About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 23

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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 23. Living Together
With hope kindled in my heart, I focused intently on Sir Jester’s movements.
“Egardt, it’s been a while.”
He removed his hat and cloak, handing them to the elderly man.
“Where is the Grand Duke?”
“He should be arriving shortly.”
The butler gestured toward an empty table where no one was seated—a table adorned with an unusually abundant arrangement of flowers at its center.
“He said he would join you at that table.”
“Then I should simply sit over there?”
“Indeed.”
“Very well. Let him know I’ve arrived.”
“As you wish.”
The butler bowed respectfully once more and turned toward the mansion’s interior.
Sir Jester brought his hands together in a brief, sharp clap. Then, surveying his surroundings, he moved forward with unhurried grace.
Offering a slight curl of his lips to the workers who greeted me as he passed.
I quickly approached him.
“Um…”
His gaze shifted toward me.
Up close, I noticed his irises were a brilliant violet.
The moment I thought how beautiful his eyes were, the smile that had lingered at his lips vanished entirely. His brow furrowed sharply.
“What is this?”
I instinctively stepped back. His words felt disrespectful to me.
Or had I been the rude one first?
“What exactly are you?”
His piercing gaze was so cold it was frightening. I wanted nothing more than to retreat and apologize for my rudeness.
But then I felt the curse’s energy rising through my body.
Given the gravity of the situation, I gently bit my lower lip. I couldn’t simply flee.
I needed to obtain some clue, any clue.
“I… there’s something I wanted to ask…”
At that moment, the atmosphere shifted.
The workers seated at the tables rose in unison. Those who had been laboring also stood, their attention fixed on the mansion’s entrance.
People emerged from within the mansion.
Luderne Sellen, the butler, and a silver-haired man from the Quindle—Brissel Mohr, who had rebuked me for my rudeness.
All three of their gazes turned toward Sir Jester.
Then toward me.
Luderne Sellen’s eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing me.
‘Now that I think about it, Luderne told me to leave.’
“The Harbor and Village are about a ten-minute walk from here. So our connection ends here.”
He had said exactly that.
Yet I had come, hoping I might see him once more.
“Sit and enjoy your meal.”
At Brissel Mohr’s words, the laborers settled back into their seats and finished eating. The surroundings grew noisy once more.
Brissel Mohr turned his gaze back toward me. His gentle, relaxed expression hardened into a thin line. It seemed I was not welcome to him.
He appeared to recognize me from our encounter aboard the Quindle.
Just then, Luderne Sellen strode toward us.
“How is your headache, Sir Jester?”
Sir Jester offered a respectful bow to Luderne Sellen.
“I am well now, thank you.”
“Good to hear. But why are you not sitting?”
As he spoke, Luderne Sellen’s gaze drifted quietly toward me.
Perhaps it was the curse sharpening all my senses, but I seemed to catch his distinctive, intoxicating scent.
I clenched the fabric of my skirt to hide my turmoil. My cursed heart had been racing wildly since the moment I laid eyes on him.
“This woman is….”
‘I’m losing my mind.’
His low voice sounded far too sweet to my ears. Heat bloomed low in my belly.
“Hah….”
A heated breath escaped me unbidden.
Those crimson eyes that had been studying me turned toward Sir Jester.
“Do you know this woman?”
He shook his head.
“No. I believe I’m seeing her for the first time today.”
“If it’s the first time, then it’s the first time. Your answer is strange.”
“Indeed.”
Sir Jester, agreeing, looked me over once more from head to toe.
“Though I’m certain it’s our first meeting… there’s something oddly familiar about you. Might you be someone the Grand Duke knows?”
Luderne Sellen shook his head.
“No.”
I lowered my eyes to conceal the hurt in my heart.
Luderne Sellen had said from the beginning that he did not know me.
But even if he suffered from memory loss, the fact that we had spent the night together was undeniable.
I understood his desire to keep that secret.
But to deny even knowing my face—I had not expected that.
I swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape. At this rate, even securing a character reference seemed hopeless.
My future had grown darker still.
How would I survive from here? Could I endure this curse and continue living?
No, wait.
I did not let go of my thread of hope.
Difficult as conversation might be, there was a mage before me. The Mage Tower Master, no less—surely his skill was extraordinarily high.
‘I must speak with him carefully and break this curse.’
It was as I made this resolve.
“If the Duke doesn’t know, then she wouldn’t be a servant of this mansion.”
Sir Jester’s question turned toward me.
“What is your name?”
In that moment, I flinched without thinking. His tone had grown even sharper than before.
“Where do you live? You don’t seem to be a commoner?”
Sir Jester pressed me with his question, as if urging an answer. His furrowed expression looked deeply displeased. I could even sense a killing intent.
When I instinctively stepped back, bewildered, Sir Jester closed the distance just as quickly.
“Why are you backing away after you spoke to me first?”
I had to speak.
I had to speak and break free from this curse.
“I, well, there was something I wanted to ask you…”
The moment I barely gathered my courage, Brissel Mohr beside me spoke coldly.
“You won’t even answer directly, and you’re being disrespectful. Sir Jester is not someone you can converse with so casually.”
At those words, I clamped my mouth shut again.
Luderne Sellen, who appeared indifferent and arrogant; the cold Brissel Mohr; Sir Jester, who made no effort to hide his killing intent; and behind these three sturdy men stood the butler, watching me as though I were an uninvited guest.
‘Was I really making such a grave mistake, as Brissel Mohr suggested?’
Should I apologize and retreat?
My hands began to tremble.
That was when it happened.
A broad, solid presence touched me from behind. A large hand gently wrapped around my shoulder.
“What’s the matter? Priscilla?”
When I turned around, I saw a warm and reassuring smile.
“Oh, Walter.”
Walter gave my shoulder a brief pat and spoke to Sir Jester.
“This young lady is Priscilla. She’s a valued employee who works at my tavern. She came along today to help with the dinner service. I’m not sure what’s upset you, but all three of you have rather frightening expressions, don’t you? Especially the Mage Tower Master.”
“Me?”
Only then did Sir Jester rub his face with one hand.
“My expression was frightening…?”
Walter nodded.
“You looked like you were about to kill someone. Did our employee do something wrong?”
At those words, Sir Jester, after glancing at me for a moment, asked Walter.
“Your name is Priscilla? A young lady working at your tavern?”
“Yes. My name is Walter.”
“So, Walter. Where does Priscilla live?”
Walter boldly wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me toward him.
“The second floor of my tavern. She hasn’t been on the island long and doesn’t have a place yet, so she lives with me.”
I looked up at Walter in surprise.
Walter lifted the corners of his mouth reassuringly toward me.
“I was trying to keep it secret, but the Mage Tower Master looked so frightening, you know?”
I quickly nodded, glancing at the three men in turn. Walter’s words about looking ready to kill someone echoed in my mind.
I noticed that Sir Jester and Brissel Mohr’s expressions had relaxed considerably compared to moments before, suggesting I had answered well enough, even if it was a lie.
Luderne Sellen’s face remained intimidating, however.
“No, I’m not angry. It was just so unexpected when I saw you.”
I couldn’t fathom what he found so unexpected.
Sir Jester exhaled softly and asked me a question.
“So, what did you want to ask me?”
His tone had grown somewhat gentler. I felt grateful to Walter.
“It’s, it’s nothing else really… I was just curious about a certain type of magic.”
“Magic?”
“Yes. It’s about a curse that occurs when you tear a scroll. If you’re busy, could I perhaps receive a recommendation for related books?”
I was truly desperate.
But then he uttered something incomprehensible.
“A scroll curse magic… In this age when most magic has disappeared, I wonder if anything that powerful still exists, but if it’s a curse scroll created by Menglow Breeze, it’s possible some might still remain….”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that…?”
“But that shouldn’t be something a civilian could obtain, would it? It’s an extraordinarily advanced form of magic.”
Even as I listened, I couldn’t trust my own ears.
Extraordinarily advanced magic? There’s no way Melissa Bilsty could have possessed something like that.
“In any case, magical texts on this island….”
Sir Jester, who had been tilting his head and muttering to himself, pointed toward the mansion.
“Until the Mage Tower is completely constructed, everything here in the mansion is all we have. I’m not certain if it will help you find whatever information you’re seeking.”
Sir Jester turned to Luderne Sellen.
“The Grand Duke would need to grant permission before the Special Library can be accessed, wouldn’t he?”
Luderne Sellen remained silent, his mouth firmly closed as he gazed at me.
I swallowed hard against the tension, but I gathered my courage and made my request to Luderne Sellen.
I asked if he would permit me to use the library, as there was something truly important I needed to find.

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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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