About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 101

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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 101. To Reclaim One’s Title
I had to go to Luderne and reveal the truth.
This relationship couldn’t last like this. It was deception, after all.
But as I rose from my seat, I sat back down just as quickly. I heard the devil’s whisper urging me to seize this golden opportunity.
If Luderne continued to neglect contraception and I became pregnant, the curse would likely be broken.
If that happened, I could live.
Even if he cursed me as the worst woman in the world when he learned the truth later.
‘He couldn’t kill the mother of his child, after all.’
Thinking that way, I rose from my seat once more. No, it seemed better to go and tell him the truth.
That I was Priscilla.
That I was sorry for deceiving him unintentionally.
Considering the life of a child born through deception, pregnancy required careful deliberation.
The child would surely be condemned for having lowborn blood mixed in. Unless I could keep the child with me for life while hiding their status.
But I couldn’t condemn a child of royal blood to live hidden forever, regardless of their own wishes.
I truly couldn’t act so recklessly.
Even if I wove more lies and lived by fortune’s grace, I didn’t have the strength to bear the expression on Luderne’s face when he discovered a situation that could never be undone.
If I told him now that I was Priscilla, would he show mercy to someone he loved as ‘Priscilla’, or would he rage at the deception of a commoner?
I didn’t know.
But he wouldn’t cast me out immediately.
From working at the Salon, I’d learned that Luderne was a genius in business. So it was likely he wouldn’t do anything that would harm his own enterprise.
The amount of money he’d invested in the Salon was simply staggering.
‘Yes. I’ll tell him before it’s too late.’
Having resolved this, I secured my earrings and set out for home with Walter.
Until I left the Salon, I was certainly determined to do this…
But my thoughts changed again on the way back.
I was still afraid of the expression he would wear when he saw me. It seemed I would need time to gather courage.
If that was the case, there was only one action I could take now.
Take my contraceptive pills faithfully until he agreed to have a child.
* * *
A fortnight had passed.
During that time, instead of receiving appointment clients, I taught techniques to the Salon staff.
And I taught Irina and Misha how to teach techniques.
So they could develop even without me.
And every day, Luderne held me in the dark bedroom, and once our time together ended, I returned immediately to my own room.
Just as Luderne had left me behind on the island after our intimacy ended, I did the same.
My heart yearned to stay by his side, but I still couldn’t reveal my identity.
He had every reason to feel hurt, yet he said nothing and let me go each time. He seemed to love ‘Priscilla’ enough that nothing I did bothered him.
Though he didn’t express his feelings in words.
Today as well, after leaving him and returning to my room, I bathed and put on a shower robe, then took my contraceptive pill.
As I swallowed water once more, my eyes suddenly caught on the display cabinet.
More precisely, it was the key necklace I kept inside the display cabinet.
A key that could unlock a vast inheritance the moment it proved Priscilla’s identity.
When I took out the key and held it quietly in my palm, I thought of Melissa and Count Veloda Genoma, who had been searching for it.
And Jeanne’s recent report.
She said a painter had been frequenting Melissa’s Town House lately.
“She seems to be looking for someone. Since there are no remaining portraits, she’s having new ones painted. Every time, she screams that it doesn’t look right.”
She appeared desperate to find me, convinced I was still alive.
I thought there would be at least my portrait remaining in the Bilsty Barony, but it seemed they had erased even that to remove all traces.
“And Matilda, who went to the main estate to handle territorial tax matters, says the work is taking longer than expected. Since the title wasn’t directly inherited, the procedures are more complicated, apparently.”
As Jeanne said this, her expression twisted with disgust.
“She regretted not just imprisoning me from the start. I don’t know what it was, but there was an atmosphere like she’d committed a crime.”
After hearing that, I suddenly became curious about the whereabouts of the title and the state of the territory. The fact that territorial management procedures were complicated meant I was still acting as a proxy.
‘Wait.’
Now that I thought about it, neither Matilda nor Melissa had ever been called Count.
‘But Father’s title was hereditary.’
This meant that despite my being declared dead, neither of them had inherited the title.
‘Did Father perhaps arrange it so the title wouldn’t pass on unless it was to me, his heir?’
Originally, once I came of age, I could have inherited the title. Until then, I was supposed to designate a proxy myself.
But I had married and left the territory as soon as I came of age, so I never completed the inheritance procedures, and Matilda had continued to hold the proxy’s authority ever since.
‘What happened to the title issue?’
* * *
The next day, I quietly sought out an inheritance specialist lawyer and asked.
The lawyer answered immediately.
“In that case, the title’s validity is only maintained if you receive it before marriage.”
To reclaim the title I had failed to inherit due to marriage, I would need to divorce, return to the territory, follow the procedures to receive the title, reclaim all my rights, and then remarry.
The next thing to confirm, then, was the matter of identity restoration.
Whether a noble declared dead could have their identity restored if they were actually alive.
The lawyer nodded without hesitation.
“When a noble’s identity is erased due to a death declaration, they can restore it by returning to their home territory. Since nobles have a magical certificate created at birth for identity verification, it serves as the legal basis for inheriting the title. If you were born before magic disappeared, it will be confirmed.”
“What happens to the records from before the death declaration?”
“Of course they’re restored.”
“I see…”
If I restored my identity, my property would ultimately become Count Veloda Genoma’s possession.
“Is there any way to prevent my rights from transferring to my legal husband?”
“That’s a special case. One moment.”
The lawyer flipped through legal texts for a moment, then explained several options to me.
If I filed for divorce or annulment through the court of my home territory with legitimate grounds, my original property would be frozen temporarily.
In other words, if I returned, restored my identity, and sued Count Veloda Genoma immediately, I could protect the title, the Bilsty Estate, and even this key Luderne had given me.
Of course, I would need to win the lawsuit.
But lawsuits cost money. To win by any means necessary, I would need to spend a tremendous amount.
‘First, I’ll establish my identity, file a lawsuit, and then use the key to locate the fortune.’
Vast wealth would fall into my hands.
With that, my chances of winning the lawsuit would be considerably high.
And with sufficient funds, I could even hire soldiers to protect myself.
‘Good heavens!’
As I calculated this far, a great hope blossomed within me.
Yet at the same time, I wanted to tear at the ground in regret.
Regret for my former self before regression—so foolish and witless, swayed by family circumstances.
And regret that even after regression, I hadn’t thought to deepen my understanding of the law.
Upon returning home, I first calculated the legally available vacation days I could use.
Until now, I hadn’t taken vacation. There was no particular need, and by not using them, I could accumulate and use them all at once.
When I counted, the number of days I could use was quite substantial.
I took out my identity badge.
‘I’ll use this to book passage on a ship to Bilsty Estate. Once there, I’ll hire an escort and restore my original identity.’
* * *
The next day, I took one day off and went to the Harbor Office.
It was to book a ticket for passage to Bilsty Estate.
The ship I needed to board was the Quindel.
The destination was the Harbor in the Daicer Marquis Territory.
After passing through Heril Island and the small town of Roban where Count Genoma’s Estate was located, that would be the next stop.
From there, I could transfer to a ship heading to Bilsty Harbor.
I handed my identity badge and the ticket fee to the clerk.
“A ticket to Daicer Harbor, please.”
But soon I received shocking news instead of a ticket.
“This identity badge cannot be used.”
The reason was that my status had been revoked due to banishment.
‘How petty.’
I knew I would be banished, but I hadn’t expected them to revoke my status entirely.
Shortly after, the clerk I’d just spoken with switched shifts with another employee.
Seeing this, I felt secretly relieved.
There were many clerks in the Capital who issued boarding tickets, so they likely wouldn’t recognize me even if I brought a different identity badge.
When it came to ‘forging an identity badge,’ Madame Laber was the one.
So I sought out Madame Laber.
She was working in the Salon’s study, but she moved to the sofa.
“I thought you were taking the day off. What brings you here?”
I asked about my vacation plans and whether I could obtain a new identity badge.
Madame Laber immediately cursed Eclite, and only then did she answer my question.
“It’s not difficult. But you’re a key person in our business, so we need to report to Prince Wintem and get his permission. Also, you’ll need to tell us your exact destination.”
I was taken aback.
If Luderne learned that my destination was Bilsty Estate, what would he think?

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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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