The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 76: The cornered prey

Chapter 76: The cornered prey

As the night deepened, the candles and oil lamps grew brighter, brightening each room in the Powel Orphanage. It included the room that Joanna had usually occupied when she visited the orphanage.

It was a room that had been dedicated for her by the Powel couple, which was designed to be feasible for a noble lady, as she had frequently come and stay for at least four days for every visitation.

The breeze that blew in from the mountain was no longer a soothing cool but turned into a chill. But it was a pleasant evening for Joanna, who finally could be calm and relaxed after such a hard and dreadful day. It was like going back to the sanctuary after a lot of unexpected things happened and threatened one’s life today.

Aside from that, knowing that both sick people, Liam and Sir Luca, had experienced quite significant progress in health recovery made her able to soothe her mind.

Liam gathered his consciousness in the late afternoon, about two hours after she gave him the second batch of herbal remedies with the same method she used for the first one.

He could have his meals and drinks without vomiting or diarrhea, which was a relief. Although he was still pale and weak, he would recover soon, as he just needed to eat and drink more in order to boost his energy and refill the loss of what had been thrown out of his body.

Meanwhile, about the General’s wounded man, according to Sir Sylvester, his face began to regain color, although he was still unable to lift his body from the bed due to dizziness that was caused by blood loss and the bitten wounds that limited his movements. She had also asked Mrs. Powel and Mrs. Valore to prepare spinach, beans, and berries for Sir Luca, as that kind of diet could help him recover.

After finishing her dinner and washing up, the freshened Joanna was now sitting in front of the dressing table in her room. In her white night gown, she was combing her long, wide s-curved wavy black hair, which was now clean after being washed with the help of Lucy.

She still remembered how a sharp gasp escaped her lips when she took a look at her own reflection in the mirror after she decided to call for the day. What greeted her was a messy, disheveled figure of a woman whose long hair was tangled and dirty due to the moss that was stuck on it.

Since she returned from the forest, she had not stepped inside her room to rest or do any activities in there at all. Instead, she spent her time in Liam’s room to accompany him and monitor his condition.

She only left Liam’s room not long after she finished having the heavy conversation with the General, as Mrs. Powel insisted on having a simple lunch together with the General in the dining room as a sign to welcome him to the orphanage.

Joanna guessed that the moss might get well rested in her hair when she leaned her head against the tree trunk where she was hiding in the deep forest. It meant that it had been there since then.

Not only that, even her light blue dress was tinted with the same color of moss and dirt, making it look like dark clouds hovering on the blue sky.

In her life, she admitted that it was the worst appearance that she had ever had so far. If she went home in this state, she would not doubt that her father might not recognize her.

When Joanna recalled her funny appearance and imagined the response of her father that would be given to that look, a soft knock on the other side of the closed door echoed through the stillness in the room, drawing Joanna’s attention as she was gazing into the mirror while combing her hair.

She wondered if Lucy had forgotten something or had something to tell her.

"Come in," Joanna said, without turning her head in the direction of the door, which was located on the right side of her. Instead, she kept on brushing her now almost dry hair, and it was all thanks to the fireplace that warmed the room.

"Did you forget something, or is there something that you need to tell me, Lucy?" She questioned when she heard the creak sound as the door was pushed open.

As the room was silent without an answer from Lucy, Joanna turned her head toward the door, which in turn caused her hand that moved to comb her hair to stop abruptly. Her eyes grew wide. Her breath got caught in her throat.

"I think Lucy has already taken a rest, as she didn’t come here to tell you that she forgot something or had something to tell you, dear wife," Canillas answered on behalf of Lucy, standing in a relaxed way with his side leaning against the doorframe. His arms were folded in front of his chest.

A crooked grin appeared on his face when he met his wife’s bigger eyes with her mouth agape.

Pulling himself from the doorframe, Canillas closed the door behind him before stepping across the room.

In the realization of who came inside her room, Joanna rose from her seat after placing the comb on the dressing table and dashed to reach for a robe that lied on the bed.

She hastily put the robe on once she grabbed it. When she was tying the knot of her robe as tight as she could, she heard the General say, "Do you think that robe can protect you from me?"

Upon hearing his words, Joanna turned around and was surprised to find him already about two steps away from her.

With him taking a step forward, Joanna could not help but take a step backward. But the General did not stop there. He kept on walking and approaching her at a slow pace, as if enjoying every moment to corner the woman who had robbed him of his peacefulness, and he stopped when she was not able to move anymore as her back met the cold wall in one corner of the room.

While watching the General get closer to her, Joanna recalled when she faced the wolf in the forest, which drooled and gnashed its teeth at her. However, the one before her now did not gnash his teeth as he was busy grinning at her.

Standing in the corner with the General, who was one step away before her, Joanna held the knot of the robe in front of her stomach as tight as she could, as if it were her last salvation.

Joanna tried to take one step aside to escape from him, but her way out was soon blocked as the man took the same direction as her step. It brought Joanna back to the corner after her other effort to take the opposite route was also blocked by him.

How could she forget that he would sleep here in the same room as her?

She was totally distracted by him before, as he reminded her about the important thing she would do, which was to help Sir Luca, who had been hurt, in order to protect her. As a result, it indeed worked to shift her intention from asking Mrs. Powel to prepare another room for her to stay in.

The matter of sharing a room with him had then totally left her mind since then, as she had focused on looking after the little boy. Or perhaps it was because she avoided thinking about anything related to the man after their heavy conversation about having children.

She tried to push aside that thought, as she did not want to drown too deeply in sorrow for the dead child that she saw in the dream. However, it only resulted in what she was facing at the moment.

The man in front of her stopped in his tracks. He stood while having his gaze fixated on her, who might look panicky and anxious in his eyes.

His unruly, wavy hair, whose length reached one inch above his shoulders, was damp and hanging loose as it had been washed.

The white loose shirt that he wore was slightly clung to his skin, revealing a few droplets of moisture that were glistening under the blanket of warm light that came from the luminosity of the sources that brightened the room.

Despite his indifferent and unkempt state, his eyes remained frigid and unyielding. The stillness of the gaze that came from the face, which was now void of any grin or smile, seemed to be like an eternity, leaving Joanna feeling uneasy and exposed.

As if she could physically feel the weight of his piercing gaze, she found herself retreating despite her effort to show confidence and bravery.

Canillas’ gaze slowly traveled from the tips of Joanna’s slipper, moving upward to her knuckles, which turned white from the force of her grip on the knot of her robe.

Even though he knew in what state the woman before him was at the moment just by looking at her knuckles, instead of retreating, he kept his eyes trailing up until they reached and stopped at her exposed pale, smooth neck, which his lips had been in contact with before in the deep forest.

His jaw clenched as he planted his gaze on that alluring spot before he settled his vision on her flushed face.

Lingering his eyes on every feature on her face, he then fixated on her quivering, captivating eyes. He offered the nervous lady a warm smile, as if trying to comfort the cornered prey that had been spotted and caught.

Darting her eyes away from his threatening, piercing gaze, Joanna found her body trembling when Canillas moved closer to her, reducing the space between them, just like when they were in the deep forest.