The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 187: The first meaning to last forever

The grand door was closed when all the guests entered the main hall and took their seats in their assigned positions.

As the door closed, all the attention of the royal guests was drawn to one point, which was the dais of the King, on which King Ordoba de Montella stood up from his seat. In the silent room, he then delivered a speech to welcome all the guests and recited his birthday wishes for his son, the Crown Prince, the next ruler of Terra, who sat next to him.

Just when Joanna thought that the long speech that reverberated in the quiet room was over, all the attention turned to none other than her husband, who was diligently holding her hand under the table.

"It’s also an honor not only to me but also to Terra to have General Canillas von Rodega, who came far from our allied kingdom, Archess, to this special occasion." King Ordoba turned his body slightly to the left side, facing where Canillas calmly sat, before continuing to deliver his gracious speech. "Thank you for being here, General von Rodega. I hope this humble banquet will give you a pleasant time, as we are pleased to have you, one of our motherland saviors, at this special moment."

Once the greetings had been officially conveyed by King de Montella, he raised the golden goblet of wine and outstretched it in Canillas’ direction.

In response, Canillas stood from his seat, raising the goblet of wine that had also been prepared for him by a servant. He then took a sip of it, following after the King, who took a sip of wine first.

"And for all my people..." The King’s words shifted to all the guests who had their eyes on General von Rodega, which made them drift their attention back to their King. "Let Terra live in our hearts forever." With that having been said, all the guests, including Joanna, rose from their seats, following their King to take a sip of wine from the goblet of wine in their hands.

Cheers soon erupted inside the hall, and the music began to flow in not long after.

When the guests all sat back, the feasts began.

One by one, servants entered the room with trays of covered food, which was the main course of the feasts, and served them to each of the guests who sat at the long tables.

The tables were adorned with a white tablecloth that was made from the finest linen, and the servants served the food from the inside of the U shape. An overlay was laid on the top of the tablecloth so that the fine and delicate material would not be ruined by the stain from the food and drink.

Basins and hand-drying towels that were prepared beforehand were also laid at each guest’s place, as it was the protocol that had to be followed by the guests to wash their hands before they began to eat.

To obey the protocol, the guests, either ladies or gentlemen who wore gloves, had to take them off so that they could wash their hands. Joanna did that as well, but Canillas did not, as he did not bother to cover his hands with gloves like what was mostly exhibited by noblemen.

Once the white gloves were removed from Joanna’s hands, her fair skin was exposed. That action alone did not miss Canillas’ eyes, as if what Joanna was doing was always an attractive performance to him.

However, it was not the sole thing that attracted Canillas’ eyes, which made him grab Joanna’s left hand not long after she placed her gloves on her lap.

Turning her head in the direction of Canillas in a swift movement as she was startled by the sudden touch on her bare hand, Joanna found Canillas lower his head. His gaze landed on her hand, which he grabbed.

Joanna did not say anything, nor did Canillas. She just stayed still with her gaze falling on his thumb, which moved in rhythm as it stroked the only ring that adorned her fingers.

None of them cared for the sound of utensils scraping the dishes, as most of the guests in the grand room had begun to savor the extravagant meals.

None of them also cared for the pairs of questioning yet reproaching eyes that were nailed at them from both across and next to their seats, as if wondering and also scolding why they had not touched the meals that had been served.

"Do you like it?" Canillas asked, making Joanna meet his eyes, which shifted from the ring on her finger toward her face.

With a smile, Joanna nodded her head. It was the first response she offered to the man whose eyes contained a glint that she most of the time captured in his beaming face. "I like it. Thank you," Joanna answered in a soft and low voice after that, as if she wanted her answer to only be heard by the man who was holding her hand.

But Canillas did not return the smile. Subsequently, the glint in his eyes turned somber, which made Joanna wonder why his countenance suddenly changed in the opposite way.

As she was full of wonderment, she found Canillas bring his gaze back toward the ring with his brows knitted. He then turned her hand to make her palm face upward, and he chimed in not long later.

"It’s too big." Discontentment was apparent in his low voice.

Joanna finally understood why his mood turned drastically, and it was caused by the white thread that circled the back of the ring that she wore.

"I will give you the fit one when we return to Archess." Canillas decided, feeling utterly dissatisfied to find her wearing the loose wedding ring.

"No," Joanna immediately replied, shaking her head as she disagreed with his idea.

Taken aback by her answer, Canillas furrowed his brows. "Why?" he asked, feeling curious why she refused to get the ring that fit on her finger, which he thought was better to wear than the loose one. Aside from that, the thread was not a good sight to see.

When Archess was mentioned by him, Joanna could not help but feel her heart skip a beat. She inwardly questioned herself about why she still felt uncomfortable every time he mentioned that he would take her back to that place, even after she decided to accept him as her husband.

But not like how she responded so far, Joanna tried to calm her mind this time, pushing aside all the anxiety, as she had made the decision that she would follow him back there as long as he was willing to take her back there and that he did not regret having her as his wife after all the rumors that were spread because of her that would likely impact his reputation.

She was also aware of one undeniable fact. She could not have their marriage ended if he did not agree on that.

However, on top of all the reasons that she had, she remembered all that he had done for her, particularly this very night when he showed his care for her and gave her comfort without her asking for that and telling him about her situation.

Although she felt suffocated, she would try to endure that. With time, she hoped that she would get used to living as his wife in his so-called homeland.

One day at a time, just like he suggested to her how they should walk on their marriage path in their deep conversation in Alenna Garden, where lemon balm fragrance lingered in the air on that bright day.

"When it is changed, the meaning will also change. It is no longer the same, although the term is the same," Joanna simply answered, holding his quizzical gaze in hers.

Because, in her point of view, it was a different object. Although the term was the same, it was still different.

It was still called a wedding ring when he gave her the new one, but the meaning was different when it was changed, as it was not the first wedding ring he gave her.

It was not the wedding ring that shone in the dim carriage when he revealed it to her for the first time after he took a long time to consider it. It was not the wedding ring that he gave along with the first birthday gift and the birthday wishes that he wrote with his rough handwriting.

The meaning of the wedding ring that was now adorning her finger was purely to welcome her as his wife. If the wedding ring was changed into a fit one, the meaning would also change, and it would be that it was a wedding ring that was given to change the loose wedding ring.

She also would not agree if he suggested for the same ring to be resized, as it might cause the damage that could not be undone.

Others might see it as a trivial matter. But to Joanna, who had passed a long time of thoughts and occasions to be where she was now with the man that she wanted to get rid of before, it was indeed not a trivial matter.

It was a hard and long decision, just as it was a hard and long effort to convince her mind that the dream was only a mere dream and that he was not the same man that she saw in the dream.

Hence, last night, when she put the ring on her own finger and found the size of the ring did not fit on her finger, she did not feel annoyed. Instead, she felt warmth surge in her heart because it represented his eagerness to welcome her to be his family even before he met her in person.

It was also one reason that became the turning point in her decision to accept him as her husband—a reason to tell her entire being that the dream was only a mere dream, although it was still hard to dwell in stillness inside her.

Therefore, Joanna wanted the first meaning of their wedding ring to last forever.