My Husband Has Changed (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1
Please forgive me for skipping greetings and coming straight to the point in my urgency. I remember you once said I could write to you anytime if something unbearable happened.
Father Padre, something very strange has occurred.
You must have heard that my husband, Grand Duke Valentin Karzu Albrecht von Ansgar, tragically perished on the battlefield. The whole of Denburg was in an uproar, so the news must have reached Falkenheim as well. As his duchess, I duly presided over the funeral rites.
Three days were spent for the duke’s coffin to tour the Ansgar lands, and two days for receiving mourners. I remained by his side throughout that entire period. That night was no exception.
Midnight. I recall hearing the bells chime. A fierce wind relentlessly rattled the windows, leaving the priests on edge.
Describing the scene in detail feels overwhelming—it all unfolded so abruptly. The tightly shut window shattered all at once, and a violent gust burst in. Though the wind quickly subsided, an inexplicable, tense stillness hung among us.
It was then that my husband exhaled a long, drawn-out breath and awakened once more.
“Adelheid.”
With that pale, death-tinged face, he called my name. The instinctive terror that surged within me at that moment… words cannot fully convey it.
The people of Ansgar eagerly proclaim that Lord Morrig has performed a miracle. Yet I remain afraid. His breath had surely ceased—I saw it and felt it more closely than anyone else. But what could I possibly have said?
The roosters began crowing even in the dead of night. The young livestock tremble uncontrollably before the duke. Though I should rightly rejoice at my husband’s return, my foolish mind keeps wandering elsewhere, leaving me bewildered.
Upon reading this letter, please come to the Ansgar lands of Bitzleben as soon as possible….
“My lady.”
It was a sudden call. Startled, Adelheid jolted and accidentally knocked over the inkwell with her elbow. The spilled ink instantly stained the parchment black. Seeing the letter ruined beyond recognition, Adelheid felt a strange sense of relief.
She slowly lifted her gaze to meet Valentin’s face. His pale lips trembled slightly.
“Your Highness, what brings you to my chamber at this hour?”
“Why… didn’t you come?”
Sorrowful reproach flickered across Valentin’s sculpted features. Only this morning had he first managed to mimic human speech at all; until then, he had merely groaned monotonously like a beast.
And yet, suddenly, coherent speech? Could this be a sign that his memories were returning?
Adelheid swallowed a damp breath.
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday… sleep… together….”
He meant why she hadn’t lain with him in the bedchamber as she had the previous night. Since his return from death, his mind had regressed to that of a child, so his words surely bore only their literal meaning—just as a child seeks comfort in a mother’s embrace.
Still, Adelheid’s innocent cheeks flushed instantly.
“Your Highness, our sharing a bedchamber is permitted only on the date ordained as auspicious by the priest. Last night… you were too distressed, so I had no choice, but it would be improper to continue defying decorum.”
“…”
“You’ve always been accustomed to sleeping alone, Your Highness. Right now, having just endured such an ordeal, your memories are understandably confused…”
“Why…?”
“Pardon?”
At a loss for the right words, Valentin strode across the room, his graceful brows furrowed in frustration. He seized Adelheid’s waist with a rough grip, ignoring her shock, and lifted her effortlessly onto the ink-smeared desk. Items slid off with a clatter, crashing to the floor.
“This… this is….”
Her surprise quickly gave way to dismay as Adelheid’s delicate face fell. The dress she wore today was among the few remaining in decent condition—she’d especially treasured it for having no patched fabric. Now stained with ink, it was utterly ruined.
“No… don’t.”
Seeing Adelheid’s eyes twist as if on the verge of tears, he urgently cupped her cheek. His face, impossibly beautiful yet utterly inhuman, drew excruciatingly close. She gasped sharply.
“Why….”
Why are you crying? Or why so upset? His brief words and expression clearly conveyed worry. It was absurd—her husband had once found even brushing shoulders with her unbearable.
If he’d truly lost his memory, he should have forgotten even her name. Yet Valentin, who had forgotten decorum, language, and even his own blood relatives, clung solely to her—and she couldn’t fathom why.
They had not yet even consummated their marriage. No matter how she thought about it, her husband had no reason to cherish her so tenderly.
‘Unless… he isn’t really my husband.’
The chilling thought turned Adelheid’s face deathly pale in an instant. At the sight of her wretched expression, Valentin’s golden eyes softened like honey. They were so close their breaths nearly tangled.
She quickly dismissed her own suspicion. There couldn’t possibly be another man in Denburg with features more exquisitely chiseled than his.
“…Am I… sca… scary?”
Adelheid reflexively shook her head, then suddenly came to her senses. Regardless of him being her husband, allowing a man into her private chamber without the priest’s permission defied all propriety.
“You must leave now. If the servants or guards happen to see…”
His firm hand desperately clamped down on her flailing arm. With his other hand, he unpinned the rigid hairpiece securing her coiffure, and strands of golden hair—like threads spun from gold—spilled over her waist. Seemingly satisfied with her disheveled state, Valentin smiled like a painted figure.
“Enough… stay… with me.”
Affection dripped thickly, like the sap of a ripened fig. His solid, massive frame pressed closer, crowding her. As his face neared, Adelheid shut her eyes tightly. Yet none of the things she’d braced for ever came to pass.
‘…What is this?’
Through barely parted lashes, Adelheid saw Valentin’s jaw. Warm breath fanned over her forehead. It felt as though his lips were gently tracing her face—perhaps savoring her scent. Her brow, eyebrows, eyelids, soft cheeks, chin… and finally, her lips.
“…”
His lips, which had pressed so close it seemed he might devour her in an instant, halted with barely a breath’s width between them—as if content merely stealing the faintest wisp of her breath. As though that alone were the reward he’d craved his entire life.
“My… wife…”
A cold, sharp glint flickered in Adelheid’s normally gentle eyes. Despite her lingering confusion, one thing was certain:
Her husband had changed. And changed drastically.
[This is the timeline separator]“Who are you?”
The first time she saw her husband’s bare face was right after they entered the bridal chamber. As soon as she lifted the thick veil she’d worn throughout the vows, Valentin Ansgar stared at her in utter disbelief and spoke those words. Seeing his handsome face twist in dismay, Adelheid felt a wave of helpless dread.
“I’m… Adelheid.”
“I’m not asking your name—I’m asking why you’re here. Where is the bride? Where is Charlotte?”
“I… humbly apologize, but today, the bride you married… is me….”
Adelheid bowed her head deeply, trembling all over. With every passing moment of silence, her last shred of courage steadily evaporated. She couldn’t bear facing the man’s anger.
At last, Valentin rose from the bed and roughly seized her chin, forcing her to look up.
“You claim to be my bride? Who do you think you’re fooling with this nonsense?”
Fear filled Adelheid’s soft green eyes.
The man—now her husband—had every right to be furious. From the start, he’d wanted not Adelheid, a mere half-blood daughter of a count, but the beautiful and strong Charlotte.
“I’m telling the truth. I’m the second daughter of Count Reichenau.”
“You’re Count Reichenau’s daughter? Didn’t the count have only one daughter?”
Indeed, almost everyone believed that to be true. From the moment of her birth, Count Reichenau had kept her existence utterly secret.
Adelheid barely managed to swallow the explanation she couldn’t possibly speak aloud. Meanwhile, Valentin scrutinized her from head to toe with piercing eyes.
His gaze was brazen—as if appraising the market price of a fish on display.
“Are you a healer too?”
Biting her pale lips in shame, Adelheid remained silent. The women of Reichenau rarely possessed potent healing magic. Her half-sister Charlotte, born to the countess herself, was the epitome of a noblewoman awakened as a healer.
In contrast, she was the daughter of an unnamed maidservant. Had she inherited healing magic, her fate might have differed—but unfortunately, Adelheid possessed no power whatsoever.
Naturally, what Valentin truly sought—even offering to settle the Reichenau family’s enormous debts—was Charlotte, not Adel. Yet the count had absolutely no intention of handing Charlotte over to the ducal house.
His eldest daughter was already coveted by the Crown Prince. Too precious to be wed off to some northern barbarian, he must have thought. Thus, the half-blood Adelheid was chosen as the replacement bride.
Though it was plainly a marriage by deception, Adelheid could do nothing. After all, she too had been dragged to the altar against her will.
“How revolting.”
Guessing everything from her silence, Valentin glared at Adelheid with terrifying fury and stormed out of the bridal chamber.
When male lead is the homewrecker
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
I’ve read the novel below twice already. Girls, I’m highly recommending it to you!
The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.
Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.
The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.
I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.
There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.
For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.
I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.
Here’s the story synopsis:
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Intro 1:
“I know she doesn’t love him.”
With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.
Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.
In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.
Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…
Intro 2:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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