CWMBR 116

Chapter 116

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***

Declan felt strangely sorry for him. Ain, still unable to find his footing and scrambling around trying anything, looked more pitiful than anyone Declan had ever seen.

The problem was that Declan was the only one feeling that pity. The one whom he should actually feel sorry for was someone else entirely.

"Did you see the Terbia Monthly?"

So Declan decided, as a friend, to give him some serious advice.

"I told you to read it."

Ain raised his eyebrows. That reaction alone told Declan he hadn't read the magazine.

"You really need to read something like that."

He'd lived his whole life on his own high horse anyway, so no matter what anyone said, it wouldn't register. If that was the case, he'd have to figure it out for himself. Books were, after all, treasure troves of knowledge; surely something in them could help that ignorant fool.

"Ain, I know it's hard to change established values or ways of life once you've lived that long. But if the old ways aren't working, shouldn't you seek new solutions? The answer might be found in places you never imagined."

Declan admonished him in a deliberately dignified tone. Ain, who had been listening quietly, asked in a reluctant voice.

"You mean those popular magazines?"

"That's just an example."

Of course, Declan believed the Terbia Monthly was the correct answer, but even if it wasn't, books preaching about love between men and women or happy married life could be found everywhere. Hadn't this been the subject humans had delved into with the most interest since ancient times?

Declan, arms crossed, narrowed his eyes and pointed out.

"You're completely missing the point."

Ain still wore a sour expression but didn't bother to refute him. He seemed too anxious to dismiss Declan's words with a scoff and ignore them, as he usually would. Declan inwardly rolled his eyes once more.

Looks like this guy really is boiling inside.

Then again, Bridget's attitude since mentioning the annulment lawsuit seemed quite different from what Ain had expected. It wasn't the typical reaction one would normally see. No matter how wronged she felt, if she was conscious of the Wise family's wealth and honor, few women would so decisively conclude they wanted a divorce.

Everyone had claimed Bridget's marriage was solely for the Wise family name... but now Declan understood. At the very least, the fact that Ain was the sole direct heir to the Wise family held absolutely no appeal for Bridget.

"The world you and the lady see is completely different. Why not start from there? I mean, from the very beginning."

Their values stood at perfect opposites. Ain seemed to believe she would conform to his values, but the current outcome made it abundantly clear she wouldn't.

In any relationship, the one with the greater need for change must be the one to change. So, in the broken relationship of the Wise couple?

"How can you heal a wound without truly understanding it?"

Declan slammed his fist down on the table after saying that.

"Ha, I think I would've been a hit as a counselor, not a lawyer."

Ain, who had been looking at him dumbfoundedly as he was so absorbed in his own words that he couldn't stop exclaiming, turned his head away.

The now quite familiar scenery of Glynford came into view. It wasn't just that he'd stayed here long enough to becom. familiar. He'd quickly memorized every corner of Glynford long ago. With Bridget's guidance.

For Bridget, whose job was city tour guiding, these were ordinary streets she'd walked dozens of times. But for Ain, every part of the city was a place he'd walked with Bridget.

"That's where the first Glynford local newspaper was published."

Arriving at Press Street, he recalled Bridget explaining it all to a curious Wayna without hesitation. In truth, Ain had also received that same explanation long ago. The details Wayna heard were the same ones Ain had heard. Though Bridget seemed to have completely forgotten the day she explained that street to him.

"Just a bunch of run-of-the-mill newspapers."

"But they're precious places that serve as the eyes and ears of the citizens of Glynford. Honestly, if you didn't belittle everything like that for even a single day, would thorns grow in your mouth?"

"It's not belittling, it's the truth."

"Ha... Then at least lower your voice. It's embarrassing."

"I've never been treated like an embarrassing human being."

"Well then, you'll get to experience it today."

She would have forgotten every bit of that trivial conversation they shared on that press street too. The change in Bridget's expression the moment her eyes met Ain's, while she was chattering away to Wayna, made that clear. From the moment she declared her separation with him, the memories they shared would have lost any value worth holding onto.

The memories of wandering through Glynford would now remain with only one person. Just as the brief daily life spent at Elver's mansion had become his sole memory.

"The world you and the lady see is completely different. Why not start from there? I mean, from the very beginning."

"The beginning."

Ain thought.

Where exactly did the beginning between himself and Bridget start?

***

Checking the Uncoat article every morning had now become routine.

As Bridget idly flipped through the paper as usual, Jane quietly approached her side.

"But did Miss Donna really do this?"

"Do what?"

"This part here."

Jane pointed to a section of the paper. It was a graphic account of the atrocity Donna had committed against another actress, revealing that she had deliberately pinned needles into the back of a stage costume to cause flesh to be scraped when worn. After reading the details, Bridget replied in a flat tone.

"This is circumstantial evidence. The actress raised suspicions at the time, but without evidence, it blew over as a minor scandal. But since Donna once cut that actress's costume with scissors, I'm certain this needle business is true too."

Jane's mouth fell open.

"Why would she do something like that?"

"She was vying for the lead role in the production Donna had her eye on."

In truth, the phrase "was competing" was an understatement—Donna was the pre-selected lead for every production. This one was no exception. But the trouble began when Donna accidentally learned the director had seen another actress and regretted it, saying she suited the production's image better. Donna, who had been sweet-talking the director to curry favor, then subtly sabotaged the actress the director favored.

"Personally, I thought that actress was a better fit for the role. But………………."

But Bridget had no authority to change the actress's role. The director could only express regret; he wouldn't force a change to the lead role itself. After all, it was a contractual condition that Donna would take the stage as the lead.

Jane, who had been listening to Bridget with her mouth agape, frowned and pointed downward with her finger.

"So this part, about cutting off all her hair, is real too?"

"To be precise, she applied glue to her hair. She claimed it was an accident, but it probably wasn't."

The fact that stage glue was in the dressing room was nonsensical to begin with. It was ultimately concluded as a stagehand's mistake, but because of it, the actress had to cut her long, luscious hair very short.

"Her role at the time was a woman disguised as a man. Her hair was an element that intuitively revealed the gender transition to the audience. So long hair was essential..."

Bridget sighed.

"She couldn't act out the scene where she's caught with long hair while wearing a short wig."

She remembered thinking it was truly Donna's mistake and, feeling sorry, had secretly arranged compensation for the actress. Whether that compensation comforted her, she couldn't say. Anyway, the actress quietly left the production, and Donna took the stage with a look of relief, as if her sole purpose had been to get rid of her right before her eyes.

Looking back now, the result of those cunning maneuvers always solidified Donna's unrivaled position. In any production, Donna garnered attention precisely because she skillfully pushed out other promising actors.

"How can someone be so despicable?"

Jane sighed. Wayna, who had been listening to the behind-the-scenes story, interjected indignantly.

"How on earth did someone like that become the most beloved actress at Glynford?"

"Well, she's beautiful, and..."

"Ha! Your beauty is truly exceptional, Madam!"

"...Oh, thank you, Wayna. Anyway."

Bridget gave an awkward smile at Wayna's angry compliment about her beauty, then cleared her throat and continued her explanation.

"Well, Donna cultivated connections with influential figures. She got great publicity. For instance, the dressmaker Donna uses doesn't make clothes for just anyone—she's the only actress who gets to use their services."

That dressmaker was one of the renowned merchant's businesses, a high-end tailor with branches nationwide. They primarily catered to nobility, or more accurately, the wealthy upper class.

"The lady who uses that shop was very impressed by Donna's acting, so she benefited in various ways."

Bridget muttered to herself, her gaze lowered.

"So now it's time to cut off that money source."