About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 95

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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 95. The Family’s Disgrace
“Of course.”
As I nodded readily, Olivia shrugged her shoulders.
“Actually, my teacher composed those lyrics for me.”
Melissa Bilsty’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Priscilla composed them? How did she come to write such lyrics?”
“The circumstances aren’t complicated, but I’m not sure if I should tell you….”
Melissa’s gaze grew more insistent.
I glanced around before lowering my voice.
“The truth is, a few years ago, I saved a woman who nearly died on a beach near here.”
Melissa’s pupils trembled visibly.
“A, a woman who nearly died?”
Her voice even trembled from the shock.
“Yes. She was burning with fever, so I brought her to my lodgings and called for a physician to care for her.”
I unveiled the story I had prepared all this time.
The woman, who had been ill for several days, grew so perilously close to death that the physician stayed by her side through the entire night.
But the next morning, she suddenly rose from her bed and departed, leaving behind a note expressing her gratitude for being saved.
“That passage was written in the memo she left behind. At the time, I thought it was poetry….”
I trailed off while observing Melissa carefully.
Melissa was trying her best to appear composed, but the trembling of her pupils betrayed her.
“When I heard Olivia’s new composition, it fit perfectly, so I attributed it to her.”
After finishing my explanation, I took a leisurely sip of juice.
“That’s all there is to it.”
“What, what did that woman look like? Do you happen to know her name?”
“It’s been so long that I don’t remember her face well, but she had long blonde hair. Something close to honey-colored?”
Melissa appeared quite flustered, her body trembling slightly.
Meanwhile, I shook my head without concern.
“But I don’t recall her name. She was so ill, and she left so suddenly that there was no opportunity to ask.”
I turned the question back to Melissa.
“Hmm, listening to your questions makes me wonder… Could she be someone Count Bilsty’s daughter knows?”
Melissa withdrew a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.
“I have a sister who disappeared.”
“Oh my.”
I quickly covered my mouth with one hand. I nearly burst into laughter at the absurdity.
‘Disappeared? Well, on the surface, your sister didn’t drown in the swamp, did she? You even filed a death report right away. Even though that woman was a fake.’
“It feels like I’m exposing my family’s shame, but I’ve also heard truly important news….”
Melissa hesitated for a moment, then looked between Olivia and me, blinking her eyes several times.
“Since you two are people I care about, I’ll tell you. You must absolutely keep this secret.”
“Of course. Let’s keep this just between us.”
At Olivia’s ready agreement, Melissa took a deep breath.
“Actually, that content is a poem my sister used to write. I was honestly quite shocked when I found the poem I was looking for appearing as song lyrics.”
Melissa Bilsty’s subsequent words were utterly absurd and shameless.
She claimed to be the daughter of Count Bilsty’s wife, yet said her sister had left the government official’s ship first.
“But it turns out my sister had a different father too, you see?”
Olivia’s eyes widened in shock.
“What? You mean to say…?”
“My sister found out about that and suffered a terrible shock. The trauma was so severe that she developed a mental illness.”
Melissa dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, lamenting how many times she had endured hardship because of her sister’s mental condition.
“She even abused me, which was difficult to bear, but then one day she simply disappeared.”
Olivia’s mouth fell open.
“A-abused you?”
“Yes. For example…”
Melissa recounted the abuses she claimed to have suffered.
As I listened, I was so astounded that I spoke my mind directly.
“My, how absolutely outrageous.”
She had simply reversed everything Matilda had done to me and recited it back, yet when spoken as if it had truly happened, her eloquence flowed like a river, and her sincerity seemed genuine.
Olivia had already fallen for Melissa’s lies, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Goodness…… The young lady of Count Bilsty’s household has certainly suffered much.”
“What can I do? She’s my sister, after all.”
Melissa heaved a pitiful sigh before turning to me with an earnest plea.
“The person Priscilla mentioned seems to be my sister. Do you happen to know where she went?”
I shook my head.
But Melissa pressed on persistently.
“Was there any particular distinguishing feature?”
She was likely asking about the curse that had afflicted me.
I pretended to think for a moment.
“Ah, now that I think about it, the physician who treated me hasn’t been seen since that day. I suspect they may have left together.”
“Anything else?”
“I wish I could tell you more, but that’s all I know.”
“What a shame.”
Melissa seemed to have no further questions and fell silent. Yet there was something peculiar about the glint in her eyes as she sat lost in thought.
Melissa soon rose from her seat and asked.
“Our drinks are empty. Shall I order the same again? Is that alright?”
I nodded, and Melissa went directly into the cafe.
As I watched her retreating figure, I found myself reflecting on how much time had passed.
It had been well over four years now.
‘Wait…’
At this point, a certain question began to nag at me.
Did they truly know about the key?
Before my regression, it wasn’t until two years after I became Countess Veloda Genoma that they had stolen the key from me.
Unlike before, since I had pushed her into the Sea this time, even if she were discovered later, there would be nothing left to do but abandon the matter.
Soon Melissa Bilsty returned carrying three glasses of beverages.
“We’ve been chattering away so much that my throat’s parched. Let’s each have a glass.”
At Melissa Bilsty’s kind offer as she set down the drinks, Olivia smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Miss Bilsty.”
“Will you call me Melissa now?”
“Pardon?”
“Today was so enjoyable that you feel like a friend to me.”
“W-well, perhaps? M-Melissa…”
Olivia’s face flushed crimson.
“I’m delighted, Olivia.”
Melissa glanced toward me and asked.
“What about you, Priscilla? Shall we call each other by our names?”
I immediately hardened my expression.
“No. I don’t care for such things.”
It seemed my response was an unexpected wall of steel.
Melissa laughed awkwardly, unable to hide her embarrassment.
“Ah, I… I see. Then let’s simply enjoy our beverages together.”
Olivia reached for her glass.
Perhaps it was my imagination, but I couldn’t trust a drink that Melissa herself had brought rather than a staff member.
Worse still, the way she urged us to drink quickly seemed decidedly suspicious.
I quickly seized Olivia’s arm before she could take a sip.
I had to stop her.
If I was mistaken, I would apologize, but she was someone worth erring on the side of caution for.
“Oh, that’s right! Olivia, you see—”
“Yes? Oh!”
My sudden grab caused Olivia to lose her grip on the glass, and her beverage and ice cascaded across the table.
I jolted up from my chair in feigned alarm.
“Oh my, what shall we do? I’m so sorry, Olivia.”
A staff member quickly rushed over and cleaned up the spilled drink.
“Is your dress wet?”
Olivia looked quite flustered but managed to smile.
“It’s fine, ma’am. Fortunately, the drink spilled elsewhere.”
But then Olivia’s smile vanished—Melissa Bilsty’s dress was thoroughly soaked.
What a fortunate turn of events.
“Oh dear, what should we do?”
Though delighted by this unintended small retribution, I feigned distress.
Of course, I made no offer to pay for the dress or any apology. I simply returned the favor of her false kindness toward me.
“Why did you have to sit there?”
It was your own fault for sitting in that spot.
When I spoke with such boldness and shamelessness, Melissa fell silent for a moment.
She was likely wrestling with herself—whether to confront me or let it pass.
In the end, Melissa chose to laugh.
Even if it was humiliating, she had decided to make a good impression on me.
“Ha… I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about it.”
‘I can plainly see the veins bulging on her forehead.’
“I’ll bring another drink for Olivia.”
She hadn’t given up on offering Olivia a beverage, it seemed.
How should I stop her this time? Should I say we’ve had enough to drink and ought to leave?
As I pondered briefly, the voice of an unfamiliar man suddenly cut through the air.
“Well, well! Isn’t that Olivia?”
In that instant, Olivia’s complexion changed dramatically.
“It’s been ages. Were you having fun with friends?”
The man who had addressed Olivia appeared to be considerably older.
His clothing, which gave him the appearance of a merchant, was relatively neat, though the scent of alcohol emanated from him—as if he’d been drinking during the day.
He introduced himself first.
“Greetings. I’m Olivia’s father. Call me Bernard. Say, what’s all this?”
He gestured with his chin toward the far side of the downtown area.
“I run a small trading company over there in the city center. It’s called Heser.”
Olivia forced a smile.
“Oh, Father—what brings you here?”
Bernard rubbed his belly.
“I got hungry and thought I’d grab something to eat.”
He began walking toward the restaurant, then turned back and asked Olivia a question.
“By the way, do you have any money on you? If you do, buy your old man a meal. I hear you’re doing quite well these days.”
Olivia’s face flushed crimson as she stood up.
“I’m sorry, I need to take my father somewhere.”
Olivia hurried inside the cafe.
Shortly after, she emerged with what appeared to be her escort.
“Father, let’s go.”
After pushing Bernard along, Olivia turned to us and bowed respectfully.
“I apologize for the disturbance. I hope to see you again next time.”
The two of them left the table shortly after.
As I watched them go, I heard the voice of another man.

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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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