The man in the dream

Joanna sat quietly without a word in the carriage that carried her back to her homeland, the Kingdom of Terra. Watching the water pour down from the cloudy sky, she let her fingertips trace the rain that trailed down outside the window.

The rain that had slowed down before Joanna left the General's mansion had gradually fallen heavily when she stepped inside the carriage, pounding the roof and windows of the carriage that sheltered her and her maids.

However, Joanna ordered her entourage which only consisted of fifteen knights of the Duchy of Barasca to proceed on their trip back home. It was decided after she got confirmation from the Commander of Knights, Sir Sylvester that the trip was possible to proceed under the current weather, for which Joanna felt relieved.

Joanna had her own reason to not delay the journey back to Terra. Three weeks was the period of time that was required to pass the border between Archess and Terra while to reach Barasca, which was the dukedom of her father, the Duke of Barasca, John de Lara, another five days were needed to take.

Joanna wanted to minimize the possibility of an encounter between her and the General as based on the dream that she had last night, the General would be on the way back from his expedition very soon. If she happened to cross paths with her husband before she left Archess, then her plan to leave her husband would be ruined as she would be brought back to his mansion.

That dream… It was that dream that forced Joanna to make such a rushed decision to immediately leave for Terra. She realized that her entourage should have been surprised by the sudden action. They might even think that she might have turned insane because she was abandoned by her husband.

To be honest, it was not a matter for Joanna that until this time she hadn't met the General of Archess who had become her husband for four months now. She even hadn't seen a strand of his hair, let alone his appearance.

She only knew that the General was a great hero, who was unbeatable on the numerous battlefields, and it made him respected not only in Archess kingdom but also in Terra kingdom. However, apart from the praise that was given to the young General with remarkable achievements, there were also rumors which had spread out widely. It had been said that he was a cruel and bloodthirsty man, a man who killed his enemies without mercy.

The rumors had actually made Joanna feel grateful for being away from her husband as being close to him might make her grow restless. However, after having that dream, she was certain that she had to be away from him forever as in that dream he was the one who ruined her life.

Joanna had questioned herself since she woke up today if everything that appeared in that dream was a fragmented memory of her past life or the things that were going to happen in the future or… it was just a mere dream.

But why did she feel restless by that dream if it was just a mere dream? Why did she feel it so vividly as if she had experienced it before? It was so painful that made her cry in her sleep. She even woke up in a daze and panted, finding the pillow under her cheeks wet by her tears.

Joanna was sure that she didn't want to experience those things ever again if that happened to be the fate of her past life. And she wouldn't allow those things to come true in this life if that were the things that would happen in the future. And if it was just a mere dream… then, it was a dream that she didn't want to have ever again in this lifetime. She didn't want to have that uninvited dream again.

And Joanna knew the only way to avoid the dream turning into a reality was by avoiding General Canillas von Rodega. Therefore, she should end this marriage soon, separate from him, and never have any relationship with him.

Just let him go away… So far away…

---

At Zapen Hill, in the northern region of Archess kingdom, the intensity of devastating fighting during the Battle of Delsh had just come to an end. It was a war to defend Delsh from the claim of the Calburn kingdom to a right of sovereignty.

Delsh was a border territory, located between Archess and Calburn, which had been long conquered and undertaken by Archess. However, Calburn had attempted to recover this lost land in an effort to expand their territory, following their success in conquering northwards.

Calburn was a smaller kingdom compared to Archess and had been calm over the decades. However, recently, after the previous King passed away, the current King seemed to be more ambitious to make Calburn become greater. Therefore, he even summoned mercenaries to join the army in order to make up for the shortfall in manpower, and this strategy was successful as Calburn had expanded its territories by twice within one year.

However, before the Calburn army invaded the border fortress of Delsh, General Canillas von Rodega led his troops to Zapen Hill to block the invasion and successfully made them surrender and retreat.

"Report, General! The last prisoner has been successfully captured!" reported one of the soldiers under General Canillas von Rodega's troops.

A tall, well-built young man stood majestically, towering among the piles of lifeless bodies lying on the bloody, muddy ground.

Blood splattered on his armor and helmet. Blood also flowed down to the tip of his sword blade, dropping into the pool of blood on the ground.

And it was not his blood. It was his enemy's blood, unlucky beings whose lives were ended by his sword.

The deafening sound of thunder echoed through the darkening sky as if announcing the end of the war, congratulating the victory, and welcoming the dead to the hereafter.

The young man looked up at the afternoon sky enveloping with dark clouds before turning to see the soldier, who reported to him, over his shoulder. His high-bridged, sharp nose and chiseled jawline were prominent from his side profile.

He nodded and ordered, "Take all the prisoners and prepare to return to the capital tomorrow morning!"