PIWY I Chapter 09

~Chapter 9~

When Jeffrey closed the door, he let out a long sigh.
He already knew Cozette would throw a fit if she found out she had to give up her nicely decorated room for a few days. Just thinking about how to calm her down gave him a headache.

He hadn’t told her that they’d be having guests, because he assumed Winter wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon.

“Haah…”

Jeffrey, distracted by a dozen other worries, never stopped to wonder why his daughter had suddenly come back home without saying a word.

Even after the sound of his footsteps faded down the stairs, Winter kept pacing around her room.
It felt like she had barged into someone else’s house uninvited.

The home she’d always been able to return to suddenly felt like it was gone forever.
Lying on the uncomfortable bed, Winter tossed and turned for a long time, unable to sleep.

The wind howled all night, rattling the window frames.
Even though she wrapped herself tightly in her blanket, the cold kept seeping into her chest.

It was one of those nights—lonely, with nowhere to rest her heart.

***

Two days later, Winter left the house again.
It was after a breakfast filled with awkward silence and half-hearted conversation.

“Uncle, how long can’t I use my room? I really hate this.”
“Sorry, Cozette. Just hold on a little longer. I’ll ask Winter about it tomorrow.”
“Then please tell her I need my room back by tomorrow. All my stuff’s in there.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll take care of it. Winter will be leaving soon anyway. She can’t stay away from her studio for long.”

Winter had overheard that conversation the night before.
Right after, she’d gone upstairs and quietly packed her things.
It was clear—there was no place for her in this house anymore.

When she told her father she was leaving, he acted calm, but the relief on his face was obvious.
He assumed she’d go back to Bartz, her old town. But Winter didn’t tell him where she was really headed.

Standing at the windy train platform, her mind was finally made up.

Thankfully, she still had some money left from the exhibition payout, so finding a small room wouldn’t be hard.

Could she really raise a child on her own? She couldn’t answer that confidently.
But somehow, she felt she could do it.

If she had her baby with her… maybe that would be enough.
At least she wasn’t truly alone anymore—that thought was her biggest comfort.

The train sped down the tracks, carrying her toward her destination: Santero, the second-largest city in Karten and a port by the sea.

***

Winter stared blankly out the window as the familiar scenery faded behind her.
Even if she went back to Bartz, rebuilding her life would take time—and honestly, it’d be the same anywhere.

Things were different now from when she’d dreamed of becoming a painter at the Royal Art Academy.

She had survived in the capital with no one to rely on. She could do it again somewhere else.

Lost in thought, Winter suddenly turned her head.
Something had tugged on her sleeve.

A small child’s round eyes were staring right at her.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry—Lily, you shouldn’t do that,” said a woman around Winter’s age, holding the child close.

“I’m sorry if she’s being noisy. Shhh, be good, Lily.”

Her voice was flustered and apologetic.
Winter gave her a kind smile.

“It’s fine. Her name’s Lily?”

“Yes, she’s three.”

The woman looked relieved at Winter’s warm tone and smiled faintly.
Winter unconsciously placed a hand over her belly as she looked at the baby’s chubby cheeks and tiny fingers.

Feeling a strange connection with the young mother, Winter pulled out a thick sketchbook from her bag.

“Lily, look at this—see the red flower? That’s a rose. Pretty, isn’t it?”

The baby’s curiosity brought small smiles to both women’s faces.

As the days and nights passed, they naturally got to know each other.
The woman’s name was Clara, the same age as Winter—twenty-two.
Her destination was Santero, the train’s final stop.

“My mother lives there,” Clara said. “That’s where I grew up… though it’s been years since I last went home.”

Her expression darkened, like she had reasons she couldn’t share.
Winter didn’t pry—she simply nodded.

“I’m headed there too. It’s my first time, though.”

“Really? That’s such a coincidence! Please, if there’s anything I can help with, don’t hesitate to ask. I already feel bad enough—you’ve helped me so much with Lily.”

Clara whispered softly, holding her sleeping daughter.
Whenever Clara went to the restroom or the washroom, Winter had looked after Lily—and Clara was sincerely grateful.

It felt like she had unexpectedly found a friend her own age, and Winter couldn’t help smiling too.

She was grateful for the company—it was better than being trapped alone with her thoughts.

***

Finally, the day they reached the final stop arrived.
Outside the window, heavy snow was falling.

The strong winds from the night before had turned into a full-on blizzard.
Winter gazed worriedly out the window—the world outside was buried under a thick white veil.

If the weather kept up, the train might stop at the next station.

‘If it snows this hard, we could be stuck for days…’

They were supposed to reach Santero by evening, but now she wasn’t sure.
Still, it was better to be delayed than risk something dangerous.

The train gave a slight jolt just as Winter adjusted the baby in her arms—Clara had gone to the restroom.
Winter tensed up.

Then the vibrations grew stronger.
All around her, startled voices began to rise.

“Kyaaa!”
“What’s happening!?”

The train began to sway violently from side to side.
Winter grabbed a handle as tightly as she could.

No… it couldn’t be…

A deafening crash and an enormous impact shook the carriage.

Luggage flew off the racks as the whole train lurched sideways.
The metal giant lost its balance and toppled in seconds.

The crushing weight and momentum threw Winter across the floor.
She clung to the baby with all her strength, desperate to hold on to something—but it was useless.

Her head hit hard against something solid.
Her vision blurred—the world was chaos, filled with screams, shattering glass, and overturned seats.

She tried to move her arms, her head—but her body wouldn’t respond.
Everything grew distant, muffled… except for the sound of the crying baby in her arms.

It’s okay… it’s okay. Don’t cry, Lily…

Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
She wanted to protect her belly, but she couldn’t even lift a finger.

Please… someone… help us.

Her eyelids trembled, then fell shut.

And then—blackness.

The world, covered in snow, fell silent.
The train that had been racing toward the next station now lay overturned, still and broken, in the white wilderness.

***

At a glittering banquet table, wine glasses clinked and loud chatter filled the air.

Eden sat among them, watching the heated debates with bored eyes.
Even though everyone there was eager to cozy up to him, he seemed completely uninterested.

No matter how hard they tried to engage him, his replies were short, mechanical.
When someone suggested a card game, he simply waved them off and checked the time under his sleeve.

He had stayed long enough. It was time to leave.

But then—

“Hey, remember that young artist’s exhibition a while ago? There was this painter named Winter Wood. You know her?”

Eden froze.
A name he’d been trying to bury deep in his mind had suddenly resurfaced.

Another man answered casually, “Oh yeah, isn’t she one of Ellen Haven’s apprentices?”

“Really? I didn’t know that. I saw her work at that exhibition. Honestly, she’s too pretty to stay cooped up in a studio.”

When someone commented, “She’s quite the beauty,” the whole table joined in, curious.

“Who are you talking about?”
“Oh, that girl! Anton kept visiting her studio, pretending to ‘check on her paintings.’ But apparently, she quit recently. I heard she left Bartz.”

“What?”

The man who had brought her up blinked, surprised.
The one beside him laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

“Man, you’re always the last to know anything. Keep up, will you?”

“Forget that—where’d she go? Is she coming back to Bartz?”

“How would I know? Ask Anton when he gets here. He was still visiting her studio afterward, so he might know something.”