As soon as the elderly woman had left, Winter tried to sit up, but was forced back down by a sudden wave of pain.

She paused to steady her breathing against the agony shooting through her arm. As she did so, her thoughts gradually became clearer.

Ah, the train accident.

Before she could piece together the scattered fragments of her memory, the door to the hospital room opened again.

“You’re awake. You shouldn’t push yourself yet.”

The doctor who entered with a nurse first checked her pupils and pulse. Behind the medical staff, Mrs. Roche watched her carefully.

“We’re relieved to see you’ve regained consciousness so quickly. It must have been a terrible shock. You’re in the hospital now. The rescue team brought you here directly from the accident site.”

Winter merely blinked and parted her lips.

No words came out.

“You suffered a fracture in your arm, so we treated and stabilized it first. Fortunately, your life isn’t in danger, but the anesthesia is probably still affecting you. Please let us know if you feel dizzy or nauseous.”

Winter still couldn’t say a word.

After glancing at her chart, the doctor hesitated briefly before continuing.

“…There’s one more thing we need to tell you. When you were rescued, there was significant bleeding, and it was confirmed that you miscarried. We’re truly sorry.”

Winter’s gaze drifted down to the abdomen, which was hidden beneath the hospital blanket.

The movement was instinctive.

There had been an accident.

She had lost the baby.

It wasn’t as though she had desperately wanted to become pregnant.

Nor had she prepared herself to cherish and raise the child.

And yet…

The moment she heard the news, her heart sank.

It was only after losing the baby that she truly realized how alone she was.

Without her even noticing, that tiny life had become the one thing holding up the future she had been trying to build.

It was only after she had lost the baby that she realized how much that tiny life had meant to her.

This made the loss all the more painful.

Even worse, she had no one to share this heartbreaking news with.

Eden Mayer…

His name was the first to come to her mind.

But she pushed the thought away immediately, refusing to entertain even the slightest trace of hope.

The doctor watched his silent patient for a moment before exchanging a brief glance with the nurse and leaving the room.

Now that the unidentified patient had regained consciousness, there were other matters that needed to be confirmed.

Taking the chart into her hands, the nurse approached and spoke gently.

“Could you tell us your full name? And would you also give us the name and contact information of your guardian? We’ll contact them for you.”

Guardian.

The word felt strangely unfamiliar.

Winter lowered her gaze.

When the silence stretched on without explanation, the nurse was about to speak again.

Mrs. Roche, who had been watching carefully, gently stopped her.

“Um… she just regained consciousness. Wouldn’t it be better to let her rest a little longer? I’ll stay here with her for a while, so you don’t need to worry.”

Even after the nurse had left, Mrs Roche did not press Winter for answers.

A woman who had survived a terrible accident and lost her baby would certainly have her reasons for remaining silent.

At that moment, Winter stared blankly at the white bedsheets.

Then the tears began to fall, one by one.

Once they started, she could no longer stop them.

The grief surged out all at once, overwhelming her.

The presence of others in the room no longer mattered.

For the first time since leaving Vartz, Winter broke down and cried openly.

Mrs Roche hesitated for a moment before embracing the thin, trembling figure.

Another bereaved mother wept alongside her.

Once she had finally stopped crying, Mrs Roche sat quietly by the sleeping patient’s bedside, her face still swollen from tears.

Fortunately, a few days later, Lily was declared well enough to leave hospital.

Even while packing their belongings, Mrs Roche’s gaze repeatedly drifted towards the neighboring bed.

At last, she set down her bag and turned around, determined to speak to Winter.

Approaching the still-silent Winter, she gently extended her hand.

“Would you come to Santero with me? I want to repay, even in some small way, the debt I owe you for saving our Lily.”

***

Officials had gathered in the conference room of the Lindal Railway Company to deal with the aftermath of the train disaster. The room was shrouded in heavy silence.

Standing before Count Lindal, the company’s most senior figure, Crispin began his presentation, his expression grave.

His voice was tense as he presented everything that had been uncovered during the investigation.

“According to our internal records, cracks had been reported on that section of track over a month ago. After speaking with the workers assigned to the area, we confirmed that routine inspections had been delayed for over three months as part of cost-cutting measures. The severe weather and heavy snowfall certainly contributed to the conditions, but…”

He paused, the weight of his next words hanging heavily in the room.

“The fundamental cause of this accident was the railway track itself.”

The moment Crispin handed over the neatly organized report, an icy roar cut through the room.

“So you’re saying that all of this happened because of the company’s negligence?”

At Count Lindal’s furious demand, Crispin flinched.

His voice faltered as he answered.

“Y-Yes. Based on our investigation… it is impossible to avoid responsibility on the company’s side.”

“How can you reach that conclusion so easily?”

Count Lindal’s eyes blazed with anger as he raised his voice.

He didn’t even glance at the dozens of reports spread across the desk before him.

“Do you realize that more than a hundred people have already been confirmed dead? This is one of the greatest disasters we’ve ever faced. And the moment we admit that the company is responsible, what do you think will happen?”

“…”

“There’s nothing more to discuss. This accident was caused by the blizzard and the ice on the tracks. Meet with the victims’ families and guardians as soon as possible, pay the compensation, and obtain signed settlement agreements.”

It was an order that allowed no argument.

Since the day of the accident, Crispin had barely had a moment to rest. Even so, he tried to explain that the situation was not so simple.

“T-That’s true, but because of the fire in the passenger cars, there are dozens of cases where the identities of the deceased still haven’t been confirmed. Some of the families are refusing to settle. We’re also still verifying additional missing persons using passenger manifests from each station.”

Count Lindal looked at the bowed employee as though he were a lost cause.

Sighing in frustration, he stood up.

None of his subordinates ever seemed capable enough.

Standing before a window obscured by dark storm clouds, Count Lindal spoke as though the answer were obvious.

“If their survival couldn’t be confirmed at the scene, then naturally they should be classified as dead. Why make things complicated when there’s such a simple solution?”

“W-Well… the rescue teams and the hospitals have their own positions to consider…”

“I’ll speak to the administrators myself in the morning. If this matter drags on any longer, an external investigation team will be brought in. The rescue commander and the hospital directors won’t want the situation to become any more complicated than it already is.”

Turning away from the window, the Count slowly rolled the ring on his finger.

The heavy snowfall had worked in his favor.

Most people naturally believed the disaster had been caused by the weather and suspected nothing more.

However, if the delays in reaching settlements attracted too much attention, the royal palace would eventually be forced to step in.

More importantly, everything needed to be resolved before the relentless investigators from the external inquiry team started picking the case apart.

“Whether they’re missing or dead, give them a little extra money. People like that always need it. Your only job is to secure agreements from the families.”

His voice was sharp and carried no hint of hesitation; it was as though he were merely announcing a procedure that had already been finalized.

At least one fortunate thing emerged from the situation.

The accident had occurred on an ordinary train, not a first-class one.

As long as no important people had been on board, the matter could be easily resolved.

Even so, Crispin remained visibly tense.

In an uneasy voice, he asked,

“Then… what should we do with this report?”

“Destroy it.”

The Count answered without a moment’s pause.

“The investigative report never existed in the first place. Remember only one thing. This accident was a natural disaster beyond human control. There is no other reason. Understood?”

As if the matter had already been decided, Count Lindal clapped his hands together once.

Glancing at the clock, he signaled the end of the meeting.

Before leaving the conference room, he gave Crispin’s tense shoulder a light pat.

“Get to work immediately. If you handle this properly, your efforts will not go unrewarded.”

The seasoned Count offered his employee a warm, reassuring smile.

Over the years, countless accidents — both major and minor — had occurred during the railway company’s operations.

And every single time, he had solved the problems with relative ease.

However, this incident was undoubtedly more serious than most.

But Count Lindal felt no concern.

Time and money.

Those two things could solve almost anything.

He saw no reason why this situation would be any different.

Sooner or later, the disaster in the eastern region would fade from the public’s memory, just like all the others before it.

***

“Come with me.”

What finally moved Winter, who had kept her lips tightly sealed, was Mrs. Roche’s sincere offer.

Santero had been her intended destination from the beginning, so there was little reason to hesitate for long.

It was also Mrs. Roche who helped ensure that her discharge from the hospital went smoothly.

“Lily and the other patient who was hospitalized with her will be leaving today as well. From what I’ve heard, she was traveling on the same train as my daughter.”

“Ah… so that’s why she was holding your granddaughter. To be honest, we weren’t quite sure how to handle the situation ourselves. Still, that’s truly a relief.”

“Yes. It turns out she was already on her way to Santero, so we’ll be traveling together. There’s no need to worry.”

After hearing Mrs. Roche’s explanation, the nurse seemed to understand the situation.

Even so, the gentle-faced nurse looked at Winter with eyes that silently asked whether she was truly all right.