“We’ll arrive at Ceres Station tomorrow afternoon, Your Grace.”

No reply came in response to Parker’s report.

Ever since boarding the train, Eden had barely spoken a word.

Checking the time with a worried expression, Parker pushed the meal tray closer.

The Duke’s gaze remained fixed on the view outside the window, unchanged.

Parker stepped forward again.

“Your Grace, it’s long past mealtime.”

“I’m fine. Leave.”

“You barely touched your lunch…”

“Leave.”

The curt response left no room for further argument.

As if protesting, Parker opened his mouth, but instead took a quiet step back.

He had far too many reasons to be concerned.

It had started with the bewilderment he had felt when he watched the Duke refuse to believe the obituary printed in the newspaper.

Even when Eden ordered him to take him to the atelier where Miss Wood had worked, Parker could understand why.

After all, Winter had not just been another acquaintance.

They had spent years together.

Anyone would need time to come to terms with a loss like that.

However, after receiving the report from the lawyer who had been sent to investigate the accident site, the Duke’s condition seemed to deteriorate further still.

It was as though each new piece of information was slowly breaking him.

Eden was determined to travel to Ceres himself.

Ignoring the butler’s repeated attempts to dissuade him, he boarded the train and began the long journey.

The atmosphere inside the compartment grew more and more oppressive with every passing hour.

Parker moved as quietly as possible, being careful not to disturb Eden.

As no other attendants had accompanied them, he was entirely responsible for managing the Duke’s compartment.

After neatly arranging the clothes and straightening the bedding, he gave a respectful bow.

“I’ll take my leave now, Your Grace.”

The door closed behind him.

Silence fell over the compartment immediately.

Eden’s gaze remained fixed on the window.

But he wasn’t really taking in the scenery beyond.

Snow-covered fields stretched endlessly into the distance.

The pale railway tracks wound across the landscape.

To him, they were nothing more than blurred shapes drifting past against an empty backdrop.

Eden slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.

His eyes felt dry and raw, as though they had been rubbed with sandpaper.

Yet all he could see was darkness.

Time and again, it felt as though something deep within his chest was collapsing without warning.

And yet, even that felt unreal.

It was as though the pain belonged to someone else.

The train pressed on without pause.

Through snow-covered mountains.

Across endless frozen plains.

Until it finally reached its destination.

***

Late that afternoon, a long shadow fell across a gravestone.

Following behind the cemetery caretaker, Eden’s gaze settled on the gray stone before him.

“Winter Wood, Rest in Peace.”

The inscription carved into the relatively new headstone was painfully ordinary.

Eden stared blankly at the name he had finally come face-to-face with.

He could not explain what he had hoped to find by coming all this way.

He simply wanted to see Winter.

And after that…

He had come to Ceres almost without thinking.

But the moment he stood before her grave, the memories that had surged through him like crashing waves slipped away before he could hold on to them.

All that remained was the cold gravestone standing silently before him.

Slowly, he reached out and rested a hand against the stone, which came up to his waist.

He had felt as though he were trapped in an endless nightmare for some time now.

Nothing felt completely real.

Nothing felt certain.

The cemetery caretaker, who had been watching him cautiously from a distance, finally broke the silence.

“It was a tragic accident. The body was burned so badly that there was nothing left to recover. They could only deliver her belongings, so the family erected a gravestone instead.”

After remaining silent for so long, Eden’s voice came out rough and strained.

“…What… belongings?”

“Well, there was a charred travel bag. Apparently, it was found near the entrance to one of the passenger carriages after the derailment. Ah, that’s right. They said they were able to identify the owner because there was a sketchbook inside with her name written on it.”

As he spoke, the caretaker continued to steal curious glances at the unfamiliar visitor.

The man standing before Winter Wood’s grave was dressed in unmistakable luxury.

From his hat to his finely tailored coat, from his gloves to his polished shoes, everything about him spoke of wealth and status.

There was no doubt about it.

He was clearly someone important.

Standing a short distance behind the duke, Parker was about to step forward and put an end to the caretaker’s curiosity.

However, when Eden quietly signaled for him to let the man continue, Parker obediently stepped back.

The caretaker, who had spent a quiet and uneventful afternoon at the cemetery, seemed eager for conversation.

Unable to resist, he continued speaking.

“We’ve known Winter since she was this little.”

The caretaker held his hand low to indicate a child’s height.

“She was such a sweet and kind girl. I can still remember her clearly. After her mother, Margaret Wood, passed away, she used to come here and cry her heart out.”

“…”

“In the end, it’s the dead who are truly pitiful. Jeffrey Wood, on the other hand, has been spending that compensation money like water.”

The moment the familiar name was mentioned, Eden’s vacant gaze shifted towards the caretaker.

The broad-nosed man continued talking, seemingly seeking someone’s agreement.

“Don’t you think so? He had shut down his shop and gone off travelling. Not only that, but he had also found a new house and made plans to move in with the woman he had started a new life with. His daughter had barely been laid to rest, yet he was already sightseeing in the snow-covered mountains. What kind of father does something like that?”

His voice carried unmistakable disapproval.

Until that moment, Eden’s thoughts had been consumed entirely by Winter.

It was only then that he found out what Jeffrey Wood had been doing since her death.

“My father is the only family I have.”

Winter had spoken about Jeffrey countless times.

Always affectionately.

Always with pride.

And yet, after losing his only daughter, that father went on a trip.

And a woman?

“A woman was living with Mr. Wood?”

“Ah, yes. He brought a seamstress and her daughter into his home more than a year ago. Completely infatuated with her, if you ask me.”

The caretaker clicked his tongue.

“This is a small town. People may not say much, but everyone knows everyone else’s business.”

“…”

“Many people believe that’s why Winter left again, heading east, even though she had only just returned home. It’s not the kind of thing people like to talk about, so most people keep their thoughts to themselves.”

The man, who seemed to know everything that happened in the small town, finally took his leave when the distant bell signaling the end of the shift rang out.

Before long, the setting sun cast long shadows across the cemetery.

As the crimson glow of dusk spread over the cold gravestones, Eden squeezed his eyes shut against the pain rising inside him.

After leaving him, Winter had lost her place at the atelier.

She had returned to her hometown — the only place she believed she could still call home.

And yet, even there, she had found no place for herself.

Unable to stay, she was forced to leave once again.

The thought cut deeper than he could bear.

Pregnant.

Alone.

Nearly everything had been taken from her.

How desperate must she have been?

The thought shattered the little strength she had left.

Overcome by a crushing wave of self-loathing, Eden’s knees finally gave way.

She sank to the ground.

He lowered his head as dark despair consumed him.

Tears he could no longer hold back spilled from his eyes and fell onto the gravestone.

“Winter…”

‘I…’

‘The woman I loved…’

His confession came far too late.

His words faded into the silence of the cemetery, leaving nothing behind.

No.

In fact, it couldn’t even be called a confession.

It was nothing more than a pitiful, meaningless monologue directed at someone who could no longer hear him.

Overwhelmed by uncontrollable emotions, Eden finally broke down.

Parker took a step forward, concern plain on his face, but hesitated and stopped.

It seemed that, more than anything, the Duke needed solitude.

Keeping his lips tightly sealed, Parker remained nearby, watching over him; sorrow was evident in his eyes.

At the edge of the horizon, the last traces of sunlight disappeared.

Darkness quickly spread across the sky.

As night fell, it swallowed the shadow of a man utterly shattered by an unchangeable reality.

***

As one of the country’s largest port cities, Santero was always bustling with new arrivals.

Passenger ships and massive cargo vessels arrived in the harbor day and night.

Amid this constant flow of unfamiliar faces, Winter quietly began building a new life for herself.

The walk from her home to the salon took just over forty minutes.

Yet she rarely took the shortest route.

Instead, she often took the longer route along the coastline.

As she walked beside the sea, watching the waves roll in and out, the days slipped by almost unnoticed.

Her arm had not fully healed, but moving around was much easier now.

Following streets that had gradually become familiar, she stepped into the elegant salon.

“Oh, you’re here!”

The cheerful sound of the bell above the door was followed by a familiar face greeting her warmly.

Joanna, one of the salon’s employees, had a naturally friendly personality that put people at ease.

Mrs Roche had introduced Winter to Joanna and the others as a distant relative.

“This is my relative, Winter. Everything is still new to her here, so please help her get settled.”

“Ah, Miss Roche. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to beautiful Santero.”

Thanks to that introduction, everyone naturally began calling her Miss Roche.

The title still felt unfamiliar.

Lost in thought for a moment, Winter was approached by Joanna, who had been organizing a large stack of pamphlets.

“The weather is wonderful today. I can’t wait for it to get warmer. The sea feels completely different in late spring.”

Joanna smiled before adding,

“Oh, right. How’s Lily? I heard she’s been struggling with a cold.”

“She’s much better now, thankfully. Her fever’s completely gone.”

Winter smiled faintly as she answered.

After putting down the bag she had brought with her, she immediately started helping to prepare for the reading event.

It was better to have something to focus on.

Anything was better than sitting still and letting her thoughts take over.