CWMBR 47

Chapter 47

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*Present

Could this be what the Snow Queen's palace looks like? If so, could there be a kidnapped child inside?

Was finding the hole in the fence a sign that she should rescue the trapped child?

Bridget crawled into the mansion courtyard as if in a trance and peered inside through the high window frame. The room was dark, and there was a large canopy bed.

"Bridget."

Bridget, who had been gazing at the black sky and letting the cold air envelop her, slowly lowered her gaze. A man with black hair and blue eyes was staring at her from the darkness. Just like when they first met.

In the clear, cloudless sky of Elber, young Bridget had met a boy trapped in an ice palace.  

Ain Wise, with black hair and blue eyes.  

"What are you doing here?"  

Ain tilted his head slightly and stared at her for a moment. Then he spoke in his characteristic cold voice.

"Gilum was here."

"So?"

"He said you approached me because you knew my identity back then."

It had only been a few hours since she had spoken with Gilum. Bridget felt a sudden sense of emptiness when she realized that their conversation had already reached Ain's ears. She hadn't truly believed that a fair investigation would take place, but now that she had confirmed who they were really protecting, she felt a bitter taste in her mouth.  

"The night we slept together."  

Bridget lowered her gaze and spoke calmly.  

"When you asked if I knew your true identity at the time, I simply answered that I did."  

"Is that what you said?"

No, it was completely different. But Bridget didn't bother to explain the difference. Instead, she speculated on why Ain had come to the theater at this late hour.

"So, did you suddenly get angry when you heard Mr. Gilum's words? That was already a fact you knew."

Ain already knew about this. How angry he had been when he first found out. Bridget vividly remembered Ain’s gaze, mixed with disappointment and contempt.  

"...................Yes, I knew you were deliberately approaching me."  

Ain Wise was a man who had been tormented by all kinds of people throughout his life. From the slick tongues of those blinded by the Wise family background to the naked bodies thrown at him. Based on that experience, Ain quickly reached a conclusion, and Bridget instantly became one of them.

Bridget's love lost its place in an instant.

"But you didn't answer the question of how you found out my identity."

"Because it's not important."

"How do I know if you weren’t hired by someone?"

Bridget let out a half-hearted laugh and brushed her bangs out of her face. Her hand felt unusually cold against her forehead. Or maybe it was her forehead that felt hot.

"I thought you would have already investigated me. You had plenty of time to do so."

"If I had investigated you properly from the beginning, I wouldn't have been caught off guard like this."

Come to think of it, he had made a similar lament when he heard the news of the miscarriage. He should have done a proper investigation from the start.

Since he had separately investigated whether Donna had really lived in Elber, Bridget assumed he would have done the same for her.

Should she consider it an honor that she was able to escape his suspicion, even if only for a moment, despite his first love couldn’t avoid it?

"If I had had someone backing me up, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation in the first place."

"What situations?"

"I... you..."

Meeting Ain Wise as fate, imagining a future with him, daring to desire a better future. She wouldn't have made such foolish imaginings. If there had been a corner for her to lean on anywhere. If she had just a little more leeway.

Bridget closed her eyes tightly and let out a quiet sigh.

"..................You mean we had no connection at all."

Ain fell silent for a moment at Bridget's listless reply. Then he changed the subject in a blunt voice.

"The pregnancy records weren't fabricated."

Bridget really didn't want to talk about the child anymore. She didn't want to hear his voice denying the child's existence again, and every time she heard those words, the emotions she had barely managed to hold together were ruthlessly torn apart, making it increasingly unbearable. It felt like it was all her fault, and she felt like she was suffocating from guilt.

Bridget clenched her teeth and said in a cold tone.

“This isn't fair at all, given that you're getting real-time updates from investigators.

“They’re just leaking information to keep me from causing a scene. They’re not trying to create circumstances that are unfavorable to you.”

Did he not realize that this was clearly a tilted scale? Or had he grown so accustomed to this situation that he no longer even noticed its unfairness? Bridget no longer cared. She no longer expected fairness from the investigators; she just wanted everything to end quickly. What exactly was he trying to achieve through this pointless process?

Simply venting his frustration?

"Just let's say you won everything."

Bridget finally appealed to him.

"Destroy all the records related to me. We were never anything, and if you want alimony, take whatever you want.

If that will satisfy you."

“What if it doesn’t?”  

Bridget’s shoulders slumped helplessly. She was losing the strength to continue arguing with him. Her body, which had been forced to endure the schedule while taking painkillers, seemed to be reaching its limit.  

“Do you want my life?”  

It was a question uttered half in anger.

Not long ago, there was a time when commoners had their heads cut off simply for offending the nobility. If a commoner was hit by a noble’s carriage on the street, the family would be blamed for obstructing the noble’s path. 

Even though such barbaric times were over now, how could the nobility’s sense of authority change overnight? Especially if one was born into royalty, it would not be surprising if they were still trapped in the outdated class system.

Perhaps he was really willing to risk her life to avenge the insult he had received? It was absurd to even entertain such a thought, but it was possible, wasn't it?

Even though Bridget looked visibly exhausted, Ain didn't bat an eye. Instead, he even gave a faint sneer.  

"If you're planning to threaten me with your life, I'll tell you it won't work. I know better than anyone that you can't abandon that old theater."

Ain pointed to the building behind Bridget with his chin.

"You approached me in the first place for the sake of the theater, didn't you?"

"Then what do you want me to do?"

It would have been easier if she had heard a curse telling her to just die. Bridget had no energy left to think deeply. Her head was hot, and her body was shivering, so she just wanted to hurry back to the mansion. She couldn't understand why they were having this conversation in front of the darkened theater.

"Mr. Mond said that if there were no problems with our marriage, our marital relationship would be maintained. That's your will, isn't it?"

Bridget hoped that Ain would deny what she said, but sadly, he silently agreed.

“Do you want to keep me by your side and torment me for the rest of my life? Do you hate me that much? But that’s an inefficient waste of time. You hate wasting time, don’t you? Why…”

“Strangely enough, I’m quite inefficient to you.”

Ain cut off Bridget’s words and muttered sarcastically.

“It’s been like this from the start. Normally, I wouldn’t bother talking to a mere city guide. Look at us now, wasting time on the street.”

He laughed, as if he found himself ridiculous, then suddenly spoke in a subdued voice.

“Donna Green said your pregnancy was a lie, but I thought it could be true.”  

He muttered as if to excuse himself, saying he had thought that even before checking for bloodstains.  

“But I couldn’t be sure if it was my child.”

“………………You seem like someone who studies how far you can insult me.”

Bridget let out a weary exclamation.  

“I can’t believe it. Just a few words can drag a person into such a mess.”

He already didn’t believe the truth. Since he thought she had slept with another man, it would be a tedious repetition unless he guessed the answer she had decided in her heart.

If she just threw out any name, she could escape this torment. She knew that, but Bridget couldn't bring herself to do it.  

She didn't want to do that when it came to the child.  

"I'll say it one more time."  

It felt like an invisible hand was choking her. Bridget swallowed hard and rubbed her dry eyes. 

“It was our child.”

There was no moisture in her cold eyes. Instead, they felt dry and parched, like scraping away a frozen clump of earth.

It was a relief that no tears came.