The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 94: To disappear from the scene

Chapter 94: To disappear from the scene

In the dining room, during breakfast, Joanna tried to talk to comfort and cheer all the kids up, to light up the gloomy atmosphere that heavily weighed the room. Giving each kid a hug, she told them that she would come to make a visit soon, so they did not need to be disheartened.

She did not see Liam during the breakfast as he still recuperated in his room, and he would have his breakfast later after Mrs. Powel finished hers, just like what Mrs. Powel did the previous day.

It did not mean that she did not want to say good-bye to Liam. But every time she saw him, sorrow flooded her heart. Hence, she asked Mrs. Powel to pass her farewell to the little boy. But now he surprisingly came to see her.

Walking toward the recovering little boy, Joanna kneeled to be on the same level as his face, not even caring if her light blue dress would be dirty from the soil. She stared at the blue-eyed boy, and a small smile formed on her face.

Caressing his cheeks, Joanna said in a low tone, "Get well soon, Liam. Don’t be sick again, okay?" to which Liam answered with a nod.

Smiling at his silent answer, Joanna spoke again. "Please remember what I said yesterday. Don’t eat anything carelessly. Okay?"

Looking at the index finger of the young lady that was shown in front of his face, which was the same gesture that the young lady made to advise him the day before, Liam gave another obedient nod.

She said again, after taking a few moments to look at the little boy’s face, "Be good, Liam. Okay?" And Liam gave another nod before reaching out his hand that he had hidden behind his back, handing something to Lady Joanna.

When her gaze fell on the thing that was offered by the quiet boy, Joanna smiled. Tears trailed down her cheeks. The boy once again made the dam in her eyes break.

Taking a bouquet of wild flowers that was tied with a white ribbon from the little boy’s hands, Joanna said, "Thank you so much, Liam. I will keep it with me." She then moved to give Liam a hug, stroking the back of his head and patting his small back.

Going to separate from the little boy whom she found similar to her son in the dream, her heart somehow felt sorrow. That was why she refrained from saying good-bye to him.

It was like repeating the separation that she witnessed between Joanna and her son in the dream. But to her relief, they were in a different situation, as the little boy, who felt so small and fragile in her arms, did not leave forever. He was here in the Powel Orphanage, which she could see once she made a visit.

Pulling away from Liam, Joanna shifted to look at Denny, who stood beside Liam. Patting his head, she asked, "Remember what I said before?"

Denny nodded his head at the young lady’s question before answering, "Always be a good boy and a good brother for my brothers and sisters. Do not make Mrs. Powel get a headache by making an absurd request." And Joanna chuckled, while wiping the tears away, at his answers that were exactly like what she said to him after the breakfast.

Giving another extra hug to Denny, Joanna then stood up, waving her hand to the other children who gathered in one spot with a gloomy look on their faces.

Offering Mrs. Powel a bow, Joanna then turned around, making her way to leave the orphanage that she herself did not know if she would be able to visit in the near future.

Before making her way out of the gate of the orphanage building where all her entourage had been waiting for her, Joanna, who was ready to walk down the mountain with them as she usually did, took an abrupt halt when the General suddenly blocked her way as he appeared before her with a companion.

Joanna’s brows furrowed at the sight she found before her.

Shifting her quizzical gaze from the dark brown stallion to the smiling man, whose one hand was busy stroking its mane while the other was holding the rein, she was about to ask him. But before she managed to voice a word, the General, who once again seemed to know the meaning of her look and what was running through her head, offered her a broader smile.

"This is Thunder," Canillas said, introducing the stallion. "Thunder, show your greeting to my wife." He ordered the horse named Thunder, and as if understanding what was ordered, Thunder immediately obeyed, delivering a warm regard to the wife of its master with a long, loud neigh.

Different from how Joanna and her entourage reached the Powel Orphanage, Canillas, who was so worried and felt rushed at that time as he had an urgency to see the well-being of his wife, climbed up the mountain by riding Thunder. His men-at-arms, Ben and Tillo, together with one Barasca knight who was willing to show him directions to where his wife had been leaving and hiding, were also there on horseback.

Having so many times passed challenging tracks like the road to the Powel Orphanage, which Joanna was unable to conquer with horse riding as she was not skilled with that, it was not a problem for Canillas and the people who went there with him. It was also how he could arrive before anything bad happened to his wife.

At the interaction of the two living beings in front of her, Joanna could only blink her eyes several times before fixing her eyes on the majestic stallion that just greeted her.

"Thunder said hello to the Madam, and he is ready to give the Madam a ride to leave this mountain."

Upon hearing the words pass from the General’s lips, Joanna’s eyes went wide. She turned her head in a brisk movement, shifting her gaze from the horse to its owner, who still wore a beaming smile on his face.

"But I can’t ride a horse," the bewildered Joanna said hurriedly. "I have never ridden a horse before," she added, as if trying to make her statement convincing so that she could escape from what blocked her way at the moment.

"Who said you would ride Thunder by yourself?" Canillas responded nonchalantly, as if not surprised by the statement made by his wife.

It was common for noble women not to be able to ride a horse, as most of them had been kept like jewels by their family. Riding a horse was regarded as a rough activity for noble women, and the risk that would plummet their beauty if an accident happened should be avoided.

As he received a knowing look from his enigmatic wife, whose face turned paler, he continued to respond, "Yes, you are absolutely right. You have a very capable husband here, so you don’t need to worry about such a trivial thing."

A broad, bright smile once again bloomed on the General’s radiant face, in contrast to the withering look of the General’s wife, who wanted to disappear from the scene, running away like lightning speed before the sound of thunder followed behind.