About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 5

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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 5. I Want to Withdraw Money
When I opened my eyes, I saw an old wooden ceiling.
I blinked quietly for a moment before jolting upright in sudden alarm.
The events from last night came flooding back to me.
But upon confirming I was in a storage room of some inn, I exhaled in relief.
I had walked through the entire night without rest.
Though Melissa had said everyone was asleep, I couldn’t shake the fear that Count Veloda Genoma might pursue me.
I stumbled several times while checking over my shoulder.
As dawn broke, I finally reached the outskirts of the harbor city of Roban and discovered a small inn.
The Innkeeper, who had been sweeping the path in front of the building, started in surprise at the sight of me covered in dirt.
“I’m in a difficult situation.”
With not a single coin to my name, I had no choice but to appeal to her kindness. I asked for a room to rest in, promising to visit the bank once it was fully light and pay her then.
My legs felt as though they might give way, and my feet throbbed with pain. I was utterly exhausted.
The Innkeeper, examining me from head to toe, said all her rooms were full.
Then she added this:
“I’ll take payment if you give it, but it’s fine if you don’t—just use the storage room.”
The storage room was filthy and damp from lack of cleaning. But I was grateful to have a place where I could lie down and rest, even briefly.
Lying there, I recalled something my former husband had said.
Before his departure for war, Luderne Sellen had placed a key necklace around my neck and spoke in an indifferent tone.
He had deposited money in my account for emergencies. I could withdraw it with just my identification papers and seal, he said.
It was something he’d said in preparation for the possibility that the Sellen Barony might be swept up in the war.
From what I’d heard, the Arde Kingdom held the advantage in the conflict. So I had thought I would never need to touch that money.
A year later, news of my husband’s death in battle arrived—something I never could have anticipated.
‘I never imagined the day would come when I’d need to withdraw that money.’
I rose from the old bed.
My legs ached dully. My feet still throbbed with pain, covered entirely in blisters, some of which had already burst.
It was the result of walking such a long distance so quickly.
‘At this rate, I won’t be able to walk much further.’
After withdrawing the money from the bank, I should visit a doctor as well. If I could get my feet bandaged, walking would be easier.
I peered out the window, limping slightly on my injured feet.
Large ships were docked adjacent to the harbor, and I could see the plaza beyond.
‘The hospital and bank should be near the plaza.’
I washed my face using the water basin prepared in one corner of the storage room, then combed my hair with my fingers in place of a brush. Then I left the inn.
“Ugh…”
With each step, my soles burned with pain.
Bearing the agony as best I could, I arrived at the bank and handed my identification papers and seal to the Bank Clerk, who sat askew at the counter.
“I want to withdraw money.”
The Bank Clerk, glancing at me from head to toe, responded with an unfriendly demeanor.
“How much?”
My appearance was certainly deplorable. Even after brushing off the dirt, there was little improvement.
I could see plainly that he was dismissing me, which was unpleasant, but this was not the moment to quibble over the Bank Clerk’s courtesy.
Matilda, Melissa, and Count Genoma would undoubtedly be tracking me by now, having learned of my disappearance.
I had to find the money and flee somewhere before they caught me.
The Bank Clerk pressed me impatiently.
“Ah, how much will you be withdrawing?”
“Hmm….”
Now that I thought about it, I had no idea how much was in the account.
I calculated inwardly how much I would need going forward, and found myself at a loss.
‘But what if the balance is insufficient for the amount I request?’
Judging by the Bank Clerk’s demeanor, he would surely mock me without hesitation in that case.
I needed to name a sum that was enough to leave with, yet not so large that it would seem suspicious to actually withdraw.
“All of it.”
The Bank Clerk looked me up and down once more.
His expression only deepened my displeasure, so I spoke with firmness.
“All of it. Coins and all—just withdraw everything.”
“Y-yes. Of course.”
The Bank Clerk let out a scoff, answered listlessly, and began flipping through the magical ledger before suddenly falling silent.
His expression grew deeply troubled, and he kept glancing nervously about, which made me uneasy.
“Is something wrong?”
“That is….”
The Bank Clerk, now ashen-faced, shot to his feet.
“My sincerest apologies. Please forgive my earlier rudeness.”
His sudden change in demeanor suggested the deposit was rather substantial.
‘Well, that’s fortunate.’
The Bank Clerk’s apology was unnecessary. I wanted to collect the money quickly and get to the Doctor.
“Please hurry and give it to me.”
“Ugh….”
The Bank Clerk’s complexion turned ashen.
“P-please, just one moment.”
The Bank Clerk hurried toward the desk of the portly Bank Manager.
As the Bank Clerk bowed repeatedly and conveyed something, the Bank Manager abruptly rose and approached me hastily.
“Madam, what is the meaning of this sudden request?”
“Pardon?”
“You wish to withdraw your entire deposit? Here and now?”
“Yes.”
“Ah… For such a transaction, you should have given us advance notice.”
I was bewildered as to why the Bank Manager was making such a fuss.
“There was no time for that. My feet hurt, and I need to get to the Doctor quickly. So please, just withdraw the deposit for me.”
At my words, the Bank Manager drew out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat streaming down his face.
“…If I have caused you any displeasure, I sincerely apologize. There is something I must tell you first, so please allow me to show you to a private room, madam.”
After some time, I emerged from the bank.
A pouch containing nine gold coins and ten silver coins clutched in my hand.
I was utterly dumbfounded.
My mangled feet, which had been in terrible condition, had been treated well enough to walk thanks to a doctor the Bank Manager had summoned to the bank himself.
A carriage provided by the Bank Manager awaited outside the bank entrance.
“The doctor advised against walking today, so please use this carriage freely. The bank will cover the fare.”
The Bank Manager who said this bowed respectfully alongside the rude Bank Clerk.
“Thank you so much for your consideration! Safe travels!”
Even as the carriage headed toward the Harbor, my bewildered mind refused to settle.
In that dazed state, I purchased passage on a ship bound for the Capital, bought new clothes, and acquired spare garments, robes, and a fresh bonnet.
Then I visited the Innkeeper to whom I owed a debt, offered my gratitude along with adequate payment, and secured a room at a luxury hotel that cost two gold coins per night.
Only after stepping into the lavish room did I truly grasp why the Bank Manager had been so flustered and the scale of the emergency fund Luderne Sellen had mentioned.
In this realm’s currency, one gold coin equaled one million won. A hundred gold coins meant one hundred million won. A thousand gold coins meant one billion won.
My current account held three thousand gold coins.
An astronomical sum of three billion won.
The Bank Manager guided me to what turned out to be a VIP lounge.
He presented delicate, exquisite refreshments first.
He not only summoned a doctor to treat my injured feet but also called over the rude Bank Clerk and made him apologize formally.
The Bank Manager, who had been fawning over me as though he’d surrender his very organs, began his entreaties the moment the doctor finished treatment and departed.
“Such a substantial sum requires two weeks’ notice, madam. If you suddenly demand all three thousand gold coins at once, how am I to manage the liquidity?”
The bank’s reserves fell short of the amount I sought to withdraw.
“Might you reconsider your decision…?”
The law stipulated that if an account holder demanded their full balance, the bank must provide it in full.
Yet if I withdrew my entire balance at once, the bank would have no remaining capital, crippling their operations—a catastrophic loss for them.
I was genuinely taken aback.
Even if they gave me such an enormous sum, I couldn’t physically carry it away.
“…Since you’ve already apologized for the rudeness, I’ll let it pass. But I hope that going forward, you won’t judge people solely by their appearance.”
“Of course not! Absolutely not! One’s appearance can differ from usual when traveling, after all. My goodness…”
The Bank Manager pledged to conduct proper staff training and prevent such incidents in the future.
Thus, what I received was nine gold coins and ten silver coins.
Though substantial to me, it appeared to be a sum the Bank Manager found reassuring.
The fact that he’d arranged a carriage without my asking, insisting I travel comfortably, spoke volumes about his relief.
In any case, having navigated this hurdle successfully, I found myself newly grateful to Luderne Sellen for his foresight.
Of course, there had been no real need to deposit such an enormous sum.
With passage to the Capital secured, I had effectively altered a crucial turning point in my life after regression. Now I needed to consider what came next.
I recalled my previous life as Priscilla Sellen.
When I was around two years old, my father, Count Bilsty, married Matilda.
My younger sister Melissa was born mere months later.
They called it a premarital pregnancy.
Melissa bore a striking resemblance to Matilda.
My father passed away when I turned ten years old.
He fell from his horse early one morning while rushing somewhere urgent.
It was a past life so distant that I couldn’t recall his face, but he had been a timid man with a frail constitution. Yet that day, for some reason, he was in a state of severe rage.
And ten years later, the moment I turned twenty, I was forced into an unwanted marriage.
To a man two years my senior whom I had never laid eyes upon.
Matilda, who had managed the finances of the Bilsty Viscounty, sent me to Luderne Sellen, a man scorned in high society.
“He’s a bastard of a baronial house, but even that’s too good for you. The family seems to have some wealth at least. I suppose you’re benefiting from having a passably decent face.”
That was what Matilda said at the time.
She had no idea that his hidden birth secret would one day make him an extraordinary man.
Unable to utter a single word of refusal, I entered the wedding hall with a sense of wretchedness.
There, I saw Luderne in a tuxedo for the first time.
It was the moment my world changed.

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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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