Ellen had been forcing herself to focus on her work when a sudden knock on the door made her look up.

It was after nine in the evening.

No one should be visiting the atelier at this time of night.

Peering through the small window beside the entrance, Ellen froze for a moment before gripping the doorknob.

Her first reaction was confusion.

What could the Duke of Mayer possibly want this time?

“Please, have a seat.”

Ellen led the Duke into the atelier.

Sitting opposite her, with a small table between them, the man looked different to how she remembered him.

His features seemed sharper.

Dark shadows lingered beneath his long eyelashes, as though he had not slept properly for days.

Ellen narrowed her eyes as she studied him.

‘Wasn’t he the Duke who intended to marry a noblewoman from another aristocratic family anyway?’

Was that the reason he had ended things with Winter?

If so, why did he keep coming here?

The question only troubled her further.

She was already exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

Having to deal with the duke on top of everything else was a huge burden.

After enduring the uncomfortable silence for a while, Ellen finally broke it.

“What brings Your Grace back to the atelier?”

Although she spoke politely, her tone was unmistakably cautious.

Faced with this guarded question, Eden could not answer immediately.

Earlier that afternoon, he had received a lengthy report from the lawyer he had sent to investigate the accident site.

“Miss Winter Wood’s name appears on the official list of deceased passengers compiled by the accident response committee. According to our findings, compensation negotiations with her father, Jeffrey Wood, have already been completed, and payment has been issued.”

‘…Compensation?’

“Given the scale of the disaster, it appears that Lindal Railway moved quickly to settle the matter. We also confirmed the final settlement agreement signed by Miss Wood’s surviving family member.”

Eden clung to the faintest hope that something had gone wrong.

That there had been a mistake somewhere.

But the moment the word ‘compensation’ was mentioned, he found himself unable to speak.

Even after learning that all the necessary procedures had been completed, the reality still felt impossible to grasp.

For a long moment, he stared at the solid wooden table, its grain sharply defined beneath the light.

Then he finally raised his head.

There was a reason he had rushed there so late at night.

There was something he needed to know.

“…Why did Miss Wood leave the atelier?”

It was the question he had wanted to ask ever since finding out that Winter had left Vartz.

From what he had seen, she practically lived in the atelier.

Even if they had broken up, she would never have given up on her dream of becoming a painter so easily.

Besides, if she had stayed here, she would never have been involved in that accident.

Ellen thought it was absurd that the duke was only now trying to retrace her steps.

‘And now you want to know?’

She swallowed back her retort, her expression hardening in the process.

How could she not have regrets?

What if she hadn’t driven Winter away?

At the very least, he would never have left the capital.

If anyone else had asked this question, Ellen would have had no excuse to offer.

But Eden Mayer was the man who had discussed marriage with someone else while leaving a pregnant woman behind.

And now he was calmly asking why Winter had left.

“I was the one who told her to leave the atelier as soon as possible.”

Ellen answered flatly.

Then she looked at him as if she couldn’t believe he truly didn’t know.

“More importantly, do you really think it would have been possible for her to continue working here while she was pregnant?”

The moment the words left her mouth, a storm erupted in Eden’s eyes.

Pregnant?

His sharp features twisted instantly, as though he couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard.

“…What did you say?”

“Huh?”

“A child. What exactly do you mean by that?”

Caught off guard by the question, Ellen instinctively stepped back as the atmosphere turned ice-cold.

It was obvious now.

The Duke had known nothing about it.

Realizing her mistake, she pressed her lips tightly together.

Then a low voice cut through the silence.

“Ellen Haven.”

It was just her name.

A brief call.

Yet the pressure behind it was enough to make her throat tighten.

The defiance that had briefly flashed across Ellen’s face disappeared.

She lowered her gaze.

This was not someone she could openly challenge.

Not least because he was a man born with a level of authority that few could even dream of approaching.

“Winter… was pregnant.”

Ellen spoke quietly.

“Before the exhibition began, I took her to the hospital because she was feeling dizzy. That’s when…”

She paused.

“That’s when I first found out.”

“…!”

“I naturally assumed Your Grace already knew.”

Ellen told him everything exactly as it had happened, without adding or leaving out a single detail.

She had no desire to hide behind excuses at a time like this.

“So I… told her to leave the atelier.”

Her voice was quiet.

“After finishing her final piece, Winter left Vartz.”

“…”

“Until I heard the news of her death, I believed she was at her hometown, resting and recovering from everything she had been through.”

With each word, the composed expression that Eden had been struggling to maintain began to crack.

This was the first time he had heard any of this.

Winter had never mentioned being pregnant.

In fact, he had never given her the chance to speak.

“Miss Wood, what exactly is it that you want to hear from me?”

“I think you’re the one who understands best that there’s nothing more for us to discuss.”

A dull pain spread through his chest.

It felt as though something inside him was boiling over, and every word he wanted to say was trapped in his throat.

Ultimately, the only thing that escaped his lips was a question so foolish that he could hardly believe he was asking it.

“When…”

His voice faltered.

“I mean… since when?”

Eden could barely force the words out; he sounded like a man who had lost all understanding of what he was saying.

Ellen found the whole situation deeply uncomfortable.

After rubbing her face several times with both hands, she decided to tell him everything she knew.

“It was the morning Mr. Wood—Winter’s father—came to the capital.”

“…”

“Winter suddenly became dizzy and nearly collapsed. I was the one who took her to the hospital.”

Ellen paused before continuing.

“When the doctor told her she was pregnant, Winter was just as shocked as I was.”

Her gaze lowered.

“She didn’t know that before.”

Standing before Ellen, who remembered everything so clearly, Eden was lost for words.

By then, he had already confronted Winter about Jeffrey Wood.

Even if she had wanted to tell him, she would never have found the words.

The realization was unbearable.

He had turned his back on her without knowing anything.

And now…

It was too late.

Too late to ask.

Too late to explain.

Too late to change anything.

Nothing could be undone.

***

“Where did you say Eden went?”

The King raised an eyebrow at the chamberlain’s report.

The man, who had just mentioned a place with no obvious connection to the Duke of Mayer, answered respectfully.

“Ceres, Your Majesty. It’s a small town near the southern border. Even the Mayer household, which informed us of the Duke’s absence, seemed reluctant to provide further details.”

“How puzzling.”

Edward stroked his beard, unable to make sense of the situation.

The previous evening, he had received news that Eden had suddenly called off the marriage negotiations with the Lindals.

Eager to find out what had happened, the king sent someone to the Mayers’ estate first thing that morning.

Instead, he received an unexpected response.

Eden was no longer in Vartz.

This answer was as surprising as it was bewildering.

Having personally intervened for the sake of a nephew who had never shown the slightest interest in marriage, the king fell into thought, a frown slowly forming on his face.

“Do you know if something has happened to the Duke recently?”

In response to the serious question, the chamberlain respectfully bowed his head.

He knew something about the duke’s recent circumstances.

However, he chose his next words carefully.

He understood better than anyone else how much the King treasured his late sister’s only surviving child.

After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke.

“In truth, Your Majesty… it seems the Duke has been deeply concerned about the accident involving a woman named Winter Wood.”

“Who?”

“Winter Wood. A promising painter from the Royal Academy of Arts. She died in the train accident that occurred in the eastern region.”

Edward was familiar with the disaster.

The accident involving the Lindal Railway Company had become widely known.

Despite the tragedy’s scale, caused by the blizzard, the company had moved quickly to provide compensation, enabling the situation to be brought under control relatively swiftly.

But why was Eden concerned with one of the victims?

“Go on.”

At the King’s command, the chamberlain continued.

“It appears that His Grace sent his legal advisor to the accident site to verify the list of deceased passengers personally. Miss Wood once accompanied Ellen Haven, the painter commissioned to create His Grace’s portrait, as her assistant. According to our findings, Ceres is also Miss Wood’s hometown.”

The King stared at him.

“So you’re telling me that Eden went to the hometown of a woman who has already died?”

The more he heard, the more bewildered he became.

A dry laugh escaped him.

The chamberlain lowered his head further and remained silent.

The king frowned and sighed.

Eden had never caused him any concern over a woman before.

‘Just what kind of relationship did he have with that painter?’

‘Or was that the reason he rejected the marriage proposal from the Lindal family?’

Edward, who had been quietly considering the right time to arrange his nephew’s marriage, found himself completely blindsided.

“Good grief…”

A deep crease formed around the king’s mouth as he sighed wearily.

He didn’t want to admit it.

Yet he felt as though he already knew the answer.

There was no way that Eden would travel to such a distant place just because a woman had once helped him to have his portrait painted.