About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 100. At This Point, There’s No Way Not to Know
This wasn’t mere gossip—Baroness Meldear was clearly trying to anticipate potential shifts in the line of succession.
And the reason she was telling me, despite calling it a secret.
It was likely because information about Luderne Sellen that only I could know would influence her judgment.
Just then, the hair dyeing was finished.
While waiting for the dye to set properly, I sent Irina and Misha out for a brief rest so they could have some tea, then seated myself across from Baroness Meldear at the tea table.
“Still, there shouldn’t be any issues with an heir, should there?”
Of course, the original work made no mention of children between Zerox and Melissa Bilsty, so I couldn’t be certain. But if I misspoke carelessly, it could become problematic.
Moreover, this was a safe answer I’d calculated—one based on the reasoning that the matter had nothing to do with an heir.
Baroness Meldear’s lips curved upward on one side.
“He’s never had any news, regardless of status, about who he’s slept with.”
“….”
“The King needs an heir, so preventive measures are forbidden—so the answer’s already clear. That’s why I’m asking.”
Baroness Meldear sipped her tea in silence for a moment, giving me time to think.
I couldn’t gauge what impact my words would have going forward. But there was nothing good for me in Zerox’s power growing stronger.
So my answer was already decided.
‘But if I speak too quickly, I might have to reveal more.’
I calculated the timing and opened my mouth just as Baroness Meldear’s hair dyeing was being completed.
“The dignity of Prince Wintem….”
Baroness Meldear, whose eyes had been sparkling, opened her mouth wide at my next words.
“Seems like it could command the entire Empire….”
“My, to that extent?”
Just then, Irina and Misha quietly opened the door and entered.
“Yes. I’m afraid I can only tell you this much. You must keep it secret, won’t you?”
Baroness Meldear laughed readily, as though her curiosity had been satisfied.
“Hehe. It’s a matter between a man and a woman, so I understand. Thank you for telling me.”
Then she winked at me.
“I’ll keep it secret, I promise.”
Was it just my imagination that it sounded like she was saying she’d spread the rumor?
Still, if nobles who’d calculated the future structure aligned themselves with Luderne Sellen, it would work in my favor for survival.
I forced a smile and stood from my seat.
“The dyeing seems complete, so let me check it now.”
The hair dyeing had turned out beautifully.
With her mood lifted even further, Baroness Meldear enthusiastically regaled me with more high society gossip while receiving her hair styling.
There were all sorts of stories.
“I heard the staff at the Eleonora Salon have been a bit more relaxed lately. Do you know why?”
The reason was Matilda Bilsty.
She’d gone down to her fiefdom to handle some tax calculation matters.
Misha was the one who laughed at that news.
Having experienced Matilda Bilsty’s harassment before, she could relate.
Soon, Baroness Meldear’s styling was complete.
Unable to hide her satisfaction, Baroness Meldear examined herself in the mirror from different angles and nodded approvingly.
“You’re always perfect, dear. Absolutely flawless.”
“Thank you.”
“Call Margaret for me.”
At her command, Irina pulled the bell cord, and the Parasol Tree Door swung wide open.
I was momentarily puzzled by how much wider it opened than usual, but Margaret, who entered carrying a ledger, spoke to someone behind her.
“Please set that on the large table over there.”
Margaret then positioned herself before Baroness Meldear and attended to her courteously.
“I’ll show you in shortly, Baroness Meldear.”
Soon, an adult man wearing a beret pulled low over his head entered, barely managing to carry an enormous flower basket in both hands.
Roses and peonies, amaryllis and baby’s breath, calla lilies and ranunculus—so many varieties of flowers were beautifully arranged together, creating a display of breathtaking splendor.
Only after the flower basket was placed on the table did the man’s face become visible.
He approached me with long strides.
“You are….”
The man delivering the flowers was Olivia’s father. Unlike yesterday, there was no trace of alcohol on him.
“Bernard Heser of the Heser Trading Company. We meet again.”
“What flowers are these?”
“Prince Wintem has sent you a gift.”
The words were simple enough, yet I couldn’t comprehend them.
Why would Luderne send me a gift?
“He said he wanted to send a modest gift without causing you any burden.”
Bernard smiled broadly and handed me a beautifully wrapped gift box, a letter envelope embossed with gold leaf, and some documents.
“This is the certificate of authenticity. And here, please sign to confirm receipt.”
I signed almost reflexively and accepted the gift box and certificate.
Bernard removed his hat and bowed respectfully to me.
“Thank you for spilling your drink on my daughter yesterday. Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
After Bernard left, Baroness Meldear’s eyes sparkled as she approached.
“A gift from Prince Wintem? If there’s a certificate with it, it must be jewelry, isn’t it?”
“J-jewelry? That can’t be right. He said it was a small gift. It must be something modest.”
“I’m so curious. Open it quickly.”
Urged on by Baroness Meldear, I opened the certificate.
I was still trying to understand what it was when Baroness Meldear gasped in astonishment first.
“My goodness! It’s a diamond certificate from the mine owned by Prince Wintem!”
“…What?”
If it’s a diamond from Luderne’s mine, then it must be the very jewel that Countess Dora had been boasting about so proudly not long ago.
Upon hearing Baroness Meldear’s words, Irina, Misha, and Margaret all drew closer.
“A jewel from Prince Wintem?”
“Teacher, may I look at it too?”
As Irina and Misha’s eyes gleamed with excitement, Baroness Meldear’s eyes crinkled with amusement, clearly eager to examine the gift together.
I opened the box immediately.
The moment the diamond’s distinctive brilliance gleamed forth, we all held our breath as one.
Even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it. The cut diamond was simply too beautiful.
At the same time, I realized that “a small gift” didn’t mean something modest—it meant something small in size.
I stood there dumbfounded, unsure what to say first, when Baroness Meldear spoke up.
“Dear.”
“Yes?”
“Can you explain this properly?”
She studied my expression with a cautious tone.
“Did Prince Wintem propose to you?”
I shook my head in surprise.
“No, nothing like that.”
“Then you’ve become very special to each other? From what I can see, it looks like more than just a casual arrangement.”
“That won’t be the case.”
“…Really?”
Despite my honest answer, her eyes remained skeptical.
“I’m not being rude to you right now, am I? You don’t need to worry about that?”
I flustered and waved my hands dismissively.
“No. You’re not.”
Baroness Meldear confirmed with me several times that she could believe me before speaking with Margaret about the rest.
She was taken aback by the news that she could no longer book me for reserved appointments, but after her eyes flickered for a moment, she quickly accepted it.
Before leaving the salon, she gently held both my hands.
“Dear, our relationship will remain good, won’t it? It will last forever?”
“Of course. What kind of person are you to me?”
“Even if I become a Grand Duchess?”
A bitter smile escaped me at such an unrealistic notion.
“That won’t happen. I’m a commoner, after all.”
“But you carry yourself far too elegantly for a commoner. You have the very air of high nobility from birth.”
Baroness Meldear pouted slightly.
“Besides, a title can be granted according to merit. Or one could receive recognition from the Temple. Well, anyway, since you say it’s not happening now, I’ll trust you.”
Recognition of status.
Unless one possessed a rank befitting the King or a Grand Duke, one would need to be someone truly exceptional whom the divine recognized.
It seemed to connect with how Melissa had purchased the Temple before my regression.
She had earnestly impressed upon me several times.
If my status were ever to change, I must tell her first without fail.
Only after extracting my promise that I understood did she leave the salon.
After breathing a sigh of relief, I turned my head to find Irina, Misha, and Margaret still watching me.
Exhausted by their disbelief, I quickly ushered the three out and sat on the couch.
I examined the gift once more.
The flowers and jewels were truly beautiful.
Then memories of the past surfaced, and I let out a hollow laugh.
His reaction when we first met, the obsession he’d shown since coming to the Salon, how he shielded me from danger and protected me, the way he punished Count Veloda Genoma for trying to harm me.
And today, a gift.
Now that I thought about it, last night he hadn’t used protection. He used to say marriage and children were absolutely forbidden, but he’d changed.
At this point, I couldn’t deny it.
Luderne Sellen had feelings for Priscilla of the Raber Salon.
Enough that he wouldn’t mind if a child came.
When our stations had shifted so drastically after being husband and wife, I thought he might pretend not to know me, but somehow a commoner like Priscilla had won his affection.
‘I must have been mistaken.’
It seemed the issue wasn’t status after all—it was his heart. Luderne had his own preference in appearance.
I felt utterly dejected.
And at the same time, I grew anxious about the moment my true identity would be revealed.
If I ended up pregnant with his child, and if he discovered I was Priscilla, how much betrayal would he feel?
I fingered the diamond earrings and rose from my seat, finally understanding where I needed to go.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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