whipping their hair as the fire consumed the whole mansion in the background.
———
A/N: sorry for the late update! i was really really busy! also, we got to see our chaotic duo burning shit to the ground!