About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 114

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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 114. How Many Children
What came from his mouth next was a different tune entirely.
“Ah, I was so hungry I wanted to eat a lot, but now that the food’s here, the portions seem overwhelming.”
So he was a big eater after all.
The staff member who brought the food looked flustered.
Gillian spoke to the employee.
“Well, rather than picking through the food and leaving scraps, it’s better to pack some of it beforehand. Pack everything from my portion that can be packaged right now. Let me see….”
Gillian folded his arms and studied his plate before pointing with his finger.
“Pack everything except this soup, the salad, and one piece of bread. Oh, and can the bread be refilled? Since I would have requested a refill anyway, pack that portion of bread too.”
The staff member’s confusion was entirely understandable.
“Y-yes, I see. Ha ha. Then I’ll get that packaged for you.”
The employee forced a smile and transferred the plates Gillian had indicated back onto the tray.
As Gillian watched the employee push the tray toward the kitchen, he caught my eye and grinned mischievously.
“My hunger’s gone. Truth is, this place is famous for its delicious food. Since I’m eating here for once, I wanted to take some back. It’ll be perfect to eat at the office while I’m working.”
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle….
Despite claiming his hunger had vanished, his stomach growled loudly—a cruel irony.
Gillian, embarrassed, rubbed his belly.
“Truth is, I’ve had some intestinal trouble too….”
Watching him, I felt a mixture of certainty, sympathy, and pity.
And resentment bloomed within me—toward Matilda’s neglect and my own incompetence.
I forced a smile.
“I understand completely. So how many children are you raising?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Because I’m planning to bring food for them. I need to know the number to pack the right amount.”
Gillian’s eyes widened.
I clasped my hands respectfully.
“I’m sorry. It seems these are children without parents in the fiefdom, given your circumstances…. Could there be around a hundred?”
His mouth snapped shut. The mischievous smile vanished.
I voiced my assessment.
“And thinking about it more, if these are children I’ll be raising alongside you, it would be appropriate to invite them to the restaurant at a suitable time for introductions and a meal together. So you’ll need to tell me the exact number.”
Gillian’s face flushed red. He turned his gaze away, rubbing his mouth with his hand before letting out a hollow laugh.
“When I say the same thing to people coming for major lawsuits, they all agree. They want to win the trial first, after all. But later, they get angry. They say I should have mentioned such important facts from the beginning.”
“They can afford to be that way. But I can’t.”
Gillian’s eyes turned toward me.
I glanced briefly at Sir Jester. A subtle smile played at his lips.
“If that’s your intention, I’ll help however I can.”
I felt more reassured.
I nodded and spoke to Gillian.
“If I win this lawsuit, I become the complete master of the Bilsty Estate. That means the orphanage is also something I need to take responsibility for.”
Gillian smacked his lips, then exhaled a long sigh through his nose before opening his mouth.
“There aren’t many jobs here. So when children turn sixteen, they all become independent and leave for other fiefdoms. Right now, we have sixty-seven children remaining, ranging from two years old to fifteen.”
“They’re at the Orphanage?”
Gillian nodded.
“That’s right. Though they don’t all live crammed into a single building—it’s more like a small village where only children reside. Five adults stay there to care for them. The older children do odd jobs and farm work to earn their keep.”
I called over a staff member and ordered another serving of food.
Then I instructed them to pack meals for seventy-two people—the sixty-seven children plus the five adults—and have it delivered to the small village under Gillian’s name.
To the village where the children lived.
The staff member was startled by the bulk order but bowed in acknowledgment.
Soon the kitchen erupted into activity.
In the meantime, I listened to more of Gillian’s story.
The circumstances of how the children lost their parents were remarkably varied.
Accidents, illness, parents divorcing and abandoning the fiefdom, attacks by wild beasts, or simply abandoned at birth.
Hearing all this, I became curious about why he cared for every single one of them.
He was capable and earned well—he could have lived comfortably on his own.
Gillian shrugged.
“There’s no grand reason. We share the same origins. The person who cared for that village happened to be my adoptive parents, and my assistant and I were good students, but we went through a rebellious adolescence.”
As Gillian recalled the past, his expression was dry and his tone matter-of-fact.
“We stole money together, took things, drank, smoked. Then one day, possessed by who knows what, we ignored our adoptive parents and rebelled against them….”
Somehow we ended up wandering into the Forest and were attacked by a pack of wild beasts.
“I suppose they should have left a disrespectful wretch like me to die. But my adoptive parents protected us from the beasts and gave their lives doing so.”
Then he laughed abruptly.
“No matter how much you cry and regret, no matter how much you reflect on your mistakes, what’s done cannot be undone. And the children left behind—there are so many of them.”
It wasn’t that his heart wasn’t aching; it was the face of someone grown accustomed to an old wound.
He shrugged again.
“So that’s how it is. It’s a form of atonement for me….”
Food arrived at the table once more.
“Even difficult children, after raising them for a few years, you develop an affection for them—now I find them endearing.”
Gillian rubbed his hands together briskly and began eating.
“It’s natural for an older brother to care for his younger siblings. I’ve ended up with more than expected while carrying on my parents’ will, but….”
He fell silent for a moment, occupied with eating. Soon he chewed and swallowed deeply, then chuckled.
“It’s delicious. Well, since you’ve agreed to help raise them, I’ve shared some of my secrets with you.”
After the meal, I took Sir Jester and Gillian to the Bank first.
I exchanged all the checks Luderne had given me for gold coins and deposited them into my account. So I could withdraw them whenever needed.
Then we stopped by the Press Agency.
The Press Agency in a fiefdom without major news was small-scale, so acquiring it was quite easy.
The Press Director said he would send article content to be published at appropriate times.
At my mention of providing support if things went well, the Press Director’s eyes lit up as he asked me to leave it to him.
“We’re grateful to have the Count in our fiefdom.”
As we left the Press Agency building, we were introduced to a young woman holding a camera.
She lingered around us—a journalist ready to cover stories whenever the opportunity arose.
Next, I headed to the Government Administration.
Unlike my previous visit, the Government Administration was bustling with activity.
“Welcome, Young Countess.”
The Chief Administrator greeted me as if he had been waiting.
“Upon receiving word from the Court, I immediately calculated the schedule and began preparations for the succession of your title. And once the lawsuit is delivered to the Countess….”
The proxy’s authority would be immediately revoked.
Managing the Count’s Mansion affairs on behalf of the heir, being sued by that very heir meant losing credibility in those duties was inevitable.
In other words, the proxy’s work would come to a halt.
The tax obligations owed to the Kingdom couldn’t be delayed, so I would need to return and handle the remaining matters myself.
Of course, I had known this, but the thought of actually returning to the Count’s Mansion made me slightly nervous.
I needed to steel myself.
“And Young Countess, we would like to hold a welcoming ceremony.”
“A welcoming ceremony?”
The Chief Administrator rubbed his hands together.
“There is a Hunting Festival in a week.”
He asked if I would preside over the opening and present the awards at that time.
“It would be an excellent opportunity to announce your succession of the title to the people of the territory. Moreover….”
He mentioned that a certain nobleman reviewing territorial projects would also be attending the Hunting Festival.
“When he arrives, I shall subtly hint at the matter. It would be good for you to naturally go hunting together and have a conversation.”
I was deeply grateful for the Chief Administrator’s cooperation.
Thinking it a splendid idea, I readily agreed.
* * *
While Priscilla moved about in her own way, Matilda Bilsty was leisurely sipping tea in the garden before the Mansion, basking in the sunlight.
Attended by the newly arrived Mute Maid from yesterday.
As Matilda sipped her tea, she scrutinized both the attending Mute Maid and the burly Servant.
The Mute Maid’s cheeks were already swollen from the beating I had given her. Yet she didn’t flinch once.
When struck, she simply bowed her head and stood still, and after the beating, she merely continued with whatever tasks I assigned.
‘She works well.’
Truly useful.
She was exactly the type of talent I had needed since Priscilla left the Count’s Residence.
Someone I could use as a target for my frustrations whenever I pleased.
At that moment, a man in a black jacket rode up to the Mansion entrance. He held a document envelope in his hand.
“Good day. I have come from the Court.”
Matilda examined the man carefully. The badge on his black jacket was unmistakably the Court’s insignia.
“What business does the Court have? If this were about tax evasion, the taxes haven’t even been fully settled yet.”
The man extended the envelope to Matilda and spoke in a dry tone.
“This is a lawsuit with the Countess as the defendant.”

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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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