How much time had passed?

As he was about to walk past a food stall with a long queue of customers, he spotted a familiar silhouette.

Eden came to an abrupt stop. His unwavering gaze fixed on the stall from which steam rose in soft curls.

Brown hair, lightened by the sunlight.

The delicate outline of a face he had traced over countless times with his fingertips.

He recognized her instantly.

It was Winter.

She was not alone.

A scene entirely at odds with the festival’s lively clamour unfolded before his eyes.

As a little girl took a big bite of her pie, Winter gently wiped the crumbs from her mouth. The man sitting next to them smiled and offered Winter the drink he was holding.

The three of them sat together on the bench.

They looked like a happy family, sharing the snacks they had just bought.

But that couldn’t be.

Winter lived alone, and there was no way that child could be hers.

The neatly dressed man in the tailored coat continued to talk to her. Even at first glance, he seemed warm and friendly, and his eyes rarely left hers.

When Winter nodded with a faint smile, the man casually took out a handkerchief and handed it to her, making it look like the most natural thing in the world.

It was as if he had been by her side forever.

But it had only been a short while ago.

He faced Winter, who hid every trace of emotion and showed not even the slightest hint of agitation.

Eden’s eyes filled with confusion as he looked from Winter to the black-haired man beside her.

‘Gabriel Regner.’

They had exchanged introductions at the Marquis’s estate.

The youngest son of the Regner family—a man who was effortlessly charming, with not the slightest hint of tension in either his words or expressions.

‘Why was that man…with Winter?’

His thoughts dulled as he searched for a reasonable explanation.

Then it finally hit him.

It felt as though something had struck him hard in the head before crushing his heart beneath its weight.

“Please don’t come looking for me like this anymore.”

Even when Winter turned and walked away that day, he had never considered the possibility of there being someone else by her side.

Someone else who might one day share her laughter and her everyday life.

Someone who might one day share her laughter and her everyday life.

It had been a year since they parted ways in Vartz.

During that time, Winter had started a new life in Santero.

Nevertheless, it had never occurred to him that the eyes which had once looked only at him could one day turn towards someone else.

“Being with you is enough for me.”

Her eyes sparkled with unwavering sincerity as she told him that being with him was all she needed.

He had convinced himself that such warm, loving eyes could never be drawn to another man.

Winter had loved only him.

Ultimately, this belief was nothing more than foolish.

It was an arrogant delusion that the woman he had abandoned could never give her heart to anyone else.

His vivid blue eyes trembled.

Jealousy.

Shock.

The terrifying fear that he might lose Winter forever tore relentlessly through his heart.

Amid the constant flow of people moving through the festival, Parker cast an uneasy glance at the duke, who stood motionless and lost in thought.

At first, Parker couldn’t understand why Eden had suddenly stopped.

Then, looking around in confusion, he caught sight of a familiar face.

Following the duke’s unwavering gaze, Parker saw Winter sitting on a bench.

The man seated beside her looked familiar, too.

‘Of all people… someone from the Regner family.’

Parker fought the urge to clutch his throbbing head.

When he had investigated Winter’s life after she moved to Santero, he hadn’t found any evidence that she had met anyone else.

Then again, the intricacies of relationships between men and women were something that an outsider could never fully grasp.

More importantly, Winter and Gabriel, sitting side by side, did not look like mere acquaintances.

Perhaps he should have stopped Eden when he suddenly insisted they come here while he was flipping through the festival guidebook in the meeting room.

Parker muttered to himself.

‘…Though if His Grace were someone who could be talked out of something, I wouldn’t be worrying like this in the first place.’

From the outset, Eden had never been one to listen to others.

The only reason the man, who was not interested in festivals, had come all the way here was because of Winter.

Parker moved closer quickly, anxious that the duke might head straight for the bench at any moment.

From experience, Parker knew that Eden Mayer was capable of just about anything.

Ever since the day he dug up the grave, Parker had sworn never again to think, ‘Surely he wouldn’t go that far’.

“…Your Grace.”

Eden’s gaze remained fixed in one place.

His icy blue eyes never wavered, as though they had erased everything else from the world, determined to see only one person.

Parker hesitated no longer.

Having stood quietly behind him the entire time, he stepped forward and blocked the duke’s path.

“I think it would be best if we returned today.”

Although his words were courteous, their meaning was unmistakable.

Eden did not so much as flinch.

Had he not heard him?

Or had he heard and simply chosen to ignore it?

His eyes refused to leave the three people seated on the bench.

A tangled storm of emotions drifted across his blue eyes.

Parker’s anxiety only grew.

At this point, he wondered if he would have to drag the duke away by force.

‘Please… just leave.’

He asked for nothing more.

If nothing else, he wanted to stop the emotions boiling inside the duke from erupting in the middle of the crowded square.

Still, Eden neither turned his head nor answered.

As though steeling himself, Parker spoke again.

“If this continues… it may end up disrespecting Lady Winter.”

At those words, Eden’s eyes slowly—but unmistakably—shifted toward Parker.

There was no expression on his face.

No reply.

Yet it was obvious he was holding something back with every ounce of restraint he had.

Sensing it immediately, Parker lowered his head.

“I’ll escort you to the carriage.”

At last, Eden slowly turned away.

Parker let out a deep breath of relief.

He took the lead and quickly made his way through the crowd.

Without a word, Eden followed behind him.

Although he had finally managed to turn around, the image lingering in his turbulent eyes refused to fade.

While the festival was filled with cheers and laughter, he seemed to be walking through a completely different world.

***

Mrs. Roche lowered her gaze to the business card her well-groomed visitor had handed her.

The card was thick, finely crafted, and elegantly printed.

A familiar name.

‘Mayer.’

The Duke’s secretary visited the salon early in the evening.

Introducing himself as a potential buyer of one of Winter’s paintings, he handed over his business card.

The task that the duke had entrusted to him was simple.

Go to the salon and buy a painting.

He had also been given strict orders not to cause a scene, and he was determined to obey them.

His thoughts drifted back to the moment they had returned from the square.

Eden had walked away without a word, but his expression spoke volumes.

Shock.

Confusion.

And beneath those, an aching longing that had quietly surfaced.

It burned too fiercely to be mere affection.

Yet it was far too desperate to dismiss as nothing more than lingering regret.

At the duke’s command, Parker had simply bowed in acknowledgment.

“I would like to purchase one of the paintings currently on display in the salon.”

At his courteous request, Mrs. Roche lifted her eyes from the business card.

Without mentioning Winter Wood’s name, Parker quietly handed her a small slip of paper.

Mrs. Roche lowered her gaze once more.

S.W.

The brief signature Winter always inscribed on the back of her paintings.

From the moment she had seen the name Mayer, Mrs. Roche had already suspected as much.

She had a feeling this unexpected visitor was not unrelated to Winter.

“…I understand.”

A complicated emotion flickered in her eyes, bearing the marks of time.

She was surprised enough that the duke recognized Winter’s painting at once.

She had never imagined he would make such a sincere request.

Choosing not to elaborate further, Parker folded his hands together.

“His Grace simply admired the painting and asked me to convey his sincere wish to purchase it.”

“I see.”

“He also wishes to avoid causing any inconvenience to either the artist or the salon in any way.”

Parker’s tone remained calm and respectful.

There was no pressure behind his words.

Mrs Roche waited quietly until he had finished speaking.

Winter had always trusted her judgement when it came to exhibiting and selling her paintings.

Even so…

This was not a decision she should make alone.

A gallery could hardly choose its customers and refuse to sell its artwork.

At the very least, though, Winter deserved to be informed beforehand.

Mrs. Roche carefully folded the note in her hand.

“I’ll speak with the artist first, then contact you afterward.”

“Thank you. I’ll await your reply.”

After seeing Parker to the door, Mrs. Roche returned to the sitting room and placed the neatly folded note on top of a teacup saucer.

Winter had said they were already part of each other’s past.

So why would that duke send someone all the way to the salon over nothing more than a painting?

‘Is there still something left unresolved between them?’

Thoughtful as ever, Mrs. Roche glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

Whatever the case, she decided it would be best to speak with Winter first.