The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14
“What a shame.”
Marcus offered his brief assessment. He seemed to have no intention of helping.
I looked at Logan. He raised an eyebrow and asked me.
“What, you want to save it?”
When I nodded, he laughed as if to say there was no stopping me. Soon after, he sheathed the Greatsword he’d been holding into the scabbard hanging at his back.
Logan pulled a Handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped the chick in it, then lifted it with extreme care.
He then handed the chick to me.
I gazed quietly at the chick wrapped in the Handkerchief, then carefully placed it in the pocket of my outer coat.
“You sure about that? The little thing doesn’t look like it’ll survive.”
I shrugged at Marcus’s question.
Honestly, in weather like this, it was stranger that this tiny bird had survived this long in the first place.
“It’ll be able to survive.”
This wasn’t an ordinary bird.
It was a bird with a special ability to heal the wounds of humans and plants alike.
As Seolggoe appeared, creatures like Chipina and this small white-headed bird with special abilities had surfaced in great numbers.
These animals with Special Abilities both aided and attacked humans.
Of course, there were instances where some humans caught these animals and exploited their abilities.
But most of them were hard to spot by human eyes and not easily captured.
‘Except for those as young or injured as this one.’
Peep-peep-peep—
I patted the weakly chirping chick through my pocket and began walking.
Logan, who had drawn his Greatsword again, moved forward. I retrieved the map from his pocket and checked our route.
The Central Market District of Rosebrook was maze-like in its complexity, requiring careful navigation.
“They might have set traps, so be careful.”
Marcus warned us.
I recalled the Marcus episode from the novel.
Charles and Harry, the core members of the Rogue Gang, had been laborers for the Rutland Railroad Company.
But even during work, they drank, engaged in violence with their coworkers, and constantly caused problems both large and small.
Eventually, they were caught trying to pilfer company materials and were fired.
Yet the two refused to take responsibility for their actions.
Instead, they blamed the Rutland Railroad Company and its chairman, Marcus, for everything.
‘A commoner who succeeded looks down on his own kind.’
‘He made us scapegoats and cast us out.’
The resentment of the two gradually transformed into hatred.
Eventually, they planted a bomb at Rutland Railroad Station in an attempt at revenge, and the media reported that dozens of innocent victims died in the blast.
The two were arrested on the spot and imprisoned.
And about a year into their imprisonment—
the world collapsed, and the prison doors opened with it.
Charles and Harry, like fish that had found water, began building their own forces in Rosebrook.
That was when they discovered Marcus.
‘In the novel, they kidnapped Marcus and tortured him.’
How did Marcus escape?
He had help from an academy junior. And people who had been terrified by the brutality of these villains gradually lent their strength to Marcus.
Once the leaders Charles and Harry died, the gang would collapse easily.
They weren’t criminals with any real power to begin with—just a ragtag mob.
The reason Charles and Harry had been able to hold power and enslave people all this time was because of the Goldstone and Redstone.
And Marcus had stolen all the Winterstone, and without it, the Rogue Gang would crumble quickly.
‘All I need to do is seize the Winterstone.’
Right now, there was nothing more suited to my purpose than this.
* * *
Harry Baker loaded his gun and surveyed his surroundings.
He and Charles had split up with scout units, and he was currently in the weapons shop district of the Central Market District.
Complete preparations were necessary to raid the Devil’s Village where Marcus was hiding.
The voices of his comrades, who had come along to loot the armory, reached Harry Baker’s ears.
“Hey, did you hear what Charles said? He mentioned that Duke Cheswind and his wife are living in that village?”
“Duke Cheswind and his wife? When did the Duke get married?”
“About a week before all this happened. It was all over the newspapers—the remarkable reversal of fortune of a penniless young lady.”
“Penniless? What family’s daughter is she?”
“They said she was the daughter of an extinguished clan. The youngest daughter of House Everhart, I think. That family’s completely ruined.”
“Everhart? If she’s the youngest daughter of Count Everhart, isn’t she famous as a peerless beauty?”
“That’s the one. But she’s been frail since childhood, so she’s never been popular as a bride candidate.”
“So that couple is in Devil’s Village right now? Should we kidnap that woman too? A peerless beauty—I want her for myself.”
“Forget it. If Duke Cheswind is with her, it’s absolutely impossible. That man’s temperament is absolutely vile. What else would they call him the ‘Brutal Duke’ for?”
“Right, the kingdom’s hero who dragged out the Lubelina campaign for ten years straight and brought back a victory report just three months after his first deployment. He’s not someone trash like us should tangle with.”
“Ugh. I’m suddenly getting cold feet about going to Devil’s Village…….”
Harry stuffed bullets into a large satchel while glancing at them.
“Who’s certain that Duke Cheswind and his wife are actually there? That they’re hiding Marcus?”
At Harry’s question, his companions startled and averted their eyes—movements as quick and nervous as cockroaches scurrying for cover.
“I know Marcus Winston Rutland very well. That man and Duke Cheswind are sworn enemies. Would the Brutal Duke waste his time on a worthless businessman?”
At Harry’s words, the group nodded with sheepish expressions.
“We were just imagining based on what Charles said, Captain.”
“Fine. Stop spouting useless nonsense and think about how to kill Rutland.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, Captain!”
.
.
.
And I relayed their entire conversation to Logan and Marcus through the Winterstone.
“……So the Brutal Duke wouldn’t bother with a worthless businessman?”
Logan and Marcus’s expressions grew equally cryptic at my words.
“Our junior, you’re not suggesting that conversation happened without our hearing it, did you?”
“Of course not. If you’re curious, ask Harry Baker directly whether he actually said those things.”
At my answer, Marcus’s eyes widened.
“I never mentioned the name Harry Baker to you.”
I shrugged. True, I learned the name Harry Baker from the novel’s plot, but Harry was the one who said it anyway.
“He was right about what he said. We are enemies. And I’m not dealing with Rutland either. Both true.”
“Hey, Duke. Still, we were once senior and junior to each other—could you use formal speech?”
I listened to Logan and Marcus bicker while surveying our surroundings.
We were now on the roof of a weapons shop. Below us were the Rogue Gang members who’d just been discussing us moments ago.
They weren’t the group I’d spotted during reconnaissance from home, but this bunch had someone—Harry Baker—carrying Goldstones. He appeared to have roughly five of them.
He also had three more, but those seemed to have already been absorbed into weapons.
‘How much stronger would I become if I recovered and absorbed all of them?’
The prospect thrilled me.
Of course, I had no intention of absorbing all five myself. I’d have to share them with Logan. Absorbing them into his Greatsword would strengthen its durability considerably.
I gathered power to my fingertips and conjured a Fire Spark.
Pop—
Marcus startled and stepped back.
Logan had seen it many times, but for Marcus, who’d only heard about it and was witnessing me use the Winterstone’s power directly for the first time, amazement was understandable.
“Junior, be honest with me. You’re a mage, aren’t you?”
“Oh, my cover’s blown.”
I grinned in reply, and Marcus awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“How could I not be startled after seeing what you’re doing?”
That was fair. Even I still found this power remarkable every time I used it.
I smiled and pressed my palm against the roof. Fire bloomed from my hand and began melting the accumulated snow.
Only the snow immediately around my palm thawed. I didn’t yet have the strength to melt all the snow on the roof.
‘This should be about right.’
As I felt around the rooftop, my fingers caught a handle.
I glanced at Marcus.
He was the one who’d told me there was a door leading to the shop’s attic on the roof.
“I’m never short on information.”
Marcus shrugged as he spoke.
“Then you’d better earn your keep.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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