About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 78

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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 78. Who Is That Woman?
Meanwhile, Olivia caught my eye and smiled warmly. She seemed genuinely pleased to see me.
Melissa Bilsty sat to Zerox’s left.
I recalled what Jeanne had told me about Melissa Bilsty’s recent circumstances.
After Countess Dora’s house party, Melissa Bilsty had rapidly fallen from the Central Social Circle’s favor, suffering such severe stress that she experienced hair loss.
For several days, she had apparently locked herself in her room, consumed by despair.
Melissa Bilsty blamed me for her downfall and had devised several schemes with Count Veloda Genoma.
Plans ranging from secretly kidnapping me to assault and even murder.
She had devoted considerable effort to crafting truly horrific schemes.
The foolish part was that they had plotted everything in their family’s storage shed.
A place that lay entirely within Jeanne’s grasp.
Having received advance notice, I asked Madame Laber to mix false information into my schedule and alter my travel routes, rendering their plans utterly useless.
When I evaded their schemes so effortlessly, Melissa Bilsty developed a touch of depression and began venting her frustrations more frequently on Count Veloda Genoma and the servants.
I had hoped they would simply shrivel away and disappear into obscurity without a trace.
Yet today, Melissa Bilsty’s demeanor seemed different. Despite sitting between Zerox and Olivia, she appeared triumphant and self-assured.
Looking closer, I noticed a blonde man seated beside Melissa Bilsty whose presence emanated something distinctly unusual.
‘Who is he?’
Though I was certain I had never seen him before, something about him felt oddly familiar.
I methodically recalled the portraits from the noble registry that Madame Laber had once made me study.
Was there a man with such striking features among the Arde Kingdom’s nobility?
Yet the answer did not come to me immediately.
Then the blonde man’s piercing azure eyes met mine and Luderne Sellen’s.
Upon seeing him, Luderne Sellen’s expression hardened as he surveyed his surroundings.
At Luderne Sellen’s reaction, the blonde man smirked and gestured toward an empty seat.
“I understand it’s unexpected, but please sit so we can enjoy ourselves quietly.”
Though his words were polite, his tone felt remarkably disrespectful. Even I perceived it that way, so I expected Luderne Sellen would respond in kind.
Yet Luderne Sellen said nothing and simply gestured for me to sit in the vacant seat at the far left.
Once I was seated, Luderne Sellen soon took the seat beside the blonde man.
Looking at him again, I noticed he appeared somewhat tense—unlike his usual composure.
‘Who could this man possibly be?’
Then the blonde man spoke.
“…Oh, quite the beauty, aren’t you? That fiery woman there—who is she? Is she perhaps your romantic interest?”
Despite his tone suggesting keen interest, Luderne Sellen replied in his characteristic detached manner.
“No. I was told to bring a partner, and I received a recommendation from the proprietor of this establishment.”
This was entirely different from what he had said to me—that I should take responsibility for him.
After kissing my forehead just moments ago, his sudden indifference stung, and disappointment washed over me first.
And confusion followed.
Luderne Sellen used formal speech only with a select few, and among those few, young men were exceedingly rare.
‘The only ones worthy of such treatment would be King Zerox and…’
As I searched for a suitable answer, a chill ran down my spine.
Aside from Zerox, it would be Prince Eclite.
‘When I only considered the Arde Kingdom’s nobility roster, he wasn’t there.’
But the moment I expanded my search to include the Doerban Empire’s records, Prince Eclite came to mind immediately.
Yet no matter how I looked at him, he appeared to be nothing more than a well-dressed lower nobleman or commoner.
Moreover, the fact that even Luderne didn’t know of his arrival suggested he had come under some form of concealment.
“I see. However….”
The blond man—likely Eclite—laughed as if amused.
“Isn’t that a bit much in front of a lady? If you speak as though you’ve brought an object, the lady will be disappointed.”
At that moment, Melissa’s lips curled upward, and she whispered something into his ear.
“Ah, a woman from the Entertainment Industry?”
Startled by his reaction, Melissa quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
“My? When did I ever say such a thing?”
But he spoke with perfect composure.
“If a woman is kept by a madam who runs the Red Light District, she’s a courtesan—what else would she be?”
His tone was deliberately meant for everyone to hear.
“Oh my? Does that mean that? I must have been shortsighted not to realize it.”
Melissa blinked several times before laughing with an amused expression.
“You’re quite mischievous.”
“Mischievous? It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
He stroked his own chin and asked Luderne.
“But if the casino owner’s recommendation was enough for Prince Wintem to keep her at his side, she must be quite a high-class courtesan?”
Even as he smiled mockingly, his eyes remained fixed on Luderne, observing him intently.
It seemed he was deliberately making crude remarks and then waiting for a reaction.
“And the Grand Duke who readily brought her along doesn’t seem particularly gentlemanly either….”
It was another provocation directed at Luderne.
But Luderne responded with his usual expression, speaking dryly.
“Your jesting is excessive. Shall we proceed with the game?”
He had chosen to let the provocation slide—a wise choice given his opponent.
But watching this, my thoughts grew complicated.
Setting aside the fact that he’d treated me as a woman from the Entertainment Industry, his blunt disparagement—calling Luderne ungentlemanly—should have been something he couldn’t tolerate.
I observed Luderne carefully. Unlike the tension from before, he now appeared exactly as he always did, making me wonder if perhaps this truly didn’t bother him at all.
‘It shouldn’t be fine though?’
In the original work, Luderne had been portrayed as an intractable villain who wouldn’t tolerate such things.
So I considered the opposite possibility.
‘Could he be enduring this for some reason, pretending it’s fine? And then everything he’s suppressed erupts, turning him into a villain?’
His potential death and the current situation must surely be closely connected.
But I lacked sufficient information to make any judgment.
Then Luderne gestured to the Dealer.
“Bring the chips.”
At Luderne’s gesture, the Dealer asked respectfully.
“How many chips shall I place?”
“Let’s start with a hundred blue chips.”
The Dealer asked the others whether they needed more chips as well.
I seized the moment when everyone’s attention was fixed on the Dealer and quickly tugged at Luderne’s sleeve. Then I drew his left hand down to a place only we could see.
“?”
Luderne looked momentarily bewildered.
But knowing that as long as he didn’t show it, no one else would notice, he simply let me do as I wished.
I wrote letters on his palm.
[Is Imperial Prince Eclite Doorban traveling incognito? Concealing his identity?]
After writing the question, I placed his left hand on my palm.
I hoped he would give me some answer.
Luderne calmly watched the Dealer while writing on my palm.
[You catch on quickly.]
[Until he reveals himself, it would be fine to pretend I don’t know, yes?]
[That’s right.]
Then I suddenly realized the surroundings had grown quiet. While the Dealer was fetching chips, people were watching us.
“….”
It seemed I had leaned slightly against Luderne.
As I released his hand and smiled, Eclite spoke to me.
“It seems the courtesan can’t restrain herself even for a moment and clings to the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke must treat women well?”
I was astounded by his utterly shameless rudeness despite hiding his identity.
Judging by how he treated Luderne, it seemed he had no real intention of concealing who he was.
Seeing that no one at this table objected to his arbitrary behavior, it appeared they all knew exactly who he was.
In the original novel, Luderne is a villain, and it seemed there was a reason he was restraining himself even now.
‘So should I just endure this filth and move on? Or….’
At that moment, I caught Zerox’s gaze as he looked at Eclite and Melissa.
He seemed displeased with Eclite’s words and behavior.
Eclite and Melissa were too focused on watching my reaction with fascinated expressions to notice Zerox’s expression.
‘Well, he’s traveling incognito anyway….’
I decided to borrow Zerox’s name.
I deliberately stood up from my seat. Naturally, this made Eclite look up at me.
I looked down at Eclite and smiled brightly.
“Since I haven’t been settled in the Capital for long…. This is my first time meeting a gentleman with golden hair.”
“Of course it is.”
At Eclite’s matter-of-fact response, I smiled gently.
“Are you perhaps a foreigner, sir? Or are you a rural nobleman like the young lady of Count Bilsty?”
After deliberately using such words, I found myself glancing at Luderne’s expression even as I looked at Eclite.
Luderne’s eyes wavered with confusion.
Then Eclite’s pupils dilated slightly before his expression turned fierce.
“Why are you suddenly spouting nonsense? Setting aside foreigners, do I look like some rural nobleman to you?”
His fists clenched atop the table with such force that it seemed he wouldn’t hesitate to strike, regardless of whether his opponent was a woman.
But I pretended ignorance and continued speaking.
“Of course, I assumed that given your distinguished bearing and refined manner, you couldn’t possibly be a mere provincial nobleman.”
“Then why spout such nonsense….”
I held up two fingers.
“There are two main reasons.”
“?”
“First, the lady beside you hails from the Bilsty Estate, a rural region of the Arde Kingdom. Isn’t that correct? Lady Melissa Bilsty?”
At those words, Eclite’s expression shifted entirely. He clearly hadn’t known.
Melissa’s face went ashen—quite a sight to behold.
“You’re traveling together, aren’t you?”
Of course, I cared nothing whether my own origins were rural or urban. What mattered was the person, not their birthplace.
But for this discourteous prince and Melissa, it would be an entirely different matter.
‘He never imagined I’d use his origins as leverage against him.’
I shrugged with feigned innocence.
“Second, everyone of note in the Central Society of the Capital knows me, yet you seem unfamiliar with me. That means you must be either foreign or provincial, doesn’t it?”
“People from the Central Society know you well? Then why is this woman pretending not to know 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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