The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 218: Another night

During the journey back to his mansion, the Duke wanted to hold Joanna.

He wanted to hug his daughter, who looked pale with a bloodstained white handkerchief wrapped around her neck while her body was covered by the tailcoat of her husband as if it were there not only to warm her body but also to protect her from others’ eyes.

He had never seen her in that situation before. The daughter that he treasured with all of his heart and life to be in such horrible condition made his heart squeeze.

However, he could not do that. He could not hold his daughter, as her husband, who put her on his lap and embraced her tightly, putting her head to lay on his shoulder, seemed to be sunk in an abyss with her, not caring about anything, even seeming to forget about his presence in the carriage.

The Duke also sensed that the General would not let anyone hold his wife, ready to bite those who dared lay their fingers on her. Yet such protective action put warmth in his heart.

Right after they arrived in his mansion, with Joanna in his arms, the General dashed towards Joanna’s room, while asking in every second why the doctor had not arrived yet. When the doctor came, he asked him desperately to give Joanna a proper examination and treated her thoroughly.

However, if one heard and felt meticulously, one would notice that it was not only a desperate request but also a threat that unpleasant things would happen if the doctor failed to make Joanna open her eyes again.

During the examination, even after that, he refused to leave the room where Joanna was lying, unconsciously in her disheveled state. He said he would watch over her, taking care of her, although the doctor said that Joanna’s wound was not severe as the blade did not penetrate deep enough to cause the damage to the vital artery in her neck.

The doctor also informed them that Joanna collapsed because of the shock and exhaustion, not because of the wound that was inflicted on her body. Yet he did not care about that. He kept staying with her, accompanying her throughout the night.

To the Duke’s dismay, the next day, the General left for the castle in the morning, not long after the first rays of the morning sun gently touched the land, in a distraught look—the same state as when he saw him carrying Joanna in his arms.

Bloodshot eyes. Tousled hair. Even the remnant of blood was still there, left on his white dress shirt and some part of his body.

Before leaving, his distressed son-in-law politely asked him to do something that he would definitely do without being asked, which was keep an eye on Joanna and accompany her so that she would not feel scared and lonely once she was awake.

But until now, when the night came again, the Duke had not seen his son-in-law in his mansion. He seemed to have a tough meeting with the King that made him unable to return home. The Duke speculated.

"Sir Canillas..." Joanna muttered in a barely audible voice when she heard her father mention that her husband was the person who had brought her back home.

A memory of what she had seen there flashed in her mind. She remembered the last thing that happened before she was engulfed in the darkness.

She was back in his arms. Her husband protected her from that scary man whom she believed was already dead, although she did not see it with her own eyes as her husband prevented her from seeing all the scenes that might be too gore for her. And she could see him closely, which made her feel his emotions more vividly.

All the emotions that she saw across from her when they were separated by the threat that came from the scary man, she could feel them all clearly when she was in his arms, and she still remembered them as if it were not hard to perceive them.

And they were close to what she had seen in the dream. Yes, the dream that she had just experienced.

He looked at her, but he was void of expression.

He protected her, but he stayed away from her.

She called him, but he did not answer her. He turned his back on her instead.

Eventually, Joanna felt her heart skip a beat at the thought of what would come next.

"Where is Sir Canillas, Father? Is he fine? Did something bad happen to him?" She asked, as she could not help but feel there was something not right about finding him absent at the moment.

As she was about to push her body up from her lying position to sit upright on the bed, as it was improper for her to stay lying while talking with her father, a whimpered sound escaped Joanna’s lips when she felt her body was sore all over. Further than that, she felt pain in her neck.

"Stay laid down, Ann. Don’t move too much," the Duke suggested, gently pressing Joanna’s shoulders as a gesture to make her lie down on the bed.

Following her father’s suggestion, as she felt that it was impossible for her to move her body too much, Joanna touched her neck to feel a bandage against her palm.

Another memory of what had transpired in the castle dawned upon her, and what her body was suffering was a result of what had happened there, although she had never thought that it would hurt this much.

As Joanna lay back on the bed with her expectant look, anticipating to hear the answer to her question, the Duke said, "Your husband is fine. He left for a meeting with His Majesty this morning, as we know that he could not have it yesterday." It was all he could share, not adding to another piece of information, as he did not want to make Joanna worried more.

Meanwhile, upon hearing that Canillas was fine, Joanna let out a sigh of relief. As long as he was fine, it was enough, although she could not see his presence at the moment.

It was also enough, as she remembered as well that instead of having a meeting with His Majesty, her husband surprised her by coming to rescue her, although she wondered what made him know about the harm that she was facing that night.

That night... From her father’s answer as well, she could catch that she had fallen unconscious for a day as another night had come.