The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 97: What the eyes see

Chapter 97: What the eyes see

"It’s good to have strong determination to achieve your goal, Joanna. But not this time," Canillas chirped, advising his strong-willed wife once he mounted Thunder after he fixed the hem of the cloak she wore to cover her entire attire. "Thunder is a good boy, but not patient enough to stand still in one place for the whole night."

Upon hearing the sarcasm uttered by the man sitting behind her, Joanna offered no response as she fixed her gaze on a pair of big, sun-kissed arms that slid through either side of her waist before resting to hold the rein.

When Joanna lifted her gaze to look at the front of her, she suddenly saw nothing as her sight was filled with darkness, and it happened because her face was now covered in the hood of the cloak she wore.

She then heard a whisper in her ear. "Please bear with it for a while. Hold the hood so it can cover your face. Lucy is also doing the same at the back of us, while The Tres has no choice but to do so by the force of Sir Sylvester. Thunder will run very fast. Hold on until we are quite far from the mountain, and then you can ride the carriage. Do you get it, Joanna?"

Joanna gave a nod as a response to the instruction that was given to her, and one of her hands held the hood so it could stay to cover her face as she had her head lowered.

"Ready to fly, Joanna?" Finding Joanna give another nod with one of her hands holding on to the horn cap tightly, Canillas said, "Then, let’s fly!" With that being cheerfully said, he applied a gentle squeeze on the middle of Thunder’s ribcage with his calves to cue Thunder to move forward.

As the horse began to move, Joanna gasped as she jolted back due to the drastic movement, applying more strength to her grip on the horn cap and hood.

Before Thunder galloped, she had tried to distance her back from the chest of the General. But now, what she did before evaporated into vapor, as she could not help but bump into the General’s hard, toned chest.

She could not maintain her distance anymore as the horse named Thunder was indeed moving like a lightning flash, making her unable to fight the pressure of the wind that pushed her body backward and ending up leaning against her husband’s chest.

Besides, it was her first time riding a horse. It might be a fun experience if she did not get blinded by the hood that covered her face.

Not being able to see anything made her perception of her surroundings improve. Hence, the anxiety inside her grew as she felt like she would lose balance and fall anytime soon.

However, the presence of something that caged her, like the arms of the General on both of her sides and something to lean behind, was able to reduce her anxiety, comforting her enough.

Nevertheless, a few moments later, she could not feel what was pressing against her back as she suddenly leaned forward. But before she would slip more forward, an arm wrapped around her stomach.

"Hold on. We are going down a steep track." With that being said, Joanna could feel her husband tightening his wrap around her stomach, and she was pushed backward to once again press his broad, taut chest.

At this moment, Joanna could not do anything to stop him from touching her, as she knew what lay on their left side. A cliff. It was a deep, steep cliff on the side of a narrow path that made her unable to ride the carriage to the Powel Orphanage.

Remembering how scary the cliff looked, Joanna tightened her grip on the horn cap and closed her eyes, although she already could not see anything ahead of her.

Behind them, there were three horses from their entourage following them. One was rode by Ben and Lucy, the other one was by Fabio and wounded Luca, and the last one was by Sir Sylvester and the captured Tres.

Sir Sylvester could not join the walking entourage, who did not have horses with them as their horses were still waiting for them at the foot of the mountain, as he was the main knight who had been assigned to guard the young lady de Lara.

Meanwhile, the horses that were rode so far by the horse-riding entourage were those of Canillas and his two men-at-arms, Ben and Tillo, whereas the horse that was rode by Sir Sylvester belonged to the Barasca knight who escorted Canillas to the Powel Orphanage.

Tillo was the only non-Barasca knight who had joined the walking entourage, as he had to lend his black stallion to Fabio and Luca, as Fabio was needed to provide medical treatment if something happened to Luca, who had not completely healed yet.

Not like how they walked slowly when they climbed up the mountain with the young lady who they needed to guard, they walked at a quick pace at the moment. They expected to arrive at the foot of the mountain not too long after the arrival of the horse-riding entourage.

Aside from that, without carrying heavy stuff, like when they brought the pilled stuff to be shared with the kids, their steps were lighter, and only one knight was assigned to carry the belongings of young Lady de Lara.

They had been reminded by their commander that they could not let their guard down, as the Tres that they could sense lurking behind the woods might attack them or the young lady. Therefore, they had to move fast so that they could arrive on time if the young lady was the one to be attacked.

Canillas kept sending a signal for Thunder to keep running, gripping the horse with his legs. With his arm wrapping around Joanna’s stomach, he could feel how slender she was. But this slender woman had almost made him lose his main identity as a man. Canillas found the fact hilarious.

He was relieved when he almost reached the foot of the mountain. As usual, every time his wife was outdoors, he was on the alert, always preparing himself to face the Tres if they brazenly attacked them this time, particularly when they found out that they were leaving the mountain and had one of their cronies with them.

However, finding them once again not showing their presence was proof that they were really cautious and calculative in their actions. Or perhaps they were cowards who only dared to face women and sent fragile subjects to dig up information from their target. It was Canillas’ thought with the passing time.

It did not mean that he wanted them to attack him. But not having them show their existence up until now made him change his perspective about them, not being cautious but cowardly.

However, apart from the change of perspective he had for them, their purpose was indeed clear. As his thoughts drifted to their sole purpose, imagining how they would snatch the woman in his arm, subconsciously Canillas tightened his embrace on her, causing the lady to wriggle in his arm.

Slightly loosening his embrace on her but not willing to pull away, as he wanted to act as a husband at the moment, not someone who courted her, he said, "You can remove the hood if you want to, Joanna. We left the mountain already."

Not long after he spoke, he could see her side profile as his wife removed the hood from her head. And a smile cracked on his lips when he noticed her beaming face.

Opening her eyes slowly as she attempted to adjust her eyes from the striking brightness of sunlight after her face was now free from the coverage of the hood, Joanna tried to figure out where they were.

Her mouth gaped following her eyes, which grew bigger as she noticed where their current exact location was once she could get a clear view of her surroundings.

West Lane Steppe.

West Lane Steppe was a grassland that stretched vastly at the foot of West Lane Mountain.

Every time she went to the Powel Orphanage, she could only enjoy the breath-taking natural scenery from inside the carriage, which could only run on the main road. The carriage could not pass through the steppe, as the natural topography was not suitable for carriages.

But now, she could not believe that she was in the middle of the vast grasslands that she had long wished to be surrounded by.

As Thunder now cantered, running more slowly compared to when they were just leaving the orphanage, she became more relaxed, able to enjoy the nature around her calmly.

Bathed by the balmy rays of the sun and enveloped by the natural, fresh fragrance of grass that was carried by a gentle breeze, it was a joy that Joanna felt at the moment. Looking up at the puffy white clouds that dotted the clear, bright blue sky, she could not contain her joy. A smile radiated on her face.

Joanna felt free, feeling adrenaline surge inside her.

She had never ridden a horse before. What she had experienced so far was trapping inside a carriage. Hence, what she was having at the moment was such a new experience for her, which made her want to learn to ride a horse so that she could run among nature, feeling free like this moment.

A broad, bright smile bloomed on her face at the thought.

"Beautiful."

She heard the word whispered by the man who made her have this new experience.

Joanna nodded her head. Her eyes sparkled, filled with the mesmerizing scenery that expanded before her.

Smiling, she said, "Beautiful."

She agreed with him that what she saw with her very eyes was indeed beautiful.

But what the man behind her saw was not the scenery that was so vastly open to the eyes.

He only fixed his eyes on one point—the beautiful lady who was smiling beautifully in his arms.