"Waaaaaaaaaagggghhhh!" Ella yelled out.
Vinter was startled.
Rael simply leaned away.
He looked at Vinter with fake sympathy also known as sarcasm.
"Look Dad. Your lovely daughter. And my lovely sister. She's doing her best to be heard. Empowering women at such a young age." Rael spoke.
He wiped away his crocodile tears.
Vinter shook his head at his son as his hand travelled up to his forehead.
He bent down before picking up Ella.
He patted her back to comfort her.
"What did you say to her, Rael?" Vinter asked.
"Nothing."
"Ella is not adopted!" She cried out.
"Rael."
"Sorry."
Vinter sighed once again.
"Daddy! Is Ella adopted?!"
"Of course not, sweetheart!" Vinter comforted before asking Erik to take her to her room.
Vinter then addressed the crowd of servants in front of him. Only a few trusted ones knew about him being a sorcerer and an information guild leader. Like Erik and Leona, the head maid.
"Raphael and Gizella are my children." Shocked murmers filled the room. "They are from the future. They seem to have touched some magical books. They will be staying here until we find a way to get them back to their timeline. I expect everyone to treat them like the Young Master and the Young Princess of Berdandi. None of this should leave the mansion. That is all. Please return to your posts."
Excited voices filled the room as everyone was overjoyed that their lord would have children in the near future.
Save for one. She clenched the hem of her uniform. She glared at Rael through her black fringes with her dark brown eyes. She turned on her heel and stormed away.
She reached her small room and threw off everything from the desk in anger. Her roommate barged into the room after hearing the ruckus.
"What on earth are you doing?! Are you out of your mind?!" Her roommate yelled.
"It was supposed to be me!" She yelled. "Me!"
Her roommate scoffed. "You really are out of your mind, Evanna."
She smiled. "Did you hit your head?"
Evanna glared. "Shut your trap, Rose. I am the future Marchioness! His grace did not marry because he loves me! Me! I am his future bride! I will be the one bearing his child! Not the mother of those two! Its me! He loves me!"
Rose shook her head. "You..." She pointed. "are delusional. I suggest you give up before it is too late. Also...!" She took another look around the room. "You are cleaning up." She then left the room.
Evanna fumed with rage. "When I become the Marchioness, I will make you regret it."
.
.
.
Penelope laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
"I wonder what Vinter's doing....." She sighed. She turned to lay on her front and buried her face in her hands. "I miss them....!"
She gasped before sitting up. "Tomorrow is the Second Prince's Birthday Banquet! I can meet him there!" She squealed.
She pulled her legs to her chest and smiled ear to ear.
.
.
.
Evanna loved the Marquis. Almost all the servants in the mansion were aware of this. Including Eunice, Evanna's older sister.
"She's being crazy! I'm telling you!" Angelica was frustrated. "She even trashed the room! Rose was livid!"
Eunice continued cleaning the ornaments on the table. "Meh. Its just a small crush. She'll get over it."
Eunice was a nonchalant, realistic, rational, laid back but hardworking person. Like her younger sister, she too had dark black hair and brown eyes. But unlike Evanna, whose wavy hair reached her waist, Eunice had her hair chopped short.
It gets in the way.
Looks don't matter. But promotion and money does.
-Eunice, Year XXXX
"I think I should shave my head." Eunice said.
"Please don't." Angelica said. Unlike her friend Eunice, Angelica was quite concerned about her looks. Her hair was a gentle brown and almost looked orange in the light of the fireplace. She had gentle freckles on her face that made her look friendlier. Her grey eyes were usually filled with mirth.
"I'm concerned about Evanna! What if this takes a turn for the worse?" Angelica tried to get her point across through Eunice's thick head.
"Then she gets in trouble, I suppose." She spoke as if she did not care.
"Eunice! She is your little sister! Are you not worried about her?" Angelica reasoned.
"I was.... But not anymore." She said before walking away.
Angelica was taken aback. "What do you mean?! Eunice! Hey answer me!" She strode towards her and swung her around. "What are you talking about? Explain!"
"I don't have to explain myself to you, Angelica."
Angelica stood there and watched her best friend walk away.
Eunice walked through the hallways, glancing out the window every now and then. She stopped when her eyes fell on Evanna, who was mesmerized, looking at something beautiful. She followed her gaze and saw the Marquis at the window of his office, trying to read a letter in the moonlight.
Eunice grimaced, remembering the conversation she had with Evanna.
"Just go away! Stop acting like my mom!"
"Hey-!"
"Why dont you just drop dead?!"
They didn't speak to each other since.
But Eunice still cared. Deep inside.
"Are you not worried about her?"
Of course she was. But its not like Evanna would listen to her.
Eunice knew. She knew that loving the Marquis would bring Evanna nothing but misery. But Evanna inherited her stubbornness from their mother. There was nothing Eunice could do.
Save for working hard. If Evanna finally lost it and committed a sin, she would at least be able to get the Marquis to pardon her little sister, considering Eunice's hard work and dedication.
She glanced at her own palms which her rough from working and then at her sister. "Idiot." She muttered before walking away.
.
.
.
Vinter read the letter from the Imperial Palace.
"The Second Prince's Birthday Banquet... I wonder if Penelope will be there." He smiled to himself. He then looked out the window and noticed a maid looking at him. She was smiling at him.
He smiled back at her politely before walking back inside.
"Dad! What's that?" Rael asked.
"A letter from the Imperial Palace." He replied.
"What's in it?" His son asked excitedly.
"Its an invitation to the Second Prince's Birthday Banquet. It will be held tomorrow."
"Ella and I can't go, right?" He asked.
Vinter felt a pang of hurt. "Sorry Rael...."
"Thats alright... We'll just play with Erik and Hannah!" He beamed. "Mom will be there too, right? Tell her to visit!"
Vinter chuckled before patting his head. "I will. Now off to bed!"
"Okay! Good night, Dad!" He then walked out of the office to go to his own chambers.
Vinter smiled. He could not wait for the future.
—————
Thank you for being patient with me. I have Boards this year so I have to study a lot more than I had to last year.
Homeworks and projects have been piling up and I'm getting absolutely no time to write. Not to mention tuitions. (I'll be copy pasting this in my other stories, too.)
I do not own 'Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess'.
See you all in next chapter! 👋
–ItsKateD