Where is the lady?

Walking slowly towards her son, Madam Viona opened her arms wide and gave him a warm embrace. With every second passed, she increased the pressure of the embrace as if feeling relieved and grateful to be able to hold her son in her arms again. Tears slipped down Madam Viona's cheeks.

"You are back, son," she sobbed, patting the back of her son softly, "Thank you for coming back alive to this poor mother of yours," uttered Madam Viona, her voice low and quavering.

Hugging his mother which made him slightly bend over due to the difference between their body heights, Canillas smiled and replied, "I am, Mother. Safe and sound."

Madam Viona nodded at the words coming from her son. "It is good. It is always good to see my son safe and sound," said the General's mother softly, without releasing her embrace to her son.

A little while later, Madam Viona pulled away from Canillas. Taking a step back, she wiped the tears away from her cheeks while carefully examining the countenance of Canillas.

Putting her hands on his cheeks, she commented with her brows furrow, "You seem to lose weight again, son. The battles always take a toll on you," Madam Viona let out a sigh of emotional pain, "Mother will prepare delicious meals for dinner for you." With that, she removed her hands from his cheeks and turned away to order the servants to prepare dinner for the General.

Upon the words of his mother, Canillas didn't give any reply, but a nod, as it was what his mother always commented every time he returned from the battlefield. He looked thinner and soon meals would be prepared. It was useless to argue and decline the meals although he felt really exhausted at the moment as his mother would bring the meals into his room and wait for him to finish the meals.

Still standing in the hallway of the von Rodega mansion, after ordering the servants to prepare dinner for her son, Madam Viona turned to look at him again only to find her son moving his eyes around the hall to the second floor of the mansion as if looking for something that wasn't presented in the hall where they were standing.

"The lady has returned to Terra," stated Madam Viona as she knew what her son was looking for. "So don't expect to see her here," she added curtly. The voice that came out from her lips and the expression that was depicted on her face were cold. Gone was the old lady who was warm when welcoming the General a few minutes ago.

Drifting his wandering gaze back to his mother, Canillas furrowed his brows deeply which was enough to tell all the people who currently looked at him about his emotional shock.

What did his mother just tell him? The lady returned to Terra? But why? Canillas questioned in his mind, puzzling over the absurd news relayed by his mother.

While the questions were running wildly in his mind, he studied the countenance of his mother. He knew his mother well. It was obvious that his mother disliked his wife just from the way she mentioned her.

Did his wife do something inappropriate that made his mother angry when he was away? Did they fight that made her return to her homeland?

Noticing the questioning look on her son's face, Madam Viona sighed, and said, "Let's go to the dining room and have your dinner. Mother will explain what has happened to you tomorrow."

"No, Mother," Canillas shook his head, "I need to know what exactly has happened instantly so please explain it to me even when I am having my dinner," replied Canillas with a firm voice, showing no room to argue further. 

He was definitely curious as to what had happened that caused his wife to leave his mansion, and couldn't wait to get the answer any longer. He then headed to the dining room, followed by his mother whose brows were deeply knitted. 

Canillas could feel the glare of his mother that pierced his back but he didn't give it any concern as what he wanted right at the moment was the actual story about his wife. Therefore, although his mother looked displeasure at his words, Canillas didn't bother about that.

He had tried to not disappoint his mother by willingly having the dinner despite his fatigue, but he also needed to figure out what had happened between his mother and his wife as he strongly believed that something should have transpired when he was away. Otherwise, why would the lady whom he had married dare leave her husband's house? Didn't she know that this kind of action would offend Archess and even him as her husband?

He hadn't met this newly wedded wife of his even once so it was impossible for him to perceive her personality. If his wife was kind of a spoiled young lady, then he wouldn't be reluctant to give his wife a lesson to change her behavior as she was a married woman now. Therefore, he needed to know the reason why his wife left his house.

Did she come to a realization that her husband wasn't a man of high social rank who belonged to the aristocracy? He frowned at his random thought before he was disrupted by his mother's voice.

"Have these meals, son, and mother will explain to you while you are eating," said Madam Viona who was back to her gentle self, pushing all the foods that were served on the dining table to the range that was reachable by Canillas.

"Now you can start speaking, Mother," Canillas spoke as if giving a command to his mother while taking several meals to be placed on his plate.

Sighing, she began to speak, "The lady was suddenly sick over a week ago. Reddish rashes covered her whole body." Madam Viona who was sitting next to her son recalled what had happened when she was surprised by the sudden commotion in the dawn that day.

Picking some foods that hadn't been taken by her son and placing them on his plate, she continued to speak after a brief pause as if adjusting her thought, "But mother won't tell you the detail of the rashes on her body as you are eating right now. And if you want to use your imagination, it is better to do that after you finish your meals." Madam Viona advised her son.

Upon hearing the information that was shared by his mother, some part of Canillas wanted to laugh at her advice. His mother, most of the time, seemed to forget that her son was a soldier, a cruel soldier who had lost count of the number of people that he had killed. Blood, pus, dirt, and even the smelly parts of those things had been part of him on the battlefields. Even those things didn't hinder him to eat or sleep around anymore.

And now his mother advised him to not think about the look of rashes on the body of his wife especially when he was eating. He wanted to laugh but held it back as he didn't want to get another glare from his mother. Instead, he just shook his head slightly and subtly lifted the corner of his lips while keeping on putting food into his mouth and munching it at a speed that was different from noblemen.

"But why did she choose to leave for Terra instead of calling a doctor to examine her, Mother?" asked Canillas, wiping his mouth with the napkin as he finished his meals.