About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 74

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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 74. Time to Remove the Trousers
Heat flooded my face. My heart began racing wildly.
Yet Luderne Sellen rose without any visible change in expression.
“…Is that all?”
I felt relief at his words. He seemed unaware that I had kissed his forehead while he slept deeply.
“There’s still more to do. Would you come this way?”
I carefully washed his hair and dried it thoroughly before proceeding with the styling.
He was already handsome, but sweeping his bangs back made him even more striking.
“That should do it, but is there anything else you’d like me to work on?”
Luderne Sellen, gazing into the mirror, nodded.
“Excellent. Your touch is delicate…. I understand now why the ladies treasure you so. At this level, the salon’s success is certainly promising.”
Perhaps because it was Luderne Sellen who said it, I found myself smiling with genuine joy.
“Thank you. I’ll do my very best.”
Now it was time to change into attire befitting the Casino.
His current outfit suited him well, but the ensemble prepared for him today was a subtle gray suit with a lustrous sheen.
I gestured toward the purple circular rug positioned between the standing coat rack and the wardrobe storage.
“I’ll assist you with the fitting over here.”
Luderne Sellen rose from his chair and stepped onto the rug.
In that moment, I became flustered.
Because of the undressing and dressing process.
Every step of a client changing clothes necessarily required the hands of both myself as the lead designer and the assistant designer.
‘How should I handle a male client?’
After a brief moment of deliberation, I bowed respectfully and sought his permission.
“It is salon protocol for the designer to personally oversee every step of the grooming process. Therefore, if Your Highness has no objection, I would like to proceed according to protocol.”
“If only I have no objection?”
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Caught off guard by his unexpectedly warm smile, I lowered my gaze.
And inwardly, I felt a pang of hurt.
Because he had never shown me such an expression when I was Priscilla.
“Then let’s proceed.”
Luderne Sellen’s permission was granted.
I carefully unfastened the buttons of his blue tailcoat, removed it, and hung it on the coat rack, then placed it properly on the standing rack. The vest was the same.
Next, I untied his cravat.
As his neck line was revealed, it was so captivating that my face grew hot without my realizing it.
Now it was time to unfasten his shirt buttons.
As I began undoing them one by one from the top, my hands trembled slightly.
‘This is work. Stay composed.’
Steadying myself, as I unfastened his shirt buttons, his firm chest was revealed, and I caught a glimpse of his abdominal muscles.
I nearly gasped in admiration at his upper body, sculpted as if by divine hands.
Of course, I had seen his bare form many times before. But this was the first time seeing it properly in such bright light.
I bit my lip deliberately.
Worry gnawed at me.
The shirt was manageable enough, but what came next was the real problem.
Once I removed this shirt, I would need to unfasten his trousers belt as naturally as if nothing were amiss.
Then, Luderne Sellen’s low voice drifted down from above my head.
“Do you do this personally for every client who uses your services?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“…Even for those of a different gender?”
I lifted my eyes to look up at him—a man more than twenty-five centimeters taller than me. One corner of his mouth was tilted upward again.
It felt different from moments before.
I recalled our conversation from two months ago, when he had regarded me as someone from the pleasure quarters.
‘Is that what he means again?’
If so, it seemed better to clarify once more without misunderstanding.
Unlike when I had spoken sharply before, he was now the man who had made the largest investment in Raber Salon.
“According to our house rules, that is so, but Your Highness is my first male client.”
“I see. I’ve heard such things happen between men and women here. Everyone keeps quiet about it, though.”
I too had heard such stories from Irina and Misha.
But I had assumed Raber Salon was exempt from such matters.
After all, the entrance was concealed by nothing more than a curtain.
In fact, if someone spoke loudly in another service space on the same floor, it could be heard.
By contrast, unlike Raber Salon, the spatial structure of Eleonora Salon was divided according to the type of reserved clients. The compensation system also differed somewhat depending on where one worked.
So such things might have occurred there.
Of course, in the cases of Irina and Misha, since they had always worked in open spaces, they said such things had never happened.
My concern now was that Raber Salon’s structure had changed from before.
After relocating here, only the space where I worked was fortified by a sturdy paulownia door. Thus, I could always be completely isolated from the outside whenever necessary.
When I first saw the door, I had grown inwardly anxious and mentioned my concerns to Margaret, who readily assured me that “Raber Salon is not like that.”
Even when the entrance was concealed by a curtain, clients and staff could naturally become lovers, she had said.
But there was no need to tell Luderne Sellen about that.
“I have heard such things as well, but Raber Salon is not like that.”
“Looking at Madame Raber’s business ventures, it seems she would be foremost in that direction.”
I immediately grew serious at those words.
“Precisely because there are already other establishments suited for such purposes, the Salon itself has no need to be.”
After speaking, I felt a surge of indignation.
“No matter how distinguished Your Highness may be, I would ask that you refrain from making speculative remarks that show disrespect to the Salon staff who are devoted to their profession. Your Highness wields considerable influence in all your words, and now all the Salon’s staff work for Your Highness, who has invested in us.”
Luderne Sellen fell silent for a moment.
…
As the silence lengthened, anxiety crept in.
‘Did I speak too harshly?’
Even if it were acceptable at Countess Dora’s house party, he was here now as a VIP client.
If he took offense and filed a complaint, I would have nothing to say in my defense.
I averted my gaze from his eyes, afraid to witness the shift in his expression.
That was when he truly took my hand and pulled it away from him.
It felt like a rejection, and my heart sank.
Should I apologize right now?
“I understand perfectly now. So that’s why your fingertips have been trembling since earlier.”
Luderne Sellen, standing a step away from me, unfastened the remaining buttons and removed his shirt.
“Even if that’s the rule, there’s no need to push yourself. If it’s difficult, you can turn back.”
He said that, but I couldn’t turn back.
Not because of the rules, but because his godlike, sculpted torso was laid bare before me, stealing my gaze entirely.
‘I’ve only ever seen it in the darkness before….’
Bathed in sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, his perfect upper body appeared so powerfully alluring that I felt dizzy.
Luderne Sellen held out the shirt he’d removed and spoke dryly.
“The way you’re staring, I feel like I’ve become a stripper. I suppose it’s my turn to remove my trousers next.”
Heat rushed to my face in that instant.
“It’s nothing new to me, but since you yourself said this is a place where such matters don’t occur, shouldn’t you act accordingly?”
“I-I’m terribly sorry.”
I apologized hastily and quickly arranged his shirt on the standing rack.
Then I went to the wardrobe, retrieved the prepared silver-gray trousers, and backed away to hand them to him—keeping my back turned.
The trousers I offered were passed to him, and the ones he’d worn came into my hands.
As I was arranging the trousers, I heard a soft, muffled sound from behind me—a quiet laugh.
I wished I could disappear into the floor.
I opened the wardrobe again, selected one of several new shirts from inside, removed it along with its hanger, and closed the door when—
I froze at the sudden sound of his approach.
His fingertips touched my right waist.
Luderne Sellen’s left hand brushed past my head and reached toward the wardrobe.
I spun around in surprise and held my breath. He stood mere inches away, still bare-chested.
He pressed his hand—the one that had been near my waist—against the wardrobe.
I was suddenly trapped between his arms.
“W-why are you doing this?”
“This is my first time using a salon.”
Luderne Sellen’s eyes narrowed.
“Watching you, I’m at a loss. The more I think about it, the more your actions differ from what you said earlier…. Are all the staff at Raber Salon like this? Or is it just you?”
“…What?”
“Drop the act.”
In that moment, I wondered if he’d discovered that I was Priscilla.
My heart pounded wildly.
I couldn’t fathom why he was doing this or how I should respond.
Should I confess honestly and ask him to pretend he doesn’t know I’m Priscilla?
Or should I deny it to the bitter end?
A thousand thoughts flooded my mind as I simply bit my lip in silence.
At that moment, Luderne Sellen’s lips parted with languid deliberation.
The words that spilled from him sent my hair standing on end.
“You kissed my forehead without permission, and yet you thought I wouldn’t notice?”

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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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