~Chapter 1~
“Shocking news in Batz! Who is the Duke Mayer’s rumored bride-to-be?”
Winter read the headline again and again.
The man in the center of the gossip was Duke Mayer. Eden Mayer.
No matter how many times she checked, it was definitely the Eden she knew.
“In high society, many say that the youngest daughter of the Lindahl family is the perfect candidate to be the duchess.
For now, the Mayer family hasn’t released any official statement.”
Winter pressed a hand against her chest, trying to calm the furious beating of her heart.
She and Eden had never promised to marry.
She had never dared to think she, a commoner, could be the duchess.
…Well, if she was being honest, she had imagined it once or twice.
A future together with the man she loved.
She had known all along that their relationship couldn’t last forever.
She had accepted that in her head, but her heart had clung to it anyway.
Still… not once had she heard it directly from him.
With heavy eyes, Winter looked out the shop window at the crowded street, busy with people rushing home under the short autumn sunset.
The familiar voice of the shop owner snapped her out of her haze.
“Sorry about the wait, miss. I had to grab these from the storeroom. I brought the closest ones I could find to what you asked for.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
Winter absentmindedly took the bundle of tablecloths he handed her.
She stood there so long in silence that the shop owner looked at her strangely.
“Don’t you like them? They look pretty much the same as the one you described. Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll take these. Thank you.”
She didn’t bother checking the rest.
She just paid for the top one and left.
When she had first stepped into the shop, her mood had been light and excited.
That was before she picked up the newspaper.
“See you again, miss!”
The shop owner’s cheerful farewell followed her out the door.
Her arms felt like lead, as if she was dragging stones.
Strange—she was used to carrying a bag stuffed with heavy paints and brushes.
How could one little tablecloth feel so heavy?
Taking in a shaky breath, Winter turned toward a small park at the corner.
She should have walked straight home, but right now she just wanted to sit somewhere, anywhere.
The path was littered with dried leaves, but no people in sight.
She sat on an empty bench.
As she tried to steady her breathing, a faint spark of hope stirred inside her.
Maybe the article wasn’t true.
After all, gossip rags often printed baseless stories.
‘So maybe this is just one of those times…’
But the thought instantly made her duck her head in shame, as if someone had caught her selfish wish.
No matter how sensationalist the papers were, they wouldn’t drag his name into something completely false.
Even she knew that much.
Eden Mayer.
The king’s nephew, holder of five noble titles, the man who owned the massive steel empire, Mayer & Co.
His name alone carried prestige.
Her first meeting with him had been pure coincidence—when she tagged along with her teacher for a portrait commission at the Mayer estate.
That’s when she met the man she should never have even dreamed of touching.
Yet somehow, he had become her lover.
Those days had been full of happiness. She had an upcoming art exhibition she had poured her heart into, and soon she would finally reunite with her father—the only family she had left after her mother’s passing.
An exhibition?
Yes. I thought maybe you’d come? You’ve been worried about me, right?
Ah… I see.
Of course.
Your first exhibition—I should be there.
When he finally agreed after a pause, Winter had nearly jumped for joy.
Since leaving home to chase her dream of becoming an artist, her father had never once visited Batz.
This time she could finally show him she was doing well.
But that was their last call… and now she didn’t even know how to calm her heart.
She didn’t know how long she sat there.
Gas lamps began flickering on one by one, and the sharp winter wind bit through her coat.
Eden was away on business, not even in Batz right now.
She had no way to confirm the truth.
“I’ll be back this weekend. I’ll send someone ahead.”
Clutching his last words, Winter forced herself up from the bench.
She glanced at the barren branches and the dark garden beds beyond.
Her chest ached with suffocating dread. She knew she had to face him to know for sure—but at the same time, she was terrified of that moment.
Her steps pressed softly into the fallen leaves, while the wind howled behind her like a ghostly shadow.
Winter had begun.
“The train to Batz is now departing. All passengers, please board immediately.”
The station master’s thick southern accent boomed across the platform.
One more announcement echoed, hurrying the bustling crowd.
Inside the private cars where entry was restricted, however, silence reigned.
Sunlight poured into the spacious, remodeled first-class cabin, glinting like gold.
Its lone occupant stared blankly out the window.
The three-day journey there meant three days back as well.
He was already weighed down with fatigue when his secretary spoke up respectfully.
“Your Grace, yesterday’s Batz Daily carried a story about you. It mentioned a marriage negotiation with the Lindahl family.”
Eden gave no reply, only a small nod.
The Lindahl match had been pushed onto him by His Majesty, the king—his uncle. But he had never met the woman outside a brief introduction at the palace.
It wasn’t hard to guess where the leak had come from.
Either the king himself, eager to see his nephew finally wed, or the Lindahl family.
Either way, it irritated him all the same.
The train whistled and lurched forward.
Eden’s eyes flicked outside at the shuddering view, then closed.
Through the haze of exhaustion, her image surfaced clearly.
Hair and eyes the deep brown of brewed tea.
A bare, unpainted face, where her smile would curl her eyes into crescents whenever their gazes met.
Hands that always smelled faintly of pigments.
“Winter Wood.”
The name slipped out quietly.
He could picture her face yesterday when she must have read the article.
She was tenderhearted, and never good at hiding her feelings.
‘I love you.’
Her voice rang in his ears—the confession she had once whispered.
They hadn’t exchanged promises, but their relationship had been real, worthy of being called love.
But not anymore.
Once this trip ended, everything had to change.
Pulling the curtain closed, Eden forced his thoughts to a halt and shut his eyes once more.
His sea-blue gaze disappeared behind his lashes.
“This way, Miss Wood.”
The Mayer family’s butler walked ahead of her, every step proper and precise.
Winter trailed him, tracing the ornate diamond patterns carved into the walls with her eyes.
The halls and open spaces of the mansion were eerily empty.
She guessed he must have dismissed the servants on purpose.
“The Duke is waiting inside.”
The butler stopped at the far end of a long hallway.
“Thank you.”
Winter gave a polite nod and stepped into the reception room.
Sunlight fell across the piano that stood beneath the long golden curtains. She knew this room well.
Once, she had found Eden there, seated at the piano.
‘Winter, do you play?’
‘No, I never learned any instruments.’
‘Then should I teach you? Actually, never mind—you don’t need to. I play pretty well myself.’
Without waiting, he had pulled her down beside him, his fingers dancing effortlessly over the keys.
He had played her favorite piece over and over again, smiling every time their eyes met, sunlight pooling around them.
That memory was etched into her heart.
“Winter?”
A deep voice pulled her back.
She blinked—the tall figure was standing by the window, his back to the sun.
