Penelope is in a foul mood. Her little face is scrunched up with crossed arms on her chest. Only her Nanny Lisa is worrying beside her. The other two passengers inside the carriage are just watching her with smiles on their faces.
Amanda and Emilia must be thinking that she is just throwing a tantrum. The duchess brought her daughters to the plaza since the weather is nice and the sun is not too hot for their skin. The plaza will be busy today because a few foreign merchants will stay in their kingdom for a week.
There are rare items that can be seen in the plaza. Amanda volunteered to bring their daughters to the plaza today so they can unwind for a bit. After a few considerations, Clementine gave his approval to it. He is worried that his daughter is getting bored and lonely staying in their mansion for the whole day.
The night before their trip, Penelope kept asking her father to come with them today but she still received a helpless rejection from him. Clementine cannot take a leave from his work since the things he needs to review in the Royal Palace are all confidential. It is also a crucial and sensitive time for them since the royal family of the Lastoval Kingdom will visit them soon. As their king's advisor, he cannot just leave his position to anyone.
Clementine spent his night coaxing her until she fell asleep. The young duke promised Penelope that they will have a vacation together after finishing all of his work in the royal palace. Clementine also told her that he will spend a lot of time with her once his vacation starts. To ease her boredom, he added that Penelope should try to enjoy her time together with her mother and sister while visiting the plaza.
That suggestion only earned a bitter look on Penelope's face. Join her stepmother and stepsister in visiting the plaza? If Penelope is really going with them without any preparation, she's afraid that there is no more opportunity for her to come back. The horrible events in her past life will just repeat again.
In the end, Penelope ended up joining these two vile snakes on their trip to the plaza. When Clementine saw her face earlier, he thought his daughter is still sulking and feeling mad. Clementine gave a pouch full of gold coins to Lisa and instruct her to buy all the things that will catch Penelope's attention in the plaza. Seeing his daughter like this, Clementine repeatedly promised himself that he will definitely spend more time with Penelope after finishing his work.
Soon, he said goodbye to Penelope and kissed her cheeks. Clementine mentioned that he will try to go home early today to join them for dinner. When Penelope looks at her father for a long time, she let out a soft huff and gave him a tight hug. The little girl also promised that she will see him again later.
And that promise is something that Penelope will fulfill no matter what. She knows by heart the events that will happen today. Amanda together with her daughter will create a fake scene after they go back to the mansion. Five bulky men will suddenly appear on their way home later claiming that they are sent by the young duke's enemy to kidnap his biological daughter.
While bringing them to the deepest part of the forest, Penelope and Lisa overheard the conversations of those men in her first life. They did not bother tying them up since Lisa is only a weak lady while Penelope is just a small child. They openly discussed that Amanda paid them a lot of money just to kill the Young Duke's daughter. Those men even laughed evilly saying they earned a lot of money by just killing a small child.
That is the first memory of Penelope in the past that she will never forget. Amanda definitely wants to get rid of her. That snake succeeded in the past. But in her second life, Penelope will do everything that she can just to survive this crisis.
"Young miss, do you want to eat this? I packed a few of these earlier thinking that you will like something sweet." Lisa said while showing a small basket to Penelope that contains different types of pastries inside.
"...Can I have a pink macaroon, nanny?"
"Of course!"
Lisa quickly gives her what she is asking. Looking at the macaroons in her small hands, Penelope can now see the fresh strawberries in the middle of it. She can also smell the sweet scent coming from the pastry. With a sigh, Penelope carefully takes a small bite and slowly chews it in her mouth.
She feels like eating sweets in this situation will help to improve her mood right now. How can she feel happy when the two of her most hated people are now sitting in front of her? Not to mention, these people are just hiding their malicious intentions towards her with smiles on their faces.
She really tried to come up with any possible solution for the past two days. Penelope racked her brain just to think of some ways how to save her Nanny Lisa and herself from the danger that will happen to them. She really considered telling all of it to her father, but Penelope decided not to do it anymore.
No matter how much the young duke loves his daughter, it will still be absurd to believe the words of a six-year-old child saying her stepmother paid some people to kidnap and murder her in the forest. First of all, it is suspicious for a pampered little girl to know the adult words like kidnap and murder. Second, Penelope will just gather a lot of suspicions and they might say she is getting crazy at a very young age.
So telling her father about these things is not a good option for Penelope. It is also the same with her nanny. She does not want to make them worried.
Penelope also feels frustrated in her situation. She is currently a six-year-old child. But she's not that stupid to think that she can do this on her own. Penelope has to gather any possible help that she can get before they finish visiting the plaza. While eating her macaroon, the little girl did not notice that the duchess is looking at her with viciousness in her eyes.
While patting Emilia on her head, Amanda is secretly glaring at the child who is also a huge thorn in her life. The moment she saw that child's face, Amanda quickly had the urge to dispose of her as soon as possible. Fortunately, Amanda finally finds the right time to do it.
Amanda suddenly remembered how Clementine readily gave a lot of money to Lisa just to buy a lot of things for Penelope earlier. She suddenly feels a burst of anger in her heart because of it. They were married for two years now but Amanda still cannot grasp her husband's heart and attention. Clementine is always treating her well, but Amanda feels like he is just treating her like a close acquaintance instead of a wife.
All of his attention is still focused on his biological daughter. Every time he comes back to their mansion after his work, the first thing that Clementine will ask is about the things that Penelope did for the whole day. There are numerous times that he will go straight to his daughter's room just to see what she is doing. Being in this situation always makes Amanda feel so neglected and unloved.