"Admiral Leon Vich, General. I apologize that I could not et you and give you company for the naval base inspection when you ca to visit Seidel last ti." Admiral Vich, the Terran navy soldier, explained further when he found that the young General of Archess gave a quizzical look as a response.
Upon hearing a more detailed introduction, Canillas soon offered Admiral Vich a salute, which required him to pull his right hand that wrapped Joanna’s away before continuing with a handshake.
"It is an honor to et you, Admiral Vich." Canillas then returned the greeting of the Admiral.
Ending the handshake, Canillas brought his hand back on top of Joanna’s, who was standing by his left side. Her hand had never left his arm since she stepped out of the carriage.
When Canillas found the Admiral shifting his eyes to look at the person beside him, he said, "This is my wife, Lady Joanna von Rodega."
"I have guessed it," Admiral Vich comnted with a faint nod, moving his gaze from the young General, who just spoke, to the lady, whom the General just introduced. Offering a friendly smile to the lady, he then said, "It is an honor to finally get the chance to et you, Lady von Rodega."
The Admiral greeted Joanna with a polite bow, and Joanna returned the greeting in the sa respectful manner. "It is an honor to et you too, Admiral Vich," Joanna responded.
Because Joanna, who held a higher social status than Admiral Vich, did not offer her hand for a kiss, there was no need for the Admiral to show a gesture of courtesy by kissing the back of her hand as a part of the greeting that was mostly initiated by ladies from upper-class society to the gentlen who bore the sa or lower class than them.
"It is a sha that my wife could not accompany here because she has to stay at ho to take care of our four-year-old twin sons and our new-born baby girl," uttered the Admiral. A glint of fatherly pride could be found in his eyes when he ntioned his children.
"I hope one day there will be an opportunity to introduce my wife to you, Lady von Rodega," Admiral Vich added with a kind and friendly smile.
"It will be a pleasure to then, Admiral Vich. Please send my regards to Mrs. Vich. I hope that Mrs. Vich and the kids are doing well," Joanna replied with the sa kind and friendly smile.
"I will, my lady. Thank you for your kind regards." As if impressed by the unexpectedly humble lady, who was the daughter of the reputable Duke of Barasca as well as the wife of the prominent General of Archess, Admiral Leon Vich said more,
"I hope I will hear good news from you soon, my lady. It will be great if we can tighten our relationship through our kids." The senior Admiral stated his wish, expecting to be part of de Lara and von Rodega, which he believed was a wish not only from himself but also from other soldiers who knew about the reputation and social standing of both families.
However, unbeknownst to him, that spoken wish caused the humble lady to be taken aback. There was no response she could make as a reply to the wish of the Terran admiral. All she could do was stand there with a stiff expression, expecting that it would be unreadable by the people who currently saw her.
"My wife is still young, and we are just married, Admiral Vich. But if there is good news, we surely will not keep it ourselves," Canillas answered on behalf of his flustered wife, who could not respond to it.
How could she respond if she had declared that she did not want to have children and did not want to beco a mother?
Upon receiving the answer, which surprisingly ca from the aloof General of Archess, instead of his friendly wife, where his wish was directed, Admiral Vich nodded his head and smiled. "I will pleasantly wait for the good news to co, General," he said, still showing his wish to be a relative with the reputable person both in Archess and Terra.
"Did Captain Zilberman explain the matter about the naval base clearly to you, General?" Admiral Vich switched the topic of their conversations when he saw the aloof General give no response to his wishful remark, questioning himself if he was too blatant, which made both husband and wife dislike his conduct.
And Admiral Vich beca more alard when the topic that he thought to be more proper to talk about was also not responded to by the younger man before him. It made him question more whether he had offended the Archessan general to the point that he was not willing to talk to him anymore.
However, if he looked more thoroughly, he found that the focus of the General was actually not on him, as he had his gaze directed at the back of him.
"I wish I did, Admiral Vich," ca a voice before Admiral Vich managed to turn his head to find himself what had taken the focus of the young General from him.
Turning his head in the direction of the voice that ca from his back, a broad smile was ford on the face of the Terran senior soldier once he found a young man, who was around the age of the young General of Archess, in the similar navy uniform that was worn by him except for the military dals that were attached to it, standing about two steps away behind him.
"Marvin." Canillas heard Joanna call out a single na, but not his, in a voice barely above a whisper.
He did not need to see her face to find that she was surprised by the presence of the young man, as his first na was voiced in a surprise tone.
He could even imagine the surprise expression drawn on her face at the mont.
A mory suddenly awakened in his mind when he saw the young man stare straight at his wife.
’She will sotis be so spoiled and stubborn, but she is indeed a kind and lovely lady.’
’Please take care of her well, as she must have found difficulty in a new place. She needs soone who can give her company to help her adjust to her new life there.’
A ssage full of concern about a lady who had difficulty adapting and adjusting to life in a new place was given as if knowing very well about her problems, which proved to be right.
And the ssage was given by none other than one of the Terran captains that he t in Seidel. Captain Marvin Zilberman.
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