The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 29: Unexpected response

The weariness that had berated Canillas seemed to intensify after he heard what was conveyed by the only woman in the very room, his wife. He had pushed himself relentlessly to complete his military duty, attempting to finish ahead of schedule despite the complexity, as he had expected to see his wife as soon as he could manage.

During his long journey to see his wife, he had pushed his limit by taking brief naps when drowsiness overtook him, consuming perfunctory meals when the strength of his body was at the edge of the limit, and riding on horseback as straight as possible to Terra.

He was willing to carry it out in order to meet the woman whom he had wanted to see. The excitement had accompanied his whole journey to Terra, recharging his weariness.

Despite knowing that she had left his mansion with all of her belongings, he could not help but imagine how the woman would welcome him at his unannounced arrival. But nothing was close to his imagination.

First of all, he was surprised by the news of the lady being sick, which made him unable to see her right after he set foot inside her maiden home. Another set of waiting times was spent by him in order to see her.

Once he was finally able to see her, the imagination of the lady who would be shy or full of enthusiasm when facing him was nothing to be found. The warm welcome that he had anticipated was also not in his grasp.

He was aware that there was something happening behind her decision to leave his living place with nothing left behind. He had tried to manipulate his mind, thinking that she might be upset by his absence since she was bound to a legal marriage with him. The cold treatment of his mother to her had also played in his mind as the cause of her leaving Archess.

But he was confident that she would change her mind when she saw him in person, considering that he had come far away to find her here after leaving her alone on a battlefield. With this action alone, if she happened to be angry and demonstrated her protest because he had left her for months since they legally bonded in marriage, or was hurt because of the way his mother treated her, she would somehow soften and forgive them for that.

Nevertheless, it seemed that he was being too naïve, too delusional. What had played out in his mind was a stark contrast to the reality he was currently facing.

He never thought that she would knock him out, requesting the thing that had never even the slightest appeared in his mind. A marriage annulment.

He also did not find any slight hesitation in the way she conveyed that absurd intention with that cold expression on her face.

He felt that he was defeated for the first time during his life as a soldier, not by his enemies, but by none other than his wife, a woman who looked weak and fragile.

If he was on a battlefield now, he would have suffered a loss as he miscalculated the strategies of his enemies. Canillas thought how absurd the situation he was dwelling on now.

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

But he refused to be beaten for nothing by a woman who had robbed his peacefulness since he found no trace of her in his home. She might have defeated him, but he would not surrender in the total loss as it was only a retreat before gaining his delayed victory.

Upon hearing the irrelevant inquiry, Joanna felt her head really spinning. Why did this man always give her an unexpected response?

At his surprising inquiry, she wanted to answer him, ’It was because I didn’t want to see your face and I didn’t want to do something inappropriate if I happened to see your face.’

But she knew that she could not say that. Otherwise, it would only make the situation become more exhausting and she could not force her sick body to make excuses after excuses under another strict interrogation.

The longer she interacted with the General under her current condition, the higher the chance of her revealing the real reason behind this exhausting situation, which was the dream. Therefore, she had to make it a quick ending.

"Because I don’t want my condition to be seen," Joanna replied in a mumble as if stating another lie had consumed her energy. The truth was that she wanted to expose it clearly to him.

But her voice was indeed clear in the tranquil room where they were dwelling. At her answer, Canillas gave his response after being silent for a fleeting moment. "Then, I will wait for you here until you are fully recovered, Joanna," he affirmed, and Joanna, who had her eyes lowered when she uttered her last words of a lie, raised her head in a swift movement to look at him with eyes wide open.

As he knew the meaning behind her reaction, Canillas let out a chuckle before pushing himself up from the bed. Canillas stretched his body as if trying to get rid of the drowsiness that had hit him before walking towards the window. His steps were relaxed.

Standing in front of the tall window where the curtain was drawn open with his hands clasped behind his back, he could see Alenna Garden from the spot where he was standing. Even the lady’s room was specially built at the position where the garden could come into sight, making it obvious that the garden was indeed her treasure, like what was stated by the Duke.

"I was hit with a piece of surprising news about the absence of my wife when I had just returned from the battlefield. I was wondering why she left her new home. Then, my mother told me that she had left because of sickness. And, of course, I was worried after hearing that news. As if that was not enough, another surprising news hit me when I found her room vacant. It made me wonder then why the lady didn’t leave a single thing of her belongings behind. Then, I came here, only to find her asking for a marriage annulment." Canillas chuckled after narrating the surprising events he had encountered regarding his wife so far.

Joanna’s eyes, which had followed the General since he moved away from her bed, slightly narrowed at his response, wondering why he suddenly talked about that after giving her a blow with his shocking affirmation.

Through the white lace drapes on the other side of the bed that had not been drawn open, she could see the man standing in front of the window with his back facing her. Not long later, she found him turned around to stand with his back leaning against the sturdy window, folding his hands in front of his chest, and crossing one ankle over the other.

Although she could not see the man clearly due to the drapes, Joanna could tell that his gaze was currently directed at her.