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Jack was a misfit on Earth — a man who worked dozens of jobs but never found a place to belong. One night, he closed his eyes expecting another dead-end morning... and woke up in a mansion, in a kingdom at war, with a name he didn’t recognize — but a life already in ruins.

Everyone hated him.
Even the servants spat when he walked by.
His wife? The kingdom’s top general, Elsa, who hadn’t seen him in five years and only married him due to a scandal neither of them chose.
His children? Barely spoke to him.
The court? Mocked him with every breath.

Stripped of dignity, drowned in debt, and carrying the sins of a man he can’t remember being — Jack makes a vow:

"I won’t beg for love. I won’t chase after what’s lost. But I will become someone I can respect — even if no one else ever does."

But fate is not done with him.
What begins as survival soon becomes revolution — one potato, one broken town, one daughter’s letter at a time. As Jack rises through impossible trials, even the kingdom’s seers whisper: "A man fated to be discarded may yet become the axis of the empire."

A silent war brews at court. A prophecy looms over his children. And his estranged wife fights battles for a future Jack doesn’t even know he’s part of…

In a world where everyone remembers the man he was, can Jack rewrite the story of who he’ll become?

Reborn as Her Husband: The General’s Forgotten Man

Jack stood in the hallway of the Valorin estate, watching the afternoon sunlight slant through the tall arched windows. He had been here for four months now. Four months in this world, in this body, wearing another man's sins like armor he couldn't remove.

He had made small progress with Laina—enough to call it a start. But with Serin and Caelum, things were different.

Serin wouldn't even look at him. She passed him in the halls with the same cold grace she likely inherited from Elsa. When he tried to greet her during breakfast, she remained silent, her eyes trained on her plate.

Caelum… was harder to read. Not because he was hostile. But because he wasn't anything at all. The boy seemed detached, lost in his own quiet world. The moment Jack entered a room, the light dimmed in Caelum's expression, like a curtain drawn.

He found Caelum sitting under a tree in the back garden, flipping through a picture book. Jack approached slowly, crouching down to meet his eye level.

"Hey, Caelum. That looks like a good one. Mind if I sit with you?"

Caelum didn't answer. He didn't even glance up. After a pause, Jack sat beside him on the stone bench.

"I used to love stories like that," Jack said, glancing at the illustrations. "Back where I came from, we had something called fairy tales. Some were scary. Some silly. But the best ones always had a clever little boy who outsmarted everyone."

Still nothing. The silence pressed against him.

"I'm not trying to replace anyone. I just want to be your… father. If you'll let me."

Caelum quietly closed his book and stood up, walking back toward the estate without a word.

A minute later, he felt someone sit beside him.

"Rough day?" Laina asked, her tone neutral but not unkind.

Jack offered a bitter smile. "Do I look that obvious?"

He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "I don't know what I expected. A miracle? Some dramatic moment where they run into my arms?"

"They're not ready," she said softly. "Caelum was very sick, you know. For most of his early years, it was just Mother and us. And Serin… she remembers the old you more than she'll admit. The yelling. The fear."

Jack's hands tightened into fists.

"I've changed," he muttered. "I've worked for this family. I've sacrificed, bled, and starved for them. Why can't they see it?"

"They don't owe you forgiveness just because you've changed," Laina said gently. "But… that doesn't mean they won't give it someday. Just not now."

"I just want them to smile when they see me. That's all."

"They will. Maybe not this week or this year. But someday."

Jack looked at her, really looked. "You're too wise for your age."

She smirked. "Must be from Mother's side."

They sat together in silence for a while, watching the sun dip lower over the wall.

Inside, Serin peeked through a window, watching her father and sister from the shadows.

She didn't know how to approach him. Not yet. Not while she still remembered the shouting, the cold dinners, the way he used to stumble in smelling like smoke and anger.

But today, he hadn't raised his voice once.

Caelum, sitting alone in his room, opened the picture book again. The one Jack had looked at. For the first time in weeks, he didn't skip the page his father had mentioned.

But maybe, just maybe… the bridge was beginning to form.

19.Efforts Unreturned