"Mommy, can we have chicken cream soup later for dinner?"
"Of course, Emilia. Anything for my daughter."
"Thank you, mommy!"
"Then we should also ask your father what he wants to eat later."
"Yes! Oh, we should also ask Loupie too."
"You're right."
Then two pairs of eyes suddenly look at the little girl who has been watching them ever since she entered the carriage earlier. Penelope is just looking at them with a cute expression on her face without blinking her eyes. Her nanny is busy braiding her long hair. But there are hundreds of thoughts running inside her head behind the cute expression she is showing at them.
Penelope is actually judging them inside her head. These two are talking about how are they going to spend their dinner later. They even try to include the young duke in their plans. And these two are talking as if they are a complete family and Penelope is just an outsider.
'Disgusting.'
"Penelope, what do you want to eat later?" Amanda asked her with a smile.
The little girl did not answer her. Instead, she just stares at Amanda for a moment before she turns her head to look at her nanny who just finished tying a ribbon on her hair. Penelope smiles first before she snuggles closer to her nanny.
"Nanny, can I have a chocolate pudding later?" Penelope asked.
"You should ask your father first, little miss." Lisa gently replied. "Remember when you ate a lot of candies before and had a toothache?"
Penelope can still remember that part. Although she was still young at that time, Penelope already had an excellent memory especially if she experienced the situation herself. She was eating a lot of candies at that time when she suddenly felt a terrible pain in her mouth. She can still remember her father who looked so scared seeing her crying in pain at that time.
After an hour, a healer that her father specifically called from the Royal Palace arrived and quickly attended to her needs. She was given an antidote for toothache and the pain instantly disappeared. Since then, the young duke supplied a lot of medicines in their mansion in case something similar happens to her.
Aside from it, the young duke becomes attentive to the food she eats especially desserts. Penelope can only eat her desserts only if her father gives her permission. And since she already ate a chocolate cake earlier, there is a chance that the young duke will not allow her to eat any sweets before bedtime.
But that's fine. With the things that will happen soon, Penelope is sure that she cannot eat anything before this day ends. Pursing her lips, she quietly put her hand inside the pocket of her dress and touch the items inside of it.
"Little miss?" Lisa calls her again.
"Oh. Nanny, I don't want any ouchie in my teeth. It really hurts." Penelope said before pouting her lips.
"Of course, little miss. We don't want you to be hurt again." Lisa replied as she dotingly pats her back.
"I will just tell daddy to read me and Mr. Rabbit a fairytale!"
"Hmm. I'm sure the young duke will do it for you."
While these two are talking animatedly, they did not notice the way Amanda looks at them. There is a smile on her face as if something good will happen anytime soon. Emilia is also looking at those two but she has no expression on her face. But the way she clutches the skirt of her dress is too tight that her knuckles are starting to turn white.
Emilia has no idea what will happen today. She was just told that before this day ends, Penelope will no longer be a daughter of the Dresvil Family. Her mother said that Penelope will finally disappear from their life and all the things that she have will become hers. Hearing that, Emilia cannot wait for that moment to happen.
Emilia doesn't like Penelope. The young duke's daughter has everything she wants in life. She has a lot of beautiful toys, dresses, jewelry, and shoes. She also comes from a good and rich family. Most importantly, Penelope has a doting and loving father who is ready to give everything as long as she asks for it.
But since her mother promised that Penelope will soon disappear from their lives, then all that's left for Emilia is to wait patiently. Before this day ends, she will never see her stepsister again. There is also a chance that the young duke will finally love and dote on her because she will become his only daughter soon. The anticipation is spreading fast in her heart the more she thinks about it.
All of a sudden, the carriage suddenly stops. They can hear the coachman talking with someone outside the carriage. Soon, they heard the coachman screaming in pain which makes Lisa becomes alert and Emilia to be scared in her seat.
The only calm in this situation is Amanda and Penelope. But maybe Amanda is too absorbed in her fantasy as she fails to notice the little girl who quietly checks her pocket and the things she bought earlier in the plaza. The little girl ignores the scream of their coachman outside and takes a deep breath. Penelope has to be brave if she doesn't want the things in the past to happen again.
Just like what she expected, the door opens revealing the faces of those men who attacked their carriage. Amanda quickly puts her acting skills on the roll as she pulls Emilia closer to her. As for Lisa, she also pulls Penelope and hugs her tightly. She is trying to protect her little miss from their attackers.
"Get her!" A huge man said while pointing in Penelope's direction.
One of them quickly approaches the carriage and tries to grab Penelope on her arm. But Lisa throws all the things she can touch in the man's direction. The man clicked his tongue in annoyance before he decided to get her nanny first before he roughly pull Penelope's arm. Lisa keeps on screaming while trying to escape from the man's grip.
As for Penelope, she hissed in pain when the man's grip on her arm is getting tighter. But she still takes a few seconds to take a look at the mother and daughter pair in the carriage. Amanda's arm is still wrapped around her daughter's body. As for Emilia, the glint of happiness is visible in her eyes although the fear because of this situation is still lingering on her body.
When Amanda sees Penelope looking at them, she thought the little girl will ask for her help. Any children who encounter this kind of situation will become scared and traumatized. But when she finally has a clearer view of Penelope's face, she feels surprised to see her face that doesn't show any anxiety or fear. Instead, the little girl is looking at them with a disgusted look on her face.
Finally, Amanda can now feel that something is wrong in this situation.
When the man successfully pulls Penelope and her nanny out of the carriage, they roughly push them on the dusty road. Although Lisa gets a scratch when her knees touch the ground, she ignores it as she wraps her arms around her little miss. Penelope can feel her nanny's body trembling in fear while still trying to protect her in this situation. The five bulky men surround them so they cannot escape that easily.
While Lisa is hugging her so tight, Penelope quietly looks around their surroundings first. Their coachman is lying dead not too far from their carriage and there is a small pool of blood around him. The place where they ambushed them is also isolated since it's near the forest. It seems like Amanda carefully made this plan just to get rid of her.
"This is the young duke's daughter, right?" A man with a black tattoo on his arm asked.
"Yes." Their leader confirms. Then he looks at Penelope with a menacing look on his face. "Sorry, kid. But someone paid us a lot of money to kill you."
Those are the same lines she heard from them in the past. At that time, Penelope was crying so hard while calling for her stepmother to help them. She was so scared because those men were scary and her nanny was also trembling in fear. But Amanda remained seated inside the carriage as if she cannot hear her cries and the evil laughter coming from those men.
"Let's go now before anyone can see us." Their leader said. "We will bring the kid and that woman to our hideout."
When the man tries to hold them, Lisa keeps on resisting them. Of course, she is scared of these men. But Lisa is forcing herself to be brave to protect the little girl in her arms from these people.
But what can she do in this situation? Lisa tries to resist them, but the leader still successfully pulls her away from the little girl she's trying to protect. Their leader throws Lisa to one of his men and looks at the small child in front of him. She looks so delicate and cute—A typical image of a pampered child from a rich family.
A pity that a child like this one has a stepmother who doesn't like her. The leader grabs the child and carries her like a small sack on his side. After killing this child and feeding her body to the wild animals in the forest, they will next enjoy spending the huge amount of money paid to them for doing this job.
"Let's go now—Aahhh!"
Their leader is about to order his men to go back to their hideout when he suddenly feels pain on his side. He immediately throws the little girl somewhere and puts a hand on his bleeding wound. Upon checking, the leader received a stab on his side and it looks painful in one's eye. Turning his head, the leader sees the little girl he carried a while ago is now holding a bloody hairpin in her hand.