CWMBR 56

Chapter 56

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Sponsored by Elisa. Thank you ❤️ (2/7)

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In truth, this wasn't the first time Ain had been the subject of gossip over his first love. The story of Ain Wise's first love had once been a minor talking point among the upper-class elite.

It all stemmed from Ain's immaculate privacy. Unlike those around him who typically found spouses early, he showed no interest in women, no matter how old he got. People said his standards were too high, yet they wondered about his preference. Since Ain wasn't one to gossip about such topics, people naturally speculated based on his lifestyle.

Women who caught Ain’s eye for unusually long periods, or gatherings he frequented.

Tracking back to Ain’s childhood. The story of the only girl he had ever shown interest in first, throughout his entire life. That girl supposedly had blonde hair and green eyes.

It was long ago, and surely just a fleeting childhood crush in a small town. Naturally, people paid no attention to the girl, who was clearly just a country bumpkin, focusing only on what she looked like. After that, they occasionally reached the conclusion that the women Ain’s gaze lingered on were usually blonde with green eyes.

Ain didn't agree with their conclusion, but he didn't deny that the only woman he'd ever cared about in his entire life was that girl from his childhood. Because that was an objective fact.

He readily accepted that such an object was commonly called a first love. Even so, it was the past, a bygone existence, yet he rationally recognized that he had cherished her quite deeply at the time. Therefore, even if the woman he reunited with had become a disappointing adult, he treated her with patience and tolerance.

"Lord Wise, didn't you also settle the Grand Theater's debt at Donna's request?.................. Truthfully, she was deeply heartbroken watching Lord Wise's wedding."

But patience had its limits.

Ain couldn't hide his displeasure at Ronan's absurd misunderstanding and opened his lips.

"Donna………………"

"Is someone else more important than your own niece?"

"Pardon?"

Bridget was the one who married Ain, yet here he was, her own uncle, constantly chanting Donna's name day and night.

Ain’s rebuke left Ronan looking dazed. Only then did he grasp his meaning and hurriedly offered an excuse.

"Ahaha, well, Donna is the actress who keeps our theater afloat... As the representative, I can't help but pay attention."

Ronan sighed helplessly, tightening the corners of his mouth. At that moment, Ain felt a strange sense of déjà vu. The way Ronan’s facial muscles moved when he tightened his mouth reminded him of someone else.

Noticing the unusual change in Ain's gaze, Ronan spoke in a rather pitiful tone.

"You know the situation at our Grand Theater."

An exaggeratedly gloomy expression and tone. Ah, it was astonishingly similar to the appearance of Donna Green, whom he had met at Bredford Station.

Donna was the exact same type of person as Ronan. She had looked at Patrick Sherman with contempt, but after learning he was Ain Wise, she gathered every ounce of pitiable sorrow and presented it before him.

………………But were the two truly identical only in attitude?

Ain arrived at a question he had never considered before.

"Mr. Sherman, don't you think Donna and Bridget look alike?"

Finn would occasionally ask Ain this question, as if intrigued. Each time, Ain consistently replied that he didn't know.

Not knowing was the truth. He had never once scrutinized Donna's appearance. His first love hadn't been sparked by her looks to begin with, and the heavy layers of makeup she always wore only ever gave him a sense of discomfort.

Donna accentuated her features sharply, made her pale skin appear even whiter, and painted her lips bright red. It was a face of unparalleled glamour. He had never once thought she resembled Bridget, who seemed utterly disinterested in makeup. Still, Ain agreed with Finn’s assessment that Bridget was beautiful.

Indeed, Bridget was beautiful. It was almost strange that everyone was so fixated on Donna that they paid Bridget no attention.

She wore her light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, revealing her full forehead without bangs. This hairstyle made Bridget look very neat and tidy. Her straight, arched eyebrows were gently curved, and the tip of her straight, well-defined nose was rounded and beautifully shaped, contributing to her gentle impression.

 While her overall complexion, including her lip color, was pale, her green eyes were vivid, like deep forest green, making them anything but common. She had lost a lot of weight recently, making her jawline more pronounced, which accentuated her sorrowful and frail aura even more than before.

But that didn't make her resemble Donna, who acted pitifully. Rather, Donna's acting bore a resemblance to this middle-aged man standing before him.

"My mistake was only pitying the child for losing her way after losing her parents. I'll teach Bridget well, so could you please speak to those investigators who keep stirring up trouble at the Grand Theater?"

Ain stared blankly at Ronan, who clearly knew nothing about his niece. Once he thought he resembled Donna, the similarities became glaringly obvious. So obvious he wondered why he hadn't noticed before.

But wasn't that strange? This man was the twin brother of Bridget's father, Wilbert Pennington. So strictly speaking, it was right that he resembled Bridget. Ain couldn't say if they were identical, but there was definitely a faint impression that they were blood relatives.

And yet, the ones who actually resembled each other more were Ronan and Donna.

"Mr. Sherman, don't you think Donna and Bridget look alike?"

Ain recalled the investigator saying the photo she submitted was genuine. Donna claimed she was being blackmailed with that photo. She also expressed worry that harm might come to Ain, the person in the photo.

The Blombolt newspaper had already confirmed both photos were taken by the same photographer. So why would that photographer take such pictures? Why, after taking them, go so far as to blackmail Donna Green? Didn't the photographer realize from the start that no newspaper would ever publish photos of Ain Wise, and that threatening the Wise family would only endanger his own life?

If the purpose of the photo was blackmail, then who was the target?

"The investigators have made the internal atmosphere too tense lately, and outside investors are hesitant to commit funds..."

"You."

Cutting off Ronan's rambling, pitiful excuses, Ain asked in a cold voice.

"What's your relationship with Donna Green?"

***

*Past 

The sunlight on Elber was unusually harsh.

Though Ain couldn’t leave the bed, he could tell just by the sunlight streaming through the window. The scorching heat outside and the sting of the blazing sun.

Even within Alensia, Elber was considered a region blessed with good weather year-round. That simple fact was why this place had been chosen as Ain’s convalescent site. His parents hadn't pondered it any deeper for their child's sake. The fact that Ain neither enjoyed nor was capable of sweating it out under the sun wasn't really considered.

His time in Elber was not particularly pleasant.

First, his painfully ill body, confined to bed, turned him into a nervous and violent patient. The servants found the sensitive and fussy young master difficult to handle. What's more, the boy, who was already fussy even without incident, had reached the peak of distrust in humanity due to the recent kidnapping he had endured. He didn't trust even the servants who had been by his side for years, and if they uttered a single unnecessary word, he would immediately scan them with a suspicious gaze.

Eventually, the servants made every effort to avoid the boy's notice unless absolutely necessary. As a result, tedious days stretched on. The mansion was perpetually silent, and Ain lived feeling as if he were abandoned alone in some remote building. He disliked being around people, but that didn't mean he welcomed the silence either.

He was, after all, a child abandoned by his parents. Even if he recovered completely here and returned, who would truly welcome him? At best, an even more suffocating daily life would unfold.

Perhaps because of his pessimistic thoughts, his physical condition hardly improved. Ain thought he might just end up buried in this rural village forever.

The day Ain remembered was an afternoon with unusually strong sunlight.

Past noon, after lunch, Ain lay back against the headboard with his usual bored expression. Lying down immediately after eating upset his stomach, forcing him to sit and pass the time. He fiddled with toys he could handle easily when he suddenly felt the air coming in through the open window was too muggy.

Gazing at the window, Ain pondered briefly. Should he close it? Draw the curtains to completely block out the sunlight?

The doctor had said that even if he couldn't go outside, he should at least see the sunlight with his eyes. He couldn't understand what meaning that was supposed to have. Maybe that doctor was a quack?

Ain frowned, having just dismissed the long-serving family physician as a quack in one breath. It was hot, after all.

It would have been better to just close the window.

Just as he was about to pull the curtain cord.

Rustle.

A strange sound broke the mansion's usual silence.