About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 48

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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 48. You Are Young and Beautiful
“Sign here as well, and I’ll advance your signing bonus immediately.”
“What is this?”
“A contract converting you to an exclusive employee of Raber Salon after the competition.”
“Exclusive?”
“The condition is to accept a minimum of five clients per week. Your annual salary starts at fifty gold coins, increasing by five coins with each year of service. If you sign now, I’ll advance you twenty gold coins.”
In simpler terms, she was offering to give me twenty million won upfront from a fifty-million-won annual salary.
“If you win the competition, I’ll double your compensation. I’ll also raise your advance to forty gold coins and provide accommodations befitting your status.”
Victory would mean an annual salary of one hundred million won with forty million won advanced.
Madame Laber continued with aristocratic indifference.
“I saw your home on the island—it’s quite small. The furnishings inside need not be mentioned.”
“….”
“You’ll use our accommodations until the competition, so you won’t struggle immediately, but afterward it would be convenient to find a place near the salon.”
In a way, she was expressing concern for my livelihood.
Yet no matter how I looked at it, she was looking down on me.
Our household circumstances were entirely different from her assumptions—Anne, the head maid of Wintem Estate, had been astonished enough to ask about them.
Besides, I still had the remaining balance from the blank check Luderne had given me four years ago. I’d also saved some money from my tavern work and the earnings from styling hair.
This meant my life wouldn’t be in immediate financial strain, contrary to her expectations.
Perhaps that’s why the conversion contract proposal didn’t appeal to me.
That said, I had no intention of picking a quarrel over her rudeness.
I was simply examining the contract with the thought of dragging out the conversation before refusing, when Madame Laber’s lips curved upward.
“I thought you’d sign readily, but you’re hesitating? For an island girl working short hours at a tavern, these are exceptional terms. You don’t understand, do you….”
She added that the average salary for skilled employees at Eleonora Salon was forty gold coins.
Normally, compensation wasn’t offered to this extent.
“And while you’re here, you’ll frequently encounter noble gentlemen.”
What she proposed next was rather absurd to me.
“Since you’re young and beautiful, you could improve your fortune by becoming the mistress of a respectable nobleman. I’ll take care to introduce you to a wealthy man. Preferably a young one?”
Become a nobleman’s mistress?
I had anticipated her possible connections to the pleasure district from the start. And I did need a new man to fall in love with.
But the mistress proposal was, no matter how I considered it, utterly ridiculous.
At my silence, Madame Laber’s gaze drifted outward.
“Ah, you’re worried about that tavern man waiting in third class? He’s handsome enough, but crucially, he lacks this, doesn’t he?”
She exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke and formed a circle with her thumb and forefinger.
“Think practically. A nobleman willing to shower you with jeweled rings, captivated by your youth, would be far superior. A woman’s true life partner isn’t a man or love. It’s money.”
She had clearly misunderstood something profoundly.
I steadied my breathing inwardly.
“That’s not it… I’d like to decide on salon work after experiencing the competition.”
“What? You’re refusing the additional contract? Even with this much money?”
“Not right now. I want to see more before deciding.”
“Hmm, that’s problematic.”
After a moment of thought, she clapped her hands sharply and picked up her pen.
“Then let’s do it this way.”
New clauses were quickly scrawled across the contract.
“For now, exclusive employment for three years. After that, if you don’t sign an additional contract with Raber Salon, you cannot be employed by any other salon.”
“…What?”
“If an employee who competed in the tournament suddenly isn’t at the salon, it looks suspicious. The better your skills, the more clients will seek you out.”
“….”
As I fell silent, Madame Raber’s brow furrowed menacingly.
“I even created an identity document for you, and you’re planning to embarrass me? I can’t compromise any further. Without me, you wouldn’t have had the chance to leave the island anyway, so my demands aren’t unreasonable.”
Her reasoning had merit, but suddenly the way she addressed me shifted from “you” to a more contemptuous form. Was she revealing her true nature?
I decided to probe further, just in case.
“So I just can’t take employment at another salon?”
Madame Raber countered.
“The way you’re asking makes me think you’re considering opening your own salon.”
“If I can’t find employment as you say, shouldn’t I consider opening one? If you restrict even that, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sign this contract, even if it means fighting with you. Besides, shouldn’t you have discussed this before taking me off the island?”
“You’re bolder than you look.”
Madame Raber rolled her eyes with a snort, then let out a sharp laugh.
“Fine. I’ll only restrict employment. You couldn’t open a salon in the Capital anyway—it costs over a thousand gold coins to start one. Even if you secured investment to open a salon, commoners become nothing but slaves, never receiving favorable terms. I assure you, working at Raber Salon for three years, or better yet, as long as possible, would be far more advantageous.”
Her sharp tone carried an edge of stubbornness, and her eyes gleamed with something almost manic. Refusing seemed like it would invite disaster.
‘This is definitely not an atmosphere where I can simply let it slide.’
Wondering if I’d fallen into the hands of a madwoman, I paused to consider the three years.
If I succeed in breaking the curse, I’ll be freed from the exclusive contract. I’ll have a child with the man I love.
But if I fail to break the curse, I die.
If I live, I gain freedom and can live well as I am, but if I die?
My goals remain two-fold.
Bring down Melissa Bilsty, and save Luderne Sellen.
‘Perhaps I should accept the contract and use Madame’s connections to expand my influence? Building power would help me protect him better.’
Though uneasy, I resolved to exploit her desire for me.
“I hope you don’t misunderstand. I hesitated to sign the exclusive contract immediately only because I’m uncertain whether Raber Salon would be a good place to work. That’s why I suggested trying it first before deciding.”
“Once the tournament ends, other salons will try to scout you too. They have eyes, after all. If you were to go to Eleonora Salon instead….”
Madame Raber exhaled cigarette smoke slowly into the air, her atmosphere turning lethal.
“I’d be furious. After all, I laid the groundwork for you. If I’m betrayed like that, I don’t know what I might do.”
“I see. It does seem quite dangerous.”
At my composed response, Madame Raber’s expression twisted even more viciously.
This was the moment. I pressed my pen to the contract.
“I could throw you into the gutters of the red-light district in an instant…!”
I simply looked up at Madame Raber, meeting her eyes.
Only then did Madame Raber clap her hand over her mouth, hastily cutting off her words.
“I’m growing anxious about whether this contract is really acceptable.”
A brief silence fell.
“Ah, no, I….”
Madame Laber’s eyes darted about. The madness that had flickered moments before vanished as if it had never existed.
“When you’re betrayed, these things happen. Who would plan for it from the start?”
Madame Laber’s tone and voice noticeably softened. Her words even drawled slightly at the end.
“Wouldn’t anyone be upset if they were betrayed? My, Priscilla, you’re something else. Hehehehe.”
Now she was even coquettish.
She desired me far more than I had anticipated.
‘Then I should ask for more while I have the chance.’
“Since it’s an exclusive contract, I want additional incentives if clients specifically request me by name, if more than five clients are referred through me, or if my services cause the salon’s monthly revenue to exceed the projected amount.”
“The Raber Salon is quite expensive, so exceeding the projected revenue won’t be easy….”
Perhaps that would be true if I only did makeup and hair styling. But I had no intention of limiting myself to that.
After all, styling encompasses everything from head to toe.
“And since my status has changed, I need you to keep everything about me strictly confidential. If you disclose my identity, the exclusive contract should be voided immediately.”
“Well….”
Madame Laber paused for a moment, then picked up her pen.
“I hardly know anything about you anyway. Well, the incentives are just a matter of raising prices a bit…. Fine.”
She added the terms I requested to the contract and signed it.
“I look forward to working with you, Madame Laber.”
Once I finished signing, Madame Laber’s face bloomed with a brilliant smile.
“Yes, Pris. You seem quite eager to hide your past—you must have your reasons, I suppose?”
She drew her crimson lips upward in a long arc.
“Regardless of what your past was, consider this a contract signing gift.”
“….”
The way she addressed me had shifted this time to something more intimate.
“If anyone ever tries to dig into your past, I’ll make sure your identity is so thoroughly laundered that nothing looks suspicious. How’s that?”
What mattered was goodwill. The form of address hardly seemed to matter anymore.
I extended my hand to Madame Laber for a handshake.
“Thank you for the gift.”
Just then, the ship’s horn sounded long and loud.
“We’ve finally reached the Capital.”
Madame Laber gathered the contract, rose from her seat, and readily accepted my handshake. Then she gave me a playful wink.
As if to say: when did I ever display such madness and murderous intent?
With meticulous care.
“Then I’m counting on you, dear.”
From the deck of the Quindel, the Capital appeared vast and vibrant. The Royal Palace, constructed of white marble on elevated ground in the distance, radiated overwhelming grandeur.
A breeze blew at just that moment. I had known it already, but the temperature was slightly higher than on the island.
Once we disembarked, Madame Laber opened the door to a black four-wheeled carriage that had been waiting nearby.
The interior of the carriage, with its red velvet seat cushions, appeared quite luxurious.
The Coachman, who bowed respectfully to us, took Madame Laber’s and my luggage from the attendant and loaded them onto the carriage roof.
“I need to stop by the Royal Palace first. You go ahead and rest.”
“Understood.”
Madame Laber instructed the coachman to take me safely and hailed a cab.
It was time to part ways with Walter.
Walter stepped closer, scratching the back of his neck with an awkward expression.
“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”

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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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