The Marquis of Regner adjusted his glasses and rubbed at eyes still heavy with travel fatigue.

If it were up to him, he would have liked to bring Gabriel along on this rare trip to the capital.

‘I’ve explained it to him clearly enough, and more than once…’

Yet again, his youngest son had managed to slip away.

His wife, who had come to see him off at the station, laughed and said that Gabriel had never liked such formal occasions.

She wasn’t wrong.

Nevertheless, whenever he thought about how carefree his youngest son was, he couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

There was little point in trying to control a grown child.

All he could do was hope that Gabriel would soon marry and become a respectable father himself.

“Regimental colors forward! Formation, advance!”

The military parade, which demonstrated the strength of the Karten Army, went on for quite a while.

The Duke of Mayer’s gaze remained fixed on the marching formations crossing the review grounds.

Yet his deep blue eyes weren’t truly focused on anything in front of him.

With his gloved hands resting on his knees, he merely occupied his seat.

To him, it was just another obligation to endure until it ended.

He had neither the energy nor the emotional capacity to pay attention.

His heart was hollow and empty, trapped in the past and untouched by the present moment.

***

“Winter, what about this one?”

Joanna pulled a dress from the display rack and asked again.

“That’s pretty too, but… wait a moment.”

After studying the brightly colored tunic, Winter turned slightly and looked around the shop.

Since Joanna had asked for help choosing an outfit for her daughter’s role-playing event, she carefully examined the displays.

“Wouldn’t this suit a princess role a little better?”

Smiling softly, Winter held up another option.

It was a light lavender dress trimmed with white lace at the cuffs.

“This is really pretty. Is this your favorite too, Winter? Then I’ll take this one.”

Joanna accepted the dress without hesitation.

Compared to the overly colorful tunic, the dress with the large ribbon tied around the waist looked much more attractive.

While Joanna was paying for her purchase, Winter picked out something for herself.

She immediately imagined Lily wearing a bright yellow hat.

Winter held up a soft, yarn pom-pom that covered the ears completely and dangled from her fingertips.

“What did you pick?”

“I thought it would look nice on Lily.”

Winter smiled as she answered Joanna, who had leaned over curiously to take a look.

A married woman with a child of her own, Joanna had become a comforting presence in Winter’s life.

At first, they had been careful with their choice of words around each other.

Now, however, they were close enough to meet and talk comfortably.

“Let’s have dinner together too. You helped me pick out the outfit, so dinner’s on me.”

After leaving the shop, Joanna pointed towards a restaurant across the street.

Winter had planned to go home and carry on painting, but she readily agreed.

Unlike the chilly air outside, the restaurant was filled with cozy warmth.

“Your meal is ready. Enjoy.”

Shortly after they had ordered, bowls of steaming hot soup were placed on the table.

Winter picked up her spoon as wisps of steam rose from her bowl.

The omelet, filled with cheese and ham, was even better than she had expected.

When she took a bite of the freshly baked, golden-brown bread, its rich, buttery flavor filled her mouth.

“Once the weather gets colder, everyone stays indoors, so the salon gets busier too. That’s why I like spring and summer the most. At least things are a little more relaxed then.”

Joanna dipped a piece of bread into her soup and complained jokingly.

Having seen firsthand how hard Joanna worked, Winter simply nodded and listened.

“Starting next week, the salon has one gathering after another scheduled. I think we’re going to be overwhelmed with preparations.”

“I’ll help too, Joanna.”

“Oh, come on. I was only complaining a little. If you take it that seriously, you’re going to make me feel guilty.”

Joanna waved her hands dismissively and burst into laughter.

She hadn’t meant it as a request for help.

After all, Winter didn’t work at the salon.

Joanna simply knew that she sometimes helped her relative, Madame Roche.

Even the salon staff, who had once found her unfamiliar and difficult to approach, had grown fond of her gentle nature.

After finishing her meal, Joanna glanced out of the window and noticed a familiar name.

The Regner family, based in a major port city, had amassed considerable wealth through maritime trade.

It was common to encounter their name throughout Santero.

The wagon, loaded with crates marked with the company insignia, soon disappeared down the street.

Turning back to Winter, Joanna casually brought up a subject that had been on her mind.

“Winter, when are you seeing Lord Gabriel again?”

“Well… we agreed that I would contact him as soon as the new art collection arrives.”

Dabbing her lips with a napkin, Winter pulled her glass of water closer.

There was an art collection Gabriel had asked the salon to acquire for him, but its arrival kept being delayed.

She intended to contact him as soon as it arrived, but even that date remained uncertain.

Already frustrated by her inability to keep the promise she had made, Winter furrowed her brows slightly.

‘I hope it arrives next week at least.’

Gabriel had never once pressured her about it, yet she still felt uneasy.

“That art collection is really causing trouble, isn’t it?” Joanna said with a laugh. Then, after a brief pause, she added, “But Winter, speaking of Lord Gabriel… isn’t he wonderful?”

Caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, Winter tilted her head before nodding easily.

“He is. He’s a wonderful person.”

“Right? Every time I see him at the salon, I feel like my whole day brightens.”

Winter couldn’t help but smile at Joanna’s unabashed admiration.

As she said, Gabriel visited the salon fairly often.

Winter herself crossed paths with him two or three times a month.

It all started when Winter introduced Gabriel to the art collections in the library, and she continued to help him afterwards.

The more she got to know him, the more she realized that he was far brighter and more cheerful than she had initially thought.

At that moment, Joanna took a sip of the warm tea that had been brought to their table and casually asked,

“When do you think you’ll get married?”

“Married?”

“I was just curious.”

Although she said it lightly, Joanna had actually wondered about it.

For most unmarried young women, finding a good husband was one of their biggest concerns.

Yet Winter seemed strangely uninterested in marriage or anything related to it.

Looking into her friend’s clear brown eyes, Joanna found herself admiring her beauty once again.

‘The beauty of Roche Salon.’

That’s what people around town called her, even those who didn’t know her personally.

Several people had quietly asked Joanna to introduce them to Winter.

Winter adored children.

Anyone could see that just by observing the way she treated Lily.

“I’m not interested in marriage yet.”

The question was unexpected, but Winter answered it truthfully.

However, beyond that, she found it hard to say anything else.

Growing close to someone meant allowing them to learn more about you.

For this reason, it wasn’t easy to decide how much she could reveal to Joanna and where she should draw the line.

Winter treasured the comfort Joanna offered her and the way she treated her like an older sister.

That was precisely why it weighed on her heart.

There were stories she had buried deep inside herself — stories she couldn’t share with anyone, not even someone she had come to care about.

And knowing what a warm and kind person Joanna was only made that feeling harder to bear.

While Winter fell silent for a moment, Joanna suddenly clapped her hands as though she had just remembered something.

“Oh, right! Remember when Lord Gabriel gave all the staff tickets to that concert and invited everyone to come?”

“Ah, last week?”

“Yes. Actually, when you didn’t show up, Lord Gabriel seemed disappointed.”

Joanna remembered that day clearly.

Her eyes lit up as though she had finally put the pieces together.

“I’m sure of it. When I told him you couldn’t come, he even asked me privately if something had happened to you. I meant to tell you the next day, but the salon was so busy that I completely forgot.”

Despite the suggestive tone, Winter simply shook her head.

She attached no special meaning to it.

“He’s always considerate toward everyone. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Really? You’ve never noticed anything unusual? Now that I think about it, Lord Gabriel does take good care of everyone, but it feels like he pays special attention to you.”

“That can’t be true.”

Winter laughed at the continued speculation, as though the idea were absurd.

She genuinely believed that a man from one of Santero’s most distinguished noble families could never feel that way about her.

She knew better than anyone how high and unyielding the social status barriers could be.

A fleeting memory surfaced, casting a faint shadow across her eyes.

“You’re not so young that you don’t understand why I arranged a place where no one would see us. Or were you expecting something?”

Memories that she had thought were long gone still returned from time to time, bringing with them a startling clarity.

Since the accident, she had never deliberately sought news about Eden Mayer.

Nevertheless, she still occasionally received snippets of information about the Duke of Mayer.

For example, there was the photograph that featured so prominently in an article about the recent military review ceremony.