About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 118

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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 118. Our Paths Had Just Crossed
I knew Luderne Sellen visited the Royal Palace from time to time. But I had never encountered him face-to-face like this before.
‘Should I pretend to have forgotten everything and greet him with cuteness and brightness?’
After a moment of deliberation, I abandoned the idea. No matter how thick a mask I wore, it would be impossible.
Moreover, Luderne Sellen’s crimson eyes no longer concealed the contempt directed at me.
All I could do was offer a respectful bow and pass by.
“Your Highness, Grand Duke. It is an honor to see you.”
When Luderne Sellen gave a single nod, I attempted to slip past him with my head bowed. But a soft voice caught my ankle.
“Young Lady Bilsty.”
The moment I turned to face Luderne Sellen, my heart raced.
Had I misread the situation?
The contemptuous gaze I had felt moments before had vanished, and he had turned to face me.
“…Yes?”
“Do you have any special engagements after this?”
I thought for a moment, then shook my head.
I had come early in case the King might summon me, and waited.
Though the King’s affection now belonged to Olivia.
I had arrived yesterday and waited through the night, slept late into the afternoon, and was just about to return to the Town House.
Luderne Sellen withdrew a small invitation from his breast pocket and showed it to me.
“There is a party at the Imperial Palace of the Doerban Empire.”
I stared at the invitation in his hand with a bewildered expression. The crest of the Doerban Imperial Family was clearly stamped upon it.
“I must attend, and a female partner is required.”
I could not believe my ears.
It seemed there was only one reason Luderne Sellen would bring this up.
“Are you… asking me to go with you?”
“Indeed.”
An opportunity to attend the Imperial Palace’s grand ball—renowned for its magnificent splendor—as the Grand Duke’s partner.
My heart raced wildly.
At the same time, instinct screamed within me.
‘I have to go!’
But I quickly regained my reason. I could not help but ask. Why was he not bringing his mistress?
“But… isn’t Priscilla from Raber Salon the Grand Duke’s partner?”
Surprisingly, Luderne Sellen’s answer was quite simple.
“It is a formal occasion, so nobility is required.”
It was persuasive.
But as I rolled my eyes, I let out a delicate sigh for effect.
“But isn’t it terribly far? And I don’t have a proper dress for an imperial party…”
“The party is tonight. And travel is simple.”
Luderne Sellen withdrew a scroll from his breast pocket and extended his hand to me with courtesy.
“Do not worry about your appearance. Leave it to me.”
Melissa gazed at Luderne Sellen.
Perhaps it was the exceptionally fine weather—his tall, striking figure seemed to shimmer with an almost ethereal radiance.
Melissa found herself entranced, reaching out to take the hand he offered.
The moment they used the spatial displacement scroll to cross into the Doerban Empire, a Mute Maid hurried through the corridors of the Royal Palace, glancing about anxiously.
“Sigh… I was told she would be around here.”
She was a servant employed at Melissa’s Town House, and her path had just narrowly missed Luderne Sellen by design.
* * *
Madame Laber sighed deeply as she finished reading the letter of instructions Luderne Sellen had sent.
She had previously promised Anne, the head maid of the House of Grand Duke Wintem, that she would keep confidential whom Anne met here.
That was the rule of the business, after all.
Which meant Luderne Sellen had only two choices available to him.
Either allow Anne to come and go as she pleased, or prevent her from entering this building altogether.
She had assumed he would simply leave things as they were and not concern himself with it.
But today, Luderne Sellen issued instructions to Madame Laber as though he had been waiting for this moment.
“My, how cleverly you exploit the rules of business. You’re quite meticulous in your use of extraterritorial privilege as well.”
She rose from her seat and burned Luderne Sellen’s letter in the fireplace. Then she summoned a staff member who oversaw the secret passages and gave instructions.
“Listen carefully. If a maid from the House of Grand Duke Wintem comes looking for Rooms 401 and 402, let her in even if there are no guests present. And then…”
* * *
Not long after Madame Laber issued her instructions to her subordinate, Anne arrived at the Raber Salon.
Today, Anne had attended to Luderne Sellen’s tea in his study. And she had clearly heard the instructions he gave to Egardt and Walter.
Whether by shipwreck, by incapacitating the Ship Captain into bedridden illness, or by staging a pirate attack—block all sea routes to the Daicer Marquis Territory for one week.
However, for clients with important business, the instruction was to arrange rapid individual transport using fishing vessels from Heril Island.
Anne could not discern why Luderne Sellen had issued such orders. But even she could recognize this was significant intelligence.
This information would likely constitute the largest portion of what she would convey to Melissa.
Today, Melissa would surely marvel at her intelligence-gathering abilities. And then she could meet the man in Room 402 again.
‘I hope they’re both at the Raber Salon.’
The staff member, who had received Madame Laber’s instructions in advance, opened the secret passage for Anne.
Anne interpreted the staff member’s action of opening the passage to mean either one of them was in a room, or both were present.
Anne entered Room 401 first, her spirits lifted.
Melissa was not there.
Anne’s mood brightened even further. That meant only the man in Room 402 was present.
Anne hummed cheerfully as she entered Room 402, anticipating another thoroughly enjoyable encounter.
But the interior of Room 402 was silent.
Anne searched the bedroom.
No matter where she looked inside Room 402, the man was nowhere to be found.
“What’s going on?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Anne decided to return to Room 401. Perhaps Melissa had simply stepped away momentarily and they had missed each other.
But Anne soon realized something was amiss.
She needed to leave, but the door to Room 402 would not open.
No matter how hard she pushed or pulled, it remained sealed. It was truly strange.
There was no way around it. Anne pounded on the door and shouted loudly.
“Is anyone out there? The door won’t open—could someone please help me?”
* * *
Meanwhile, at Melissa’s Town House, Count Genoma paced the Reception Room in a state of agitation.
A hastily packed bag sat on one end of the Sofa.
“She should be arriving by now.”
He had just received and reviewed Matilda’s letter and the court documents sent urgently from Count Genoma’s Estate, and had come here afterward.
The court documents contained details of an annulment lawsuit.
He had learned that Priscilla was alive through a designer at the Raber Salon.
He’d wondered where she’d gone, only to discover she’d returned to her fiefdom and filed for annulment.
It seemed she’d grown attached to some male Doctor accompanying her and now desired freedom by reclaiming her title.
‘She showed some cleverness, but….’
A wicked smile soon played across Count Genoma’s lips as he ground his teeth.
“In the end, she’s still just a commoner.”
He could simply eliminate her on grounds of infidelity.
Or alternatively, he could use that Doctor as a hostage to maintain the marriage while extracting the key from her.
However, the fact that he’d received an inheritance through her death report could become problematic. He might need to explain that the woman who fell into the Swamp wasn’t actually Priscilla.
Count Genoma, who had been thinking for a moment, narrowed his eyes.
The answer was indeed Melissa.
‘Power ultimately stands above the law. Priscilla knows this too, which is why she excluded Melissa’s attempted murder from the lawsuit.’
Though King Zerox’s favor toward Melissa had diminished compared to before, she remained his mistress.
The moment Melissa became the target of a lawsuit, it was inevitable that all the Kingdom’s media would become turbulent.
Then Zerox would examine this case, and naturally he would want to resolve the matter as quietly as possible.
That would be convenient for Zerox.
Right and wrong are irrelevant. The King’s choice becomes justice itself.
So Count Genoma, upon receiving word, immediately assembled a capable Legal Guild and purchased passage on the Quindel.
And he’d sent someone to Melissa at the Palace and had been waiting for four hours already.
Count Genoma glanced at the grandfather clock and bit his nails.
One hour remained until embarkation.
‘At this rate I’ll miss the ship. I cannot miss this sailing.’
While Melissa’s company was important, attending the trial on time with the Legal Guild was more crucial.
‘There’s no choice. I’ll have to tell her to follow.’
Having decided, he quickly wrote a message for Melissa to leave, sealed it, and pulled the bell cord.
“You called, sir?”
It was Jeanne who entered and bowed her head.
“The moment Melissa arrives, deliver this immediately. It’s a very urgent matter, so there must not be the slightest mistake.”
Jeanne respectfully received the envelope Count Genoma handed her.
“Understood, sir.”
Count Genoma picked up his bag and departed.
Jeanne confirmed through the window that Count Genoma had left, then opened the envelope he’d given her.
A message had arrived from Priscilla stating that a lawsuit for annulment of marriage had been filed, and I was to come to Bilsty Estate with haste.
Jeanne had no idea who Priscilla was. The message made no sense to her whatsoever, but she copied it down anyway.
She would relay the contents when Priscilla arrived.
And she resealed the envelope, pretending she had never opened it.
* * *
The first trial date.
Matilda was utterly flabbergasted.
“How on earth did this happen!”
Given the urgent message I had sent, Melissa should have come—or at the very least, Count Veloda Genoma with his retinue of lawyers.
At minimum, a letter should have arrived.
But nothing related to the lawsuit reached me.
Not Melissa, not Count Veloda Genoma, not the lawyers, not a single correspondence.

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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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