3rd Person pov
Vinter led Penelope to the living room.
The servants smiled as the two made their way to their destination.
The maids spoke to each other in hushed voices about how adorable the two looked.
Said two were flustered but did their best to put on a straight face.
They finally reached the room and Penelope took a seat as Vinter asked the maid standing nearby to bring them a cup of tea.
"My lady.... Does the Duke know of this?" - Vinter
Penelope shook her head.
"No one from the duchy knows about them. Save for Albert." - Penelope
Vinter furrowed his eyebrows.
"Albert?" - Vinter
"The carriage driver. He may look grumpy but he is quite nice once you get to know him." - Penelope
He nodded.
"I see. I'm just glad the Duke doesn't know." - Vinter
"Pardon?" - Penelope
'Is he embarrassed because I'm the fake Eckhart Princess? Would he be happy if I was Yvonne?' - Penelope
She looked down at her feet.
"Ah! No! Its not what you think! It's just that I am quite nervous! And I am still trying to figure out how I'll explain the situation to them!" - Vinter
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Y-You don't have to explain the situation to them.... I can do it....!" - Penelope
"My lady... I'm afraid I cannot do that. The two of us are in this together. Those children are not only your responsibility. They're mine too. They are our children. Which is why, please do not hesitate to depend on me. I will help you and protect you to the best of my abilities." - Vinter
He took her hand and placed a delicate kiss on the back of her palm.
He looked up at her flushed face and smiled reassuringly.
Penelope looked away and nodded as a small, shy smile took over her features.
Her eyes wandered to the clock and then widened.
The hour hand almost touched two and the minutes hand pointed at nine. The seconds hand menacingly ticked closer to twelve, causing another minute to pass.
The Duke had summoned her for a luncheon that day.
If she didn't make it on time, she would get in trouble.
She turned to the father of her two children and spoke in a rushed voice.
"I need to get to the mansion for the luncheon. I'll be in trouble if I don't make it on time. No one knows that I snuck out with Rael." - Penelope
She stood up, waving her hand towards the grandfather clock.
"The luncheon is at two and the it takes half an hour to get yo the mansion from here. I'll never make it on time. I'm done for." - Penelope
"My lady.... I can get you there in under a minute." - Vinter
Penelope looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, her mouth slightly open.
"I shall explain it to you the next time we see each other but for now......" - Vinter
"I can only teleport you outside the mansion, since magic cannot be used in the ducal premises from the outside." - Vinter
"Before we leave, could I please bid the kids farewell?" - Penelope
"Of course. Right this way." - Vinter
They met the kids halfway and the two siblings ran into their mother's loving arms.
"Sweethearts, I need to go now, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't cause trouble for Daddy, okay? Mommy loves you." - Penelope
"Ella will be good!" - Ella
Penelope smiled at her daughter and then turned to her son.
"Can I trust you to be good, Agent Son?" - Penelope
He immediately straightened and saluted.
"You can count on me, Agent Mom!" - Rael
She chuckled and ruffled his hair.
"Thats my boy." - Penelope
She kissed their foreheads and bid the two goodbye.
Vinter held her hand tightly.
He teleported outside the Eckhart mansion, right beside the hole in the wall.
Penelope's head spun as she did her best to stand straight.
Vinter gently wrapped an arm around her waist to support her.
"Are you alright? Magic can cause dizziness sometimes." - Vinter
'But only if you're too weak' is what he did not say.
Now, he didn't call her weak. He meant weakness as in not having enough nutrition.
She nodded.
"Ooh! We can sneak in from the hole here! Thats how I snuck out with Rael." - Penelope
He got on his knees and peeked in from the hole.
"There's no one around. Well, that just makes it easier for us." - Vinter
Not once in his life did Vinter think that he would sneak into a mansion through a hole in a wall.... But the things we do for family..... And Vinter did not regret it. It was for his future wife's safety afterall.
They stood together.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" - Vinter
"I guess so." - Penelope
"You don't have to sneak out through that hole this time. Just tell me when you're free. And I'll sneak you out myself." - Vinter
She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you. Vinter." - Penelope
His breath hitched and his heart raced when he heard her say his name.
She mustered all her courage and stood on her tippy toes before planting a kiss on his cheek. A little too close to his lips.
Slowly she pulled away and stared at his beautiful purple eyes that were wide open. The same purple eyes that their daughter had inherited from him.
A blush was painted all over his cheeks as he kept staring at her.
The way her dark lashes fluttered. How her eyes were fixed on him and only him.
How she looked perfect....
She slowly broke eye contact.
"I-I should get going now...." - Penelope
He placed his right hand that was formerly on her waist on the back of his neck.
"I shall see you tomorrow, my l-......" - Vinter
He looked at her turquoise eyes before smiling.
"My Love." - Vinter
Now it was her turn to blush.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'll see you tomorrow then?" - Penelope
He smiled back at her and nodded.
She slowly turned around and walked away, sometimes turning back to look at him.
Vinter got out through the hole and leaned against the wall, sighing dreamily.
He smiled to himself before teleporting back to his room.
Penelope dashed to her room and changed into clothes appropriate for a luncheon.
The entire time she kept smiling since Vinter took up all the space in her mind.
His words played on her mind like a loop. Over and over.
She slowly walked to the dining hall, humming a soft tune.
Looking at the clock nearby, she realized that she was right on time.
The guard opened the door for her and she entered gracefully with the same happy smile resting on her face.
Not once had she stopped thinking about Vinter.
The three males along with the servants simply kept staring at her, wide eyed.
She took her seat on the Duke's right and in front of Derrick.
The food arrived. As usual the cutlery were toys.
Penelope simply propped her chin on her palm and stared at nothing in particular.
She was too happy to even bother about the cutlery being toys.
It wasn't as if she was hungry anyway. She wouldn't be needing those indigestion pills that she always carried around. She had snacks at Vinter's earlier.
Speaking of Vinter....
"My love."
The hand that had been supporting her chin moved to cover her idiotic smile.
Her face grew warmer and she couldn't stop a little giggle from escaping past her lips.
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I do not own 'Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess'.
See you all in next chapter! 👋
–ItsKateD