CWMBR 45

Chapter 45

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*The past

Donna again?

Listening to Finn's apology, Bridget suppressed her rising anger.

Donna, who accompanied Ronan to meet influential people, surely knew about the high-end restaurants and clubs in Glynford. But she recommended such a shady pub! Unable to let it go, Bridget immediately went to find Donna.

She was in the dressing room. Having just returned from an important meeting with Ronan, she was humming happily as she looked at herself in the mirror, her face glowing with excitement. When she saw Bridget enter the dressing room, she smiled calmly.

"Oh, Miss! I was so worried about you yesterday!"

"...Worried? Why?"

"Well, Mr. Emerson had the wrong name for the club! There's another bar with a similar name to the one I told him about, and he told you that one, right? I only realized he had the wrong name when I heard Mr. Sherman mention it yesterday."

Donna's voice was so excited that Bridget couldn't find a chance to interrupt. Donna lowered her eyebrows, placed her hand on her chest, and sighed.

"Oh my goodness, I was warned by the manager not to go anywhere near that place, so I was shocked to hear that you went there. The quality there is really bad. I don't even look at that place."

"What was the point of recommending a place with a confusing name?"  

"What do you mean, 'point'? I just wanted to introduce Mr. Emerson to a good place."  

At Bridget's skeptical question, Donna widened her eyes and looked serious. She even stared at Bridget with a suspicious gaze.

"But are you really going there without knowing anything about it?"

Bridget looked confused at Donna's attitude, which seemed to be questioning her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been living in Glynford for not just only a day or two. Mr. Emerson is an outsider, so he might have confused the names because they sound similar, but you...… lived here for so long and really didn’t know?”

Donna narrowed her eyes and scanned Bridget. If she were to say that her gaze resembled that of a drunkard who had been staring at her up and down in the tavern, would that be too much of a stretch? Bridget’s cheeks flushed red with anger.

“Donna!”

“Oh, you startled me. Why are you shouting? Did I say something offensive?”

As her voice rose, the other staff members who were helping her in the dressing room glanced over nervously. Aware of their gaze, Bridget clenched her teeth and lowered her voice.

“Watch your words.”

"What did I say? I was just worried. You don't shy away from hard work for the sake of the theater."

Donna looked away from Bridget and glanced at her reflection in the mirror as she continued indifferently.

"If you didn't know, then that's how it is."

With Donna’s last words, which were both unsettling and unpleasant, their conversation came to an end. Bridget reluctantly turned away at Ronan’s call to talk. She went up to the office and had to face Ronan, who was red-faced.

“I really can’t face my brother!”

"Uncle, this time..."

Bridget couldn't stand Ronan's strange misunderstanding and tried to explain, but he waved his hand as if he had no intention of listening and cut her off.

"Enough. Don't cause any trouble for a while! Stop being a guide or whatever and just rest."

"Huh?"

"I was asked to do a big project yesterday. A rare opportunity has come up for Donna to perform in a major production! The main theater will be short-staffed for a while. If any trouble arises, it’ll be awkward for us too, so help out with the staff at the main theater."

Bridget wondered why Donna had gone to the dressing room, but it seemed something had actually been decided. Donna didn’t even glance at performances of a certain scale, so if she chose it, it must be a grand production. Moreover, since the agreement to cast Donna as the lead had been finalized, it seemed that the rough coordination with the theater company producing the play had also been completed.

Ronan, who had been excitedly talking to himself about how great the production was, finally noticed Bridget standing there and immediately made a displeased expression.

"Your uncle is working so hard to make this happen, and here his niece is not helping, but instead being stubborn and clueless about the real world..."

"The theater isn't for sale."  

"I know, I know! That's why I said I signed a contract for the production!"  

Despite that, he didn't even tell Bridget the name of the production. To be precise, he seemed to have no idea about the production details. It was hard to believe.  

Instead, he suddenly handed Bridget a note.

“This is the performance date they want.”  

Bridget took the note without thinking and furrowed her brows.  

“That date is already booked.”  

“What are you talking about? Of course, everything has to be cleared!”  

“But there's contracted work….”  

In response to Bridget’s objection, Ronan tapped his chest as if he were frustrated.

"Ugh, Bridget. Are you going to keep making such frustrating remarks? Are you going to miss this great opportunity just because of a few small performances? The sponsor of this performance is none other than the Mayor of Glynford! This is our chance to receive support from the city! Even if we don't receive support from the nobility, we need to catch the mayor's eye, don't we?"

Bridget paused at the mention of the mayor's support. She knew better than anyone how much time Ronan had spent with the mayor in private for the sake of the theater. It was only natural that he was so excited now that his efforts had finally paid off.

And Bridget, too, felt her heart wavering. She would soon find out what play would be staged, and if the mayor was sponsoring it, it couldn't be a ridiculous play...

"While we're on the subject, you tell them about the cancellation of the performance. You're friends with those people, aren't you?"

As if he had nothing more to say, Ronan waved his hand and signaled for her to leave. Bridget, who was a step behind in understanding Ronan's words, frowned and looked at him.  

"No, Uncle."  

"If you put your name on it as the theater owner, you have to take responsibility. You said you wouldn't give up the grand theater that you couldn't handle, so do I have to do that too?"  

In the end, Bridget was kicked out of the office.

The people whose contracts had been unilaterally terminated were furious. They criticized Bridget and compared her to her deceased father, shaking their heads in disapproval. Bridget was embarrassed and remained silent.  

After being berated for several days, she was exhausted, and even when Finn nagged her, she didn't have the energy to respond. Even Ain didn't suggest that she take a tour of the city.

Days passed with her going back and forth between the theater and the mansion. During that time, Bridget learned about the play that Ronan had signed a contract for. It was a tragic love story about an innocent aristocratic lady who fell for a bad knight.

It was a play that emphasized the purity and innocence of the main character.

Bridget remembered seeing related articles in the newspaper a few times. It was said to be a work that attracted upper-class audiences who tended to look down on theater compared to opera. However, the author did not seem to have gained much fame for it.

In any case, it was said that the stage was luxurious and the characters wore splendid costumes in almost every scene. In many ways, it was a work that perfectly suited Donna's taste.

Such works usually had their performance schedules set at least six months in advance. In that sense, it was quite unusual for the Glynford Grand Theater to have such a tight schedule. Bridget didn't know the reason, but she prayed that the schedule would be successful.

Soon, people began to come and go at the grand theater to prepare for the production. The chandeliers, which had only been checked to see if they were working every day, were carefully cleaned, and the stagehands moved their tools. The costume shop that had a contract with the theater was also busy for once.

In a production of this scale, the stage equipment and costumes were supposed to be prepared by the theater company, but for some reason, it all fell to the theater. Ronan explained that it was a minor additional clause that had already been agreed upon.

Regardless of the circumstances, as Ronan said, the theater was bustling with activity for the first time in a while. However, there was nothing for Bridget to do to help. Rather, it was a job for experts in each field, so it was helpful for her to stay in the background.

Bridget looked at the theater, which was bustling with activity on the surface, with unfamiliar eyes.

The staff were all excited about putting on a big production, and they were proud of the news that Donna was the lead. They were also impressed by Ronan's skill in bringing important people to the theater for the first time in a long time.

For some reason, Bridget felt like she didn't belong in that scene.

It was a truly strange feeling.  

She had grown up with this grand theater, had known those people for a long time, and had worked hard to contribute to the theater's affairs in her own way. Yet, despite all that…  

Bridget realized that she had been drifting on the periphery of the Glynford Grand Theater. She didn't know when it had started, but it had been happening for some time.