About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 167

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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 167. The Devil’s Confession
Every person seated around the contract bearing those terms had affixed their signature.
Given how horrifying the stipulations were, witnesses had been entirely omitted from the document.
Three copies of the signed contract existed in total.
One for Zerox, one for Luderne, and one for the Supreme Court.
After affixing the King’s seal to all three copies of the contract, Zerox handed one copy and a spatial displacement scroll to the Knight Commander standing behind him.
“Go and deliver this contract to the Supreme Court. And bring back the recent newspapers from the Capital. Since the Supreme Court keeps newspapers on hand, you should return quickly.”
“I shall return with haste, Your Majesty.”
The Knight Commander departed at once.
Zerox then issued instructions to Baron Ugly.
“Bring the tortured Coachman here along with Countess Bilsty.”
“Understood, Your Majesty. I shall do my utmost to ensure the truth is revealed beyond all doubt.”
A brief silence descended as the two men departed.
After savoring his tea for a moment, Luderne spoke with serene composure, as though he hadn’t just concluded such a brutal contract.
“Ah, there is one matter I failed to mention earlier.”
“What is it?”
“I was momentarily irritated when I referred to Priscilla as a commoner just now, but in truth, she is no longer one.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Luderne’s lips curved upward with subtle grace.
“Not long ago, she was recognized as a Saint by the Temples of both the Arde Kingdom and the Doerban Empire.”
“Pfft!”
This time, it was Melissa who sprayed her tea.
Having displayed such an unseemly sight twice, Melissa hastily dabbed her lips with a handkerchief. Her eyes looked ready to burst from her head in astonishment.
“A Saint?”
Zerox squinted one eye and paused in thought before shaking his head once.
“Then she would become a Saint of commoner origin? It is certainly remarkable, but her birth status would not change.”
Luderne nodded and continued with unflappable composure.
“Quite right. However, today the Emperor has recognized Priscilla as my consort and bestowed upon her a Countess title.”
The expressions on Zerox and Melissa’s faces became quite remarkable. Madame Laber’s expression shifted in tandem.
Luderne took a measured sip of tea, his bearing radiating ease as he drove home his point.
“You understand now why I opposed the appointment. She is a Saint, a Countess, and will become an Archduchess. Regardless of whether it were voluntary, to have her follow orders and lay hands upon others’ heads would now be a matter of propriety.”
Zerox appeared at a loss for words, his lips merely moving soundlessly. His expression was truly foolish.
At that moment, Luderne’s gaze turned to one side.
Baron Ugly appeared, positioned as though something were tucked under his arm.
Behind him came Matilda with bandages wrapped around both her hands, the Coachman, and two Servants.
Baron Ugly soon stood before the table.
“I have brought them.”
Both Matilda and the Coachman bowed deeply to Zerox.
I observed the condition of the two carefully.
Apart from the bandaged hands, they appeared to be in excellent condition. It seemed they had been well-fed and well-treated since Zerox and Melissa’s arrival.
“Mother.”
Melissa rose from her seat and grasped Matilda’s arm with both hands.
Matilda surveyed the people seated at the table, then forced a smile toward Melissa.
“What is it, Melissa?”
“Well, you see…”
Melissa relayed to Matilda what she had heard from Luderne Sellen.
Matilda, predictably, jumped to her feet.
“That—that’s absolute nonsense! That mad wench Priscilla!”
Consumed by fury, Matilda quickly dropped to her knees before Zerox.
“Your Highness! This is truly unbearable injustice!”
Zerox, looking down at Matilda, glanced toward Luderne Sellen and lifted the corners of his mouth.
“She denies it, Grand Duke.”
“Of course she would deny it.”
At that moment, a spatial gate opened to one side.
Emerging from it was the Knight Commander, his arms laden with newspapers.
“I have returned, Your Highness. It appears the Capital is in quite an uproar over this matter. Extra editions are pouring out daily. I have brought all the recent ones.”
He handed one newspaper to Zerox first, then stacked the rest neatly on one side of the table.
Zerox’s expression hardened the moment he opened the newspaper.
He folded it closed and opened another.
His expression grew even more rigid.
Melissa asked with evident anxiety.
“Your Highness? What do the articles say that troubles you so?”
“It’s difficult for me to speak of it myself. You would do better to see for yourself.”
Luderne Sellen picked up a newspaper and unfolded it. He let out a hollow laugh.
“Well, the confession is printed as a photograph in its entirety. Is this your handwriting, madam?”
At those words, I too seized a newspaper and opened it.
The others each unfolded their own newspapers.
Just as Luderne Sellen said, photographs of portions of the confession were printed directly in the newspaper. Gillian and the journalist had done their work exceptionally well.
“Shocking Confession Unveiled.”
Luderne Sellen read the headline aloud, then merely shrugged his shoulders.
He deliberately did not read the sentences that followed.
Shocking Confession Unveiled!
Melissa Bilsty was a demon!
“The King’s Mistress—Revealed as the Fruit of Infidelity.”
Luderne Sellen opened another newspaper and then yet another.
A different headline appeared.
The Coachman’s Daughter! Melissa! A Fraud of the Ages!
I too deliberately read aloud one of the titles.
“Shocking: Singer Olivia’s Song Contains a Crime Confession?”
As we took turns reading, the faces of Melissa, Matilda, and the Coachman drained of all color.
The Coachman trembled violently throughout his entire body, cold sweat dripping down in rivulets.
Luderne and I skimmed through the articles published in other newspapers as well.
Countess Bilsty Priscilla nearly murdered by her fake sister Melissa Bilsty!
Count Veloda Genoma conspires with Count Bilsty to seize his fortune!
Melissa and her mother, the Old Woman, commit robbery and murder!
A crime and fraud of the ages! Where is the future of the Arde Kingdom headed?
Matilda’s handwritten documents obtained! In-depth analysis of the devil’s confession!
Nearly every detail of my confession was included—everything except the specifics of my curse.
There were truly many articles. The journalists who had obtained Matilda’s confession seemed filled with righteous fury.
Not only that, but reactions from the people of the Capital who learned of the incident were also featured. Everyone was expressing tremendous anger at this revelation that deserved universal condemnation.
I felt as though I might burst into laughter at how satisfying this was. But my role required me to appear sympathetic.
“Good heavens….”
I was genuinely regretful—after all, complete victory was not yet assured. That was why I couldn’t afford to laugh openly.
“I never imagined it would reach this extent…. I had no idea this was happening.”
Luderne also nodded with a grave expression.
“The rumors I heard were merely the tip of the iceberg, it seems. Seeing it firsthand, it’s truly extraordinary.”
“Your Majesty, this is absurd! It’s all slander!”
Melissa, frantically flipping through the newspapers, let out a cry bordering on hysteria.
“Priscilla is insane! The world is jealous of me because I receive the love of Your Majesty, so she’s spreading lies—it has to be!”
In response to Melissa’s plea, Zerox turned to Matilda with a troubled expression.
“This appears to be your handwriting and signature. Is it authentic?”
Melissa seized Matilda and shook her.
“Mother, what happened?”
“That woman brought a man with her, and he was so brutal…. He tortured me so relentlessly that I had no choice but to confess to lies. Sob….”
Matilda’s eyes reddened as tears began streaming down her face like drops of chicken droppings.
At that moment, the Coachman, who had fallen to his knees, began to weep.
“He forced me to write down whatever was dictated to me. I never thought it would be used like this…. It’s truly unjust, Your Majesty.”
I had expected some resistance, but their shamelessness was truly beyond measure.
“Well, if someone tortures you and tells you to write, you’d have no choice but to comply.”
Zerox appeared genuinely troubled.
“In the time I was away, such preposterous events unfolded in the Capital.”
He wiped his face with one hand in exasperation.
It seemed they were inclined to believe Melissa and Matilda’s claims of innocence no matter what.
Likely because his own image was at stake.
I found myself wondering how to overturn their assertions.
I also became curious whether magical tools for paternity verification existed in this world. If I could only prove it accurately, their credibility would surely crumble.
‘Should I suggest calling a Doctor? Could it be proven medically?’
At that moment, Zerox turned to Baron Ugly with a question.
“I believe we need the Baron’s wisdom. What do you think?”
Baron Ugly, who had been examining the newspaper articles alongside us, answered as though he had been waiting for this moment.
“Those who spread false information must be punished decisively.”
“So you also believe it to be false?”
“If he claims he confessed to falsehoods under torture, that should suffice as an explanation….”
Baron Ugly trailed off mid-sentence, and all eyes turned toward him.
“…But?”
At Zerox’s question, Baron Ugly placed something he had been carrying at his side onto the tea table.
Two stone tablets, each the size of an adult’s palm.
“Still, I recalled that there is one thing we can use to ascertain the truth, so I brought them along.”
“Ascertain the truth? What are these tablets?”
“Magic tablets.”

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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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