The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 56: Unpredictable reality

It was not the first time that Joanna woke up early in the morning when she was in the Powel Orphanage and she had never seen the backyard occupied by another presence every time she made her way there.

Meanwhile, it had been a routine for the General’s men to have sword training early in the morning and it was what they did even though they were not in the von Rodega mansion.

Finding the wife of their master making a sudden appearance early in the morning in an attire that showed that she would leave for somewhere, they were surprised.

Approaching the young lady who had not stepped out of the building since the back door was opened by her maid, Fabio and Luca offered her a polite bow. "Good morning, Madam. Are you going somewhere?" Fabio asked Joanna.

Despite her reluctance, Joanna returned the greeting and gave a nod at the question aimed at her. "I am going to the forest to find some herbs," answered Joanna curtly, in a tone that represented her feelings for them.

She was at peace when she did not see them, as for a moment she totally forgot about their presence. But now, when they appeared before her eyes, her discomfort and restlessness surfaced, making her remember the probability of them having told the General about her whereabouts.

"Then, we will accompany you there, Madam," replied Fabio.

Joanna narrowed her eyes when she heard that they offered to follow her again. "No need, Sir Fabio," Joanna quickly responded, declining the offer. "It is not far from here and it is also not my first time going there. I will go there with Lucy. You can continue your training." Her voice was firm. There was no tenderness in her demeanor.

"We apologize but we have to follow the command of Sir Canillas, Madam," stated Fabio, refusing to back down. As for him and his colleague, the order that had been assigned to them was the most important one, even though they had to receive a cold response from their mistress.

A sigh of resignation slipped out of Joanna’s lips. It was the same answer he gave to her when she did not allow them to follow her to West Lane Mountain. Joanna was also very certain that she could not stop them from following her to the forest this time, recalling how they were persistent and had no doubt pulling out their swords to challenge the Barasca knights who blocked their way to approach her.

Avoiding wasting more time over a useless matter that could only prolong her time from finding a remedy for a sick boy inside, Joanna did not further say anything in response, walking toward the forest instead, after Lucy closed the back door of the orphanage building shut.

Fabio and Luca walked behind the young lady in silence after sending each other silent words through their gaze.

On their way to the forest, Joanna gave an explanation to Lucy about the herbal plant that she needed for the remedy for Liam. She asked for Lucy’s help to find one as a precautionary measure if she might happen to miss the herb because of some circumstances. Besides, if there was someone helping her to get one, they could complete the mission and go back to the orphanage as quickly as possible.

The herb that she wanted to give as a remedy for Liam was an herbal plant with a purple-colored flower head and white marbling on the shiny green leaves. Although both of them wore gloves, Joanna did not forget to remind Lucy to be careful as the leaves, stems and flowers of the plant were armed with stiff and sharp spines.

It was one of the quickest-acting herbs for the internal organs, and it was able to get rid of toxins from the body. It was also the right antidote against wild mushroom poisoning that was currently suffered by Liam. Therefore, it was important to find this kind of herb if she wanted to get Liam healed soon, no matter how critical his condition was at the moment.

Stepping onto the shaded ground of the forest, after about ten minutes’ walk from the orphanage building, Joanna started to look around to find the specific herb that she was looking for. The forest was lush and it was easy to get lost if they were not familiar with such a vast leafy forest.

However, for Joanna, it was easy to find herself roaming in the quiet forest for hours as she usually did when she visited the Powel Orphanage. It was all thanks to Mr. Powel, who first introduced her to the forest and had become her companion when hunting there. She used to hunt for some herbs while Mr. Powel hunted for logs of wood or fruit, plants, and edible mushrooms for meals.

That memory had always surfaced every time she set foot in the forest, causing her to miss the presence of Mr. Powel, just how she felt at the moment. But, for now, she tried not to be drowned deeper in the mellow feelings as she wanted to focus on an important mission to save the life of a poor little boy.

As her thoughts went to the little boy who curled in the bed weakly, Joanna quickened her pace to search for the herb. However, reality was indeed unpredictable. Sometimes it would go as one’s wish but some other times it would go in the opposite direction, just like what she currently faced.

There was no sight of the healthy herb that she wanted to collect when she arrived at the area where the herb was supposed to grow. What lay before her eyes was the unhealthy version of the herb with the absence of purple flowers, while what she needed from the herb to cure Liam was the flowers, not other parts of the plant.

Looking around, Joanna activated her hawk-like eyes but to no avail, there were no eye-catching purple flowers that were caught by her eyes. Joanna thought that the herb might not grow healthily as it was exposed too much under the summer sun.

Then, what if she searched for them in a more sheltered, full-of-shade place? Her gaze then fell on the part of the forest that was supposed to be the right place for the herb to grow because of the very limited amount of sunlight that could penetrate the dense woods.

However, it was the part of the forest that she had not ever roamed around before, as Mr. Powel never took her there. Therefore, she was not familiar with that deeper part of the forest.

Should she search for them there? But what if she could not find what she was looking for and got lost there? Joanna contemplated.