The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 65: The back before her

Chapter 65: The back before her

Joanna kept on walking, following the path that was taken by Canillas, without thinking.

She wondered if he had ever visited this forest before, as he looked familiar with every route he picked. The way he walked was very resolute, with no slight doubt. Meanwhile, she could not remember the path she had chosen when she ran madly before.

Noticing how far they had walked, she felt incredible at how mad she was to run this far. No wonder she felt suffocated and not able to breathe easily, which made her stop running and hiding. Even now, she felt her legs were too tired and weak to support her body.

It made her wonder more if she could find the way back home by herself without the man walking ahead of her guiding the way.

Thinking about it more deeply, she knew the answer was that she might end up wandering around the forest until night, or worse, until the next day, or worse, never find the way out, except for Barasca knights coming to her rescue. Or else, she might have been captured by the mysterious people and their pets.

Just thinking about that was enough to make Joanna feel her skin tingling and tight with goosebumps.

Remembering the wolves, Joanna previously thought that the General had lied to her, as he only wanted to scare her, saying that they belonged to the mysterious people who targeted her. However, it was not long before she realized that he told her the truth, as she had never encountered wild creatures in the forest before.

Moreover, if there were one, Mr. or Mrs. Powel should have informed her and all the kids about that and would not have allowed them to play in the forest.

Aside from that, she knew that her grandfather had long assigned Barasca knights to secure the area, including the forest around the orphanage, clearing them from any wild creatures and building a fence to prevent them from wandering around.

Was the fence already old and broken, so it was not effective anymore to provide protection around the forest? Or were those mysterious people who might have destroyed the fence around the forest? Joanna wondered in her mind.

"Ouch!!!" Joanna suddenly interjected when her forehead bumped into a hard thing in front of her.

Rubbing her forehead, she looked up, only to meet a pair of green eyes looking down at her.

"Are you sleepy?" She heard his voice for the first time since they walked, leaving the point where he found her hiding place. But she knew that it was not a genuine, concerned question by looking at the playful smirk on his face.

"No. I just didn’t notice the plank root before," Joanna responded, still rubbing her forehead. She was not wrong to think that the man before her had a steel-like body just by how her forehead was hurt now.

When Joanna noticed their close proximity, she took a step backward while keeping on rubbing her forehead, not looking at him.

It was her fault for bumping into his back because she had her mind too busy wandering all over the place. Therefore, she missed the small plank root that was hidden among the grass in front of her. If she focused when walking, even if the size of the root was small, she might have noticed it.

As a result, she stumbled and bumped into the taut back of the mischievous man in front of her.

"If you are tired, we can have a rest for a while," the mischievous man suggested, turning around to face her. She did not find the smirk on his face now.

Joanna shook her head. "I am fine, Sir Canillas. We can continue walking."

She could not delay any more time to return to the initial point where she found the herbal plant for the remedy of Liam. She was not sure how long she had hidden. She also could not predict it, as she could not see how high the sun had rested in the sky.

"Do you want me to carry you?" The mischievous man offered, taking a step forward to approach the lady who rubbed her forehead, which caused her to take another step backward.

She shook her head in a quick motion. "No. I can walk by myself," Joanna refused, maintaining her distance from the grinning man before her.

This man was really such a handful, Joanna nagged in her mind.

"Be careful with your steps, my lady. Otherwise, I have no choice but to carry you, as I will become more certain that you are tired and sleepy if you bump into me again," Canillas reminded the lady in a not-so-serious way as a sly smile crossed his face.

Joanna remained silent, only giving a nod instead of a retort. It was she who had awakened that mischievous man, who was calm and quiet before. However, looking at him, not in the same daunting state as before, she felt more relaxed.

Taking a quiet sigh of relief as the man did not prolong his playfulness and resumed to walk, Joanna again followed him in silence. She did not dare think about other things but focused on walking carefully this time.

Not long later, a collective of footsteps echoed in the forest air, approaching their direction. Joanna turned alarmed, moving forward to close her distance from the General and hide behind his broad back.

However, to her dismay, the General just stood still, not pulling out his sword like he did before when they heard marching footsteps approaching their hiding place.

"My lady!"

Recognizing the voice that called her, Joanna took a breath of relief, stepping out from behind Canillas. She understood now why he did not take any defensive action. It was Sir Sylvester who called her.

The middle-aged knight came to approach the young lady, who had disappeared, with two Barasca knights as the rest were searching for her in another area of the forest.

"Please forgive us for failing to guard you, my lady," Sir Sylvester apologized before he and the knights offered a deep bow. Deep regret and guilt were apparent on their faces as they felt incompetent in carrying out their duty to protect the daughter of their master.

Joanna shook her head and asked them to stop bowing at her. "No, Sir Sylvester. It was me who didn’t inform you that I was going to the forest. It is not your fault at all. Please rest assured," Joanna assured the commander of Barasca knights, offering a kind and sincere smile to him.

When she found the guilt still painted on his wrinkled face, Joanna said, "As you can see, I am fine, Sir Sylvester. I wasn’t alone as well." When saying that, Joanna glanced at the General, only to find him already walking ahead by himself, leaving her with her guardian.

Looking at his back, which got further away, Joanna shifted her eyes to see Sir Sylvester. She said in a low voice, "I am fine because Sir Canillas was there with me. So, please don’t blame yourself, Sir Sylvester."

Without waiting for the senior knight to remove the guilt, Joanna resumed walking towards the path that was left by the man, whose back looked smaller as their distance got further away.

As she kept on walking, Joanna arrived at the point that was familiar to her. Before being certain that her memory was still working right, Joanna heard another call.

"My lady!" It was Lucy who ran towards her, and Joanna could see streaks of tears on her cheeks when she came closer to her. The trace of mucus on her upper lips was apparent as well.

"My lady, are you fine?" Lucy asked, crying heavily, once she arrived in front of the young lady. She scanned the young lady from top to bottom, full of anxiety and worry, regardless of her own condition, where she looked so disheveled and worrisome.

Joanna responded, offering a nod along with a reassuring smile. She held Lucy’s hand and said, "I am fine, Lucy. So, stop crying now."

Looking around, Joanna held her breath with her eyes wide open when her gaze fell on the gore sight on one side, across from the spot where she stood with Lucy and her knights.

Blood was splattered everywhere. The previous natural fragrance of a typical old forest that filled the space in the air was eliminated by the strong metallic smell of blood.

At such a gore sight, her heart thumped erratically for the umpteenth time today as she guessed whose blood it was, and it found its rhythm again when her guess was proven to be wrong.

The black giant wolves that suddenly appeared with their teeth proudly displayed when they gnashed at her and her attendants were lying motionless on the bloody grassy ground. Their teeth were still showing off, as they died with their mouths open.

Not far from the dead wolves, Luca sat on the ground with his back leaning on a tree trunk. His previously white tunic was no longer to be found, as what could be seen was a dark red color. Blood covered his attire.

He was groaning in pain with his eyes tightly closed while gritting his teeth. His breath went rapid along with a louder groan when Fabio, who crouched on one side of him, did something to his left shoulder.

Canillas, who also crouched on the other side, tried to calm Luca by placing his hand on Luca’s right shoulder.

Based on that view, it was clear that the General’s man, who had protected her, was wounded.