Irritated feelings

One morning in a dark gray mansion that stood proudly under the sky of Archess, the people in the von Rodega mansion had started their routine as usual. 

As if representing the predominantly dark color of the mansion, the atmosphere inside the building had been tense and heavy in the last few days. The cause of the dark ambiance was none other than the master of the house, himself, General Canillas von Rodega, who had worn a somber face with his eyebrows creased that made all the people in the von Rodega mansion, including his mother, keep their distance away from him. 

However, although Madam Viona was feeling anxious to be close to the General, she was the only person in the von Rodega mansion who dared to approach him. Hence, instead of the maid, she had come to deliver breakfast in the General's room every morning as she didn't want her son to skip breakfast which she thought to be important, remembering his job that demanded him to be in fit shape.

Madam Viona had counted the days back to recall the time her son began to be masked in this kind of cold, dark, and unpleasant aura and she managed to call to mind that it had begun the next day after he returned from the battlefield four days ago.

She had wondered why her son became this grim. She remembered well that she didn't give any further argument to forbid him to visit his wife in Terra although she refused to walk out of the dining room with him as she felt annoyed at his disobedience to her at that time. 

Was he angry because of that? But she saw him offer her a smile with a good night greeting that night before he left her alone in the dining room.

It was such an unpleasant situation which made the atmosphere around the house uncomfortable, causing Madam Viona to have an inclination to know the reason behind his current behavior. However, Madam Viona didn't dare ask about his recent emotional state as she knew that he wouldn't open his feelings to her. Instead, it might make him avoid returning home as he would regard her caring question as a nuisance.

Therefore, she left her son's room immediately after delivering the breakfast, holding back to voice her curiosity that had threatened to slip out of her lips.

Meanwhile, the somber General, who had caused the gloomy, unpleasant atmosphere in the house, was ready to go to work after finishing breakfast and washing up.

It had been four days since he returned to his mansion from the Battle of Delsh, but he was still unable to ask for leave to Terra as the King wouldn't grant him permission before he completed the heaps of tasks that needed to be handled.

Before leaving to visit his wife in Terra, Canillas had to handle the Calburn soldiers who had been captured and taken prisoner by him and his troops and were now held in the dungeon that was built into the lowest floor of the Roca Castle.

Capturing high-ranking soldiers as had been done by General von Rodega could be counted as winning the lottery.

They could be traded for ransoms, which meant that they would be locked up until money was paid by their master, who was their king, to release them.

If the ransom was not paid, they would be sold into slavery or killed, and most of the captured soldiers chose to be killed rather than treated as slaves, as they would mostly be forced to labor under inhumane conditions, including being tortured or maimed for amusement.

Hence, those prisoners' only hope was to be freed as the ransom was paid or killed outright.

As handling this matter was not simple and would take an unspecific amount of time, he did not want to cause any delay in finishing this task before asking for leave. 

Besides, every time he remembered his sick and runaway wife, he couldn't help but add urgency to everything he was doing, as if he couldn't wait any longer to know her well-being and to hear from her directly about why she left his mansion with all her belongings packed out. But the most crucial thing he wanted to hear from her was that she didn't leave for good.

With this thought, he added fuel to his pace, stepping down the stairs at an urgent pace with the sound of his footsteps breaking the silence of the von Rodega mansion. 

But not long later, he slowed down when he heard a muffled sound like women chattering and giggling in the drawing room across the left side of the stairs on the first floor of the mansion.

Slowing down his steps as if trying to detect whose voices those were, he clicked his tongue when he figured out who the other party was talking to his mother in that room.

Resuming the speed of his steps as he walked towards the front door of the mansion, he took a halt when he heard a woman's shrill voice come from behind his back.

However, Canillas did not bother to turn around to face the owner of the voice. Instead, he chose to continue striding forward as he needed to head to the military barracks, which was situated in the Roca Castle. 

But he was forced to take another abrupt pause as his steps were blocked by the sudden presence in front of him. The woman who had just shrilled appeared at a dash a few steps away before him, preventing him from making another step forward.

"Long time no see, Canillas," greeted the woman with a coy smile that appeared on her face. It was Princess Amanda de la Roca, the niece of the King of Archess, Bram de la Roca.

"What rude of you to not greet me when we have not seen each other for quite a long time," said Princess Amanda, while folding her arms across her chest, with a slight glare and pouting lips, as if she wanted to show the General the cute side of her even when she was feeling disappointed.

However, instead of being captivated, Canillas rolled his eyes, seeming to be unfazed by the expression that was shown by the woman before him. "Since I wasn't the one who invited you here and whom you wanted to see here, I believe that I don't have any obligation to greet you, Princess," with his left hand holding the hilt of the sword hanging on his waist, he responded in a flat tone with an indifferent expression on his face.

"Besides, this is not like we haven't crossed paths for decades. And this is also not the first time for you to set foot in a mansion you have visited for the umpteenth time. So, you don't need to exaggerate," Canillas remarked nonchalantly. "So, now, Princess, just continue what you are here for. Having a lovely conversation with my mother as how you have reasoned to people out there every time you come to this mansion. Prove them that that is not a lie." And his remark had caused the change of countenance of the Princess. The coy smile gradually disappeared from her face. 

But Canillas was not interested in dwelling with her any longer, as he didn't want to make his already irritated feelings grow to another level.

When Canillas was about to take a step forward from the side of the Princess as she seemed to refuse to move from in front of him, he heard other words coming from the Princess before him.