“It’s already over between us.”

As though trying to erase Eden from her mind, Winter cut the words off sharply.

“No matter what we try to confirm now, nothing will change.”

She tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it. Instead, she gently nibbled her lip.

All the days she had spent pretending that she was fine and that nothing had happened flooded back to her.

She felt as though she would break down in tears the moment she opened her mouth, but she forced herself to hold them back.

Everything she had shared with Eden Mayer — their conversations, their feelings — belonged to the past.

From the very beginning, they had never been meant to be together.

In fact, she might have been nothing more than a cruel twist of fate in Eden’s life.

No…

She was certain of it now.

Ever since she had learned who “Jeffrey Wood” really was.

Winter didn’t want to attach any deeper meaning to their reunion.

There was nothing left to discuss between them.

“I understand exactly what you mean.”

Mrs. Roche nodded, as though no further explanation were needed.

Winter’s calm response only made her heart ache more. She had the composure of someone who had cried all their tears long ago.

Mrs. Roche gently placed her hand over Winter’s once more.

The warmth was both comforting and reassuring.

“I’m sorry… for not telling you until now. Because you’ve always believed in me, I wanted this to come from me.”

“I know. I understand how difficult it must have been for you to tell me.”

The tension that had gripped Winter’s shoulders and eyes gradually eased.

Even so, traces of unease still lingered on her face as she spoke the last concern weighing on her heart.

“I’m worried… that because you introduced me as your relative, this might end up causing trouble for you.”

Deep worry was written across Winter’s face as she nervously bit her upper lip.

As though she had seen straight through those fears, Mrs. Roche answered without hesitation.

“Cause trouble for me? Absolutely not.”

“…”

“From the very beginning, it never mattered to me what kind of past you carried.”

Mrs. Roche shook her head firmly, as if dismissing the very idea.

Perhaps, at first, her kindness had simply been her way of repaying a debt of gratitude.

But that was no longer the case.

Somewhere along the way, Winter had become family—someone she wanted to protect.

Perhaps…

This was the bond her late daughter had sent to her.

She wanted to cherish and care for Winter as though she were her own daughter.

Mrs. Roche understood exactly what Winter was worried about.

But she had spent years running the salon alone after losing her husband. She had endured all kinds of hardships.

“I’m not so fragile that something like this could shake me, Winter. And I’m far past the age of worrying about what other people think.”

She spoke with a gentle smile, but beneath her words lay the quiet strength of a woman who had endured decades of life’s trials.

Winter was her benefactor.

She had introduced her as a relative and helped her to build a new life in Santero.

While not everything she had told people was entirely true, Mrs. Roche had nothing to be ashamed of.

She gently clasped both of Winter’s hands.

“Don’t worry about me. From now on, I want you to live the life you truly want. I hope you’ll choose the life that makes you happy. Whether that means seeing him again… or letting him go for good…”

“I want that choice to be yours.”

It was only then that Winter nodded.

Instead of answering, she slowly tightened her grip on Mrs. Roche’s hands.

The comfort she offered — steady, unwavering and warm — would stay with Mrs Roche far longer than any words ever could.

***

That evening, Parker stood before Duke Mayer.

Discovering the recent history of the woman who had settled in Santero only a year ago had not been particularly difficult.

It was something else entirely that left Eden stunned.

Winter had been so easy to find.

Yet he had lived all this time without knowing she was here.

Tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling, Eden asked quietly,

“Winter Roche?”

“Yes, Your Grace. Miss Winter is known here as a relative of Marceline Roche, the owner of Roche Salon.”

The explanation didn’t add up.

A sharp frown creased Eden’s brow.

Winter had no other family.

No relatives.

No one, except the father who had treated her worse than a stranger.

And yet…

Marceline Roche?

Seeing the unspoken demand for an explanation in Eden’s eyes, Parker continued his report.

“The owner of Roche Salon was born and raised in Santero. Her husband passed away many years ago. She had one daughter, but she died last year.”

“She was one of the victims of the train accident in the eastern region.”

“…”

“Only her granddaughter, who had boarded the train with her, survived and is now living with Mrs. Roche.”

“From everything I’ve been able to confirm, Miss Winter and Mrs. Roche had no connection whatsoever before that accident.”

Eden’s expression tightened ever so slightly.

“I believe the two of them first met immediately after the accident.”

“…Go on.”

“Although Miss Winter is not an official employee, she frequently visits the salon. The locals simply know her as Mrs. Roche’s niece who occasionally helps out. We found no record of her working as a painter in Santero before that.”

“…”

“It also appears that she suffered a fractured arm in the train accident. After arriving in Santero, she was unable to use one of her arms properly for several months.”

Pausing, Parker pulled a document from the stack he was holding and placed it in front of Eden.

Written on the otherwise blank page was the address where Winter was currently living.

“It is a house owned by Mrs. Roche. Miss Winter is currently residing there.”

A heavy silence settled over the room.

Eden stared at the unfamiliar address for a long time before finally forcing out the question that had been weighing on his mind.

“…Was there… any mention of the child?”

For the first time, a hint of hesitation flashed across Parker’s usually calm face.

Ever since gathering the information, he had been wondering how to tell the Duke.

Knowing what had happened at Ellen Haven’s studio made it even harder.

He could still vividly remember the Duke standing motionless in the street after finding out about the pregnancy too late.

“…No.”

After letting out a quiet breath, Parker lowered his head before continuing.

“Miss Winter is living alone. We found no records or witness accounts related to a child.”

For a man who had clung to uncertainty, the report was painfully definitive.

Winter was living alone here.

There was no trace of the child.

That could only mean one thing.

She must have miscarried before coming to Santero.

Ultimately, it must have been the train accident.

Nothing else could explain it.

While he had been absent from her life, Winter had lost their child…..

Alone.

The thought of all that Winter must have endured alone sent a searing pain through his chest.

It felt as though his heart had been scorched black.

Like an unhealing burn, a blazing agony twisted deep inside him, consuming him from within.

As the silence dragged on, Parker finally spoke, his voice full of careful restraint.

“If you wish, I can bring Miss Winter here.”

He believed that this was the best he could do given the circumstances.

The Duke had mentioned that they had never managed to have a proper conversation at the salon before, so they needed a place where the two of them could talk undisturbed.

Unlike Parker, who looked ready to leave at once, Eden remained silent.

Suddenly, as though he could no longer bear the suffocating weight pressing down on him, he rose abruptly from his seat and threw the window wide open.

The cold winter wind blew into the room, bringing with it the salty scent of the sea.

He wanted to see Winter more than anyone else.

But they were no longer in a relationship where he could simply call her over whenever he wanted.

Even if he went to see her in person, he knew she wouldn’t welcome him.

Still, he wanted to see her.

He just wanted to see her.

He knew he had no right to ask anything of her.

However, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing while everything fell apart around him.

He took a deep breath of the icy air.

The fog that had clouded his mind for so long slowly began to lift.

Eden answered quietly.

“No. I’ll go.”

However, there were some things he needed to confirm first.

As he listened to Parker’s report, one question continued to trouble him.

Now that his mind, which had felt as rigid as rusted steel, had finally begun to move again, his thoughts were racing uncontrollably.

If Parker’s report was accurate, then Winter had undoubtedly survived the train accident.

Moreover, if she had suffered a miscarriage and a fractured arm, she would certainly have been taken to hospital.

So how…?

How had Winter been declared dead?

If the mistake had happened amid the chaos of the accident scene, that would have been understandable.

However, it made no sense that the hospital failed to identify her.

Even if Winter had refused to give her name, there should still have been official records of an unidentified woman in her early twenties.

Yet one year ago, no such record existed.

Not even the lawyer who reviewed the transfer lists from the accident site to every hospital found anything.

Furthermore, the Lindal Company’s compensation process was completed without delay.

For no apparent reason, every stage at which someone should have noticed the discrepancy had been skipped.

There was no way that could have been mere coincidence.

Eden closed the rattling window and turned around.

“Parker.”

It was as though a long-buried ember had suddenly flared back to life.

Something had awoken inside him.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the room changed.

Parker felt the change immediately.

The passive Eden, who had let everything slip through his fingers, was gone.