About Becoming My Ex-Husband's Mistress - Chapter 96

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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 96. A Slap Across the Count’s Face
“What brings Olivia here so suddenly with an escort?”
It was Count Veloda Genoma.
It seemed he had been with Olivia’s escort the entire time.
“Oh, you are….”
Count Veloda Genoma, who had been about to ask Melissa something before noticing me, flashed a bright smile, his white teeth gleaming with cheerful amusement.
“The superstar of Raber Salon, I presume. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Good day to you.”
I greeted him without bothering to hide my reluctance, and Count Veloda Genoma settled into an empty seat nearby.
“I am Count Veloda Genoma. I serve as Melissa’s escort knight and her brother-in-law, as well.”
Why did he feel the need to emphasize his relation as brother-in-law?
“….”
As I fell silent for a moment, he rubbed his face with one hand.
“Truth be told, when Melissa stepped into the cafe earlier, I heard about what you said regarding my wife. We had already filed a death report, believing her to be deceased, you see.”
“I see….”
“Forgive the abruptness, but there’s something I simply must ask you.”
He clasped his hands together as if in prayer.
“What is it?”
“Did my wife happen to have a key of some sort?”
“…Pardon?”
As I stared at him silently, Count Veloda Genoma shrugged his shoulders.
“She stole my key, you see. It’s an extremely important item.”
His purpose in coming out here and sitting at this table became abundantly clear.
It seemed he had only recently learned of the key’s existence, struck the ground in frustration, and then hurried out upon hearing that I was alive.
But “my key”? It was absolutely infuriating.
I felt an impulse to overturn this table, kill these shameless people, and be done with it.
But right now, I was “Priscilla.”
There was nothing to gain from revealing my true identity, so I gritted my teeth, suppressed my rage, and forced myself to smile.
“It seems such questions make you uncomfortable.”
Apparently, I couldn’t completely hide my agitation.
I rose from my seat.
“I’m concerned about the way Olivia left so abruptly just now.”
“That’s understandable. But I know a way that would truly delight me.”
Count Veloda Genoma’s lips curled into a sickly smile as he gestured toward my drink.
“Why not finish this drink—it would be a shame to waste it—and then we can move to another table?”
At this point, it was certain the drink was suspicious.
I picked up the beverage and set it down in front of Count Veloda Genoma.
“I haven’t touched it yet, so if you’re truly concerned about waste, perhaps you should drink it instead, Count.”
In that instant, Count Veloda Genoma’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“…Now that I think about it, the main designer of Raber Salon being a commoner explains why you seem to have no sense whatsoever of the social hierarchy.”
He placed the drink before me back in front of me and crossed his arms.
“Unless you’re committing a crime, commoners must comply with a noble’s requests.”
His tone had shifted to informal speech.
“I’m not asking you to do anything remarkable—I’m simply telling you to drink the beverage graciously bestowed upon you by the beloved daughter of Count Bilsty, favored by His Majesty himself. Is that really so difficult to understand?”
His arrogance was utterly absurd.
“This is why commoners are….”
Just then, Melissa gently grabbed Count Veloda Genoma’s arm.
“Brother-in-law, please calm yourself.”
“How can I remain calm? My sister-in-law is being disrespected by nothing more than a commoner.”
Count Veloda Genoma continued shamelessly.
“What do you think would happen if I mentioned that the designer at Laverre Salon is so arrogant she mocks the nobility?”
“….”
“Just drink that and tell me whether you saw the key or not, then you can go home peacefully.”
Finding myself in a predicament, I fell silent for a moment and surveyed my surroundings. Walter happened to be standing at the cafe entrance.
But he merely leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
Even from a distance, one could sense the tension of the situation, yet he showed no sign of intervening.
I understood why he was doing so.
Walter was my escort knight, but with Luderne absent, it would be awkward for him to interfere.
It was merely a request to drink—by any measure, I wasn’t in actual danger.
I reluctantly picked up the glass. And I glanced at Walter once more.
Walter crossed his index and middle fingers into an X.
It was clearly a sign not to drink.
Then, with a calm expression, he gave a subtle chin gesture toward the plaza.
I looked in the direction he had indicated.
“!”
The moment I discovered the solution Walter had presented, my worry vanished and my thoughts reversed entirely.
Count Veloda Genoma spoke with a sneer.
“Stop looking around like that—you look stupid.”
“I was just considering how to handle a rude noble.”
For a contemptible coward who alternates between strength and weakness, this was the perfect approach.
I threw the drink in my hand directly into Count Veloda Genoma’s face.
If the escort knight couldn’t intervene in an awkward situation, then I simply needed to create one where intervention was necessary, didn’t I?
“Sputtering!”
Count Veloda Genoma jumped to his feet in shock.
“W-What is the meaning of this!”
Count Veloda Genoma’s voice rose sharply.
The commotion drew everyone’s attention, but I made no effort to hide my displeasure.
“Your rudeness is simply unbearable.”
I made no attempt to conceal my irritation toward Melissa as well.
“Now I understand why His Majesty finds you so tiresome.”
Melissa’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden barrage of insults.
“How shameful it must be to have such a man as family.”
“Have you lost your mind!”
As expected, Count Veloda Genoma’s face flushed with rage as he advanced threateningly, raising his hand.
However, Count Veloda Genoma’s blow never reached me.
Walter stepped in to block it.
“What, what, what?”
Walter’s eyes gleamed coldly as he glared at Count Veloda Genoma.
“I am Walter, a knight in the service of Prince Wintem. Regardless of your noble station, I will not tolerate any harm coming to the woman under my protection.”
Count Veloda Genoma flinched at the sharp edge in his voice.
But it was only momentary.
“Even if you serve Prince Wintem, how dare you speak to me so casually? The audacity!”
Count Veloda Genoma’s face reddened with indignation.
“I will not overlook this. You’ve insulted me by defending a woman from the Red Light District—I shall send a formal protest to Prince Wintem!”
It was then that a low voice echoed from behind.
“From what I can see, it’s you who’s been acting insulting. What protest are you talking about?”
All eyes turned toward the source of the voice.
It was Luderne Sellen, who had just arrived and was removing his leather gloves.
I wasn’t sure how he’d returned so quickly from his trip to Eclite and the Empire, but it was unmistakably him.
Walter bowed respectfully first.
“My lord, I greet you.”
Startled, Count Veloda Genoma and Melissa quickly offered their own respectful greetings.
Count Veloda Genoma opened his mouth.
“This woman threw her drink on me.”
Luderne Sellen looked at Walter.
Walter glared at Count Veloda Genoma as he spoke.
“I was sitting inside the cafe when I saw this man putting something into the drinks of Priscilla and Olivia.”
Count Veloda Genoma stammered in panic.
“I didn’t put anything in! This is slander!”
But Walter continued without flinching, his tone precise and measured.
“He pulled a brown pouch from his pocket and retrieved a substance from it. Unable to identify what it was, I decided to observe for now, but when he attempted to strike, I intervened. Protecting Priscilla is the duty I’ve been assigned.”
“Then my knight has done his duty well. But…”
Luderne Sellen’s brow furrowed as he regarded Count Veloda Genoma.
“What did you put in my mistress’s drink?”
“Melissa mentioned she’d made a new friend. Since she seemed tired from working all day, I merely added a nutritional supplement—there was no malicious intent whatsoever.”
“But didn’t you say you wanted to force Priscilla to confess about the key you’ve been searching for?”
“Hiccup!”
It was Melissa who hiccupped at Walter’s revelation.
Walter let out a cold laugh.
“I was sitting at the table right next to you.”
Count Veloda Genoma’s mouth gaped open as he appealed to Luderne.
“Your Highness, I am innocent. It truly was a nutritional supplement!”
“Then why not simply produce what’s in your left coat pocket?”
Count Veloda Genoma swiftly withdrew a brown pouch from his breast and displayed its contents.
My suspicion about his remarkably forthright action was short-lived.
The brown pouch was completely empty.
“I wish I could prove it, but I’ve used it all. Please believe me, Your Highness. Would I truly carry something so questionable?”
Luderne stared at the empty pouch for a moment, then nodded reluctantly as if accepting the inevitable.
“I shall accept that claim.”
It was the moment Count Veloda Genoma and Melissa Bilsty exhaled in relief.
Luderne’s eyes flashed with a razor-sharp gleam.
“However.”
Crack!
With a vicious sound, Count Veloda Genoma’s face snapped to one side.
Luderne had struck the Count’s cheek with a sharp blow from the leather gloves he held.
“I cannot help but ask.”
Melissa gasped in shock, her hands flying to her gaping mouth, and I too could scarcely believe my eyes.
“The crime of placing something into another’s drink without consent.”
Luderne struck Count Veloda Genoma’s cheek once more with his leather gloves, without so much as a blink.
With another vicious crack, the Count’s face snapped to the opposite side.
“And….”

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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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