My Husband Has Changed - Chapter 143



Only Noblemtl

#143. Face to Face
2024.02.20.

“Anyway, for the time being, Your Majesty, please do not leave your position. I will try to protect you as much as possible, but I may not be able to respond flexibly if a dangerous situation arises.”

“Is the situation on the way back really that serious?”

“The monsters are monsters, but it’s because everything is changing more suddenly than we initially expected. Even among those wearing armor pretending to be knights, half of them are rookie mercenaries.”

Adele nodded as if she knew what was going on.

All the families that supported the crown prince were not happy about this punitive expedition. They seemed to think that the emperor’s mobilization order was an excuse to forcibly conscript private soldiers.

“At least they’re the ones who have been wielding swords since before. Most likely, they were tenant farmers who were tinkering with farming tools until a few weeks ago. They’ve just bribed them with money to make up for the number of elite private soldiers.”

“No way… … . Then they must be people with little combat experience?”

“Just look at how they can’t even properly deal with one or two monsters that sneak in. If someone saw them, they’d think they’d already fought three or four full-scale monsters.”

“… … .”

“Anyway, it’s the perfect time to get involved in something unnecessary, so whenever you go somewhere, try not to go alone.”

“Thank you for the advice. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then I’ll stay outside, so you can finish talking to your horse.”

Donovan threw the carrot he was eating to his horse and disappeared out of the stable. Adele narrowed her eyes for a while and stared at the back of his head.

* * *

The atmosphere in the castle began to change drastically in the afternoon.

The reason was a rumor that the opinions of the leaders, who had been at odds for several days, had finally narrowed down to one.

From then on, whenever people met face to face, they would start talking about when the full-scale subjugation would begin.

“Rumor has it that it’ll be around sunrise tomorrow?”

“Isn’t that too early? “ I haven’t even finished preparing yet.”

“What’s with that excuse about preparing? Do you think your preparations will be finished this year?”

“They already sent a scout to the northern wall. He said he saw you leaving three hours ago.”

Tension and anxiety began to spread quickly like an infectious disease.

Could their anxiety have infected her? Adele, who couldn’t stay still for even a moment and paced around the room, eventually volunteered to go back to the patients and guard the ward. She

could escape her complicated thoughts while squeezing out pus and changing bandages.

She carefully checked the last patient’s wound and tried to get up, but a soldier grabbed her arm with a strong hand and begged her.

“Water, please, give me some water… …”

Adele looked around and found a tin cup and a pitcher.

When she quickly poured water into the cup and handed it to him, the soldier grabbed the cup in a hurry and drank it down in a gulp, afraid that someone would take it away from him.

In the end, half of the water spilled on the front porch.

“Take your time. I’ll give you more.”

Adele tried to calm the patient down and tilted the kettle again, but coincidentally only a few drops of water came out.

It seemed to be the last cup. She turned to look for Lena, but she had already left for another matter.

Adele hesitated for a moment, then, pushed by the patient’s earnest gaze, picked up the kettle and stood up.

“I’ll be back soon. The water fountain isn’t far from here.”

Donovan had warned her not to go alone, but if he were right, there would be guards nearby watching… … Of course, encountering monsters was the greatest danger, rather than people.

Just today, two monsters with degenerated wings had invaded the castle.

Where on earth did they come in? The knights searched the castle day and night to find the passage, but there was no result.

“Adelheid.”

She raised her head as she walked, lost in thought, at the sound of a voice calling her name.

“So we meet again like this.”

For a moment, she thought it might be Valentin, but the man in front of her wasn’t Valentin.

The Crown Prince, Mikhail. Adele’s cheeks turned pale as she recognized him.

Without answering, she turned around and quickly started walking back down the hallway she had come from.

A voice burst out laughing from behind her.

“You’re running away without even saying hello?”

“… … .”

“Adele.”

Adele covered her ears and ran as if she was almost running.

But… … It was strange. The voice that should have been getting further away kept following her at regular intervals.

There was no sound of footsteps. In fact, it was getting closer.

The voice seemed to be coming from right behind her. At that moment, her arm was tightly grabbed. Her entire body turned around violently.

“Will you go far like that?”

Unlike her, who was out of breath and panting, Mikhail

showed no sign of running. It was as if he had really moved through space to catch up with her. There were so many eyes watching, so it couldn’t have really happened… … .

“Have you thought about it?”

Adele flinched back at the sudden outburst of the matter.

“What?”

“The offer you made to hand over your origins to me. You didn’t forget, did you?”

Mikhail raised his eyebrows as if questioning how he could have forgotten.

Then he looked at her here and there as if he was appraising the products on the shelf and continued.

“You’ve gained a lot of strength since I didn’t see you. It seems like you’re not very good at it yet.”

His words strangely grated her nerves. Adele pushed away Mikhail’s chest, which was holding her as if it was an embrace, with all her might and stepped back.

“I know you rejected that offer a long time ago. I don’t know how to pass on the source, nor the conditions.”

“If you know how?”

“… … .”

“It sounds like you mean that you’ll do it if you can.”

He asked, easily catching up with the distance that Adele had barely made in a few steps.

Adele looked around with anxious eyes at the distance that had suddenly become much closer.

Mikhail was acting overly intimate, far beyond the boundaries of social acceptance.

It was enough to make anyone who didn’t know look suspicious.

“First, step back a little and talk… … .”

“Answer first.”

Adele flinched back, and was finally pushed to a place where she had nowhere else to retreat. Behind her were now steep stairs.

She looked as if she might misstep at any moment, groping for an escape route with her heels.

“Huh? Adelheid.” She

was about to go down one step to avoid Mikhail, who had come close again.

Her feet stepped on empty air. It was already too late when she realized something was wrong.

Adele covered her head with both hands and closed her eyes tightly to brace herself for the shock that would hit her body.

“… …!”

But instead of shock, a firm embrace held her body from behind.

When she waited for a long time without feeling any pain, Adele carefully opened her tightly shut eyes.

Before her startled heart could calm down, a familiar scent rushed in.

“What is this for my wife?”

The voice was eerily deep and smooth. However, Adele could tell that Valentin was extremely angry.

Valentin was holding her shoulders from behind, so she couldn’t see his expression, but she could tell just from the fact that the crown prince’s lips were slightly pale as he faced his anger.

“… … Grand Duke.”

Mikhail seemed to not want to admit that he was even momentarily intimidated, so he tilted his lips up and spat out sharply.

“Please, realize your position. If you really intend to live among the flock.”

“Before that, Morrig.”

Morrig. Valentin’s voice sounded like a growl as he pronounced ‘that name’.

“… … .”

A suffocating silence followed. Adele realized that Valentin was conveying his message to her through ‘will’.

The gazes that had been locked as if they were going to slash each other eventually ended when Mikhail averted his eyes.

Adele realized that Mikhail’s hands were trembling.

Just as they had done whenever she had experienced Valentin’s strong will.

“… … So did I touch even a single fingertip?”

“… … .”

“Of course, you shouldn’t forget either. That our bet is still ongoing.”

At the same time that Mikhail chewed and spat out coldly, Adele felt Valentin’s hand slightly tightening as he held her.

She reflexively placed her hand on the back of Valentin’s hand that was wrapped around her shoulder.

It was because of her instinct that she couldn’t let him get any angrier here.

“… … .”

She felt Valentin’s nerves, which had been tense, relax under her touch.

Mikhail looked at him with sharp eyes as if he didn’t like the sight.

The emotions burning fiercely inside him were all so vivid that even she, who didn’t know anything, just looked terrible.

That’s why Adele couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed when Mikhail laughed again.

“Yes. You can be so arrogant now. Even your power probably won’t last long.”

“… … .”

“Even now, I can barely block it.”

Mikhail, who had poured out incomprehensible hatred, glared at Valentin once more before turning away and disappearing.

Adele shrank down until Mikhail was out of sight, and only when he was completely out of sight did she finally relax.

And it seemed that Valentin was the same.

“… … .”

Valentin’s hand that had been holding her back very slowly lost its strength.

Adele tried to break free from Valentin’s embrace and face him, but he hugged her waist tightly again first.