The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 140: Why you?

Joanna had wanted to ask the General, who had chosen her as his wife, that important and crucial question when they met one day.

But after she experienced the dream that very night, she had no desire to ask the General that question, as the urgency Joanna had in mind was only avoiding the General and breaking her relationship with him. And the reason he chose her as his wife no longer mattered, as she would no longer hold the status of his wife anytime soon.

It was Joanna’s confident thought before she found out about their equal stubbornness and persistence toward their opposite goal.

However, it emerged again lately, after she lost the chance to break free from him and after she witnessed his effort to maintain their marriage.

His emotions, which she sensed after a few events they happened to face together, particularly when she tried to get rid of him, had also made her want to know why he made her bond in the marriage with him.

For Joanna, this question was an important one, as it was where all this began.

If he had not chosen her as his wife, she probably would not have experienced that nightmare. And if she happened to dream about that, it would have been a mere dream that would not have haunted her, as she had no relationship with him.

If he had not chosen her as his wife, they would not have met and would not have stayed in the same room to share a bed as they were at the moment.

However, the answer that Joanna had wanted to hear was not yet heard.

About thirty seconds had passed, and the sharp-witted man, who had never once left her hang in long silence without an answer every time she talked to him, looked dazed.

For the first time, she found him in this state. There were no quick and mind-blowing remarks that, in some situations, made her annoyed, yet there were so many times she was impressed by his quick wit.

It was just like what happened to her a few seconds ago when his answer that she had persistently chased after ended up making her lose her ability to form a word to counter him. Nonetheless, Joanna acknowledged why he could be such a prominent General at such a young age, and he deserved that achievement.

But now, where was that prominent General? Joanna’s brows knitted at the peculiar look of the man, who was now looking at her face but like looking into space.

Meanwhile, Canillas actually did not look into space, as Joanna thought. He was looking straight into the face of the woman whom he had chosen as his wife.

’Why you?’

It was the question that was swirling in his mind while he stared deep into the sparkling flecks of gold in the eyes before him.

Why he was still staying by her side despite all the treatment she served on his plate was also playing in his mind.

’Why you?’

Canillas still remembered the night in the approaching winter last year when he sat alone in his room in his mansion, staring at the two scrolls of parchment lying on the table where he usually did his behind-the-table work.

The parchments had lied there for hours, untouched by him since he brought them back from the castle.

In the morning of the same day, an imperial messenger came to his mansion, relaying the message that King Bram de la Roca summoned him for an audience in the castle. Canillas thought that it was for the usual agenda, where the King had always summoned him for military discussion.

However, the audience that Canillas had on that one cold day was an exception. For the first time, the King brought up a topic that was unfamiliar to him, as they had never discussed it before.

Women and marriage.

The King personally handed in the parchments, where the emblem of the golden lion that was symbolizing the Kingdom of Terra became the cover of the outer layer. He asked his outstanding, youngest General to select one of an unknown number of Terran noble ladies whose names had been inscribed by a Terra imperial official under the direction of King Ordoba de Montella.

King Bram asked him to choose the Terran lady he wanted to take as wife, based on the profile background that was written under the name of each qualified lady that was carefully selected by King of Terra to be proposed for him, and Canillas should tell King Bram himself anytime he had made his choice.

King Bram informed him that the King of Terra had promised to select the most notable ladies, so he did not need to worry about any of their qualifications, and the profile that was provided in the parchments could be counted as trustworthy.

The King also guaranteed that there would be no rejection of his proposal, as King Bram de la Roca had corresponded to King Ordoba de Montella to emphasize that any decision that was made by General Canillas von Rodega had to be respected in order to make the alliance between Terra and Archess more tightly regulated.

However, when King Bram was speaking to him and delivering that message to him, Canillas’ mind was not completely there. It was circulated at one point.

Finally, it was there. The time when he should choose a lady for him to marry was there. It was what was circling inside his mind at that time, while he fixed his gaze on the two golden parchments he was holding.

When King of Terra brought up the topic of political marriage at the banquet he held to celebrate their victory against the Valthian Empire, Canillas was surprised. When he noticed that it was not an empty, impulsive approach but would be seriously implemented, Canillas felt that he had lost his desire to enjoy the banquet that he had reluctantly attended to begin with.

If it were not because he did not want the great name of Archess to be stained by his personal, disrespectful conduct, he would not have attended the banquet, as he preferred to flee back to Archess right after he successfully claimed the victory against Valthian.

He had reasoned to King Ordoba, as a matter of fact, that he could not decide that proposal himself because he was only an imperial soldier who had no power to decide over political agreements between the two kingdoms.

He could only concur when King Ordoba apprised him that he would discuss that matter with King Bram himself, while inside his heart he really hoped King Bram would decline the offer, as agreeing to marry the Terran lady was the same as using him as a political pawn between Archess and Terra. But it was only a naive expectation that would not work in the political gravity between the kingdoms.

Canillas was not naive and oblivious to politics, and he knew the consequences he had to bear since he decided to join the imperial army. Being used as a pawn was something that could not be avoided. Sooner or later, he would be part of that, and it would depend on him how he survived as a pawn.

However, surviving as a pawn was not Canillas’ first concern in this matter, as he was confident that he would survive no matter what complicated move he should afford in order to win the game that was played with him. Instead, he had a main concern, which was very personal to him.

That personal reason, which was very fundamental for Canillas, made him not be able to put a smile on his face when King Bram told him that he had agreed with the marriage arrangement for him.