My Husband Has Changed (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
Adel rubbed her tired eyes with her fingertips. She hadn’t slept at all last night, having stayed up until dawn rewriting a letter smudged with ink. Even after drinking several cups of strong tea to wake herself, her mind still felt foggy.
‘I never expected His Grace to suddenly visit in the middle of the night. Especially after we parted like that…’
His reason for coming had been utterly trivial—nearly a complaint about why she hadn’t slept beside him.
Because of that, the fear she’d felt had considerably subsided.
‘Apparently, he assumed we always shared the same bed, since I’d been keeping vigil by his bedside these past few days.’
Valentin had miraculously returned from death’s door, which also meant he remained an uncertain presence whose health might deteriorate again at any moment. Especially sleep—it was the most unstable element of all.
He must have mistaken her night watches in his bedroom, where she stayed like a sentry, for proof that they always shared the same bed.
‘Though truthfully, I hadn’t even done a proper night watch. I’d been too exhausted—practically collapsing from fatigue.’
She’d clearly sat dozing in the chair beside his bed, yet whenever she awoke at dawn, she’d inexplicably find herself lying on the bed itself. Worse yet, each time she woke, she was firmly held in Valentin’s arms.
For Adel, whose senses were already overly alert—bordering on hypersensitive—this always left her feeling as if she’d been bewitched by spirits.
‘Just last night, I ended up dragged into His Highness’s bed again.’
Her cheeks flushed hotly as she recalled it. Even in hindsight, it was mortifying.
‘It’s… far beyond what proper etiquette allows.’
That’s what she’d been taught.
A dignified married couple ought to maintain separate chambers, and even on the rare occasions they shared a night, it should be done with restraint—neither spouse should initiate intimacy nor behave coquettishly. Staying in the same bed until sunrise was deemed indulgent and worthy of censure.
Long before her marriage, Adel had memorized such ‘etiquette’ by heart. She’d been told—hundreds, no, thousands of times—that this was the sacred code a noblewoman must uphold her entire life.
But.
‘We… are married.’
Valentin’s sorrowful expression weighed heavily on her mind. True, he still unsettled her. Just hours ago, he’d been so clumsy with speech that he could barely echo her own words—yet suddenly, he was conversing?
Still, he’d stubbornly marshaled every word he’d ever heard her say, forcing her into explanations that left her sweating.
‘Even between married couples, there are rules that must be observed.’
‘Ah… ni. That.’
‘Your behavior… it goes against proper etiquette…’
‘Even if… you do nothing else… this… do.’
Adel let out a shallow breath. After a long back-and-forth, she’d finally given in. After all, it wasn’t as if spending one more night with him would harm her already nonexistent reputation—she’d been doing it for days anyway.
‘The real issue is not getting proper sleep.’
Truthfully, the hardest part was that Valentin’s presence made her inexplicably tense, preventing her from falling asleep easily. Was it because she’d spent her whole life sleeping alone? Even her husband’s body heat felt awkward and uncomfortable.
Moreover, strictly speaking, they’d never truly shared a “night” together. In such a relationship, sharing a bed comfortably was simply impossible. Adel pressed her tired eyes shut and yawned.
“Your Highness!”
Margaret, the housekeeper, courteously blocked Adel’s path as she walked holding an armful of ink-stained skirts and laundry. Adel looked at her in surprise. This was a woman who always kept her distance, merely bowing stiffly from afar—never initiating conversation.
“What is it?”
Adel asked, lifting the laundry basket slightly. Housekeeper Margaret seemed momentarily speechless at the sight of her disheveled state. She clearly hadn’t anticipated that Adel would do her own laundry, however neglected she’d been.
“Please give me the laundry. From now on, I’ll send maids to take care of it.”
Adel stared somewhat blankly as the housekeeper took the basket from her hands.
The Margaret she knew had never cared whether Adel washed clothes, drew water from the well, or sewed for wages to save money. Not once in the past three years.
There could only be one reason for such sudden attentiveness.
“Has His Grace urgently summoned me?”
“No.”
Adel blinked.
“Then why—what’s happened all of a sudden…?”
“Forgive my boldness, but from now on, Your Highness need not go all the way to the North Tower.”
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“You’re aware that the chamber designated for the mistress of the house has been under repair for some time. Thus, the room in the North Tower was temporarily provided until it was ready.”
The housekeeper’s cheeks flushed slightly. She clearly knew her words sounded like a feeble excuse.
“Yes, that’s how it was.”
“Fortunately, all renovations were completed yesterday. If it’s agreeable to you, I can show you to your new quarters immediately.”
Adel gazed at Margaret, who stood before her with hands clasped respectfully, feeling both bewildered and bitter.
The repairs that had dragged on for three long years were suddenly finished the moment Valentin returned from death? No one would believe that at face value. Whether the so-called “renovations” had always been a sham or simply reflected neglect, the meaning was clear:
Valentin had granted her permission to occupy the Grand Duchess’s chamber. And receiving the Grand Duchess’s chamber meant she was now truly recognized by the Duke as his Grand Duchess.
‘After three long years.’
The northerners, who revered Ansgar like a god, had shown Adel such disrespect for one reason alone: they firmly believed their Grand Duke not only disliked but loathed her.
Yet the attention Valentin showed her since his miraculous return defied all their expectations and common sense. Even those who’d suspected his actions were merely out of duty or pity now firmly believed there must be some secret, intimate bond between the Grand Duke and his wife.
In a single gesture, his interest had changed her circumstances more effectively than any effort she’d made over the past three years.
‘I never intended to deceive anyone, yet things have spiraled oddly. Now everyone assumes His Grace and I were lovers.’
It was laughable—and pitiful—that all this goodwill stemmed from a misunderstanding. Yet even that feeling was a luxury. Her pride had long been sold off cheaply by Count Reichenau.
After all, it wasn’t as if she’d acted deceptively or lied—it was they who’d misunderstood. Swallowing her discomfort, Adel nodded.
“Please show me the way.”
“Follow me.”
Margaret tucked the laundry basket neatly under her arm and strode ahead briskly. Maids they passed in the corridor pressed tightly against the walls to avoid obstructing them.
It seemed Adel herself was the last to learn that she would finally move into the Grand Duchess’s chamber.
Curious stares burned into their backs as they passed.
“This is it.”
Adel was startled as the housekeeper stopped before a certain door and hallway.
“This is…?”
Right next to the Grand Duke’s bedroom. It was surprising enough to share the same floor as her husband—let alone be placed in the room directly adjacent?
Seeing Adel’s bewildered expression, Margaret asked cautiously, “Is there… a problem?”
“I never imagined this would be the Grand Duchess’s chamber. According to proper etiquette, it should be far from His Grace’s bedroom…”
“This is correct.”
Unlike Adel’s flustered state, the housekeeper replied matter-of-factly.
“You’re from the south, so this may be unfamiliar. Unlike southern customs, which keep married couples’ chambers as distant as possible, northern tradition places them as close together as possible. It’s simply our way.”
“Our way.” She felt foolish for making such a fuss over something so ordinary—her neck burned with embarrassment.
“But…”
“The chamber for the Grand Duchess has always been here since Ansgar Castle was built. Of course, when marital harmony is especially strong, couples sometimes share the same bedroom.”
Margaret’s meaningful expression seemed to ask, “Shall I prepare it that way for you?”
Adel shook her head in alarm, her face burning so fiercely she thought steam might rise from her head.
“A-ah, no. This is fine as it is.”
“Then I shall open the door.”
The housekeeper bowed politely and swung the wooden door wide open. Sunlight poured generously into the room through fully drawn curtains. Adel slowly looked around.
“…”
The chamber was immaculate and tastefully ornate. A long chaise lounged beneath a large window fitted with clear glass, and logs crackled merrily in the fireplace. Curtains and carpets were crimson, embroidered with golden-thread wolf heads—the symbol of Ansgar.
A writing desk and chair for letters or embroidery, along with a cabinet, were all ivory-white. Beyond the sitting area, the bedroom revealed a massive canopy bed.
Adel’s eyes widened in quiet admiration at the delicate craftsmanship of the items in the cabinet—pieces bearing the artisan’s mark she’d only seen in Charlotte’s room before.
“Do you like it?”
The housekeeper, who’d been watching her closely, asked. Adel’s cheeks reddened—had she been gawking too openly?
But Margaret showed no mockery, calmly explaining each item in the room.
“Your old wardrobe was moved here as-is. The previous mirror was shabby, so we replaced it. The white wolf-pelt rug was a special instruction from His Grace—he said he wanted only the finest things for Your Highness.”
“His Grace…?”
Adel’s eyes went wide. Until just last night, Valentin hadn’t even made eye contact with anyone except her.
And now—overnight—he’d issued such meticulous instructions? Was he learning this quickly? Or was his memory returning fast?
But Margaret showed no intention of clarifying Adel’s confusion. The housekeeper continued in her professional tone.
“I’m glad it pleases you. I’ll soon select maids to serve you and submit a list for approval.”
“Maids? But… Greta has been more than enough until now. Is it really necessary to appoint new ones?”
“Now that His Grace has returned, Your Highness must also fulfill your duties.”
“…Duties?”
“You must quickly consummate the marriage and produce an heir.”
At the housekeeper’s words, Adel’s expression went utterly blank. Seeing her naive reaction, Margaret asked suspiciously,
“…Surely you understand what consummation means?”
Adel gave a few stiff nods, her face already pale.
The day before her wedding, Charlotte had cruelly shown her horses mating, saying, “Since you’re marrying a barbarian no better than a beast, your wedding night will be just like this…”
It was a memory too horrifying to recall.
The horses’ black, glistening eyes filled with incomprehensible emotion, their rough thrusting, the froth flying white, the searing heat…
‘That… that act… we must do that…’
Adel’s youthful face turned deathly white. Recalling that memory always made her whole body tremble—her insides froze solid. It felt grotesque, vile, and filthy.
Moreover, Valentin had always despised her. She’d never once imagined he could desire her in “that way.” And what about their sheer physical disparity?
His towering, solid frame would surely crush her instantly.
Clutching her trembling hands tightly together, Adel shivered in terror.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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