About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 124

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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 124. Luderne Was There
I was startled when Menglow Breeze spoke as if she knew Sir Jester, and I immediately asked her about it.
“Do you know Sir Jester?”
“First time seeing him. But what mage doesn’t know this fellow’s name?”
She called herself a sorceress, yet now she spoke of a mage.
The words Menglow Breeze tossed out so casually struck me as peculiar.
With trembling hands, Menglow Breeze withdrew a small pouch from her garments and spoke as if to herself.
“To meet here like this—perhaps it is the will of the divine. Since I lived because of you, I shall repay the debt.”
I was even more startled by words I would have missed had I not been paying close attention.
Soon Menglow Breeze began murmuring an incantation I could not comprehend.
From the pouch, she scattered a handful of ash—something burned to powder—upon Sir Jester.
No reaction came from the powder.
Yet Menglow Breeze continued muttering her incantation and withdrew another pouch from her garments.
What emerged from the next pouch truly startled me.
It was a scroll, and moreover, one whose form seemed familiar.
Menglow Breeze turned to face me.
“Step back. Move far away, just in case.”
I obeyed and created distance between us.
Menglow Breeze pressed the scroll close to Sir Jester’s face and tore it. Black smoke billowed forth, engulfing him.
The unexpected sight struck me like a hammer blow to the skull.
“Ugh….”
Sir Jester groaned at once.
There was no time to think further. I asked urgently.
“Sir Jester! Are you conscious?”
His trembling eyelashes lifted. His eyes darted about, surveying his surroundings, before he slowly pushed himself upright.
“Huh? I… survived? Miss Priscilla, how much time has passed? Three days? A week?”
I checked my timepiece.
“About two hours since you collapsed.”
Sir Jester’s brow furrowed.
“…What?”
“Two hours.”
He touched his head and spoke with bewilderment.
“That’s impossible. It can’t be. I was clearly sealed away….”
I caught Menglow Breeze as she turned to limp away.
“This sorceress helped you.”
I spoke toward Menglow Breeze.
“Thank you so much for helping Sir Jester.”
“If you’re grateful, pay me.”
“I will.”
With a ready nod, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
It was hard to believe, but in this moment, only one name came to mind. A name I absolutely had to confirm.
“Grandmother, you’re Menglow Breeze, aren’t you?”
At my reckless guess, Sir Jester’s eyes widened in shock.
Menglow Breeze immediately waved her hand in denial.
“You’ve got the wrong person. I’m not her.”
Then Sir Jester suddenly thrust his hand forward and swiftly pulled back Menglow Breeze’s hood.
The old woman’s face was revealed—deeply wrinkled, withered, with her left eye turned outward in a cross-eyed stare.
Even a wart-covered hooked nose.
The image resembled the wicked old crone commonly depicted in storybooks.
Soon, Menglow Breeze’s expression twisted into something fierce.
“How dare you be so rude! I saved your life, and you show no gratitude!”
“My goodness, it matches the portrait exactly.”
As Sir Jester narrowed his eyes, the old woman’s gaze sharpened as well.
“You… remember my face?”
“I’ve seen the wanted posters so many times. I was told you were dead, but you’re alive?”
‘So it really was Menglow Breeze after all.’
I too became curious. The woman thought to be dead was still alive.
After a moment’s thought, I made a request to Sir Jester.
“Sir Jester, I hope you won’t report her to the Empire.”
“Of course not, since she helped me.”
Sir Jester, who answered readily, smiled at Menglow Breeze.
“I can hardly believe it, but my headache is completely gone. How did you manage it?”
“A curse-seal isn’t exactly the same as a curse, but it’s similar. So I overlaid you with a different curse I had.”
“That’s… possible?”
At Sir Jester’s question, Menglow Breeze nodded easily.
“A curse doesn’t stack twice over.”
At those words, Sir Jester’s expression turned bitter.
“So then… I only have seven years left to live well?”
Menglow Breeze leaned her head forward.
“You figured out that much?”
“Among those cursed by you, there happen to be two people important to me. Well, three now.”
Sir Jester’s gaze turned toward me.
“Priscilla here is included as well.”
Following Sir Jester’s gaze, Menglow Breeze’s eyes also turned toward me.
“You’re cursed by me? There’s no sign of it.”
I simply nodded.
There were mountains of things I wanted to ask, but since Sir Jester was asking now, it seemed better to wait. His questions would likely be more precise than mine anyway.
“Priscilla, I’ve suppressed it for now. As for the Emperor…”
Before Sir Jester could finish speaking, Menglow Breeze’s voice rose sharply.
“He wasn’t my target! I fell into a trap that Prince Eclite dug! I died because of that!”
Her age meant her voice wasn’t particularly loud, but if I’d heard correctly, it was an absolutely shocking revelation.
Menglow Breeze trembled violently, her breathing ragged.
“If only magic hadn’t disappeared from this world, I would have taken my revenge… *cough, cough!* *hack!*”
Menglow Breeze coughed harshly, her body wracked with dry spasms.
I quickly fetched water and offered it to her.
Menglow Breeze drank hurriedly, but her trembling hands spilled the water, so I swiftly steadied the cup and wiped the moisture from her lips with a handkerchief.
Even after drinking, Menglow Breeze muttered curses under her breath, gasping for air.
Seeing her in such agony, I found myself gently grasping her withered hand without thinking.
“Are you alright?”
Menglow Breeze’s curses ceased.
She gazed at my hand with unfocused eyes, then murmured softly.
“There’s still someone who will hold my hand.”
Then she lifted her eyes to meet mine.
“You don’t seem to be acting out of obligation… You’re quite kind, young lady.”
Just then, the Head Maid’s voice called from outside.
“My lord, it’s time for the meal. Will you be dining?”
“One moment, please.”
I released Menglow Breeze’s hand and approached the Head Maid, instructing her to prepare a meal for Menglow Breeze as well.
Then I returned and took her hand again.
“I believe we have much to discuss. I’d like you to stay here and talk with us at your leisure.”
Sir Jester quickly added his words.
“We had already suspected the possibility of a trap. We simply couldn’t be certain without the person involved.”
Sir Jester rose from the bed and grasped Menglow Breeze’s hand.
“If you’ve been falsely accused, we’ll find a way to restore your honor. So please, stay here comfortably.”
We moved together to sit near the dining table.
The moment Menglow Breeze sat down, she grabbed the bread before her and stuffed it into her mouth with her hands.
The servants looked decidedly displeased by her behavior.
Given how sensitive the matters we needed to discuss were, I dismissed all the servants.
Once the surroundings grew quiet, Sir Jester addressed Menglow Breeze.
“First, about the curse you placed on me. Since that’s urgent, I’ll ask about it first.”
Menglow Breeze merely nodded, still chewing her bread.
“The Emperor and I are men, so there’s no solution… Can this curse not be lifted?”
“You’ve figured out the solution?”
“To bear a child with one’s beloved…”
In that moment, Menglow Breeze’s lips curled upward in a grin so wide it seemed to split her face. She swallowed the bread remaining in her mouth along with water.
“*Chuckle, chuckle.* You’re an amusing one.”
Menglow Breeze pointed to the remaining water in her cup.
“The curse I placed on you was brief, but I chose it carefully. Touch water, and you’ll transform into a sea fish.”
“A, a sea fish?”
“Yes. Though you won’t actually become a true fish—you won’t die outside of water.”
She suddenly splashed the remaining water from her cup onto Sir Jester.
In an instant, Sir Jester vanished, and a fish with orange scales and white stripes flopped about on the dining chair.
I could tell at a glance what it was.
A clownfish.
“He’ll return once the moisture dries.”
The Old Woman gestured toward me with her chin.
I quickly grabbed the flopping fish and wrapped it gently in a dry towel, patting it carefully.
Soon the towel bulged outward, and Sir Jester returned to his original form.
“Insane.”
His face flushed crimson, he looked utterly bewildered.
“Are you actually insane? Out of all the curses in existence, why curse me with this of all things?”
At Sir Jester’s protest, Menglow Breeze narrowed one eye.
“I went out of my way to use something precious, and you’re complaining? If I hadn’t used it, you’d be dead by now, wouldn’t you?”
Sir Jester’s mouth snapped shut immediately.
Menglow Breeze spooned soup into her mouth and continued speaking. She said she possessed two curse scrolls.
“I barely managed to create them after returning and surviving. The magic faded quickly, so I could hardly make more.”
Mid-sentence, Menglow Breeze tapped the soup bowl with her spoon.
“Yet instead of gratitude, what’s all this complaining about?”
Sir Jester released a heavy sigh.
“I am grateful, truly. But now I’m apparently destined to find a fish I’ll genuinely love and who genuinely loves me.”
“A fish you love? You’ll have to go to the sea to find one?”
“That’s what I’d need to do to survive. But the problem is, I already have someone I love.”
Sir Jester glanced at me, and his face flushed crimson once more.
He rubbed his brow with an expression of genuine distress. I understood his feelings, but his current appearance was rather peculiar.
However, Menglow Breeze’s reaction was entirely different. She immediately convulsed with laughter, her whole body shaking so violently that food nearly flew from her mouth.
“It’s been ages since you’ve amused me like this.”
What she said next was even more astonishing.
“You don’t need to worry about that. Just live as a fish for a few months at an appropriate time, and the curse will naturally dissolve.”
“What?”
“You’ll understand once you experience it. Do that, and the curse won’t kill you.”
Menglow Breeze waved her hand toward us.
“For now, eat. Since living in that small cottage, I’ve never had a proper meal. It’s been years, so I want to savor this.”
The meal was nearing its end.
The Chief Administrator came to find me.
I left Sir Jester and Menglow Breeze to continue their conversation and met him in the Reception Room.
“I apologize for disturbing you while you’re still recovering. Word came that you had awakened.”
I checked the time.
“I was supposed to meet with the territory’s residents at the opening ceremony, but I caused them concern. When is the closing ceremony? And has the investor arrived as well?”
Looking at Luderne Sellen, I wasn’t sure which matter to address first.
But I would have time to organize my thoughts before the closing ceremony.
* * *
I arrived at the closing ceremony with the Chief Administrator.
The hunting grounds were still in full swing, leaving the venue eerily sparse with only the podium and tents standing about.
And moments later, I realized my expectation that I would have time to organize my thoughts was mistaken.
Luderne Sellen was there.

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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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