About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 148

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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 148. The Villain’s Circumstances
Zerox’s eyes gleamed brilliantly upon hearing of Priscilla’s inheritance.
“Then all I need to do is restore your sister’s marriage to its nullified state and have Count Veloda Genoma use that key.”
“Exactly. Once that’s resolved, you won’t regret giving up the queen’s throne, will you? You can do this for me, can’t you?”
“Well, about that…”
It was a natural matter for Zerox.
Yet even though Melissa had leverage over him, love hadn’t blossomed between them in the slightest.
But Melissa didn’t care about that. All she needed was the queen’s throne, after all.
“However, to handle this cleanly, Your Majesty must exert your power.”
“It’s not easy for a king to break the law.”
Zerox fell into thought for a moment.
Seeing his troubled expression, Melissa quickly added her words.
“Is law the problem? This is practically the same as saving the nation.”
At those words, Zerox nodded emphatically.
“That’s right! I’ve had a brilliant idea!”
He said he would accompany Melissa when she went to the Bilsty Estate.
“The estate?”
“Yes. I’ll meet Count Bilsty directly and persuade him to withdraw the annulment lawsuit. Then the rights remain with Count Veloda Genoma. And if he refuses to listen…”
Zerox rolled his eyes and, with a cowardly smile, uttered the words Melissa longed to hear.
“If the plaintiff dies, the lawsuit automatically terminates. Problem solved.”
Having conceived of this far, Melissa rejoiced even more at the fortune bestowed upon me. Now, if I could only seize the key, everything would be resolved.
Just then, familiar faces appeared across the deck.
It was Eclite, disguised as an escort knight, and Count Veloda Genoma.
Eclite furrowed his brow at the news that Priscilla, whom he’d thought dead, had survived and become a countess.
But soon he laughed with a snort.
He said a good opportunity to pressure Luderne had presented itself again.
It was a truly unpleasant truth. Prince Wintem was Baron Sellen, and he still hadn’t completely forgotten Priscilla.
But I was pleased with Eclite’s purpose in following me.
He said that once Melissa and Zerox finished handling their business, he would drag Priscilla away. He would handle it himself.
His plan was to seize Priscilla’s life and blackmail Luderne with it.
Zerox welcomed Eclite’s scheme even more. If that were the case, then he need only display the king’s dignity without bothering to persuade a mere count.
By this point, Melissa found it miraculous.
The entire world—no, the entire universe—seemed to revolve around me. As if it were only natural that she become the queen of Arde.
But Eclite’s plan was not flawless. There was a fact Melissa had later obtained through Anne.
According to Anne’s information, Luderne was deeply infatuated with the mistress of the Raber Salon. So much so that he would abandon everything else and chase after her.
Blackmail him with his ex-wife’s life?
It seemed highly unlikely to work.
In any case, it was no loss to me. If Eclite failed, Zerox would simply kill Priscilla.
Melissa gently grasped Zerox’s hand.
“Zer, it looks like the prince and the count are heading to the restaurant. Shall we go eat as well?”
Zerox forced a smile at Melissa, who now used nicknames despite never having been granted permission to use his name, all while mocking himself for how he’d ended up in this situation.
Yet Zerox had his own calculations in mind.
First, he intended to navigate this situation successfully.
Once Melissa became queen, everything would be simple. Whether to kill or spare her would be entirely within his control.
‘Once I’ve properly destroyed the evidence….’
As he followed where Melissa led, he spotted a middle-aged man bowing respectfully near the restaurant and came to a halt.
It was Baron Ugly, one of his advisors.
His grotesquely hideous appearance made him a target of disdain and avoidance in high society. Consequently, his exceptional intelligence-gathering abilities remained unknown. He was merely an object of disgust to the noblewomen.
Zerox recalled how Baron Ugly had quietly assisted him when he killed Hilda Arde, and a serene smile crossed his face.
He could dispose of Melissa in the same manner.
“Melissa, I’ve just remembered something I need to have my advisor do. Why don’t you go inside first?”
Melissa glanced at the man Zerox mentioned and frowned.
Though she’d never spoken with him, Baron Ugly was someone Melissa knew of. His grotesquely ugly appearance had made him a frequent topic of conversation among noblewomen at every Royal Elegance Contest.
‘How does he even walk around with a face like that?’
Melissa stole a glance at Zerox’s expression, wondering if he truly felt nothing working alongside such an appearance.
But Zerox merely gave her back a gentle push.
Melissa entered the restaurant with Eclite and Count Veloda Genoma, who had just arrived.
The maids Jeanne and Anne, who had been waiting inside, bowed respectfully.
Once the three were seated, Zerox entered shortly after.
Their shared breakfast began.
Yet Anne, who served the four of them, was in turmoil.
Anne had previously gone to Madame Laber’s casino building to find Melissa and had been confined to Room 402.
She’d been trapped there by Luderne’s orders when she tried to leave for Bilsty Estate, waiting for Count Veloda Genoma, the room’s original owner, to return.
When Count Veloda Genoma opened the door without caution and stepped inside, he was startled by Anne’s sudden presence.
In that moment, Anne learned the man’s identity.
Her nameless bedmate had been Count Veloda Genoma all along.
Hope bloomed simultaneously.
Being a countess wouldn’t be so bad.
Count Veloda Genoma, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed expression, decided that since he was already discovered, he might as well relieve the stress he’d accumulated, and he pinned Anne down.
And shortly after, Melissa returned.
The moment she saw Anne, she asked where Luderne was.
But Anne didn’t know either.
Now that Luderne used spatial transfer scrolls, even the head maid couldn’t track his whereabouts.
Her honest answer was met with Melissa’s assault.
And an unprecedented order was issued.
To ransack Luderne’s study and bring any documents she could find.
No amount of beating would make it possible.
Anne wept and begged that she couldn’t do that, but her answer soon changed.
King Zerox had appeared before her eyes.
“How amusing. Prince Wintem’s maid was Melissa’s spy.”
Anne sensed that matters had spiraled far beyond her control.
The involvement of the King elevated this to an entirely different realm.
Now she faced only two paths: either be discovered by Luderne and face death, or cling to Melissa’s coattails and use Zerox as a shield to carve out a path to survival.
The choice was binary.
In truth, there was only one real option.
Though there was no guarantee that Zerox and Melissa would not abandon her, Anne resolved to cast her lot entirely with Melissa and slipped into Luderne’s study.
While searching through various documents, she discovered several papers in a drawer.
They concerned an investment in the Raber Salon.
Anne decided to bring the documents to Melissa. After all, it was common knowledge that Luderne had invested in the salon.
As she gathered the documents and other items, she heard voices from outside.
Startled, Anne quickly pressed herself against the wall beside the door.
The voice belonged to Butler Egardt, who was issuing instructions to the maid Lesha.
Anne hoped they would simply pass by, while simultaneously scanning the study for a place to hide.
Then the study door opened.
Egardt entered, carrying documents on a silver tray.
Anne’s heart sank. Egardt’s entry was too swift. She had no idea how to escape.
With his characteristic composure, he closed the study door first. Fortunately, he turned away from where Anne stood.
But he discovered her almost immediately.
“Why are you here?”
Egardt’s gaze fixed on the documents in Anne’s hands.
“I… what is this…?”
There was no time to think. Anne threw her entire body forward and shoved Egardt with all her strength.
“Ugh!”
The elderly butler was pushed back with almost laughable ease, his head striking furniture hard before he collapsed.
The silver tray and letters tumbled across the plush carpet.
Anne breathed heavily, watching for any sign of movement from Egardt.
The fallen butler did not rise.
Though she could detect faint breathing, suggesting he was not dead, his condition appeared grave.
Trembling, Anne gathered every letter from the floor. Since she could not return, she had to take as much as possible.
She carefully left Luderne’s study, hastily gathered only her most essential belongings, and fled to Melissa, where she clung to both Melissa and Zerox in tears.
She told them an accident had occurred while retrieving the documents. She begged them to save her.
She swore she would obey their every command.
Recalling all of this, Anne smiled bitterly.
She had come here hoping to catch Luderne’s eye, yet somehow her master had changed.
Even with her careful grooming, she now served alongside that homely maid.
Anne’s gaze drifted toward Jeanne.

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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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