CWMBR 159

Chapter 159

***

Sponsored by Virginie. Thank you ❤️ (½)

***

Bridget leaned back, resting her head against the chair.

The voice coming through the thin wall was louder and clearer than she had expected. Unlike when they were face to face, hearing only Ain’s voice without seeing his face made him sound like a complete stranger.

He had always seemed indifferent and cold, but hearing him like this, he didn’t sound quite as cold as she had imagined. When that low, deep voice uttered only short phrases, it felt quite unpleasant to listen to, but as he read through the storybook, it actually provided a sense of calm. Although he didn’t distinguish between the characters’ lines with any fanfare, his clear pronunciation made the content easy to follow.

The stories were quite varied. Some were absurdly short, some were ridiculously childish, and some were surprisingly interesting and full of lessons. No matter what story he read, his voice remained consistently low and matter-of-fact. That gave a strange sense of stability. Perhaps the reason children kept asking him to read anything and everything was because they instinctively sensed that.

“It wasn’t that I was trying to deceive you, young lady... I actually refused at first, you know.”

“Magnus is a doctor. It’s not unusual for a doctor to treat a patient.”

When she learned that Magnus would be treating Ain, Bridget recalled the scent of blood that had emanated from him. It had been quite some time, but were there still lingering wounds?

“Just how badly was he injured that Magnus has been examining him for days? I mean, what exactly are the Wise family’s personal physicians even doing?”

“Ah, well…………………”

Just by looking at Magnus’s expression, she could tell there was more to the story.

Bridget thought of the newspaper articles chattering away about Ain. Since she read the newspaper every morning, she, too, knew how the public was treating Ain Wise. Articles that would never have been published in the past were now popping up like mushrooms after rain. It didn’t seem like the result of journalists’ righteous sense of duty, but rather like the manipulation of someone with malicious or negative intentions. That was probably the case.

What did Bridget know about the inner workings of the situation? If it had been a real problem, Ain would have stepped in personally, and even if not, there was no reason for Bridget to take an interest in such matters. Bridget had simply stopped caring at that point.

“Well, it’s none of my business. Magnus must be having a hard time.”

Bridget tried to cut off her interest once again.

“I heard he can hear a baby crying.”

That would have been the case if Magnus hadn’t spoken those words so quietly.

“Wouldn’t it be a disaster if word of that got out? Mr. Colfrey pleaded with me to see him, and since his condition doesn’t seem normal, I’ve decided to look after him for the time being. Of course, to provide proper treatment, a doctor who has studied the relevant field... would need to step in.”

Magnus, who had been moving his lips as he carefully chose his words, concluded with a sigh in his voice.

“It seems he has gone through many emotional changes as well.”

“Magnus, this isn’t something you should be telling me.”

“I always wish for your well-being.”

Bridget gazed quietly at Magnus. Bridget knew better than anyone that those words were sincere.

Magnus clearly knew that Bridget had, at some point, come to believe that it might actually be a blessing the baby hadn’t been born. That neither she nor Ain were fit to be parents, and that was why the baby had left. That the baby had made that choice because it was intelligent, and that accepting it was the right thing to do.

“I just want you to feel a little more at ease, Miss.”

No matter what guilt Ain felt, or how it had affected him, his unhappiness could never bring happiness to Bridget.

Because they were strangers now. Because they had become completely unrelated to one another. Whether he apologized now, turned over a new leaf, or had gone mad…

Even as she thought this rationally, Bridget watched Ain come and go from the orphanage.

At first, her gaze was half-sneering. Volunteer work? Guilt over the child? It was all nonsense, wasn’t it? Thinking that, she listened to him chattering away to the children. Perhaps she just wanted to find fault with his behavior.

Because it was all just an act to save face in his own disadvantageous situation. All of it.

The stories he read to the children were all fairy tales brought from the New World, or folk tales he claimed to have heard there.

Even Bridget, with her broad literary knowledge, found them full of things she’d never heard before.

Days went by in a cycle: she’d listen to his stories in the room next to the playroom, then quietly slip away while he was being examined by Magnus.

As she listened to his stories, Bridget thought of the baby. She even began to imagine what daily life would have been like if the baby had been born healthy—a future she hadn’t dared to think about when she was actually pregnant, as she’d been too desperate just to get through each day.

If only she could have given birth to a healthy baby without any complications.

Ain had said he’d prepared nurseries in the mansions across each region. So the baby would probably have been able to travel to many different places. Just as young Bridget had done. Bridget would have tried her best to tell the child all the stories of the world, just as her own parents had done when she was young.

Ain… perhaps he would have stood by her side with a cold expression. He might have read a book or two, unable to resist Bridget’s insistence. Just like in this playroom next door.

It might be a relief that the child was never born, but she wondered if it would have been all right even if they had. The couple, who waited for the child in their own way, would have become clumsy yet skilled, and gradually grown accustomed to one another.

“………………And so they lived happily ever after.”

Hearing the voice conclude the story bluntly yet firmly, Bridget lowered her gaze with a bitter expression.

Just maybe, they could have been happy.

***

As usual, Ain stopped in his tracks after meeting Magnus and leaving the break room.

“I heard you’ve gone mad.”

At the calm tone, Ain absentmindedly glanced back at the break room he had just left. Seeing his reaction, Bridget spoke matter-of-factly.

“Don’t blame Magnus. I’m the one who pressed him for details.”

“……I didn’t want to tell anyone, but if I’d been trying to hide it completely, I wouldn’t have let him examine me in the first place.”

“Are you trying to get my sympathy?”

Ain hesitated for a moment at Bridget’s question, then replied in a low voice.

“Villains get their comeuppance. Isn’t that an ending Miss Pennington knows well?”

Bridget, who had been staring at him with a half-smile, half-frown, shrugged her shoulders and changed the subject.

“What kind of apology are you going to give today?”

Ain paused for a moment at that question. Apologies had always come easily to him when asked, so he didn’t know why he was hesitating. As Bridget tilted her head and stared intently at him, Ain, who had seemed to be struggling, moistened his lips with his tongue and began to speak.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect the baby.”

Bridget’s expression hardened. Seeing the change in her face, Ain’s own expression grew somber, but he didn’t stop speaking.

“I know that’s the first apology I should have made. I…”

“I won’t accept that apology.”

Bridget cut him off. Her voice was sharp, but not as irritable as before.

“The baby.”

Trying to swallow back whatever was welling up inside her, Bridget clenched her teeth and took a moment to catch her breath.

“Both you and I are responsible for losing the baby. It was my fault for not taking better care of myself.”

Even if he had contributed to the unfavorable circumstances, it was Bridget who had passively accepted the situation and given up.

So how could she possibly blame the miscarriage entirely on him? The child was growing inside her womb, and no one else’s.

She should have stormed out of that mansion and taken care of herself somewhere else. If she had truly focused on having a healthy delivery. If she had tried to prepare for a future with the baby, instead of wallowing in self-pity… she should have left Ain on her own two feet back then and prepared for a future with the child.

“So please don’t apologize for not being able to protect the baby.”

“………………You’re right.”

Ain nodded slowly and said.

“I should have protected you while you were pregnant. I’m sorry.”

The corners of Bridget’s eyes trembled slightly. Feeling as if she couldn’t breathe, she bit her lip repeatedly before finally turning her back on him and speaking.

“Eris’s birthday party is coming up soon. She’ll probably send you an invitation, just like she did before.”

Eris had been so furious when she heard that Ain had returned to Glynford and was hanging around Bridget. She had been even more incensed than Bridget herself, calling him a shameless scoundrel.

Knowing Eris, she would surely plan to invite Ain again, just as she had before, to make him a spectacle for everyone to gawk at. Especially considering how she’d specifically insisted that she bring a date to her recent birthday party.

“Don’t come.”

At Bridget’s firm words, Ain’s lips twitched. Since he was the kind of man who would circle around her under any pretext, he might very well come up with some excuse to show up at the party this time as well. So, before he could say a word, Bridget spoke first.

“I’m planning to attend with Mr. Gilum, and I don’t want to have to worry about you for no reason.”

Ain clamped his mouth shut. Staring straight into his pale, ashen face, Bridget said,

“So don’t show your face.”