The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 28: A sickly woman

Despite the unexpected response shown by the man sitting leisurely before her, Joanna kept proceeding with her plan, ignoring how intense his gaze was on her.

Joanna lowered her eyes to look at her fidgeting, swollen-reddened fingers. The rashes on her body seemed not to affect him. He did not even look disgusted at her as he easily took a seat beside her as if she were a beautiful lady with smooth porcelain skin.

Even Joanna herself, when she looked at her current condition in the mirror, with a reddened and swollen face, apart from the same things occurring on her whole body, could not make herself look in the mirror any longer. But this man... Joanna sighed inwardly.

"There are some reasons that have driven me to this point, to make me decide to step down from this marriage," Joanna began to explain her reasons with a voice that sounded feeble. Her head lowered as she still had her eyes on her fidgeting fingers.

Bracing herself, Joanna lifted her head to look at the General. Holding his intense gaze, she said, "First of all, it is because I am a sickly woman. As Sir Canillas can see, such a change of weather in Archess has caused me to have these... painful rashes." Joanna trailed off, raising her hands as if to show the rashes more clearly to him.

Lowering her hands back on the blanket on her lap, she continued to speak with her eyes on him, "It got better before but it began to reappear a few days ago," Joanna lied. "It seems that even though I have returned to Terra, the weather of Archess has given me such a deteriorating impact, hitting my weakness part, causing me to be in this vulnerable, painful state," she continued to speak a lie with a sad, complaining look displaying on her face.

Meanwhile, Canillas only sat still, not giving any response. His expression was indecipherable. No mischievous grin could be found on his face like before. He focused on looking at his wife and listening to her words as if he were watching a beautiful lady playing the role of a pitiful character.

But the sort of expression that was depicted on the General’s face made Joanna feel nervous.

Pushing her uneasiness aside, Joanna decided to continue playing her role. She was not sure if the General would buy the role that she was playing at the moment. She was also not sure whether her acting was convincing as she had never acted or uttered a lie to persuade something from others.

If she was not in this desperate situation, she wouldn’t have been willing to play this kind of exhausting role. She did not know if playing a role would require strenuous effort and tiring. It was still beginning but she already felt worn out, particularly when it was added with the fact that she had to endure a rising fever and aches in her entire body.

But this would soon pass. Joanna was back regaining her composure and continued playing her exhausting role.

"It definitely will not be good for a great general like Sir Canillas von Rodega, who has become a hero for not only the Archess Kingdom but also the Terra Kingdom, to have a wife like me." Joanna drifted her gaze down at her hands again. "These rashes will leave scars on my body. It is very likely that I will suffer from this kind of sickness frequently and it will probably get more severe if I am back residing in Archess." Joanna took a pause, bringing her gaze back to the General before continuing,

"Because of this, I have come to this decision in order to not make my condition become worse and also not burden Sir Canillas with my condition. It is really not fair for Sir Canillas to have a scarred and sickly woman like me as a wife. Sir Canillas indeed deserves a woman far better than me. Therefore, let’s end our marriage," Joanna again stated her main request. Her expression was fully filled with sorrow and despair.

Feeling the piercing gaze of the person sitting opposite of her penetrate more deeply after she finished speaking as if he wanted to dig deeper into her soul, Joanna strengthened herself to not retreat.

"Is that the only reason you have that made you pack all of your belongings out of Archess?" Canillas asked after a few moments of silence, observing her countenance.

At such a sudden hitting question, Joanna was taken aback but she tried to quickly calm her mind. "If this reason is enough to convince Sir Canillas about my serious demand, then I don’t need to relay another reason that made me return to Terra for good," Joanna answered in determination.

"Then I am sorry if I have to tell you that the reason that you just explained to me has failed to convince me and I am also sorry that you have to pack your belongings to be brought back to Archess," Canillas declared in a calm state, causing Joanna to be unable to feel her heartbeat anymore as if her heart had stopped beating at the response she heard.

She was now alarmed as she realized that he was a difficult man and she was panic-stricken that she would face total failure. She did not want to follow him to that miserable place. Joanna felt a chill crawl down her already shivering spine.

But why was he not convinced yet? Couldn’t he see the painful rashes in her body? Joanna complained in her mind.

"May I know why the reason I just relayed has failed to convince you, Sir Canillas?" Joanna asked in a calm tone, attempting to suppress the blooming rage inside her. "I am suffering from the pain that has been inflicted by these rashes that I initially got because I lived in Archess. It is really painful and I am not lying about that," Joanna emphasized her condition in firm words. She tried to make him feel the real pain that she felt through her words.

When she saw the man only stubbornly staring at her, Joanna said, "Please consider this, Sir Canillas. What are you expecting from a sickly woman like me as a wife? I will only be a burden to you." Still finding him in stillness, she added,

"By having our marriage annulled, it will be good not only for me but also for you. You can marry a healthier and more beautiful woman who may be more adored by Lady Viona." Joanna revealed another card of persuasion. If her first reason was absurdly regarded as not convincing enough, then she would add another reason.

"I believe that Sir Canillas already knew that I am not a favored daughter-in-law. Honestly, it is hard for me to live with someone who dislikes me." The reason was implicitly pointed to the man who had no favor with her based on the dream that she had. He disliked her so that she could not live under the same roof as him.

"I had endured it for around three months, longer than I could tolerate. But I am really sorry that I can’t return to Archess. I can’t live under the same roof with someone who dislikes me. I also don’t want to suffer from this kind of torturing illness again. And I believe I can fully recover, not be tortured with this pain if I live here in Terra as it has been my home since I was born. Please understand me, Sir Canillas," Joanna pleaded, looking at him with a desperate look.

It was not time to show her arrogance. Although she did not want to show her weak side, she had no choice, as she would do anything to free herself from her marriage with this man. If gaining his sympathy would free her, then she would try to gain it from him.

Meanwhile, the man that she tried to convince was still sitting in the same position since he asked her to convince him about the marriage annulment. What had changed was his facial expression. There was no playfulness on his face as he showed her a few moments ago. But she still did not find any slight hint of anger or other emotions, only the calmness that was expressed on his face, which was more worrisome.

"Then tell me, Joanna. Why didn’t you spare me a look when I just entered this room? And why did you tell me that I would regret it later?"