About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 45

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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 45. So the Two of Them
Luderne’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Doing what you shouldn’t.”
At those words, Brissel pressed a hand to his chest.
“If traces are left behind, it would be better to read it and burn it immediately, Your Highness.”
Luderne opened the letter with a paper knife and examined its contents.
His expression hardened with terrible swiftness.
Brissel gasped when he saw Luderne’s hands trembling visibly, and lowered his voice in alarm.
“Your Highness, what is wrong?”
“What is this…?”
Luderne crumpled the letter violently in his fist and shot to his feet.
“She’s leaving the island.”
“What?”
“Summon Sir Jester. Tell him to come to Priscilla’s House at once.”
Luderne threw his robe back on and strode from the study.
Brissel, startled, hurried after him.
Bang!
The sound of a door being thrown open echoed through the darkness of Priscilla’s House.
What rushed in next was Luderne and the light of the lamp he held.
“This is quite the jest.”
Luderne strode forward and yanked open the bedroom door.
“…”
Unlike usual, the bed was bare of blankets, dressed only in sheets. The nightstand and vanity were equally barren, stripped of every object.
Luderne lit every lamp in the house and checked every corner.
The dwelling was obsessively, unnaturally tidy.
No matter how thoroughly he searched, Priscilla was nowhere to be found.
Luderne withdrew Priscilla’s letter and read it again.
As he pored over the letter multiple times, he heard footsteps outside.
It was Ail and Brissel, summoned in haste.
“Your Highness, what brings you to Miss Priscilla’s House at this hour of the morning…?”
Ail’s voice, still heavy with sleep, trailed off. He had noticed the grim set of Luderne’s expression and the emptiness of the house.
He glanced into the bedroom, then turned to Luderne with a question.
“Where is Miss Priscilla…?”
Luderne burned Priscilla’s letter in the lamp’s flame.
“She’s gone. She left a letter behind.”
“…What? Miss Priscilla has left the island? So suddenly?”
Brissel spoke gravely to the bewildered Ail.
“What is said from this moment forward is a secret that must never escape, even if a blade were at your throat.”
Ail could not fathom why such a warning accompanied news of Priscilla’s departure. Yet he nodded nonetheless.
“Is it true that you found a way to break the curse upon Priscilla, and that she will die if it is not lifted within the deadline?”
Luderne’s question left Ail bewildered.
‘Why would the Grand Duke ask me this?’
Instead of answering, he fell silent for a moment, attempting to deduce the relationship between Luderne, Priscilla, and Brissel Mohr.
Over nearly four years, Ail had only discussed simple daily matters and magic with Priscilla.
He had never witnessed Priscilla and Luderne speak of each other or meet.
Brissel Mohr even less so.
Then, a remark Brissel Mohr had made in passing long ago surfaced in his mind.
Don’t even begin.
‘Ah, so there was something between the Grand Duke and Priscilla from back then.’
Ail, now understanding belatedly, realized he could never become anything special to Priscilla.
Because what existed between Luderne and Priscilla was special. Profoundly so.
It was truly heartbreaking.
Yet something felt strange.
‘I loved her so deeply… no, I loved her enough that I would have gladly died in her stead…’
Ail placed a hand over his heart.
It had certainly been a sincere love. He had devoted himself to breaking her curse and winning her affection.
But now, with this unexpected relationship revealed, his heart felt unmoved. Rather, it felt natural, as though it had always been this way.
Yet it didn’t feel as though my love for Priscilla had changed.
‘What on earth is happening?’
It was truly strange.
Then Brissel Mohr urged him on.
“Sir, His Highness is waiting for your answer.”
Ail straightened his posture.
“I have indeed found a way to break the curse. It’s also true that if the curse isn’t broken within three years, she will die.”
Ail then informed Luderne that Priscilla’s curse activation had been postponed by a year and a half.
Luderne furrowed his brow slightly and murmured softly.
“A year and a half… Then what is the complete method to break the curse?”
“If Priscilla bears a child with a man she loves and who loves her, the curse will be broken. Menglow Breeze’s curse magic is applied to a single target, so if that target divides into two bodies, it will dissipate.”
Even as he spoke, Ail wondered if this was merely his imagination. The whites of Luderne’s eyes seemed to gleam with a chilling intensity.
He had never witnessed such an expression, even on the chaotic battlefield of war.
The atmosphere suggested that a wrong answer would cause those eyes to turn murderous, so Ail fell silent once his explanation concluded.
Then Brissel Mohr asked.
“Are you certain?”
“I found and analyzed ancient records and Menglow Breeze’s research documents. I even secured the formulas. Had magic still existed as it once did, I could have created a dispelling scroll myself.”
“I see.”
Brissel Mohr, stroking his chin and nodding, continued with another question.
“Then did you vouch for her identity?”
“I beg your pardon? Why would Priscilla’s identity verification be necessary?”
It was then that Luderne’s cold gaze, which had been devouring Ail with its intensity, suddenly seemed to find peace and receded.
Only then did Ail feel the oppressive weight of the surrounding air diminish.
“Then she must be somewhere on the island.”
Brissel bowed his head at Luderne’s words.
“Sir Jester will search as soon as dawn breaks. We’ll find her quickly if we comb through every inch.”
When Luderne’s gaze turned toward me, Ail bowed respectfully without hesitation.
“I shall do so at once.”
Luderne wiped his face with one hand and stepped outside.
Ail, suddenly tasked with the search, rolled his eyes for a moment before asking Brissel.
“If she left a letter, why do you think she’s still on the island?”
“She has no identification papers.”
As Ail’s eyes widened further, Brissel continued calmly.
“About half a year after she arrived on the island, she was reported dead. Only three people on this island have the authority to restore that record or guarantee new identification—myself, you, and the Grand Duke.”
“You mean….”
“Exactly. Without your endorsement, Priscilla cannot leave the island.”
Brissel exhaled once and lightly patted Ail’s shoulder.
“I know you’re tired, but I need you to move as well.”
Ail tilted his head.
‘She wrote that she was leaving when she can’t leave? How could she do such a thing?’
* * *
The next morning.
A letter from Priscilla was also discovered in the Mage Tower’s mailbox.
Upon seeing the letter, both Ail and Brissel began to wonder if Luderne’s assumption might have been wrong.
‘But how without identification papers?’
The alternative would be escape by fishing boat, but that too was impossible. Luderne had kept all fishing vessels under his control for the past four years.
Smuggling was equally impossible. Every piece of cargo loaded onto ships underwent inspection.
Ail and Brissel thought for a moment, then decided to visit the tavern. Walter, who had worked with Priscilla, might know something.
On the way to the tavern, they spotted Maji and Auntie standing together in the street, deep in conversation.
All three women held letters in their hands, unable to hide their disappointment.
“She arrived suddenly one day, and now she’s leaving just as abruptly.”
“She did seem to have secrets she couldn’t share. Sigh… But surely we won’t lose her forever like this?”
One of the aunties ran her hand over her head.
“She was the only one on this island who would touch my hair.”
“Oh, she must have her reasons. Let’s not stand here like this—let’s go to the tavern and have something to drink while we talk. Walter might know something.”
Maji and the aunties headed toward Walter’s Tavern.
Ail and Brissel exchanged glances for a moment, then followed them at a slight distance.
[Closed for a while.]
At the peculiarity discovered in front of Walter’s Tavern, Brissel and Ail became certain that Priscilla had truly left the island.
The sign hanging on the door was unmistakably a closure notice.
Maji and the aunties stared at the sign for a moment, their faces flushing slightly.
“And Walter isn’t here either. What a coincidence….”
“You know, this time there’s no duration written on the closure notice. Could it be that the two of them….”
An Auntie’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“Why would they run away? If they liked each other, they would have just lived together.”
“That’s true enough.”
Brissel Mohr and Ail, who had been observing the situation from a distance, made their way to the Harbor Office.
Andy, the Harbor Office staff member, greeted them courteously.
“Priscilla? I haven’t seen her.”
“What about Walter, the tavern owner?”
“He boarded the Quindle bound for the Capital yesterday morning.”
* * *
The next day.
Brissel Mohr and Ail stood before Luderne Sellen’s desk and made their report.
“No one on the Island has seen her. We’re uncertain how it was done, but it appears she has definitely left.”
Ail then reported that the islanders had received a letter from Priscilla, that Walter’s Tavern was closed, and that Walter had boarded the Quindle.
As Brissel Mohr and Ail delivered their report, Luderne Sellen remained silent.
His gaze fixed only on the window beyond.

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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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