About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 88

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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 88. The Counterattack Begins
Though it was a bedroom where the infirm lingered for extended periods, the curtains remained undrawn, allowing sunlight to flood the space with brilliant warmth.
It was an order from the Emperor, who could no longer take walks.
Luderne and Eclite strode purposefully to stand beside the bed.
After first offering silent bows of respect to the Empress, who happened to be present, both men knelt on one knee before the Emperor’s bed with measured dignity.
“Your Majesty.”
Beneath the attentive care of the Empress and the Chief Attendant, the man lying beneath an exceptionally plush goose-down quilt was Fleit Doorban.
Black hair cut in a cropped style, eyes gleaming gold.
Unlike his younger days when he had been robust enough to traverse battlefields, he—now in his mid-fifties—had become gaunt and withered.
“Rise.”
The Emperor regarded his two sons standing beside him with clouded eyes.
“I wondered which of you would arrive first, yet you both came simultaneously.”
As his words trailed off, the Emperor’s gaze fixed upon Luderne.
Luderne understood the meaning behind that stare.
How pathetic a son must be to squander the opportunity he had been given.
Luderne bowed his head respectfully.
“I should have arrived sooner. I apologize for my tardiness.”
The Emperor immediately shook his head.
“It suffices that you both have come.”
At the Emperor’s response, Luderne spoke calmly.
“How are you feeling, Your Majesty?”
“I heard you intend to appoint a Crown Prince.”
Eclite’s voice cut through simultaneously.
For a moment, the Emperor’s eyes flickered.
As Eclite drew the attention of both Luderne and the Emperor upon himself, the Empress hastily interjected.
“Your Majesty, our Eclite thinks of the Empire’s welfare day and night, does he not? He has come here exhausted from laboring in the Study all through the night.”
She gently moistened soft silk with warm water and carefully wiped the Emperor’s brow.
“Had Eclite been the Crown Prince, many matters would have been resolved with greater ease, yet instead he faces resistance from the ministers. As his mother, how my heart aches. Surely his longing must be all the more fervent. Please, do not take offense.”
Eclite likewise bowed his head with measured respect.
“Unlike my elder brother, who concerns himself only with commerce while neglecting the protection of the Imperial Palace, I devote myself entirely to the Empire’s affairs, and so it seems I have become…”
The Emperor’s gaze deepened.
Though he had summoned Luderne first, learning that Eclite had devoted himself to state affairs through the night had softened his resolve.
Witnessing this, Luderne recalled his own past.
When I first arrived at the Imperial Palace, everything felt foreign and precarious.
Even with my education, the Imperial Palace’s majesty was sufficiently overwhelming in atmosphere alone to dominate any person.
The Empress and Eclite’s harsh words and threats were commonplace, yet I endured them.
I had two reasons for my forbearance.
The first was that I lacked my own faction of supporters within the Empire compared to Eclite.
Though Eclite was the second son, many loyal nobles considered him legitimate, born as he was from the Empress’s womb.
The second was that Priscilla’s life hung in the balance as a hostage.
So whenever Eclite and the Empress spoke falsehoods before the Emperor, he remained silent.
And time passed.
The Imperial Palace was no longer an unfamiliar or cautious place to Luderne.
Standing here now, reflecting back, it felt even more so.
‘Ah.’
Luderne realized I had undergone a significant transformation.
First, the two reasons I had needed to endure until now no longer existed.
Those of unwavering loyalty would still support Eclite, born from the Empress’s womb.
But in this world, treacherous schemers far outnumber loyal servants. Moreover, what the nobility universally desired was the accumulation of wealth to glorify their houses for generations to come.
This was why Luderne had devoted himself to business rather than politics.
The wealth he had cultivated now wielded influence over the nobility of both the Kingdom and the Empire.
Thanks to concealing his fortune, Eclite still had no grasp of Luderne’s true financial power.
In the current state, I could not immediately defeat Eclite, but neither would I be outmatched. To completely overturn the situation, I would simply need to wait for the time I had originally planned to elapse.
And my only weakness—Priscilla—no longer existed in this world.
She was officially a dead woman.
And now there was no woman known to be loved by Luderne either.
Though ‘Priscilla’ had briefly come under Eclite’s suspicion, I had dispelled the misunderstanding by leading with severe punishment, so for now it was manageable.
Of course, knowing that Eclite would not let the matter rest so easily, I had taken certain precautions regardless.
In any case, there was now no element by which Eclite could coerce me through blackmail using someone precious to me.
Then it was time to strike back.
Luderne clenched his fist tightly. And then he exhaled a sigh for all to witness.
“Phew… If I had known that gambling with me at the Arde Kingdom Casino until dawn today was part of such a plan, I would have let you win a bit more.”
“!”
The eyes of the Emperor, Eclite, the Empress, and the Chief Attendant widened simultaneously.
Luderne spoke to Eclite with an unruffled expression.
“Now that I know, I’m rather disappointed. Though we share different mothers, I am still your elder brother, yet you did not inform me of the intentions behind such an important undertaking.”
Eclite was genuinely flustered.
Until now, no matter what lies I told before the Emperor, Luderne had kept his mouth shut.
He was someone who had not even offered a single word of rebuttal to me, even behind closed doors.
“Your Majesty, from now on, please inform me in advance. I shall cooperate so that Your Majesty may achieve results beyond your expectations.”
And now he was even offering advice on what to do next?
What change of heart was this?
“W-wait, Prince Wintem! What sort of false accusation is this?”
Stunned by the unexpected blow, it was the Empress who raised her voice instead of Eclite, who was momentarily speechless.
She too could not hide her shock. If Luderne’s words were true, then Eclite had essentially lied before the Emperor.
“False accusation? Did you not say that he was with me?”
Luderne continued calmly, not forgetting to raise one corner of his mouth in a smile as he looked at Eclite.
“I am merely sorry for failing to discern your intentions, but the time spent with my brother was truly pleasant.”
The Emperor’s gaze grew distant as he sensed Luderne’s transformation.
Only then did Eclite, noticing the Emperor’s contemplative demeanor, hastily continue speaking.
“Your Majesty may have misunderstood my brother’s words, so allow me to clarify…!”
Eclite paused to collect himself, internally unleashing a torrent of curses and invectives toward Luderne.
“The Empress last saw me in the Study, so she appears to have been momentarily confused. I had gone on a secret reconnaissance mission. To observe Zerox, King of the Arde Kingdom.”
Eclite shrugged his shoulders.
“It has been only a few years since the war ended. We must certainly devour the Arde Kingdom, which dared to defy us, no? One must know the enemy and know oneself to achieve victory. Above all, the destruction of the Arde Kingdom is also Your Majesty’s long-cherished desire.”
The Emperor nodded in acknowledgment.
“So that’s why you came together.”
His tone carried a note of displeasure, yet it had grown considerably gentler.
Eclite felt relief wash over him and answered respectfully.
“Yes.”
He found the Emperor’s hand buried within the goose-down quilt and clasped it between both of his own. The Emperor’s hand felt even colder than when he had last held it.
“I was truly startled to hear that the Former King was in critical condition.”
As he spoke these words, Eclite suppressed a laugh that nearly escaped.
‘There truly isn’t much time left.’
The bed and the goose-down quilt were intensely warm. Thermal magic stones were kept constantly activated to preserve the Emperor’s body heat.
Yet his immobilized body continued to lose warmth with each passing moment.
The Emperor eventually released a sigh.
“When I said I was in critical condition, I wanted to see who would abandon everything and rush to my side first.”
In other words, today had been a test.
It was a statement that shattered Eclite’s expectations entirely.
To endure such a vicious curse—one that left him paralyzed from the neck down—should have shattered his mind long ago, yet he still possessed the strength to persist.
‘A ruthless man indeed.’
Yet Eclite could not reveal his true thoughts, so he smiled with practiced grace.
“What a tremendous relief. However, such grave news nearly stopped my heart.”
The Emperor’s lips curved upward.
“How delightful that my son worries so for his father. Very well. Go now and rest. It would be pleasant to spend some intimate time with the Empress as well.”
At the Emperor’s words, both the Empress and Eclite bowed respectfully.
“Then I shall visit again soon to pay my respects, Former King Your Majesty.”
He then turned to Luderne with a smile of utmost warmth.
‘How dare a bastard presume such things?’
His expression carried a clear warning that he would not let this transgression pass.
“Then why don’t you join us for tea as well, brother?”
“No.”
The Emperor answered first.
“I have much to discuss with the Grand Duke, whom I haven’t seen in ages. Stay a moment.”
Eclite’s eyes widened in shock.
Yet the Emperor paid him no mind and spoke to the Chief Attendant.
“You may leave as well.”
The Chief Attendant bowed respectfully and followed in Eclite’s wake.
As Eclite turned to leave, he clenched his teeth, seething with frustration. What possible reason could the Emperor have for a private audience with Luderne?
As I turned to leave through the door, I heard the Emperor’s words directed at Luderne drifting after me.

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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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