Chapter 15. Prove Your Worth
2023.10.15.
Yuan calmly met that gaze.
Gustav, the butler, who had been staring at her with wide, shocked eyes, instinctively suppressed a scoff that slipped out, then shook his head.
“It won’t come to that, but in principle, that’s the rule.”
With a deep bow, he then disappeared.
Though Gustav’s reaction had been quite cold, Yuan felt as if she had glimpsed a sliver of hope.
‘Just enduring by working every day isn’t enough.’
She didn’t want to return to Pelliese.
Yet she also had no confidence that she could flee with empty hands and not get caught.
Her uncle would never let her go.
If Yuan fled from the Crown Prince, her uncle would seize the opportunity.
He was exactly the kind of man who would deliberately hunt her down, declare her missing, and lock her away in a side room of the Pelliese laboratory—without a second thought.
The mere thought was terrifying.
In the long run, perhaps an indifferent husband wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
At least his behavior was far removed from rumors of being a lecher.
If she just closed her eyes and proved her virginity, Yuan might be able to live quietly and peacefully in some forgotten corner of this mansion, where no one would come looking for her.
Besides, since she was already his wife, even if she someday cautiously asked about his previous wife, he couldn’t easily chase her away.
“Madam! Madam, let’s prepare for the consummation night!”
Hena, who had been quietly watching from the side, whispered excitedly, folding her hands together as if in prayer.
“It’s about time we had a mistress here. I hope that once you prove your virginity, even if the master wants to drive you out, he won’t be able to! What luck! This must be the Lord helping you. To suddenly receive such an order from the imperial court!”
Flushed with excitement, Hena immediately sat Yuan down before the dressing table and began thoroughly combing her hair.
After applying makeup to give her a healthier complexion, she pulled out a rather new-looking slip dress, the kind a bride might wear, and helped Yuan into it.
Yuan, letting the maids handle her body with a dazed expression, began to feel anxious as she watched the sun set.
‘Will he come?’
Still, it was a request from the imperial court. Surely he’d at least pretend to comply?
Butler Gustav had become somewhat lenient lately due to Yuan’s proactive attitude, but at his core, he was a man of principle.
He would naturally have delivered the imperial court’s request to his master—demanding proof of consummation.
Yet contrary to Yuan’s hopes.
Even after the sun had fully set and evening had begun, Crown Prince Clade Euphris did not appear, not even a single strand of his faded golden hair.
“It’s not just today, Madam. Please don’t worry too much. Your body isn’t fully recovered yet, after all. Perhaps the master is quietly showing consideration for you.”
Hena, who had been eagerly awaiting any word that Clade would come, forced a cheerful tone as she tidied the bedding.
Yuan watched her busy hands, fidgeting with her unfamiliar attire.
Perhaps that man had known all along.
About the imperial court’s pressure to prove consummation.
About her position as a wife waiting for her husband.
Maybe his attitude—scoffing as if nothing she did would ever matter—was simply because he could use the excuse of failed consummation to cast her out at any moment?
Contrary to Yuan’s hope that once she’d entered, he wouldn’t easily expel her if she tried to adapt, he clearly had confidence in something.
Family bonds with no drop of shared blood could be severed so easily.
‘What if I get driven out like this?’
If she couldn’t stay in this mansion, then peace, asking about Louise’s death, properly holding Louise’s funeral—all would be utterly meaningless.
A few maids changed the canopy above the bed to gold and lit scented candles before leaving.
Yuan watched until the door closed behind them, then turned to Hena, who had just finished arranging the bedding.
It was the question she had wanted to ask most since arriving here.
“Hena. Could I… perhaps see the room of the previous wife… I mean, Louise’s room?”
Hena’s cheerful voice abruptly cut off.
A fleeting silence passed through the room, and Hena straightened her back, bowing her head.
“I’m sorry.”
Whenever she asked about Louise, everyone reacted this way.
Not just Hena—every servant in this mansion responded the same.
They were absolutely forbidden to speak of the previous wives.
“The bridal chamber is ready, and I think that’s all for now. I’ll be going, Madam.”
Panicked at the thought of being cast out so soon, it was a misstep.
Seeing Hena hurrying to leave, Yuan replied bitterly.
“…Good night, Hena.”
Hena, about to leave with her arms full of clutter, glanced at Yuan’s dejected face.
Yuan forced a faint smile.
The young maid opened the bedroom door, hesitated for a long moment, then slowly lowered her large eyes.
“The guest rooms for the main building are all on the third and second floors.”
“!”
“…Just saying.”
Without meeting Yuan’s eyes, Hena quickly closed the door and left.
Yuan stared at the spot where Hena had disappeared, then abruptly stood up.
***
The third-floor corridor was eerily silent.
The mansion was vast, but there were far too few servants, the guards only patrolled outside, and by night, everyone retreated to their dormitories as per the rules.
Compared to the Pelliese mansion, where maids took turns patrolling, this place was unnervingly quiet.
For Yuan, it was a good thing.
However, the problem was—
“Please…”
No matter how many of these countless doors she opened and closed, she found no trace of a person inside.
Not even a single piece of furniture was properly placed in most rooms, and the rest were completely locked.
“Louise, Louise, please…”
Let me find even a trace of you.
Desperately praying, she wandered for hours.
In the end, Yuan found no clues on the third floor and descended to the second.
The moment she stepped into the second-floor corridor, intending to search methodically from the inside.
Yuan froze at the sudden sound of a groan filled with agony.
Thud! Thud-thud! The strange noise continued for a while.
Hunched slightly, Yuan took one cautious step after another toward the source of the unknown sound.
The massive room in the middle of the second-floor corridor.
Each time the sound from inside the room sliced through the air, the flame of the candlestick in her hand flickered sharply.
Hesitating, Yuan turned her back on the thick door and slowly passed by.
She couldn’t tell if the pounding noise was echoing through the walls or if it was just her own heartbeat.
Wiping away the cold sweat soaking her palms, she quickened her steps.
But her deliberate attempt to keep her eyes on the ground didn’t last long.
Though she knew it was dangerous. Though she knew she should hurry past.
Yuan twisted her body slightly, glaring intently at the massive door from which the shrieks were escaping.
“Haa—.”
Then, her steps reversed, and she ultimately stood before that door.
Yuan knew all too well when such groans were made.
Like the day her uncle brought six elderly couples suffering from chronic illnesses, forcing her to “treat” them.
The day she endured twelve portions of pain, stored and suppressed, finally erupting within her.
She remembered the moment when her vision turned white and all she could do was scream in agony.
Truthfully, she didn’t need to specifically recall those six elderly couples.
She had endured immense, varied suffering so many times before.
That sound was one made when the weight of pain exceeded what a single person could bear.
Yuan reached out, carefully twisting the doorknob.
The door was locked.
For a moment, the desire to turn away from that pain clashed fiercely with the urge not to. But Yuan ultimately couldn’t look away.
The sense of fulfillment she had first felt—slowly taking on the suffering of the people in this mansion—held her back like an anchor.
She recalled the kind, warm people of this black mansion. Her body moved before her mind could catch up.
Thanks to Frederic, who always locked her door whenever possible, picking locks had become familiar.
Yuan pulled a hairpin from her carefully styled hair—done by Hena—and inserted it into the doorknob.
Click—.
The noise stopped as suddenly as if it had been a lie, the moment the door opened.
At the same time, the door swung open with startling ease.
***
The room inside was a disaster.
The few pieces of furniture in the large room were all scattered across the floor.
Straining her eyes to adjust to the pitch-dark room, where not even a sliver of moonlight entered, Yuan extended the candlestick forward.
And her eyes met those of the Crown Prince, standing awkwardly in front of the opposite window.
She had doubted it, but it really was his room.
His appearance was far more shocking than the face she had seen from outside, but Yuan had no doubt he was the Crown Prince.
His bloodshot eyes, with burst capillaries, glared at her.
She had no time to pay attention to the intense, foul stench permeating the room.
Yuan barely met the man’s murderous gaze with a pale, frightened face.
‘I might really get expelled.’
Though his appearance—seeming half-lost to reason—was terrifying enough, Yuan was less afraid of Clade himself than the fear of being told to leave the mansion.
A wave of anxiety surged—like she had crossed a river she could never return from, driven by brief empathy and pity.
Then—
Clade, standing with his back to the window, strode toward her in long steps.
For some reason, his hands and body were covered in bloodstains.
As he moved the short distance, she heard him mutter low curses under his breath.
No. No, I can’t be driven out like this.
Instead of retreating, Yuan stepped further into the room. Then she immediately closed and locked the door.
When Clade finally stood before her, Yuan opened her trembling mouth.
“It’s about the consummation proof.”
She didn’t dare meet his eyes, which seemed ready to crush her.
But she couldn’t stop speaking either.
“I waited a long time for the consummation proof period, but you didn’t come.”
Such a flimsy excuse was all she could come up with.
But she could never admit, even if she died, that she had been searching for Louise’s room before being cast out.
Yuan gripped the loose fabric of her clothes tightly and summoned her courage once more.
“I didn’t wander around aimlessly—I came looking for Your Highness’s room.”
An endless silence.
Yuan ran her tongue over her parched mouth and cautiously glanced up at the silent Clade.
“…Huh.”
Clade’s eyebrows twitched, his forehead wrinkled in pain, and he let out a hollow, mocking laugh.
She had feared he might shove her away with his dripping, bloody hands or slap her across the face.
Compared to that nightmare, this response was surprisingly mild.
Yuan gathered a bit more courage.
“I don’t want to leave this mansion. If you plan to expel me using the excuse that consummation hasn’t occurred, then forget it! I’m already inside your room, after all!”
Her voice trembled pathetically—it was a foolish show of defiance. Yuan knew it too well, and she felt like dying of embarrassment.
Better this way.
Anyway, this man never intended to come.
This was what needed to be said.
Even as she tried to comfort herself, the shame remained. Yuan clasped her trembling hands together, desperately hoping Clade would say something—anything.
She heard Clade grinding his teeth. His breath was ragged, and his glaring eyes were full of irritation.
‘Ah, right. This man is in terrible pain somewhere…’
“If you want to stay in this house so badly,” he suddenly spat, his voice low and sinister, “then prove it.”
“Prove your worth. Not just cleaning, laundry, meal prep—anything anyone could do.”
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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