The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 102: Behind the facade

Chapter 102: Behind the facade

The name of General Canillas von Rodega of Archess was not only well known locally in his homeland but also in several kingdoms on the Maldava continent, particularly Terra, which was an immediate neighboring kingdom of Archess.

A brave and tenacious yet ruthless and dangerous soldier.

It was the characters that had widely circulated to describe the undefeated young General who had been on the battlefield since he was a teenager.

He was also known to be a cold, aloof, and distant person who was not easy to approach. His stony expression and limited use of words had become the reason people thought more than twice about initiating a conversation with him.

Before meeting the famous General as his son-in-law, what had been widely spread out there was what Duke de Lara had thought about him. The characters to portray the prominent General had been engraved in his mind.

It was also the reason that made the Duke of Barasca feel overly anxious and worried when he received the royal decree to marry his sole daughter to the General of the neighboring kingdom.

For a delicate lady like his daughter, who had never been involved in anything ruthless and rough, as she spent most of her time in a quiet, peaceful garden, the Duke could not imagine what would happen to her if she became the wife of the General.

But now, after witnessing with his own eyes how gentle the General who had become his son-in-law was to his daughter, the Duke felt beyond relief. Knowing how he looked after Joanna despite her unwelcoming behavior was like a lullaby for the Duke, who had spent many nights sleepless due to his anxiety and worry about the well-being of his daughter once she married the ruthless General.

He was now certain that the young man who was currently sitting and having dinner with him was not like when he interacted with other people.

The characters that had circulated out to describe him as such a person might be true, as personally, the Duke himself had regarded him as an aloof and distant person with a cold personality. Approaching him to build a conversation was also not easy, as the Duke still felt that their interaction tended to be awkward when they talked to each other, especially when the young man wore a stony expression on his face.

However, a change in his demeanor, even though it was only a sliver, as he might try to conceal it, as if trying to hide behind the facade, was noticeable when he brought up Joanna in their conversation.

The Duke could notice it, a glint of excitement in the young man’s eyes, as the Duke meant it to mention Joanna in their conversation as he wanted to know his son-in-law’s true feelings about her. Even though it might be too early to judge, relief swarmed in the Duke’s heart.

He had not seen the interaction between his daughter and his son-in-law. And this was the first time he saw them together in one room. However, he was somehow sure that, based on what he observed during their conversation before they headed to the dining room, the way his son-in-law interacted with Joanna should be an exception.

And he was becoming more certain that he was right about that as, right at the moment, he witnessed the young General frequently fixating his eyes to look at his wife, who kept lowering her head to enjoy her meals. For him, no words were needed to describe the meaning of the tender gaze that glimmered in his eyes for Joanna.

Although it felt like he saw a different person, the Duke still sensed that the General did not put in a fake act to care for his wife, just like how the Duke observed his son-in-law in their first meeting. As an older man, the Duke was certain that the young man’s actions towards his wife were genuine, and they were expressed naturally, as if they flowed out of his heart.

A fatherly smile was formed on the Duke’s lips. He was relieved to find what lay barely before his eyes.

However, he still stayed with his decision not to be involved in the young couple’s relationship, although, in his eyes, his son-in-law was at his wife’s mercy.

With a smile still on his face, the Duke, who had finished his meals, took another sip of red wine. Just after the wine was flowing through his throat, he set the glass back on the table and rang a bell that was placed next to him. Soon, there was a sound of a knock on the other side of the door.

"Come in," the Duke responded, placing the bell back on the table.

"Please take the letter we received from the castle yesterday. It is on the table in my study room," the Duke demanded once Mr. Green came to his side.

As Mr. Green proceeded with the task assigned to him and left the dining room, the room was again back with the three people and was only filled with a faint clinking sound of cutlery as no one uttered a word.

A few seconds later, a knocking sound on the door was heard again. After giving his response for the butler to enter the room, he took the letter that was politely handed over to him once the butler approached his side.

"Thank you, Tim." Duke John then asked the butler, Mr. Timmothy Green, to leave the room after he thanked him.

"A royal messenger arrived to hand in two invitation letters yesterday," informed the Duke, directing his conversation to Canillas, who had his attention on him as he had finished his meals as well.

He outstretched his hand with the letter to Canillas, which he received. "It seems His Majesty the King pushed forward the birthday banquet of the Crown Prince for Sir Canillas to attend."

Recalling the day before, Duke John was surprised when Mr. Green informed him that a royal messenger came to hand in two letters.

From the sight of the gold-enveloped letters, it took only a second for him to guess what the letter was about and to whom the other letter was addressed, as, so far, there had been no more than one identical letter sent to his residence.

However, he never thought that it was an invitation letter to celebrate the birthday of the Crown Prince, which was supposed to be held at the end of the month. But then the Duke grasped that it was pushed forward to the beginning of the month only for the General of Archess, the hero of two nations, to attend the banquet.

The King would not miss the chance, as he should know that the General would not stay in Terra for long.

As Canillas took the letter from his father-in-law, a faint smile appeared on his face when he saw the front part of the letter on which the address was written.