“No. Not her. It’s someone else entirely.”

“Who?”

Despite having more than enough qualities to attract attention, romantic matters were almost never discussed in relation to Eden Mayer.

He had always seemed almost obsessively restrained around women.

Was he acting this way now because of one woman?

This unexpected revelation left more than a few people intrigued.

Curious gazes immediately turned towards the man who seemed to know something.

“What family is she from?”

“Is she someone we know?”

As the questions continued, the man slowly refilled his glass before lowering his voice.

“You know Winter Wood, right? The painter who died in that train accident in the East.”

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence fell over the table.

Of course, they all knew who Winter Wood was.

Her name had come up at this very table more than once.

“Ah! The woman Anton was so obsessed with that he kept visiting her studio?”

Several people let out dry laughs in response to a remark.

Anton’s repeated visits to the studio were well known.

But what did that have to do with Eden?

“Come on. Aren’t you mistaken about something?”

When the dramatic revelation was dismissed as nonsense, the man who had spent so much time building suspense immediately bristled.

“I heard it directly from someone at the Royal Academy of Arts. Eden and that painter were apparently very close.”

“Are you sure?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m sure.”

“So you’re saying Eden is like this because of Winter? Because of a woman who suddenly died?”

The disbelief in their voices was impossible to hide.

“There isn’t any other explanation. It’s not like he has troublesome siblings or parents constantly meddling in his life.”

Answering the flood of questions one by one, the man finally raised his voice before shaking his head as though he was done with the discussion.

“Ah, forget it. Believe it or don’t. I don’t care.”

With the man who had started the story backing away as if he had merely repeated what he had heard, whispers quickly spread through the gathered group.

“Come to think of it, didn’t Eden start isolating himself after the train accident?”

“Then was that the reason he called off the marriage arrangement with the Lindal family?”

“Honestly, if Anton were here right now, he’d probably be the most shocked of all.”

People have always been fascinated by the love lives of others.

The more dramatic the story, the greater the interest.

Those who would usually avoid everyday conversation would eagerly join in whenever the topic became secretive or scandalous.

After midnight, the story that had begun somewhere in the room quickly spread throughout the private lounge.

***

“What?”

Parker doubted his own ears.

For the first time, he found himself questioning whether he had understood his master correctly.

The order remained unchanged.

Determined to stop him, Parker tried once more to persuade Eden.

“Your Grace, please reconsider. Disturbing an empty grave without the family’s consent is wrong, even if it is empty. Furthermore, this kind of act is considered taboo. It could seriously damage your reputation.”

Parker chose his words as carefully as possible.

Even before dawn, when the Duke suddenly announced his intention to travel to Ceres, Parker had sensed that something was amiss.

But he never imagined it would come to this.

What exactly did the Duke hope to achieve by retrieving the belongings of a deceased person?

Before Parker could speak again, his fists clenched tightly and a dry voice cut him off.

“I don’t care.”

The response made one thing painfully clear: Eden no longer cared what others thought of him.

Looking at the pale, resolute face of the Duke, Parker realized that he could not be persuaded.

Trying to change his mind would be futile.

Instead, Parker focused on preventing the situation from spiraling further.

His gaze shifted to the cemetery caretaker standing several steps away.

When they had first arrived, the man had talked non-stop.

Now, however, the mere mention of digging up the grave had drained all color from his face.

After a brief moment of thought, Parker decided that this was the only way to avoid a scandal. He spoke with earnest desperation.

“Please wait. I’ll contact Miss Wood’s father and have him come here immediately.”

Barely managing to stop Eden from taking matters into his own hands, Parker sprang into action.

The cemetery caretaker, whose face had turned completely white, ran off as soon as Parker asked him to contact Mr Wood.

Clearly, Winter’s father would be furious to receive such a ridiculous message.

Nevertheless, this was better than proceeding without the family’s consent.

“Please wait just a little longer, Your Grace.”

Parker stood firmly in front of his master, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

A heavy silence followed.

In that silence, where a single minute felt like a year, Eden remained silent.

He knew better than anyone how reckless and irrational it was to disturb a grave just to see Winter’s belongings.

He also knew exactly what people would say if word of this ever got out.

But after another sleepless night, he had finally reached breaking point.

At dawn, unable to endure it any longer, he boarded a train bound for Ceres without a second thought.

He could hear Parker’s frantic calls behind him, but nothing could stop him now.

And so he had come all this way.

All the way to stand before the gravestone bearing Winter’s name.

***

Jeffrey Wood hurried through the cemetery entrance, completely out of breath.

The absurd phone call had prompted him to close his shop immediately and rush over.

‘What in the world is going on here?’

Even now, Jeffrey could not make sense of the caretaker’s frantic explanation.

“You need to get here right now. Some nobleman from the capital is trying to dig up Winter’s grave.”

“What? What are you talking about? Who’s doing what? Who exactly came here?”

“Th-that… what was it? They’re calling him some kind of Duke. I don’t know the details. Just get here immediately. Hurry!”

The caretaker’s frantic tone had sounded far too serious to dismiss as nonsense.

Panting heavily, Jeffrey removed his hat.

The moment he paused to catch his breath, someone ahead began waving both arms energetically.

It was the familiar cemetery caretaker, urgently signaling for him to come over.

As Jeffrey approached, a neatly dressed man standing beside him stepped forward and spoke.

“Good day, Mr. Wood. My name is Parker. I’ve come from Vartz.”

‘This well-dressed man is the one who made such a shameless request?’

‘What kind of relationship did he have with Winter?’

Completely dumbfounded, Jeffrey barely acknowledged Parker’s greeting before frowning deeply.

Anger surged through him, and he immediately demanded an explanation.

“I got the call, but what exactly is going on here? How did you know Winter? I rushed over because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Does this even make sense? I don’t know who you are, but I absolutely cannot accept this. Please leave immediately.”

“Yes, I completely understand why you’d be upset. If you could just calm down for a moment—”

“Calm down? You expect me to calm down when someone suddenly shows up and says they want to dig up my daughter’s grave? I don’t care who you are. You do not have my permission, so leave.”

Jeffrey waved his hand sharply as he raised his voice.

It was then that Parker, who had been standing straight and composed, stepped aside.

The movement was so obedient that it looked as though he were simply following someone’s order.

Only then did Jeffrey notice the figure that had been concealed behind a large tree.

‘There was someone else with them?’

Jeffrey furrowed his brow as he examined the man who was approaching him carefully.

The stranger stood out immediately.

His tall stature and striking features made him impossible to overlook.

Jeffrey felt a strange sense of familiarity prickle the back of his neck.

Just as he thought the man’s face seemed familiar, Parker spoke quietly.

“This is the Duke of Mayer.”

“…!”

Jeffrey’s breath caught in his throat.

The Duke of Mayer?

In that instant, the man before him merged with the image of a stunningly beautiful woman from a distant memory: Eden Mayer.

The son of Hariette Mayer.

Jeffrey was so shocked that he forgot the basic courtesy of greeting a nobleman.

By then, the duke had already closed the distance between them.

He came to an abrupt halt.

His vivid blue eyes fixed themselves on Jeffrey in chilling silence.

“Mr. Wood.”

His voice was unnervingly low.

“Have you been well all this time?”

It was hardly the kind of greeting one would give to a father who had lost his daughter.

Yet it was enough to leave Jeffrey standing there, rooted to the spot.

In that instant, he knew.

The Duke already knew everything.

This realization robbed him of his voice.

He could not utter a single word.

Without so much as blinking, Eden held his gaze on the man before him.

Yet he felt neither anger nor hatred towards Jeffrey Wood.

Winter was the person he treasured most.

And yet, by using her father as an excuse, it was Jeffrey who had hurt her the most.

The wave of disgust rising within him was not directed at Jeffrey.

It was aimed entirely at himself.

All that remained was contempt.

Eden felt contempt for Winter’s only family member, a man who had used the compensation paid for his daughter’s death to fund his travels and purchase a new home.

Eden no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Watching the tense standoff from a distance, the awkward cemetery caretaker took a step back.

He knew nothing about the powerful nobles of the capital.

But even at a glance, he could tell that the young duke before him had an unsettling, almost dangerous air about him.

The caretaker could barely remember half of what the duke had said to him earlier.

Just as he was about to slip away quietly to avoid getting caught up in something troublesome, Parker noticed the movement and shook his head slightly.

The caretaker immediately froze.

With a miserable expression, he found himself unable to move forward or retreat.

Then a cold voice shattered the silence.