As Canillas watched the stars which rarely appeared in the sky due to the frequent cloudy weather that occurred lately with his mind drifting toward anticipation of meeting his wife, his view was suddenly blocked and a voice was heard later.
"Want a drink, General?" asked a burly man whose blonde long hair was tied at the back of his neck. Canillas could see the grinning man after the bottle of wine was removed from his view.
He took a heavy sigh. "No, thanks, Paul," Canillas answered with a lazy voice, staring back at the sky above him.
It was Colonel Paul Barlins, a young soldier who had fought with Canillas on the battlefields since they joined the Archessan army.
"Thinking about your wife, General?" asked Paul, a crooked smile appearing on his lips.
Taking a seat next to Canillas with his back leaning against the tree trunk behind him, he took a sip of wine directly from the bottle. It was common for the Archessan soldiers, most of whom were tolerant of alcohol, to enjoy alcohol, especially on the last day on the battlefield, as if to celebrate another victory that they managed to achieve.
"You don't need to be nervous, General. Instead, you need to be more enthusiastic, just like when I met my newly-wedded wife that I married last year," advised Colonel Barlins as if he knew what was in the mind of his leader on the battlefield but childhood friend outside the battlefield.
"You said that to me as if Sonia were a lady from a far kingdom that you hadn't met before she became your wife," retorted Canillas to his childhood friend.
"Are you blaming me now for the fact that you didn't have any childhood sweetheart to marry when you reached adulthood, Mr. General?" Paul replied with a hint of teasing remark, letting out a chuckle before gulping another sip of wine. As if not wanting to lose the opportunity to tease his aloof friend especially when they were now free from tense of war, he continued uttering,
"But don't you think it is a blessing for you to marry a Terran lady? As we often heard about their superior beauty compared to Archessan ladies." Paul chuckled but soon it died down when he noticed the General shifted his eyes from the sky towards him with one corner of his lips curled up.
He cleared his throat and quickly added another statement, "But, of course, Sonia is an absolute exception." Canillas smirked in satisfaction at Paul's hasty clarification and apprehensive expression.
Canillas didn't bother to give another response to Paul as Canillas was aware that Paul wouldn't stop chattering about the topic he wasn't eager to share at the moment, especially when he, himself, didn't have any knowledge about his wife. He brought his gaze back to the sky, instead.
Receiving no further response from the man lying down next to him, Paul put his free hand on the man's left shoulder, squeezing it a bit, and said, "Don't forget to introduce your wife to me and Sonia when we arrive in the capital later. We can arrange for a small picnic and worry not about the dishes as Sonia, my best cook wife, will be happily preparing for us." He grinned after offering the General a brilliant idea of his version.
As Paul received another silence as a response from Canillas, he let out a sigh of resignation and said, "I will regard your silence as a yes then, Mr. General."
It was not something new to receive a flat response from this long-time friend of his, an aloof yet cruel general. But he didn't agree with the cruel terms that others addressed to him. As for Paul, his friend, Canilass von Rodega, was a good man though he had dark sides inside him that Paul didn't dare to poke. He was also a man who tended to keep his personal life with him.
"Go, sleep, Paul. Otherwise, I will both leave you here tomorrow with your legs broken and tell Sonia how your eyes shone when you praised the beauty of Terran ladies," replied Canillas in a weary tone with his eyes closed.
Hearing the words coming from his friend, Paul chuckled and shook his head. He was used to this sounded sadistic words of the young General.
He then took a deep breath and released it, taking another sip while watching the bonfire dancing along with the wind before him. He hoped his friend married a good lady who could keep him company for the rest of his life.
---
About ten days after Joanna left the von Rodega mansion, on one quiet night under the gloomy weather in the land of Archess, Madam Viona was awakened by urgent knocks on the door.
Narrowing her eyes, she pushed herself to sit upright on the bed. "Come in," said the old lady with an irritated tone.
The door was pushed open and Lily entered the room with her head bowed. "Master Canillas has already arrived at the gate of the mansion, Madam," reported Lily, breathing heavily as she seemed to walk in a hurry to relay the important news to the old Madam.
The previous annoyed expression that was shown on Madam Viona's face as her rest was disturbed by the young maid disappeared immediately when she heard the reported news. A bright smile bloomed on her face.
Without waiting any longer, she climbed down from the bed and dashed out of the room while covering a thick shawl over her shoulders.
When she was a few steps away from the main door of the mansion, she halted as she saw her only son, the great general of Archess, who had been away from the mansion for months now to carry out his duty as a soldier.
It was never easy to be the mother of a soldier as she always felt restless every time her son left for the battlefields. She prayed every day to never receive unpleasant news about her son.
There was no peaceful feeling even for one day until she saw the well-being of her son with her own eyes, like this time when Canillas stood before her.