An oasis of serenity

At the positive answer relayed by the General, the Duke nodded his head. "Then, I will order Joanna's maid to pass the message to her," informed the Duke with a smile.

He then rang a bell to call the butler to enter the room.

After the butler, who had received an order to send Bianca to Joanna's room, left the drawing room, the Duke turned to look at Canillas. He said, "While my daughter is being informed about your arrival and making herself ready to welcome you, if you are not feeling tired, how if we make a stroll around this mansion, Sir Canillas?" It was also Duke de Lara's effort to distract the urgency of the General on seeing his daughter.

At the Duke's offer, Canillas expressed what had been a hassle in his mind instead. "If Your Grace doesn't mind, is it possible to let me know if there is a garden in this mansion? I asked this as I happened to smell some sort of interesting fragrance a few moments ago in this room. It made me wonder if it was from plants as I had never encountered this kind of fragrance before," asked Canillas to the Duke.

Inwardly, he actually wondered why he was curious about the source of the fragrance that hit him when the wind breezed before. He just wanted to settle his mind, quenching his curiosity.

He assumed the curiosity aroused because he found it to be peculiar and refreshing. 

For a soldier who had spent most of his time in the warzone, dealing with the metallic scent of blood and rotten parts of the limbs was unavoidable. Hence, he might find this fragrance to be comforting. 

Upon Canillas' question, the Duke answered, "It is Alenna Garden, an herbal garden that has been created and left by my late wife, Joanna's mother." The Duke smiled before offering, "We could take a stroll around Alenna Garden if it is an interest to you, Sir Canillas." And Canillas responded positively to the offer.

The pair of father- and son-in-law made their way out of the drawing room and headed to the backyard of the mansion where Alenna Garden was situated.

Before Canillas stepped out of the huge back door of the mansion which led to the garden, the peculiar scent brought by the gentle breeze once again hit his nostrils and it was stronger this time as he was closer to the source of the fragrance.

Looking ahead, he slowed down his steps when he caught sight of the garden he wanted to know about. 

Alenna Garden was not a small garden, a typical garden that was usually created in other houses. It was a large and eye-catching garden and was beautifully designed, implying a wholehearted treatment.

Climbing down the stairs as he passed the back door of the mansion, he slowly walked towards the garden which was surrounded by dense-growing shrubs, forming a boundary as a living fence at the entrance and a wall of green on the sides.

As Canillas, who walked behind the Duke, stepped inside the entrance of the garden, he heard the older man say, "Welcome to Alenna Garden, Sir Canillas." The Duke then slowed down his steps to walk side by side with his son-in-law, who seemed to be busy observing his surroundings.

When his son-in-law turned his head to face him, he narrated while they slowly walked down the flagstone with silver birch trees lining on each side, "This garden is like a treasure for my daughter, Joanna." The Duke smiled, affection could be felt in his words. "She could spend a whole day here either to treat the plants or to do some leisure activities like reading, knitting, and… sleeping," the Duke informed, to which Canillas raised his brows.

His wife slept in this garden? How come? Asked Canillas to himself, finding it somehow amusing.

Finding the perplexity drawn on the General's countenance, the Duke let out a chuckle. He said, "This garden is like her second home, Sir Canillas. I happened to ask her about this weird habit of hers. She told me that she loved the soothing scent spread out by the herbal plants that could give her a sense of calm and peaceful feeling." The Duke paused for a moment, turning his head towards the General before continuing to say, "As if she is in the embrace of her mother." A sad-looking smile appeared on the Duke's lips.

Being silent for a moment upon the words of the Duke, without offering any word in response, Canillas slowly moved his gaze back to what was laid around him.

He could see the layout of the garden more clearly now. Aside from various herbal plants, he also found some varieties of trees and flowers growing in certain spots of the garden, blending in harmony and creating a calm and serene atmosphere.

As he had zero knowledge about herbal plants, he could only see the appearance of a wide variety of shapes, colors, and textures of lower-growing to medium-sized herbs.

The beds of various herbs were obviously arranged by height and were planted alongside stepping stone paths to separate them from each other.

There were trees that were grown in the garden that gave shade to several beds of herbal plants, and there were plants that were free from the shade, growing healthily under direct sunlight.

Walking further, in the center of the garden, there was a fountain surrounded by flowers, which presence increased the intensity of a peaceful ambiance through the sound of falling water.

Canillas' gaze then fell on one secluded corner of the garden. Under a willow tree, there was a swing where on the seat was laid a comfortable white colored cushion with a small pillow laid on one side of it, and a canopy could be found at the top of the swing, as such an arrangement would provide shelter for whoever occupied it.

He then wondered if that swing was the place where his wife used to sleep while she was in the garden.

The soft contours and mellow hues of a gazebo made of redwood could be seen in the other corner, across from the swing. The grapevines grew over it, climbing up the posts and the canopy.

For him, as a soldier who had spent most of his time on the battlefield, every element that was provided in this garden was like an oasis of serenity.

He understood now why his wife loved to spend her time in the garden, even to sleep. Canillas smiled at the thought of his wife.

But then the smile faded away from his face when his mind drifted into the condition of his mansion. 

The backyard was indeed deserted, as his mother was not like his wife who seemed to love gardening, and his mother would only let the backyard be decorated with overgrown shrubs and grass.

It was highly likely that his wife needed to have great endurance and adjust herself to the drastic change in the new environment around her.

The thought that the young lady had fallen sick because of that factor as well, which she seemed to not be able to deal with, made him worried even more.

Before his restless mind drifted too far away, he heard hurried footsteps approaching the direction where he was standing together with his father-in-law.