The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 70: Melody to the ears

Chapter 70: Melody to the ears

Joanna and the others arrived at the Powel Orphanage through the back door, and they were welcomed by Mrs. Powel, who had been waiting for their arrival.

Finding the young lady and her companion to be fine, Mrs. Powel, who had witnessed the bleeding Luca and felt extremely worried before, turned relieved.

Hurriedly off toward them, Mrs. Powel asked, "Are you good, my lady?" She took the hand of the young lady in hers. "And what about the others?" Mrs. Powel moved her worried gaze from the young lady to the people who were with her before looking back at her.

Joanna offered Mrs. Powel a reassuring smile and said, "We are all fine, Mrs. Powel. Please rest assured." She gave a gentle pat on the back of the wrinkled, warm hand of the old lady that held hers.

Joanna then asked, "How is Liam, Mrs. Powel?" She turned worried now, slightly knitting her brows out of fear of hearing the unwanted news.

She realized that she had taken far longer than expected to be back with the herbs, and that was all caused by the unexpected incident that she did not want to memorize in her mind.

Mrs. Powel shook her head at the question given by the young lady. Her expression was laced with despondency. "There is no progress yet. He was still asleep and refused to drink or eat anything I offered to him," informed Mrs. Powel, taking a sigh in the end.

Upon hearing the answer uttered by the old lady, Joanna turned to find Lucy, who stood behind her with the purple herbs in her gloved hands.

She talked to her in a low voice, "Please separate ten purple flowers from the stalks and wash them before you put them all in three cups of boiling water. Let them be boiled for about ten minutes, and then strain out the boiled flowers. Give the remaining liquid to me then. Do you get it, Lucy?"

Joanna explained the method to proceed with the purple-flowered herbs for Liam, and Lucy gave a firm nod of understanding before excusing herself to the kitchen to prepare the remedy as ordered by the young lady.

Watching Lucy disappear behind the door, Joanna turned to see the man, who had trailed by her side since they left the forest. When she was about to say something to him, she heard the old lady talk to her, which made Joanna turn her attention to her.

"Who is this gentleman, my lady? I have never seen him before," Mrs. Powel asked, observing the newcomer with kind eyes. She inquired more, "Is this gentleman a new knight of the Duchy of Barasca?"

After inquiring, Mrs. Powel turned to look at Joanna with her smiling eyes, wanting to know about the new face that had never set foot in the Powel Orphanage before. Although she was an old woman, she still had a good memory to recognize all the faces that belonged to the people of the Duchy of Barasca who had been here for escorting the young lady or for sending logistics.

Upon hearing such an expected question, Joanna wanted to say yes immediately with a loud voice, but she held back from risking herself by doing that absurd conduct. Besides, she could sense the sharp gaze piercing at the side of her head, which was solely delivered by someone who became the object of the conversation and stood next to her.

Aside from that, she did not want to create unnecessary offensive conduct that would make her end up being punished by him with a punishment that made her lose the ability to argue longer with him in the deep forest.

Moreover, how could a prominent general of the great Archess kingdom lower himself to be equal to a mere knight of a duchy? It would only be an insult to him and Archess. It could also inflict unnecessary problems between the two kingdoms and with her father. And she did not want that thing to happen, especially involving her family.

"This is General Canillas von Rodega, Mrs. Powel," Joanna briefly answered.

"General Canillas von Rodega?" Mrs. Powel asked, furrowing her brows. "But what is a general doing here, my lady?" She looked at Joanna with a puzzled expression, wondering why a general came to an orphanage on a secluded mountain.

She was familiar with the visitation of Barasca knights, but she had never had a general as a guest, as her orphanage had nothing to do with a general.

Mrs. Powel could remember faces well but not names, including a general like General von Rodega, who was famous in Terra and well-known as the husband of the young lady of de Lara.

Meanwhile, Canillas, the object of the conversation, kept his mouth closed, not bothering to take the initiative to introduce himself to the old lady who asked about who he was. He just stood in a relaxed manner beside his wife, waiting for her to answer the question.

As predicted, he could see that she was reluctant to reveal his true status as a response to the further question that was given by the older lady. But he would wait for her, giving her as much time as she needed to reveal his undeniable status as her husband.

While the husband was waiting for his cold-hearted wife to open up about his status as her husband, the wife was contemplating something that logically did not need to be contemplated.

She thought that giving her first answer to the question of Mrs. Powel was enough to keep her from saying that he was her husband through her own mouth.

Slightly glancing at the quiet man beside her, she would rather have him answer that question, knowing how adamant he was to maintain their marriage and make her his wife. However, as if able to decipher what was running through his wicked head at the moment, Joanna knew that she could not rely on him in this matter.

She was thankful to him and his men-at-arms for what they had done for her, but to admit him as her husband through her mouth was somehow hard for her. Those words could not slip easily from her mouth, as her heart somehow objected to giving in.

However, no matter how much she denied his status, she could not do that in front of the public’s eyes, as it was a fact that they were legally bound in marriage, and it was not a secret here in Terra.

Another thing to concern was that if he told Mrs. Powel that he was not her husband, while the facts said he was, Mrs. Powel would undoubtedly think that she was a liar, and she would be disappointed in her and not trust her anymore. Joanna also did not want to lie to a kind, sincere lady like Mrs. Powel.

The label of a liar that she created for herself, which had eaten her once in the forest before, was only to be applied to her so-called husband.

So, the only way was to tell the undeniable truth despite her reluctance.

"He is... my husband," Joanna said in a low voice, her eyes downcast on the floor. No slight enthusiast could be heard in her voice. But it was enough to be a heartwarming melody in Canillas’ ears.

He never thought that hearing the word husband for the first time through her soft voice could be so pleasant, somehow making his heart beat out of its rhythm, in contrast to the melodious, sweet nothing he just heard.