About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 29

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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 29. A Shocking Statement
Luderne Sellen spoke with the tone of a command as he settled into the single-seat sofa.
I stared at the medicine before turning to him with a question.
“Is this for reliable contraception?”
He interlaced his fingers and rested them between his knees, studying me intently before releasing a soft sigh.
“It’s a stamina recovery tonic. And…”
His gaze drifted toward the clock.
“You seem to be under some misapprehension, but it’s eleven o’clock at night.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Eleven o’clock at night.”
His words left me utterly dumbfounded.
“You must have exhausted yourself trying to calm a body driven mad by the curse.”
Luderne Sellen leaned back against the sofa’s armrest.
“Though you seem to have recovered some semblance of clarity, let’s begin with a proper meal, and then we can discuss this curse of yours.”
I paused briefly before speaking.
“My husband was Baron Sellen of the Arde Kingdom.”
Luderne Sellen cut me off sharply.
“I told you to eat first.”
“…”
“Otherwise, you can leave.”
I had no choice but to resume eating.
Luderne Sellen watched me eat intently, his gaze unfathomable and inscrutable in its depths.
As I set down my spoon, he spoke.
“You should eat more.”
“You’re staring so intently that I feel as though I’ll choke. It’s rather unnerving.”
At that, he rose and retrieved a book from the bookshelf.
“I hadn’t considered that. I won’t look, so eat at your ease.”
Luderne Sellen then produced a kettle and tea set from a shelf, along with a peculiarly shaped circular stone plate, and arranged them on the table.
As I placed the water-filled kettle upon the stone plate, a crimson glow emanated from it.
Only then did I comprehend the plate’s function.
It was a magical tool that functioned as an induction heater.
Luderne Sellen sipped his tea and read, while I took my time with my meal.
“You said earlier that my husband was Baron Sellen of the Arde Kingdom, didn’t you?”
As I neared the end of my meal, I broached the subject, and Luderne Sellen closed his book.
“Let me be clear from the outset—I have no interest in your husband’s affairs. Since this curse seems to be the reason you linger on the island and haunt my surroundings, speak only of that.”
“…”
How coldly indifferent he was.
Though disappointed, I had no recourse. He was the only man capable of alleviating my curse. I needed to secure his cooperation by any means.
In the end, I spoke only of the curse itself.
Who had cast it and when, why it had been placed upon me, and how it functioned.
Including the dangers I myself had faced.
Luderne Sellen listened to my account with calm attention.
“Thanks to the Grand Duke, my condition has improved considerably, so I intended to find my identification badge and leave the island. I was hoping to travel to the Capital, find a sorcerer to break the curse, and begin anew. However….”
I recounted what had transpired after losing my identification badge.
And how, against my will, I had become the wife of Count Veloda Genoma, with all my assets transferred to him.
“Then you need only choose—become the Countess of Count Veloda Genoma, or live freely.”
When examined piece by piece, everything was a crime, a matter worthy of rage. Yet Luderne spoke as though it were nothing of consequence.
“Without your identification badge, you could have borrowed a fishing vessel using the money I gave you.”
To me, it was an utterly exasperating remark.
“A certain person standing right before me swept away every fishing vessel there was. I have no ship left to borrow.”
A brief silence fell.
Luderne’s gaze immediately shifted away from mine.
“I should have used them sooner. The timing simply wasn’t favorable.”
I pressed forward with my question.
“Could you help me borrow at least one vessel?”
“Hmm, now that I understand the circumstances, it shouldn’t be difficult, but…”
He trailed off into silence.
After waiting a moment, he spoke again.
“Earlier, you explained that the curse grows increasingly severe unless I—unless it’s satisfied, did you not?”
I narrowed my eyes at his deliberate choice of such crude language.
“Yes.”
“Even if it is satisfied, a stable state is predicted to last only about ten days.”
“That’s correct.”
“Sir Jester mentioned that while he doesn’t know what curse it is, it appears to be the work of Menglow Breeze, a high-ranking sorcerer of the Empire.”
“Oh, you already knew?”
“He said something seemed off the moment he saw it, so he inquired about it.”
‘So that’s why he questioned me so aggressively. I was flustered because I didn’t know that…. He should have asked me step by step so I could understand.’
“I also found information about it in the books here.”
Still, the situation was somewhat better now than before. Thanks to Luderne’s assistance, I could endure at least ten more days.
“I’ll have about ten days again. If I can obtain the relevant magical scrolls during that time, I might be able to break the curse.”
“So if you board a ship and sail to the Capital, you can break this curse?”
“Well…I don’t know for certain. I’m thinking of seeking out that sorcerer. Though she’s a sorcerer of the Doerban Empire, if I can have my identification badge remade and board the Quindel, it should work. It takes less than ten days to reach the Empire from here.”
Luderne shook his head.
“I see. If that’s your thinking, then lending you a ship would be pointless.”
“Why?”
“Because Menglow Breeze is dead.”
It was a shocking statement.
As I stared with wide eyes, Luderne continued.
“Menglow Breeze committed heinous crimes in the Doerban Empire. While fleeing the investigation, she was killed in a beast attack.”
“….”
“The closest person of authority among mages would be Sir Jester.”
Luderne Sellen touched his chin with a troubled expression.
“For reasons unknown, most magic has vanished from this land, so I agreed to build a Mage Tower here for him to conduct his research in peace. However, to be honest…”
Luderne Sellen said he held no expectation that magic would ever return.
“Good heavens.”
If his words were true, the situation was dire indeed.
As I sat in stunned silence, Luderne spoke first.
“There is a method to reissue your identity papers, but listening to your account, it would only amount to returning you to a den of criminals.”
I harbored a fleeting hope that Luderne might punish them on my behalf.
“They are not citizens of the Doerban Empire, so my interference could constitute an overreach of authority. It is unfortunate.”
It was indeed a futile hope.
“To prove their crimes, there would need to be sufficient evidence and an impartial arbiter to render judgment, yet from what I understand, even that seems questionable.”
His words made sense, and my spirits sank further.
That was the crux of the problem.
In this matter, the lord of the small city of Roban would oversee and render judgment.
Because it involved Count Veloda Genoma, who resides in Roban.
But would the lord of Roban truly ignore Count Veloda Genoma now that he had grown wealthy?
Moreover, my own family stood at Count Veloda Genoma’s side. Even if I spoke of the harm I suffered, I had only my testimony—no evidence.
It seemed no one had witnessed the crime scene. Had there been witnesses, matters would not have remained so quiet until now.
“If the marriage covenant already bears a seal, the jurisdiction is even less likely to believe your claims.”
It was a painful observation.
With the seal affixed to the marriage covenant, I was now, in effect, the wife of Count Veloda Genoma. Raising objections would likely result in dismissal and forced return home.
My remaining life would be predictable.
They had openly attempted to kill me once. There was nothing strange about them attempting it again.
“Nevertheless, if you wish it, I shall reissue your identity papers. You may pursue an annulment suit, reconcile and live as you choose—the decision is yours.”
At Luderne Sellen’s words, I shook my head listlessly.
“Even if I obtain new identity papers, I won’t survive long. What Count Veloda Genoma and his family want from me is the fortune my late husband left behind. Once they learn I’m alive, I’ll likely be forced back home. If I attempt to flee, I’ll be thrown into the Swamp Behind the Mansion.”
My words carried a note of bitter resignation.
Yet Luderne Sellen’s tone shifted slightly upward.
“What do you mean? Thrown into a swamp?”
“There is a marshland behind the mansion.”
“….”
His expression became strange. His eyes widened as though he had received a shock.
“It may sound like an exaggeration, but I cannot help it. After all, I have already been murdered once.”
“No, that is not what I meant…”
Luderne Sellen pressed his hand to his head.
His jaw suddenly clenched with visible strain, as though in pain.
Seeing him in such apparent distress, my heart lurched.
“What is wrong? Are you in pain?”
“I am uncertain of the reason, but…”
Luderne let out a small groan.
“Just hearing the word ‘swamp’ makes my head pound as if it might split. Regardless… if it weren’t for Sir Jester’s words, I wouldn’t have believed in your curse at all.”
Luderne rose to his feet, pressing his temples repeatedly with his hand.
“Since the situation looks rather dire, I’ll help however I can. Whether it’s finding a way to obtain an identity badge or leaving the island to seek another mage—I’ll think it over. For now, though, I need to be away from the island for a few days.”
The next morning, Luderne departed the mansion alongside Brissel Mohr, showing me consideration.
He said he would arrange for me to consult with Sir Jester since he himself knew little of magic.
It was truly a kindness I could not repay.
* * *
“The furniture and supplies go over there. Mind you don’t scratch them. The construction materials go there. Count the quantities and verify they match.”
At Ail’s direction, the sailors and workers aboard the Quindel, moored at Heril Island, moved about with bustling energy from morning onward.
They were bringing in construction materials and supplies for the Mage Tower.
Ail stood with a satisfied expression, arms crossed.
Seeing the new furniture brought in especially for this occasion filled me with delight.
The new pieces had been commissioned directly from the most skilled furniture craftsman in the Capital of the Arde Kingdom.
It was wonderful to have acquired such beautiful furniture, but what truly elated me was watching that prideful craftsman—one who accepted commissions only from high nobility—bow his head to someone of commoner birth like myself.
‘It’s all thanks to the Grand Duke. And thanks to my own genius, of course.’
It was regrettable that the disappearance of most magic had relegated me to a rear-guard researcher, yet I had accumulated enough wealth to live comfortably for life.
By this measure, I had achieved a successful life.
It seemed I could quietly conduct my research here on Heril Island, and when spring winds of society blew through, I would meet a beautiful woman of good family and character, then marry and settle down.
Then, quite suddenly, I recalled Priscilla, whom I had seen recently.
My thoughts drifted, tilting gently in another direction.

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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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