About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 131

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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 131. Interrogation is the Top Priority
“Darling, I always thought that if anyone was going to deceive someone, it would be me doing the deceiving. But now I feel like I’m the one who’s been played for a fool.”
I sat up straight and listened quietly to what Madame Laber had to say.
“I thought you were a commoner, but you have a title and a fiefdom to boot.”
Madame Laber exhaled another plume of cigarette smoke.
Sensing she was waiting for my response, I shrugged as though it were nothing of consequence.
“There were circumstances. I only discovered the title recently.”
“From the moment I first saw you, I had a feeling there was more to your story. But surely there are limits to such circumstances, wouldn’t you say? Now that I think about it, your presence on that island belonging to His Highness doesn’t seem like mere coincidence either.”
“That truly was coincidence. I simply drifted there by chance.”
Madame Laber’s brow furrowed. She looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“You expect me to believe that? Then let me confirm one more thing. Before you went to that island, you and Prince Wintem were strangers?”
At that question, my lips sealed shut of their own accord.
“I thought you were simply an exceptionally skilled woman, but seeing the Grand Duke’s reaction, something smells distinctly suspicious. I haven’t spent just a day or two observing the dynamics between men and women in the entertainment industry.”
Madame Laber drew deeply on her cigarette before tapping ash into the tray. She appeared to be under considerable stress, as though working through some deduction.
“…You seem to be someone far more significant than I initially thought.”
At such an absurd statement, a bitter laugh escaped me. Whatever else might be true, a person of significance I was not.
“That’s a misunderstanding. I assure you, it’s not like that.”
“Ha, a misunderstanding?”
“I’m merely a mistress, nothing more.”
“Don’t jest with me.”
Madame Laber refilled her cigarette holder with fresh tobacco.
“Whether that’s true or not, I’ll be the judge of that. So tell me—I recall hearing something about revenge earlier…”
“…”
I found myself hesitating. How much should I reveal, and where should I begin?
While I deliberated, Madame Laber’s cigarette holder was lit once more.
“Oh, I already know about your connection to Young Lady Bilsty. I’d prefer you didn’t take me for a fool.”
Madame Laber exhaled a long stream of smoke and narrowed her eyes.
“That revenge you mentioned before—you said it was fine as long as it wasn’t the Royal Court. Does this connect to that?”
After my victory in the Royal Elegance Contest, I had sought Madame Laber’s cooperation.
I had hidden the identity of my attacker but briefly informed her that I had nearly been killed and bore a curse.
At that time, she had asked me directly.
“Just to be certain—your target isn’t the Royal Court, is it?”
When I confirmed that it wasn’t, Madame Laber had readily nodded in agreement.
“Well, if someone tried to kill you, it’s only just to strike them down in return. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I understand perfectly. And my angel’s enemy is my enemy too.”
Now Madame Laber was bringing up that conversation again.
Her persistent questioning left me no choice. I had to tell her something.
But laying out all the details was still difficult. Madame Laber was someone who had succeeded in the shadows, after all.
Though she was kind and dear to me, I had no certainty that if circumstances changed, she wouldn’t exploit any weaknesses she held over me.
After a moment’s thought, I shared only certain facts, and briefly at that.
“I’m the daughter of the previous Count Bilsty. Melissa Bilsty is my younger sister. I thought we were half-sisters, but…”
I took a deep breath and looked at Madame Laber and Walter, who was listening quietly to our conversation.
“She wasn’t my sister.”
“She wasn’t?”
I revealed who Melissa Bilsty’s true father was.
Madame Laber’s and Walter’s eyes widened considerably.
“Y-you’re certain of this?”
“Yes. The people Madame Laber provided testified to it. So I intend to interrogate them now.”
I continued with emphasis.
“But as I mentioned before, I harbor no resentment toward The King. And I believe I understand why Prince Wintem summoned Madame Laber.”
Regardless of moral considerations, maintaining mercenaries required illicit enterprises.
“I discussed the Prince’s fiefdom operations with him. That’s likely why. His Highness needed Madame Laber’s business acumen for that endeavor.”
It was the perfect answer.
Madame Laber quietly placed her cigarette holder between her lips, her eyes darting back and forth as if contemplating something further.
That’s when Walter stepped forward.
“I was worried you might distance yourself from me by deliberately revealing my role, which I hadn’t wanted disclosed earlier….”
Veins bulged visibly on Walter’s forehead.
“I now fully understand His Highness’s intentions in sending me here. Let’s hear the details from them directly. Where are they now?”
“They said they’re in the Underground Storage.”
He pulled black leather gloves from his pocket and drew them on methodically, speaking as though eager to proceed.
“Interrogation feels like my top priority.”
Walter sprang to his feet. Sensing he would leave immediately, I quickly stopped him.
“W-wait, it’s almost lunchtime.”
“I’ll just check their condition and return.”
The Head Maid, who had been listening to our conversation, suddenly interjected.
“I’ll show you the way. You’ll be back by lunchtime anyway, right?”
I couldn’t stop them. All I could do was suggest we meet at lunch.
* * *
The atmosphere among those gathered at the lunch table was indescribably awkward.
It wasn’t because of where everyone had been.
Madame Laber, Walter, Brissel Mohr, Bernard, and Menglow Breeze.
They were strangers—either meeting for the first time or barely acquainted—sitting together.
But that didn’t last long. Menglow and Madame Laber’s uninhibited natures meshed, and conversation flowed freely.
Soon Bernard and Walter joined in pleasantly as well.
What began as small talk evolved into shop talk.
Brissel Mohr sighed about Matilda’s disastrous fiefdom management, and Bernard clicked his tongue at how the trade system was equally chaotic.
Walter mentioned visiting the Underground Storage to see Matilda and Wood.
“I secured them properly. We can’t have them escaping.”
Menglow Breeze recounted his regression.
“I regressed, but of all times, it was right after handing over the scroll. And then I remembered that my memories would eventually cut off. What happened to me after that, I don’t know….”
Menglow smacked his lips and nodded.
“Probably means she died or lost consciousness.”
She said she twisted her body to evade the blow. She couldn’t avoid the impact entirely, but she feigned unconsciousness like before the regression, then fled once the women left.
Brissel Mohr expressed his doubt at her words.
“Then what was discovered was…”
“A fake disguised as me. My masterpiece, if I do say so myself.”
Menglow Breeze chuckled.
“Those women were blinded by greed and only stripped me of gold coins and jewels. They threw me into a desolate place and left. So I played dead for a while, then barely dragged myself out of the Forest, but one of my legs was broken—the pain was unbearable…”
Menglow Breeze had discovered a corpse of similar build to me in a remote location.
Though some of it had been torn apart by wild dogs, the moment she saw the body, an idea struck her—a perfect way to evade the Empire’s pursuit.
“First, I changed clothes. Fortunately, I still had magic then, so heaven was on my side.”
Though I couldn’t discern the method, she claimed she used magic to disguise another person as herself and successfully made a complete escape.
But since she was left penniless, she couldn’t leave the Territory.
“I begged and posed as a fortune teller, scraping together money bit by bit. I was planning to make small scrolls and sell them. But here’s the thing—right in the middle of gathering materials and casting magic, my mana just cut off. Magic disappeared all of a sudden. Absurd, really.”
Her words sparked a question in me.
Jester only knew when the magic disappeared, not the exact time.
Since mages aren’t always actively using magic, the estimated timing varied for each person.
“Do you happen to remember exactly when the magic disappeared?”
“Of course I do. It cut off right while I was casting. I couldn’t figure out why it happened—so frustrating. It was around sunset.”
At the date she mentioned, I swallowed quietly. It was the day I opened my eyes at Count Genoma’s Estate after regressing.
I even remembered seeing the sunset outside the window, so my regression and the disappearance of magic seemed somehow connected.
Soon, thinking it might be self-centered delusion, I let out a hollow laugh.
Magic disappeared from the world because of me? It was mere coincidence. It couldn’t be.
It was Brissel Mohr who asked cautiously.
“How were you able to know about the regression?”
At Brissel Mohr’s surprised gaze, Menglow’s lips curved up confidently.
“Whenever that bastard’s regression magic activated, some mages sensed and remembered it. You could go ask them and find out. I’ve known from the beginning every time time was rewound.”
“You mean those people remember too?”
“Bingo. If you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you who they are and you can go verify. But if you mention I’m alive, you know what happens, right?”
“Rest assured. We’ve been instructed to protect you.”
Brissel Mohr promised to keep Menglow’s survival secret for now, then received a list of several mages.
Lunch ended.
People scattered, each returning to their own tasks.
It was my turn to uncover every detail of Matilda’s past.
But Walter blocked my path. He was putting on black gloves again.
“I’ll extract the confession myself. You should rest.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if I came along?”
Walter shook his head. My presence would only be a hindrance, he said.
With him saying that, I had no choice. I would assess the Territory’s condition with Brissel Mohr and Bernard instead.
And that evening, Walter handed me several documents with a fresh smile.

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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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