The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 45

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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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Episode 45
Chapter 8. Sunhaven
“The sun’s already sinking. We should find somewhere to shelter for the night.”
I nodded at Logan’s words and moved deeper into the city. Claire and Lian followed close behind.
That’s when we spotted firelight in the distance.
At first I thought I was mistaken. Since the Ice Age, people rarely lit fires at night—fuel was too scarce.
But those were definitely flames. And there wasn’t just one.
On a hillside, multiple lights flickered around a building that resembled a glass greenhouse.
“It looks like there are people here.”
I nodded in agreement at Lian’s observation.
As we climbed the coastal hillside, the source of the lights became clear. It was the Sunhaven Survivor Community.
At first, I’d simply thought of it as an ordinary shelter.
But as we drew closer, my impression shifted. This wasn’t a shelter—it was a small village.
At the village’s center stood an enormous tree that remained unfrozen despite the harsh weather. Looking carefully, I could see Redstone embedded in its trunk.
Around it, various buildings were arranged in a circle.
An inn, a bakery, a doctor’s office, a storehouse, and even seaside villas.
The survivors appeared to be sustaining themselves based on these structures.
Between the buildings ran paths cleared of snow, with wooden stakes planted at regular intervals along the edges so people wouldn’t lose their way at night.
“More systematic than I expected.”
Logan murmured low. I was thinking the same thing.
Though more people lived here than in Acorn Village, the place seemed far more orderly.
A watchtower stood at the entrance.
Two sentries took turns surveying the area from atop it.
But the atmosphere differed from that of a military base.
The figures on the watchtower spotted us and came down to meet us.
“I didn’t realize there were still survivors outside. Where have you come from?”
“We’re headed to Rosebrook. We were searching for shelter when the sun set, and we stumbled upon this place.”
The sentries stood with rifles in hand, their eyes narrowed with caution as they studied us.
They glanced at Logan, Claire, and Lian for a moment, then narrowed their eyes further as they spoke.
“Aside from one person, you’re all wearing military uniforms.”
Embarrassed by the observation, I scratched my cheek. Now that I thought about it, everyone except me was a soldier.
It wasn’t strange that they were wary of us.
Then Claire stepped forward first, placed her fist over her heart, and bowed her head before introducing herself with crisp formality.
“Lieutenant Claire Shon Wayne of the Rosebrook Navy.”
“I’m Sergeant Lian Forkner, also of the Rosebrook Navy under Lieutenant Wayne.”
Once Lian finished, everyone turned to look at Logan. He sighed, placed his fist over his heart, and answered.
“Major General Logan Arthur Chiswind of the Granden Royal Army. And this is my wife.”
The moment Logan finished speaking, the sentries stirred. They seemed startled by the name “Chiswind.”
“Are you Duke Chiswind?”
“I’m simply a survivor now.”
Good heavens.
Gasps of surprise erupted from various directions. It was a reaction I hadn’t heard in so long that it felt almost strange to me.
The world had ended and civilization had collapsed, yet social rank and the influence of command still held sway. How curious.
The sentries exchanged glances and nodded.
“Please follow us.”
They didn’t regard us with sharp suspicion. I could even feel the ease of people who hadn’t lost their system of order from the Apocalypse until now.
We followed the sentries into the village and took in our surroundings at a leisurely pace.
A young man hauling firewood from the storehouse, children clearing snow, elders preparing evening meals before a large cauldron.
No one looked like they were being ordered about. They were simply doing what needed to be done.
In the center of the square stood an enormous hearth.
The survivors had gathered around it to eat.
There were dozens of people, yet the space didn’t feel chaotic.
Someone was distributing soup, someone was mending torn gloves, someone was teaching children their letters.
It was like an ordinary village before the Apocalypse.
What struck me most was the expression on people’s faces. They were weary, certainly, but they weren’t lost to despair. They were smiling faintly, talking, laughing.
Beyond the enormous tree, there was even a small cultivated field.
Most of it was frozen due to winter, but it appeared to be maintained regularly. They seemed to have planted crops that could survive the winter.
It seemed that thanks to the Redstone embedded in the tree, growing crops was possible here.
“You grow crops there?”
Claire asked the question, and the sentry nodded in response.
“Not many, I’m afraid.”
“How do crops grow in cold like this?”
“Our village has a remarkable mineral that makes it possible.”
She meant Redstone.
Behind the great tree, a broad path opened before us, and at its end stood a resplendent manor house.
From that place, I sensed the presence of a different Winterstone.
That was when it happened.
“Mulson, are we expecting guests?”
A woman stepped before us.
She was an elegant lady in her fifties, her back held rigidly upright, her hair neatly tied back and streaked with threads of premature gray.
“Ah, madam. Yes, that’s right. We stopped by Sunhaven on our way to Rosebrook.”
She extended her hand toward us.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Agnes Foger Winterdine, the director of the Sunhaven Survivor Community.”
I felt a jolt of recognition at the name.
Countess Winterdine. She was renowned as the Crown Prince’s former tutor.
I glanced sideways at Claire’s expression.
As the Crown Prince’s tutor, she would surely have some connection to Claire.
Yet Claire stood composed, her face maintaining its characteristic blankness.
Perhaps the memory was too distant to stir any feeling.
“If you’re looking for a place to spend the night, you’ve come to the right place. There is no shelter in Sunhaven more comfortable than this one.”
Countess Winterdine smiled with benevolent warmth.
“Welcome to the last paradise left on earth.”
Hearing those words, we followed Countess Winterdine without protest.
Paradise, she had said.
Where is paradise in this ruined world?
I had always harbored a certain resistance to those who spoke of “perfection.”
Humans cannot be perfect. We may pursue perfection, but we must never revere it.
We are human precisely because we are imperfect.
And so, to hear someone speak so unreservedly of “paradise” in a world that had become hell—it sat uneasily with me.
Though in fairness, Acorn Village too appeared peculiar and suspicious to outside eyes, so I had little room to judge.
‘If Logan isn’t saying anything, maybe it’s fine?’
I glanced at him. This man remained utterly inscrutable to me.
Logan caught my gaze and tilted his head in question. I smiled back and shook my head.
Now wasn’t the time to talk about it—the Countess was within earshot.
‘I’ll ask him later, when we’re alone.’
With that faint unease lingering in my chest, I followed Countess Winterdine.
* * *
Rosebrook’s waterfront district. Deep in the forest.
Prince Aiden trained his binoculars down on the village nestled below the cliff.
Even in the bitter cold, that village alone remained unfrozen. The houses stood in orderly rows, bearing clear signs of constant repair and maintenance since the Ice Age.
Beyond the perimeter, multiple walls had been erected to block the snow.
Smoke rose from the chimneys of several mansions.
It was easy to fall into the illusion of gazing down upon a peaceful rural village, not one caught in an Ice Age.
The Forbidden Land. The place known as Demon Village.
It seemed as though only that place inhabited a different world.

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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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