The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 160: The sound of rustling fabric

As another thick book she offered Canillas was rejected, Joanna placed it back in the compartment where she kept the books that she took from her bookshelf in her room to accompany her during the trip.

Still weighed with worry that he would resume what he did in the inn, as she saw him have nothing to do and refuse to read, Joanna turned her head to look at him and said, "If Sir Canillas is tired of reading, why not take a short nap? I will wake you up when we arrive later."

She tried her best to speak and appear as calm as she could manage while expecting him to go with her suggestion regardless of whether he had also taken a nap while she did before or not, as she could not bear to receive another playful remark from him if she happened to ask him that.

"Will my wife accompany me to take a short nap?"

Of course, although Joanna did not ask him that question, she could not escape easily from receiving another playful remark if the man that she expected to take a short nap appeared on his mischievous side.

It made her think of not waking him up. She would leave him to sleep in the carriage if, miraculously, he happened to follow what she suggested, so that he would not tease her anymore.

Watching a broad smile drawn on his beaming face with his arms opened as if inviting her to be in his arms again, Joanna cleared her throat before replying, "I apologize, but I have already had enough sleep. I haven’t even cleaned the dirt in my eyes yet."

Joanna managed to speak calmly despite her nervousness while imagining what her father’s response would be if he heard her say those kinds of indelicate words.

But what else she could do to give a quick response to the mischievous man and stop him from having the intention of enveloping her in his embrace, as it was the only thing she had in mind while she was in the middle of restlessness.

Surprised to hear the cold lady’s reply to him that he found to be amusing, the sound of laughter burst in the carriage, which was soon followed by the spoken words mixed with the residue of laughter not long later. "Then let me help my wife clean the dirt in her beautiful eyes," Canillas muttered, reaching his hand out toward Joanna’s eyes, as if seriously trying to help clean the absence of dirt in her eyes.

And still, nothing she did would stop him from invading her territory. How could he distance himself from her just by telling him that she still had dirt in her eyes while he did not hesitate and almost wiped the snot that flowed from her nose with his bare hand when he found her crying over a sad ending story that night?

Quickly turning and lowering her head as she tried to avoid Canillas’ approaching hand, Joanna flipped open the book on her lap that she had not finished reading yet due to sleepiness that took over her soberness. She then said, "Thank you so much for your kind offer of help. But I can do that myself." Her tone was calm, and her gaze was fixated on the book on her lap.

Feeling amused at her response, Canillas hummed. "What a good wife I have here, not willing to burden her husband even for the slightest," came the reply from Canillas with a chuckle as he watched his intriguing wife act to read in the presence of the reduced amount of light that scattered around them as the sun was about to rest behind the horizon.

Canillas knew that Joanna was reading nothing, as it should not be easy for her to clearly see what was written in the book at the moment. But Canillas let her be, and he retracted his hand that was stretched out to pretend to clean the absent dirt from her eyes, bringing it to fold across his chest while leaning against the back of the seat on his side. His eyes fell on Joanna’s side profile, where her straight nose looked prominent.

It was the last words that filled the carriage before silence reigned over as both husband and wife stopped making further teasing remarks, focusing on what was caught in their eyes.

"Joanna..." Canillas suddenly called out Joanna’s name after about five minutes of silence.

Due to her nervousness that he would make another teasing remark or anything as a resume of his conduct in the inn, Joanna did not respond to him, pretending as if she heard nothing.

She kept looking at the book on her lap, which was gradually engulfed in dimness.

"Joanna..." Joanna heard Canillas call out her name again, but she remained silent. Only the sound of her pounding heart, if one heard it thoroughly, responded to him. And it was mixed with the sound of rustling fabric, which came from him, making her heart pound more frantically.

"My stubborn wife, Joanna..." Still, only silence came as a reply from Joanna, as she was anxious at what he was doing with his attire, which made the sound of rustling fabric still reach her ears.

"My cruel wife, Joanna..." Joanna remained silent, not making any movement in her sitting position as nervousness still washed over her entire being.

"My beautiful wife, Joanna..." Joanna’s posture was becoming stiffer, like a frozen statue, and she still did not give her response to him, not even being able to look at what the man was doing through the corner of her eyes.

"My dear wife, Joanna..." The silent Joanna’s grip on the book on her lap became tighter when she caught sight of a hand approaching her before the hand, which was balled into a fist, settled on top of the book on her lap, where her eyes had been fixed.

"My only wife, Joanna..." And Joanna’s eyes quivered at the sight of the object that was revealed when the hand that was fisted into a ball was turned into an open palm. The grip on the book loosened.

"For my wife, Joanna von Rodega," Canillas spoke, picking up the object on his palm with his thumb and index finger of his other hand and slowly bringing it before his face.

Meeting Joanna’s eyes as they followed where the object was brought, Canillas said, "It was supposed to be on your finger a long time ago, but it still ended up with me." A small smile formed on his lips. "I have kept it with me not long after I chose you, Lady Joanna de Lara, as my wife. But so many exciting events have happened between us, which are too dear to be missed." Canillas let out a low chuckle before continuing to speak,

"I didn’t see you on the day I returned from Delsh. I chased after you to Barasca, but I was got rid of by you once I arrived there." A low chuckle came out of Canillas’ lips again as he recalled how much she resisted him. Turning the chuckle into a small smile, Canillas noticed Joanna, whose lips were slightly parted, move her gaze from his eyes to the ring in his fingers, which shone in the dimness.

"I refused to grant all of your requests, which made us sit together in this carriage. But still, I contemplated giving this ring to you because you haven’t accepted me as your husband until now." Canillas smiled faintly as Joanna’s eyes slowly drifted up to meet his eyes again.

"I always wondered if you would throw this ring away when I gave it to you and ask for the same request from me again because of that. But tomorrow we will show up together at a grand event as husband and wife for the first time. There will be so many eyes on us, especially on you as the daughter of Duke de Lara, who was miserably chosen as the wife of a humble-blooded soldier like me." A faint smile lingered on Canillas’ lips, holding Joanna’s quivering eyes in his calm ones.

"I don’t mean to ask you to show off this humble ring to others’ eyes, as this ring is probably nothing to be compared with the nobilities’ out there." Canillas continued to speak. A faint smile remained on his face.

"What I want is that I don’t want others to see my wife’s finger bare. You are married, a noble lady, but your finger is bare. I always mean it when I say, I don’t want you, my wife, to be regarded lowly and unfortunate by others because you married a commoner." Canillas took a pause, making sure that Joanna followed their conversation. When he noticed that she was with him, Canillas resumed speaking,

"You marrying a commoner like me has probably made you a fun joke for some of them. You may think it is fine when others think that you are unfortunate and that you are unwanted and abandoned by your husband. But I can’t accept that because I never abandon you, and I never not want you, no matter how cold and cruel you are to me." Canillas smiled faintly.

"That’s why I, as your husband, ask you, my wife, to please consider pushing aside all your ego or any grounds that make you still doubt accepting me as your husband." Canillas took a pause, holding Joanna’s eyes in his. He then said,

"Please wear this wedding ring, Joanna."