The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 93: Not to be belittled

Chapter 93: Not to be belittled

The echoing silence fell over the room as Canillas stopped speaking. Joanna was still standing across the bed with the dagger she devotedly held in her hands, which were now calm.

She watched Canillas crouch down in front of the fireplace, placing firewood to make the sleepy flame awaken to flare. As the flame grew brighter, the red-orange glow made the line of his side profile look sharper.

It was what Joanna silently had in her sight before she tore her gaze away somewhere else when the green eyes suddenly met hers.

The sound of a crackling fire softly took over the silence in the warm-glowed room.

"In the meantime, before the situation is under control, especially when they are still wandering out there, you should be careful everywhere you are, especially when you are outdoors." Canillas resumed speaking, taking his position back on the bed.

"And if you can, try not to be like a mule, as a sweet deer suits you better." Canillas grinned, ever broader, when the deer glared daggers at him.

"Now you know who they are, and I believe you already grasped their intention from what I shared with you before." Canillas continued to speak in a more serious tone this time. "And being alone is something you have to avoid from now on, Joanna. Either you like it or not, it is a fact that you have to face."

And, of course, he wanted her to open her mind, even though listening to him might be hard to do, knowing how stubborn like a mule she tended to act when dealing with him. But at least she would not think of him as a weed that needed to be plucked out when he wandered around her.

Finding Joanna once again showing her determination to stand on her ground rather than resting on the bed with him, his gaze, which had been fixed on her delicate face, fell on the dagger she held in her dainty hands.

"It’s good that you have a weapon and fighting skills, although that happened to be a cute one." Canillas chuckled, remembering how amusing it was to find a slender lady randomly hitting him here and there with her delicate limbs. But, of course, her knees were not to be belittled.

Noticing her cheeks turn red at his remark while she still had her eyes downcast since he caught her silently staring at him a few moments ago, except when she just sent him a sharp glare, Canillas said,

"But it doesn’t mean that you are fine to wander alone yourself, although I praised you for having the surprising strength to attack men’s weakest parts." A low chuckle escaped from him again, causing Joanna’s cheeks to blush even more.

"Who did suggest you keep that dagger with you and make that kind of attack? Was it your own initiation?" Canillas asked one of the things that had weighed on his mind since he found her surprisingly attacking him with a dagger. He looked at her with his eyes containing a glint of curiosity.

At his questions, Joanna fell into silence for a fleeting moment. Raising her eyes to look at him with her blushing face, she answered, "My brother taught me about that. He was also the one who gave me that dagger. He said that, as he wouldn’t be able to stay by my side for the rest of my life, it was important for me to defend myself. Although it is baseless self-defense, it would be useful one day." Her voice was soft, lacing with melancholy and pride at the same time.

Upon receiving the answer, Canillas smiled, somehow feeling very contented and relieved knowing that she learned it from her family. "It is good to know that you have a good brother," he commented. "Let’s sleep, Joanna. We have to go down to the city tomorrow morning."

With that, the second night was passed by Canillas and Joanna in the same room as a husband and wife after another mishap they surprisingly had.

---

When the morning arrived, after all the people in the Powel Orphanage had their last breakfast together as they usually did every time Joanna visited the orphanage, they gathered in the front yard of the orphanage building to bid farewell to the young lady de Lara.

Joanna gave Mrs. Powel, who had tears flowing down her wrinkled cheeks, a warm hug. "Please don’t cry, Mrs. Powel. It is not that I will not come back here ever again," Joanna muttered in the hug.

Pulling away from the lean-figured older lady whose height was similar to hers, she offered her a warm smile that masked the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. "I will come back here for sure, so please don’t be sad like this," Joanna reassured.

It was unusual to see Mrs. Powel’s cheeks wet from tears when it was time for her to leave the orphanage. She usually had only slightly watery eyes, as she tended to refrain from crying, holding back the tears to stream down.

Joanna knew that it should be triggered by the presence of the General, and the conversation that they had during breakfast the day before. It was like a signal that it would take uncertain time for her to be able to make a visit, as she had to follow the General, her husband, back to Archess.

Mrs. Powel gave a nod, with a small smile, at Joanna’s reassuring words. She then turned towards the General, who stood a step away behind his wife.

With her hands clasped in the front of her chest, Mrs. Powel said, "Please take care of Lady Joanna, dear kind sir. Please treat her well. And please don’t let her get hurt." Mrs. Powel spoke in a raspy voice, holding back the sob from leaking out of her lips. But her tears were too stubborn to obey, continuing to flow down her cheeks, which she wiped with a handkerchief in her hand.

"I will, Mrs. Powel. Please don’t worry about that," Canillas gave an affirmation, his demeanor serious. He would for sure do that, even without the request being made by the older lady.

"Thank you, kind sir," replied Mrs. Powel with a quivering smile, and she turned to see Joanna again, holding her hands with trembling lips as she tried to maintain the smile on her face.

After returning a reassuring smile to the older lady, Joanna’s eyes fell on Liam, who stood next to Denny, a few steps away behind Mrs. Powel.