Chapter 85
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His words, spoken with a stern and resolute expression, carried a certain determination. Facing Magnus's wary gaze, Ain spoke coldly.
"I'm not just anyone. I'm her husband. Officially."
The unbroken legal bond gave him confidence in any situation. What would he have done without even this?
Mentioning the legal bond made Magnus's expression turn sour. Yet, when Ain insisted that as her husband, he had a right to know about his wife's health, Magnus found no real counterargument. After dithering for a long while, searching for excuses, Magnus finally found no suitable way to evade the issue and reluctantly opened his mouth.
"Her Ladyship's health has been poor for some time. She grew particularly frail after the pregnancy. And after the miscarriage... well, that needs no explanation."
Magnus began in a gloomy tone, then added in a somewhat cold voice.
"I dare say there wasn't a single soul in that bleak mansion who looked after Her Ladyship."
"I didn't ask you to explain the past."
"But how can you understand the present without knowing the past?"
Magnus countered, frowning. His eyes, fixed on Ain, were filled with reproach.
"Her decline in strength was due to physical hardship, but also to a sickness of the heart."
Magnus did not explicitly assign blame to anyone, yet his fierce gaze clearly held resentment toward the person before him. Ain silently listened to his words, bearing his stare.
"Perhaps the mental state is a more serious problem than the physical. She hasn't told me everything, but I can tell just by looking at her complexion."
Magnus sighed and looked toward Bridget's mansion. The aged doctor's eyes were heavy with worry.
"She’s in a state where it wouldn't be strange at all if she said she wanted to let go of everything at any moment."
Ain's eyes narrowed slightly. He paused, wondering if he understood the meaning behind those words correctly.
"If only the Grand Theater her parents left behind didn't exist..."
Magnus shuddered as if the very thought repulsed him. Ain, who had been glaring at Magnus as he shook his head and sighed repeatedly, clenched his teeth.
"If you've made a diagnosis, shouldn't you treat it?"
Instead of sighing and just observing, shouldn't he pursue a more definitive treatment? If necessary, he should recommend seeking a larger hospital.
Or perhaps this old man was simply reluctant to actively treat his patient, afraid of losing them? Just as Ain was about to entertain that suspicion, Magnus, his expression grave, murmured in a bitter tone.
"I don't have the gift of bringing the dead back to life."
Ain felt something clamp down fiercely in his throat.
"Unless the people she loves return, how can her heart be truly healed?"
"You mean the late Penningtons?"
Bridget's tenderness toward the Grand Theater or Ronan alone was enough to infer the nature of her relationship with her deceased parents. Moreover, in calendar years, it hadn't even been five years. The unresolved grief would more than contribute to her melancholy.
Magnus stared at Ain for a moment at his words. Then he spoke in a dark voice.
"Her child too."
At that moment, Ain’s tongue stiffened, and he could utter nothing.
Magnus no longer looked at him with reproachful eyes. Yet to Ain, the old doctor's voice, continuing matter-of-factly, felt sharper than any blade.
"It truly pains me that I alone witnessed the expression on her face when the pregnancy was confirmed."
Recalling that moment, Magnus let a faint smile touch his lips. It was a smile of pride, like one might give a grown child. But it lasted only a moment; Magnus quickly returned to his bitter expression.
"Since you didn't see it, you'll never understand."
Magnus slumped his shoulders and let out a long sigh.
"If your curiosity is satisfied, I'll be heading inside now."
Magnus passed Ain. Just as he was about to walk away, Ain, who came to his senses, suddenly spoke up.
"Bridget was drugged."
"Huh?"
Ain explained to Magnus, who turned to look at him with puzzled eyes.
"It's the drug they use to subdue patients in mental hospitals."
Magnus's eyes widened.
"What…?"
"Ronan Pennington tried to have her forcibly committed. We should check if any side effects lingered after her treatment."
Magnus nodded solemnly at Ain's request, his expression grave.
"Understood."
Unlike moments before, Magnus hurried away with an unmistakably anxious stride. Ain, who had been staring blankly at his retreating figure, turned his gaze toward Bridget's mansion.
Every window of the mansion was covered by curtains, and not a single door was open. It seemed to embody Bridget's state of mind.
The expression Bridget had worn when she first learned of her pregnancy. The feeling she must have felt upon realizing the seed of new life she was carrying, back when she had lost her parents and craved the illusory affection of blood ties from her uncle. That feeling must have filled her completely………
Ain suddenly found himself curious about that expression.
But as Magnus had said, it was an expression he would never see again. One he dared not even imagine.
***
After practically forcing Ain to leave, Bridget briefly regretted her impulsive decision to stay alone in the mansion.
Once truly alone, she felt as if a woman in a white coat could arrive any moment, leading burly men to smash down the house's doors. Despite repeatedly securing every window and door that could be breached, her mind wouldn't settle.
She deliberately left the kitchen door nailed shut. It was a side door, relatively easier to break than the front door, and she felt it might just be offering an unnecessary opening for intruders.
Perhaps she should move her temporary lodgings, at least for a while.
But that would only mean moving between inns within Glynford. If the hospital came determined to capture her again, would the inns even stop them? Bridget doubted it. They'd likely tell her to avoid causing a disturbance and kick her out instead.
Lost in worry, Bridget stayed at the mansion for several days, observing the situation outside. The thought that they might be lurking outside the house made her too afraid to move rashly. Eventually, she spotted a policeman on patrol and managed to ask him to keep a closer watch on the nearby streets. She also received brief updates from Sanne and Gilum regarding the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, time passed, and today was the day for Magnus's regular checkup.
"Madam!"
"Magnus."
She hadn't expected feeling so relieved to see someone trustworthy after several days apart.
Bridget, who had been about to greet Magnus with a bright smile, faltered when she noticed the unusual look in his eyes.
Entering the mansion, Magnus didn't even take off his coat or set down his medical bag. He demanded in an angry voice,
"Is it true that Ronan, that madman, tried to have you forcibly committed?"
Bridget's eyes widened.
"..................Uh, how did you...?"
"Good heavens, did you see that madman! He's the one who belongs in the asylum! To dare to target the mistress! And then to have the nerve to show his face at the Grand Theater! He told me the mistress hadn't come to work and that he didn't know where she was!"
Bridget blinked in a daze, unsure whether to be more shocked by the audacious news that Ronan was actually at work, or by Magnus somehow hearing about an incident that had happened at most two days ago. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to calmly assess the situation first.
"Did you happen to meet Ain?"
Ain was the only one who knew she'd nearly been committed to a mental hospital, meaning Magnus could only have heard this fact from him.
Sure enough, Magnus flinched at her question, looking around warily. It seemed his relationship with Bridget made him hesitant to freely share the news. Bridget offered him a deliberately gentle smile.
"It's okay."
Only then did Magnus slowly nod his head in affirmation.
"Ah, yes. I saw him just up ahead."
"Up ahead?"
"He said he stopped by briefly while passing through."
What business could he possibly have on a street lined only with tightly packed houses? Bridget listened to Magnus's words with a look full of suspicion, then tilted her head in confusion.
"………………When?"
"Just now."
Bridget lost her words and fell silent.
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