The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 66: Lost for words

Chapter 66: Lost for words

Joanna could not clearly see the wound on Luca’s left shoulder as she was in a position that was quite far from them, but there was no doubt that the wound should have been caused by the wolves.

However, she felt relieved that the General’s men and Lucy did not end up like what she had been worried about since she was alone in hiding. She was glad that they were still alive, although one of them was hurt.

Without waiting any longer, Joanna took a quick pace toward Canillas and his men-at-arms. Once she stood in front of them, she asked, "Is Sir Luca fine?"

Canillas and Fabio looked up when they heard the question come from the lady, but no one answered.

Fabio did not dare give an answer, as his master was with him. Besides, the wife of his master did not address to whom the question was directed. Hence, he just shifted his head back to examine the bitten wound of his colleague that occurred when his colleague tried to stop one of the wolves from approaching him in a hasty move. Therefore, he could prevent the other wolf from chasing their mistress.

It was an unpredictable, intense war that they had with the wolves. It was not easy for him and his colleague to conquer and kill them, as the size of the wolves was bigger and about twice as strong and agile as the common wolves they had ever faced. It made him guess if they were one of the rare species in accordance with their uncommon characteristics.

Aside from that, the difficulty that they faced in killing the wolves was caused by the fact that there were only two of them, with one of them already severely hurt, so the pressure to tackle down the wolves, which fiercely attacked them endlessly, became heavier.

Besides, they also had to protect the maid of their mistress, who was busy screaming and crying out loud with every move they made in the fight against the wolves, which her fraught had attracted the giant wolves.

A few seconds had passed since the young lady brought her query, and she was still standing in front of them with her fingers fidgeting, even though the only answer she received was silence.

In such an awkward situation, Fabio became worried. Why did his master not answer the question of his wife? How long would his master make her stand there without any response? Should he give the answer instead?

Fortunately, his worry did not last long as he heard his master finally give a response to his wife.

"To whom is your question directed, my lady?" asked Canillas, looking up at the woman who stood not far away from him.

Joanna sent a flicker of glare at the mischievous man before saying, "How is the condition of Sir Luca, Sir Canillas?" Joanna revised her question, providing a clear address in the end.

She pondered if he probably held a grudge against what had transpired between them in the deep forest.

She could direct the question to Sir Fabio, but she refrained from engaging in such offensive conduct. She did not want to treat the General in such a way, especially when there were many eyes on them at the moment. Besides, she was not that dull-headed to be openly disrespectful and humiliate him, which would only end up making him offended and showing his daunting side.

It was not even the last thing that she wanted for the General to implement what he had said to her in the deep forest, regardless of whether it was an empty threat or a real intention.

She could not act carelessly, following her ego to quickly end their relationship by making him grow annoyed at her in such a reckless way, although she was not alone as Barasca knights were currently present around her.

She had to be calculative, regarding the calculative man she had to face. The fact that he was still her husband made him hold the right to do what he could do as a husband, which, legally, she had no right to disobey. Therefore, she needed to be patient, taking every action carefully.

She also did not want to involve the people who had put their lives in danger to save her in her effort to build a tall wall between her and the General.

Apart from that reason, she also knew the loyalty that was built among the warriors. The General’s men would never take her side, as they would tend to obey and be on the side of his leader until they died. Thus, she could only direct her question to the General, despite her reluctance.

Meanwhile, the General, who was put into consideration in the mind of his wife, had a smile full of contentment on his face. At the revised question delivered by the cold-hearted woman before him, he felt entertained by how she tried to be patient in facing him, schooling her demeanor and holding back her disdain in order to not offend him.

Since he had stated his firm warning to her and they left the point where they were hiding, he noticed that she had taken consideration in responding to him, holding back to be disrespectful to him.

He did not want to act that way, but he had no choice but to be firm in order to make her change her attitude toward him, as he knew how determined and stubborn she was to get rid of him and end their marriage.

"Well, Luca’s left shoulder was bitten by one of the wolves, and he is bleeding profusely. We have to bring him back to the orphanage so that Fabio can do proper treatment on him, as the bleeding needs to be stopped and his opened wounds need to be sutured," informed Canillas, drifting his gaze from the wounds of his man to the lady who held concern on her face.

Noticing the General nail his piercing gaze on her, Joanna blinked several times before pulling the nail out as she turned her head away, avoiding the eyes that made her heart unknowingly thump. As her wandering eyes fell on one plant, her conscience suddenly returned to her as to what purpose she was here for.

Soon, Joanna departed from where she had stood, dashing towards the location where the plant grew. However, she could not take more than three steps as her movement was restrained by the sudden grip on her wrist. Turning around, she frowned when she found out who had made her unable to move forward.

"Not now, Joanna." Canillas shook his head. "Let’s do that later, after Luca gets treatment." With such a vague remark, Joanna got confused.

"What do you mean, Sir Canillas?" Joanna asked, furrowing her brows. Her facial expression weighed genuine perplexity.

"We can play hide and seek later as much as you want. But not now, because we have to take care of Luca first," he replied in a calm demeanor.

At the response given, the creases between Joanna’s brows got deeper as the confusion rose to another level. Her quizzical gaze swarmed around the face of the General as she tried to get the meaning of his remark behind his indecipherable expression.

She was about to open her mouth to demand a clear answer, but soon changed her mind, pursing her lips instead. It was when she noticed the corner of his lips slightly curled up, which was enough hint to help her untangle the knot of confusion in her head.

"Please worry not, Sir Canillas, as I am not in the mood to play hide and seek at the moment, especially when there is a wounded person here," Joanna retorted. "I am going to get the herbs that I wanted to take with me, as that was the main reason that made me visit this forest."

She tried to control her low voice to remain polite even though she was offended by his accusation, regardless of whether it was a serious or a teasing remark, that she had no conscience toward a wounded person who needed urgent treatment, attempting to run away from him as she left the de Lara mansion to be in this supposed secretive place.

But the response given by the man boiled her blood more as he kept his grip on her wrist while looking down at her with such an investigating gaze, as if doubting her words.

Letting out a sigh, Joanna commented, "I am not lying, Sir Canillas. Please let go of me so I can get the herbs I wanted, and we can go back to the orphanage to treat Sir Luca as soon as possible." Joanna stood up her point, holding his scrutinizing eyes in hers.

Raising one of his brows, Canillas replied, "But you said that you are a liar. So how can I trust you?"

Upon hearing the General’s questioning remark, Joanna was lost for words, opening and closing her lips to utter something, but no single word could be formed. She felt embarrassed more when she noticed a wicked smile appear on the General’s lips.

At this moment, although she was eaten by her own claim through him, she had the urge to unsheathe the dagger under her skirt and stab this cunning man so that he would stop pestering her and not show her that annoying smile anymore.

Joanna wanted to argue with him more, to defend herself, but the sound of a painful groan coming from the wounded knight made her decide to bury that inappropriate thought.

"Fine. If you don’t believe me, then come with me to where I am going to pick the plant," Joanna suggested, trying to finish her main purpose and avoiding being indulged in trivial matters.

To her astonishment, the man before her plastered a wide smile as if he had waited for her to bring up that suggestion from her own lips.

"My pleasure, dear wife." With that, Canillas reached his left hand out with a slight bow, as if gesturing to his wife to show the way to where the plant she was going to get was located.

His other hand stayed to hold his wife’s delicate wrist.