The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 48: Smoke blown in the wind

Even though the Duke had decided not to be involved in the marital life of his daughter, at this moment, he could not close his eyes, pretending not to see the real concern of the young man before him that was given to his daughter.

Besides, if he let the General of Archess, who was also an important person for Terra, leave for West Lane Mountain at this nighttime, under his current condition, the Duke would not be sure if he could manage to reach the orphanage safely, regardless how tough he was on the battlefield.

Therefore, he would at least share a piece of advice, showing his concern and gratitude, as his son-in-law was still willing to be patient in handling his hard-headed daughter.

Noticing there was doubt depicted on the face of his son-in-law after he shared his advice, the Duke added, "You don’t need to worry about Joanna, Sir Canillas. She is not alone there. Not only are her personal maid and knights with her, but also von Rodega’s men-at-arms." The Duke tried to add a more convincing fact. He continued giving suggestions,

"So, I suggest you take a rest first and head to West Lane Mountain tomorrow morning. Besides, looking at your exhausted condition right now, it will be dangerous if you force yourself to go there this time, remembering the arduous landscape of the mountains as well. I hope you consider this, Sir Canillas, for all of our goodness."

Canillas had presumed that his father-in-law would take the side of his daughter, supporting her by hiding her exact location from him. However, when he heard him immediately connect Joanna and West Lane Mountain, Canillas realized that the Duke was a wise person, not siding with his daughter blindly.

He also sensed the concern that was laced in the words conveyed by his father-in-law, making him consider that what was suggested by his father-in-law was right. It would be bad if he went there hastily in his chaotic and tired mind and body to only be trapped by the Tres or other enemies easily, which would make him unable to protect his wife if a danger fell upon her.

Aside from that, hearing that Fabio and Luca were with her, he felt relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He had thought that his men were still here, in the mansion, as recalling how she had asked her handmaiden to keep her exact location secret, it would have been likely for her to not allow his men to follow her whereabouts.

And knowing that his men were there with her made Canillas feel proud of them. He knew how much effort had been exerted by them to be able to join the entourage of his cold-hearted and strong-willed wife.

Canillas also knew the swordsmanship of his men-at-arms as he, himself, trained with them when he was not on the battlefield. Hence, Canillas was sure that she would be safe with Fabio and Luca around her.

With this consideration, Canillas decided to go at the suggestion of his father-in-law, taking a rest first, and going to West Lane Mountain tomorrow morning. Then, he would reprimand the stubborn woman who tried to escape from him, to only pursue danger, once he met her.

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It was about six o’clock in the morning when Joanna left the de Lara mansion for the Powel Orphanage. She was relieved to finally gain permission from her father after a long argumentation they had.

Joanna knew that her father was still upset with her regarding the fact that had made her fall into such a surprising illness. She knew the looks of the rashes on her body were not a sight to bear, especially for her father, who had never seen her in such a condition and had given his best to take good care of his children.

Despite his fury, she could only apologize sincerely and assure him that she would not repeat such harmful conduct that would put her body in severe pain ever again. She also realized that it was a useless, silly thing to do as it could not make the General leave her and end their marriage.

She also consoled her father that she would be completely healed in five days and there would be no trace of rashes left on her body. free𝑤ebnovel.com

It was then she could see relief in her father’s demeanor although the trace of upset was still found on his face. But Joanna was sure it would not take a long time for her father to push aside that upset feeling, especially when he found that she had healed completely.

"We have already arrived, my lady." The voice of Sir Sylvester seeped inside the carriage, where Joanna had been sitting since she departed from the de Lara mansion, making her open her eyes and pushing aside her wandering thoughts.

After taking about five hours of journey, Joanna and her entourage arrived at the foot of West Lane Mountain when the sun was almost at its peak.

Withdrawing the curtain of the carriage, Joanna looked outside the window with her eyes squinted due to the sunlight that flowed through the window, changing the dim surroundings into bright ones. After she managed to adjust her eyes, she stepped down from the carriage when she saw a familiar sight that she had not seen for a long time hampering before her eyes.

Standing outside the carriage, Joanna waited for her attendants to prepare all the luggage that would be brought up the mountain. It was all the things that she would donate to the kids in the Powel Orphanage, the orphanage that was under the care of Duke de Lara.

On this journey, apart from the task she had assigned to the senior maid to pass her message to the General, she did not take her on this journey as the path that she would pass through was not suitable for a middle-aged woman like the senior maid.

She would have to climb up about a third of the height of the mountain as the road to the orphanage was a narrow and treacherous path along the sheer cliff that was not possible to be passed by carriages or unskillful horseback riders like her. Therefore, every time she visited the orphanage, she would only take the younger maid, Lucy, and eight knights under the command of Sir Sylvester.

However, there was something peculiar about this journey, which was the presence of additional members of the entourage, who were the General’s men-at-arms, named Fabio and Luca. Between the two, she had already met one, and he was none other than the person who had made her hard effort to get rid of the General in vain, dissipating like smoke blown in the wind.

Joanna was perturbed by the General’s people around her as this journey was supposed to be her way to escape from the General. Hence, she immediately declined when they suddenly appeared before her, requesting to join her secretive trip. Apart from that, she still remembered how her plan was ruined because of one of them. Therefore, she did not want any of the General’s men to follow her trip.

However, despite numerous rejections that she had firmly stated to not allow them to join the trip, they strongly insisted, unwilling to step back, as they said that they could not disobey the order that had been assigned to them by their master, to be the guardian of their mistress.

Furthermore, what was worrying was that they did not hesitate to pull their swords out of the sheaths when the Barasca’s knights followed her command to block their way from following her.

However, before the commotion occurred, Joanna’s clear mind hit her haziness that it was not a good way to treat the General’s men with such rude treatment. The words of her father were still stuck in her head that His Majesty the King valued the General a lot.

Besides, despite her indifferent responses, the General’s men still approached her in a polite manner. Hence, in order to avoid any clash with the General which would not be good for her father as well, Joanna reluctantly allowed them to follow her.

She also thought that even though they followed her, there would be no way for them to inform the General where they were going, as she kept the destination secret until they arrived on the spot. Additionally, she would try to make them busy so that any communication that they would use to inform the General of her whereabouts would be delayed.

She was not sure if her simple plan would work as she was not that aware of the methods used by the warriors to communicate the code to one another.

However, she did not want to lose hope that there would be enough time for her to avoid him until she found another way to escape further without anyone knowing her whereabouts.

Nevertheless, she expected that she would not use that tiring way to be away from him. She hoped that the General would choose to leave her and return to Archess without her because he felt offended and annoyed by her disrespectful treatment through the message she left for him. And the marriage annulment would then be granted.

That was Joanna’s other simple wish.