2 The fate of the lifetime

"Where is she?" asked the older madam, when she saw the young maid enter her room alone.

"Madam Joanna said that she is unable to come to see Madam as she is currently busy preparing to move the things out of her room," answered Lily with a slightly shaky voice, while looking down at her fidgeting fingers.

Upon hearing such an answer, the old madam frowned before dashing out of her room as if she wanted to hear such an answer directly from her daughter-in-law.

"Were you really serious with your conduct just now, Joanna?!" Madam Viona's loud voice rang once she arrived in Joanna's room, disrupting the musical chime provided by the downpours outside.

When the older madam was about to approach the young madam who was still sitting leisurely while reading a book, Bianca blocked her way with her head politely bowed.

"How dare you block my way! Get out of here!" Madam Viona snapped. Seeing no movement from Bianca, Madam Viona gritted her teeth and was about to reach her hand out to push Bianca, but it was stopped by Joanna's words.

"It is of my command to not allow Mother to come near me as I am not in good condition at the moment," Joanna spoke with a calm voice, still in the same position since the old lady entered her room, with her eyes directed on the book on her lap.

Before her mother-in-law gave another tantrum, she took a sigh and closed the book that was on her lap and placed it on the bed next to her. She then lifted her head and pushed herself up from the chair.

She slowly made her way towards the older woman whose eyes glared at her with her chest heaving heavily up and down as if she was going to explode soon if further emotional exposure was given.

When Bianca saw the young madam approaching the spot where she and the older madam were standing, Bianca made a move to the side to give way for the young lady to stand in front of her mother-in-law.

"It seems that my health has gotten worse recently due to the bad weather, Mother. That's why I couldn't come near you," Joanna spoke with a calm expression, showing no sign of nervousness as she usually showed every time she talked to her mother-in-law, which made Madam Viona surprised.

When Joanna was standing just two steps away from Madam Viona, through the warm glow of oil lamps and candles that were lit up in the room, the old madam was able to clearly see the figure of her daughter-in-law who was looking straight into her eyes with a soft smile plastered on her lips.

But it was not the things that made Madam Viona shiver all over her already cold body due to the current weather in Archess and take a quick few steps back. She gasped and covered her mouth with her trembling hands. She asked after a brief moment of silence, "W- W- What is happening to you?" A nervous and scared tone of voice could be heard in the cold room.

While waiting for her daughter-in-law to respond to her question, Madam Viona's quivering eyes once again trailed from the top of Joanna's hair and lingered longer on her face. It was then trailed down her neck and her exposed hands which were not covered with the sleeves of her nightgown.

All of the exposed body parts of her daughter-in-law who had just been married to her son for almost four months were covered with red rashes, making her look swollen due to raised bumps. The previous fierce-looking old lady looked like a timid kitty right now.

"My body always becomes weaker when an extreme change of weather occurs, especially with an overly humid and cold atmosphere that is caused by the rain that has been falling hard for over a week now, Mother," answered Joanna, without breaking her gaze from looking at the trembling old lady in front of her. She then added,

"I have tried to treat it by taking some medicine that I usually took when I was in such a condition, but it seemed to be not working as my body refused to cooperate. Therefore, I have decided to go back to Terra as soon as possible as it seems that the rain in Archess will still fall until an unknown time." Joanna sighed, shifting her eyes from Madam Viona to look down at the rashes on her exposed hands.

"I am afraid if I don't go back to my homeland to recuperate soon, my condition will get worse." Raising her head to see her mother-in-law again, she continued to say, "The worst is that it may be contagious and more difficult to cure. I believe that you don't want people in this mansion to experience this kind of disease, right, Mother?"

To her question, Madam Viona shook her head with a quick motion. "No! Of course not," Madam Viona replied without any slight hesitation. "You can go back to Terra right away. I will tell my son about this when he returns from the battlefield." Having said that, Madam Viona turned around and made her way out of the room.

However, before stepping outside Joanna's room, as if remembering something, she halted and spoke without bothering to turn her body around, only turning her head slightly to the side, "I can't see you off later. You may leave soon after finishing packing your stuff. You also don't need to rush back here, and I will tell my son about this." The older madam left after saying those words, without sparing her daughter-in-law another look, leaving Joanna standing there with a small smile on her lips.

After the back of the old lady disappeared from her sight, Joanna turned around and said to Bianca, "Please prepare the carriage, Bianca. We will go back to Terra soon," and never return to this place ever again, and never meet him in this lifetime.

She kept these words to herself as she was ready to change her fate in this lifetime.