The man’s face in the photograph was blurred because it had been taken from a distance.

Winter paused while turning the pages of the newspaper, then quietly closed it.

She had no desire to read articles about someone who was undoubtedly living his life without her.

She turned her gaze towards the window, where the evening twilight was beginning to settle, and tried to clear her thoughts.

From the very beginning, he had never belonged in her world.

“I see.”

Joanna murmured softly and tilted her head, as though she was not entirely convinced.

Judging by Winter’s indifferent reaction, she began to wonder if she had simply allowed her imagination to run away with her.

Then again, the youngest son of the Marquis of Regner was known for his extensive network of connections and for socializing with people of all statuses.

Compared to his older brother, who was destined to inherit the title and family business, Gabriel lived a remarkably carefree life.

With an embarrassed smile, Joanna’s gaze drifted to the handbag containing the dress she had carefully packed away.

At that moment, Winter’s gentle voice came from across the table.

“Joanna, shall we get going? You should hurry home and give your daughter the beautiful dress we picked out today.”

“Okay. Thank you for helping me choose it. I’m sure my daughter is going to love it.”

The two women rose from their seats almost simultaneously.

Joanna left the restaurant, holding her handbag close to her chest, with Winter following behind her.

The streets of the harbor city were crowded with people enjoying the sunset at the end of the day.

They hurried along the roads as the evening breeze swept through the city, bringing with it a chill.

After parting ways with Joanna, who boarded a tram home, Winter continued walking at a leisurely pace.

From somewhere deep within the alleyways came the faint melody of street musicians.

The scent of grilled fish tickled her nose while bells chimed the hour in the evening air.

“This is the last one!”

“Good work!”

The sound of a tram rattling off into the distance mingled with the shouts of workers finishing unloading at the docks.

Amid the bustle, Winter continued walking quietly.

Once again, she had deliberately chosen the longer route home.

If there was one thing she had grown to love since coming to Santero, it was undoubtedly these evening walks.

There was something strangely comforting about that brief hour between day and night, when the sunlight faded and the streetlamps came on one by one.

Sometimes, coming back to an empty house felt lonely.

But at moments like this, she didn’t mind.

Whenever she felt a sense of emptiness or burden, she would often find herself walking aimlessly through the city.

Perhaps that was why she had grown to love walking so much since arriving in Santero.

The glow of the streetlamps stretched across the neatly paved road.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Maintaining her steady pace, Winter instinctively turned in a familiar direction.

The faint scent of paint pigments hit her the moment she opened the iron door.

After putting her things away and washing her hands, she immediately started mixing paints to create the colors she needed.

She didn’t want to think about anything else.

Sitting before the easel and selecting her brushes was a routine her hands knew better than her mind.

A brush with a rounded tip moved slowly across the canvas, filling the blank white surface little by little.

As the colors blended and layered upon one another, the noise lingering in her heart gradually faded away.

***

Exactly one week later, the art collection that Winter had been waiting for finally arrived.

As soon as she called Gabriel on the number he had given her, he suggested they meet at his house instead of the salon.

About two hours after she had hung up, she found herself standing before him.

They met in a greenhouse in the middle of an elegant garden, bathed in the warm light of the late afternoon sun.

The moment he saw her enter through the door that a servant had shown her, Gabriel immediately invited her to sit down.

“Welcome. Have you been well?”

Winter offered a faint smile in return to Gabriel’s usual bright greeting.

“Hello. I thought it would be best to let you know as soon as it arrived.”

“I was happy when I received your call.”

His warm, easygoing voice echoed softly through the greenhouse.

Had he really been waiting for the art collection that eagerly?

Watching him, genuinely pleased, Winter suddenly felt a little anxious.

“You’ve been waiting a long time, haven’t you? The delivery kept getting delayed, and I felt bad about it too.”

“I was worried you’d feel that way. That’s why I told you several times that it wasn’t urgent.”

“Even so, it doesn’t feel that way from my perspective. I hope you’re pleased with it.”

Winter handed him the box she had placed on one side of the table.

Gabriel had never once pressured her, but she had still worried about keeping him waiting.

“Go ahead and open it.”

Although Gabriel had said he was happy to hear from her, he still hadn’t opened the parcel.

Unable to wait any longer, Winter decided to take the initiative.

As she unwrapped the art collection, the distinctive scent of paper and fresh ink filled the air.

“Here.”

Only after Winter personally handed him the heavy volume did Gabriel finally shift his attention toward it.

Lowering his gaze, he slowly began turning the pages.

One page.

Then another.

As he continued leafing through the book, a quiet note of admiration escaped him.

“This is my first time seeing one of this artist’s early collections. The atmosphere is completely different.”

“It’s one of your favorite artists, isn’t it?”

“Yes. The first painting I was ever given as a child was by this artist.”

A faint smile touched Gabriel’s lips as he recalled the memory.

After setting the book down, he looked up once more.

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing, really. I didn’t do much. I’m just glad you like it.”

Winter let out a slightly deeper breath, as though a weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.

She felt unexpectedly relieved, as though she had finally finished a long-overdue task.

Only then did she pick up the cup of herbal tea that had been sitting untouched in front of her, and cautiously take a sip.

The first sip was pleasantly sweet, but a faint bitterness lingered afterwards, reminiscent of fresh leaves.

The moment Winter set her cup down, Gabriel spoke.

“Do you have time?”

“Pardon?”

“I’d like to have dinner with you this evening.”

“Ah…”

“It may sound like a grand way to put it, but I’d like to thank you. I’ve finally received the art collection, and I’d feel a little disappointed letting my guest leave so soon.”

The seriousness that had briefly appeared in Gabriel’s eyes melted away as he smiled.

Caught off guard, Winter blinked several times.

The invitation had been offered so naturally that it felt like an extension of their conversation.

She couldn’t answer immediately.

She had planned to leave as soon as she had finished her tea, but it felt somehow awkward to wave off the invitation outright.

Besides, sharing a meal didn’t have any special significance.

“…Alright.”

The moment she agreed, there was an obvious brightening of Gabriel’s face.

The smile on his lips deepened further.

Soon, the teacups and teapot were replaced with neatly arranged dinnerware.

The silver-trimmed plates on the white linen tablecloth looked elegant and immaculate.

Inside the greenhouse, flowers of every color bloomed regardless of the season, and the air was filled with the lingering fragrance of lavender and rosemary.

Their conversation, which had begun with stories about Gabriel’s nieces and nephews, continued comfortably throughout the meal.

“Last week, my second nephew came to visit and decided to play soldier. He charged through the house with a toy sword and knocked over the grandfather clock before anyone could stop him.”

“Oh my. Was he hurt?”

“Fortunately, no. I was more startled than the clock was. Whenever all my nieces and nephews gather in one place, something always happens.”

Gabriel gave her a playful wink and smiled.

The image of Lily, growing a little more each day, came to Winter’s mind, and a small smile touched her lips as well.

“The more often things like that happen, the more precious those memories will become. Someday, you’ll look back on them and laugh.”

Gabriel listened quietly to her voice, light and clear as bursting bubbles.

As the meal drew to a close, he spoke again after they had spent some time exchanging casual conversation.

“It was spring, wasn’t it? When we first met.”

Winter lifted her wine glass, but before it could reach her lips, she lowered it again.

Late autumn.

Winter was now just around the corner.

She had simply lived one day at a time, and before she realized it, the seasons had changed.

“Miss Winter.”

At the unfamiliar form of address, Winter instinctively looked up.

When their eyes met, Gabriel continued without looking away.

“The reason I invited you here today is because I no longer want to speak in circles.”

“…”

“At first, I was simply curious about you. The truth is, that’s why I kept finding reasons to visit the salon and ask for your help.”

Even Gabriel, who always seemed to be smiling, wore no smile at this moment.

There had been a time when he thought it might be nothing more than a passing attraction.

But instead of fading, his interest had only grown stronger with time.

“Then, as time passed, I realized something.”

His gaze remained steady.

“I kept finding myself drawn to you.”

Throughout the changing seasons, he had quietly nurtured those feelings.

It wasn’t because he lacked the courage to speak up.

He believed that confessing them would accomplish nothing.

Rather than risking rejection and ruining their friendship, he chose to simply enjoy seeing Winter whenever he could.

After pausing briefly to steady his breathing, Gabriel spoke again.

“I don’t want to keep hiding these feelings from you any longer.”

“…”

“Today, I wanted to be honest. At the very least, I wanted to tell you how I feel.”

There was no room for misunderstanding.

It was a confession, clear and unmistakable.