About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 56

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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 56. Obsession Most Relentless
“I thought you were the one who fled with the child. I’m grateful you saved Luderne’s life, but going to the Empire will be equally dangerous.”
Hilda Arde demanded the baby be returned to her, despite being unable to raise it safely.
Yet the same held true for Priscilla.
After a prolonged standoff, the two ultimately decided to hide the child completely from the world.
They would summon their most trusted confidants to pose as parents and raise him in secret.
Contrary to rumor, the two had not committed adultery to conceive Luderne.
Both had been unmarried at the time.
“The world believes you to be the fruit of infidelity, and let them continue to think so. Let all lower their guard. When your position solidifies, I intend to select a woman of appropriate station as your consort and establish a formidable political foundation.”
The current Emperor could no longer do such things, but he had certainly spoken those words then.
Recalling the past, a bitter taste flooded my mouth anew.
‘He told me to abandon Priscilla for my future. He said he would kill her if I harbored any lingering attachment.’
When that Emperor fell under a curse, I recalled how I had felt both troubled and yet seized by fragile hope.
I harbored no intention of competing with my half-brother, Prince Eclite Doorban, who was a year my junior, for the throne.
From childhood, Eclite had grown up witnessing the Empire’s grandeur, while I had been raised in a quiet fiefdom—our perspectives and thoughts were entirely different.
Moreover, when I first saw Eclite at an official gathering, he exuded remarkable dignity and appeared just.
With his golden hair pulled straight and blue eyes, his features bore an unmistakable resemblance to the Empress of Doorban.
Anyone would have recognized him as imperial material.
This made the Emperor’s intentions all the more incomprehensible to me.
Why would he pit me against such a successor?
Yet when we were alone, Eclite suddenly hurled vicious insults at me.
“So you’re my illegitimate older brother? How shameful and repugnant.”
I said nothing in response to his abuse. I assumed my sudden appearance must be deeply uncomfortable for him.
But not long after, I came to understand why the Emperor had not immediately designated Eclite as his successor.
His true nature differed vastly from his appearance.
Unlike me, Eclite possessed an inherently cruel and base temperament. He wielded his status and power to attack others readily.
He took particular pleasure in tormenting the weak who caught his eye, doing so persistently and under various pretexts.
The suffering of the weak was his amusement.
He delighted when the weak, unable to bear their torment, took their own lives one by one.
Nobles fared no better.
Should a weaker noble refuse to support him, he would seize their weaknesses—or fabricate them if none existed—and manipulate them from the shadows.
Eclite had even threatened me, warning that should I defy the Emperor’s will, he would kill Priscilla by any means necessary.
He did so because he expected it would cause me anguish.
“Listen well, illegitimate brother.”
Eclite understood all too well that Priscilla was my weakness.
At first, I feigned indifference toward her out of fear, pretending to have forgotten her entirely.
Even when longing threatened to drive me mad, I acted unmoved, pretending I suffered no hardship or pain.
But when I learned that Priscilla had nearly died, my anxiety reached its zenith, and I became nothing but cautious.
I remained vigilant, constantly on guard lest any word of Priscilla’s existence leak to the outside world.
In that regard, Priscilla’s official death and the erasure of her identity had actually been a blessing for me.
However, not long after, when Eclite sent a congratulatory letter saying my cheap and vulgar ex-wife had died, I genuinely wanted to kill him.
If I killed that bastard, no one would threaten Priscilla.
Knowing his intentions, I wouldn’t need to cower in fear.
Most of all, I was sick of keeping that arrogant psychopath of a brother alive, the one who held my weaknesses and dangled them over my head.
But I still lacked the power. If I rushed in recklessly, Priscilla would be in danger.
So while building my strength, I continued to pretend ignorance of Priscilla. I was vigilant, but there could always be unforeseen circumstances.
And then, Priscilla left.
The need to watch Eclite’s expression had vanished.
Yet my objective remained unchanged.
I don’t know whether Priscilla will truly love another and break the curse, or whether she’ll die.
Precisely because I don’t know, I intended to continue building my strength with my claws hidden.
Until I killed that bastard.
‘He probably wants to kill me too. He just hasn’t found a justification yet.’
Yet he sends me Grand Duchess candidates under the guise of concern for me. Attaching a plausible pretext that anyone would find acceptable as a suitable match.
I won’t do it, but if I did, I’d be under surveillance for the rest of my life.
“Your Highness, you seem lost in thought. Is there perhaps someone who has caught your eye?”
Brissel Mohr’s voice, asking just in case, pulled me from my reverie.
‘Ridiculous.’
My eyes narrowed.
“That’s enough.”
“Your Highness, please don’t be like that. The more supporters you have, the better.”
“The very notion that these people would become my supporters is an illusion.”
I rose from my seat with evident displeasure. Then I opened a drawer and retrieved a magical scroll and black gloves.
“What happened to the Hesser Merchant Guild Master?”
Brissel Mohr answered respectfully.
“He was captured at the tavern, beaten thoroughly, and locked in the underground chamber. He keeps saying he’ll do whatever you command—just please spare his life.”
“Then let’s go.”
At my tone showing no interest whatsoever in the young ladies’ portraits, Brissel Mohr asked urgently.
“Your Highness, you must send a proper response this time. Especially the Prince—doesn’t he genuinely wish for your happiness?”
“What?”
I made no effort to hide my derision.
“You’re not asking me to believe that, are you?”
Growing even more displeased, I left the study while pulling on the black gloves one by one.
Brissel Mohr followed behind me toward the underground chamber.
“Grand Duke, she left of her own accord, didn’t she? So you don’t need to go this far.”
I walked without answering.
Brissel Mohr continued following, still trying to persuade me.
“We’ve made considerable efforts, but truthfully, if we align with the noble houses supporting the Prince, everything will be resolved. The Prince won’t have any other thoughts….”
“So.”
I finally snapped.
“So you’re telling me to go live out my days safely with a family that’s no better than Eclite’s dogs?”
At the quietly uttered words, Brissel held his breath. Luderne’s eyes as he turned back blazed with lethal intent.
“Y-Your Majesty, that wasn’t what I meant….”
But that lasted only a moment before Luderne’s lips curved into a meaningful smile.
“Yes, that would be better after all.”
“Pardon?”
“I should thank the Grand Duke for helping me regain my resolve.”
Brissel couldn’t make sense of Luderne’s words.
“But just moments ago, you said you didn’t want to live as the Grand Duke’s dog….”
“Send word that I will decide the matter of my marriage two years from now.”
With that, Luderne turned back toward the underground chamber.
Brissel tilted his head in confusion.
“Two years? Why two years….”
It was then that Priscilla suddenly flashed through Brissel’s mind.
Brissel quickly moved close behind Luderne and lowered his voice.
“Your Majesty! Surely you haven’t given up? You clearly said back then that searching was a pointless endeavor.”
“That’s true for now.”
Brissel’s mind raced as he asked again.
“To protect her, we still need five more years. But she only has three years left….”
“I plan to finish it within two years. Once I have the Kingdom in my grasp, they won’t dare interfere with such crude threats.”
A profound shock rippled through Brissel’s eyes.
To complete in two years what had been planned for five.
Unless he took over the underworld itself, there was no way to achieve that speed with his current operations, no matter how he calculated it.
And on top of that, he was aiming for the throne itself.
Hilda Arde’s sudden death had cast doubt on the legitimacy of the succession. But the throne had already been claimed by Zerox.
Given these circumstances, Luderne’s plan was nothing short of treason, no matter how he looked at it.
“How do you intend to accomplish that…. No, before that, how will you even find her? She left the Island without a trace, known to neither rat nor bird.”
Luderne answered as though it were trivial.
“Finding her is easy. Whenever there’s a signal, I can bring her back.”
“…Pardon? Is that truly possible? Do you have a method?”
Luderne nodded.
“I do.”
“Sir?”
“I gave her a promissory note once. One that can be cashed regardless of identity.”
At those words, Brissel’s eyes widened.
A promissory note doesn’t inquire about the identity of the withdrawer.
Instead, the guarantor is notified of where and how much was withdrawn. This allows them to process payment with a small interest added.
Even if the person withdrawing money with this note is a nobleman, this fact would be difficult to discover.
So few people can guarantee a note that requires no inquiry into the identity of the withdrawer that it has become a matter of absolute secrecy.
“You mean you already know her location?”
“That’s not it. But since he’s lost his entire fortune, the money in his hands won’t amount to much… Wherever he tries to settle, he’ll have to use that check.”
Luderne Sellen clenched his fist tightly.
“No matter how I think about it, there’s only one way to prevent losing him. As long as that wretched prince doesn’t catch sight of him.”
At the sudden crude words that spilled out, Brissel Mohr studied Luderne Sellen’s expression.
Then he was appalled by what followed.
“The moment I find him, I’ll seize and confine him. Somewhere only I can see.”
Luderne Sellen’s crimson eyes gleamed with a sickly obsession.

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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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