The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 49

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

Chapter 49
* * *
Acorn Village Greenhouse.
Marcus and Aiden sat facing each other at a table. Behind them stood Jack Harper and Vincent respectively—adjutant and commander of the guard.
In Charlotte and Brian’s stead, Marcus had taken on the full burden of the conversation with Aiden.
Marcus sipped his tea and cast a sidelong glance at the man across from him.
The Crown Prince, Aiden, with his long copper-red hair hanging loose past his shoulders, was dressed with meticulous care.
It was almost unbelievable that he had crossed the brutal cold—plunging between minus thirty and minus sixty degrees—looking so impeccably put together.
Over a white-as-snow linen shirt he wore a silver-grey silk cravat.
The cravat wound about his throat was tied without the slightest disorder, and above it lay a deep navy waistcoat that fit his frame perfectly.
The buttons were all fashioned from lustrous mother-of-pearl, and along the edges ran delicate silver embroidery evoking the royal crest.
Had this been before the ice age, one could have stepped directly into a court ballroom dressed this way without apology.
Of course, such finery alone could not withstand cold that swung between minus thirty and minus sixty degrees.
Over the coat lay a thick grey wolf-fur vest, and a military thermal cloak descended from his shoulders to below his knees, enveloping his entire frame.
Additionally, a leather gun belt and holster hung at his waist, and ice clung to the thermal boots that rose to his knees.
At first glance, he resembled less a Crown Prince and more an officer commanding an arctic expedition.
Behind Aiden stood Commander Vincent, his shadow, maintaining an unbending posture.
Just the two of them. They had come all this way with only each other—though where their home base might be, he couldn’t say.
Marcus shook his head with a somewhat weary expression and drank his tea.
He had no idea when Logan and Eve would return. It had already been two days.
“I must confess, I never expected to receive Your Highness in such merciless cold.”
That Marcus recognized the Crown Prince Aiden was, perhaps, inevitable. They had both come to know each other’s faces through the newspapers.
‘We’re both Academy alumni, but there’s such an age gap between us that our paths never crossed.’
Marcus, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth quietly.
“If you’ve simply lost your way, please speak freely about it. Offering you a house here would be no great difficulty.”
Though of course, he would need Eve’s permission.
Since it mattered now that his spirit not flag, Marcus glossed over that detail with a subtle smile.
At that smile, Aiden’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
Click.
Only then did Aiden set down his teacup, lace his fingers together, and lift his gaze.
“Introductions are in order, it seems.”
The man removed his Fur Gloves and placed them on the table.
“Aiden Leopold Aldrich Granden. Those under my command still call me Crown Prince, but in a world like this, surely a name alone should suffice. Not Crown Prince—call me Aiden.”
“A change of address does not alter one’s station, does it, Your Highness?”
His tone was measured and gentle, yet the meaning beneath was decidedly firm and cold.
Commander Vincent, standing behind Aiden, narrowed his eyes and fixed a glare on Marcus. Marcus merely shrugged as if to say he understood nothing.
“It seems I have said something discourteous.”
“…….”
Regrettably, there are far too many reasons I can guess at, so a precise apology proves difficult.”
Aiden regarded Marcus quietly. Marcus showed no trace of nervousness.
Marcus Winston Rutherland.
Adopted son of the Earl of Rutherland, who had established a railroad company at a young age.
Which was to say he was no ordinary man.
Moreover, despite his commoner’s origins, Marcus was flawless in matters of etiquette.
More striking than how he drank his tea was the absence of any wasted gesture in the process.
The motion of grasping the cup, setting it down, and the timing of shifting his gaze—everything was excessively precise.
Even a nobleman who had spent years mastering court protocol would seem natural by comparison.
One began to understand why the Earl of Rutherland had taken him as an adopted son.
Indeed, Marcus wore a cunning smile and opened his mouth.
“I am curious about the circumstances that brought Your Highness here with only a commander of the guard in attendance.”
“We received word that Duke Cheswind and his wife had been sighted in this place.”
Aiden answered matter-of-factly.
“Yet I did not expect to encounter the chairman of Rutherland here. That is rather surprising, I must admit.”
“Circumstances have it that I’ve come to share a connection with the Duke and Duchess.”
“A connection, you say.”
Aiden murmured softly.
“From what I recall, you and Logan were never particularly close.”
“Ha ha ha. Your Highness certainly does know a great deal.”
“Shall I ask the Rutherland chairman myself.”
A suffocating silence fell.
Jack Harper, standing behind Marcus, swallowed hard.
It felt as though Vincent might slice through all of them at any moment.
Of all the bad timing, Logan—who handled their military affairs—and Eve—who supposedly handled magic(?)—had both stepped away.
‘But our chairman is different.’
Looking at the back of Marcus’s head steadied him. Jack drew a measured breath.
As long as that temperamental squirrel didn’t show up, they’d be fine.
And then,
Tap-tap.
Something rolled across the floor beneath Aiden’s feet. Glancing down, he saw a tiny acorn.
“Where did this acorn come from……?”
A flash of brown fur bolted across the ground and snatched up the acorn.
Looking closer, it was a young squirrel.
“A squirrel?”
At Aiden’s question, the young squirrel froze in startled alarm, rigid where it stood.
It had been hiding well until the acorn betrayed it.
Marcus pressed his forehead.
Jack Harper bounced on his heels, staring at Chippy. That temperamental squirrel better not do anything strange in front of the Crown Prince……!
The temperamental squirrel crept forward cautiously, picked up the acorn, then looked up at Aiden while gently swishing its tail.
It was radiating an utterly innocent gaze.
At that nauseating display, Marcus’s brow furrowed, his earlier worry forgotten.
Why had the personality-disordered squirrel transformed into a well-mannered one in front of Aiden?
Marcus and Jack thought the same thing simultaneously.
‘You didn’t act like that in front of us, you little menace!’
Of course, such thoughts didn’t last long.
Crack.
The temperamental squirrel bit through Aiden’s Boots.
Marcus and Jack finally relaxed, smiling with relief.
They decided that from now on, they’d call the temperamental squirrel by its true name—Chippy.
Aiden, who had been silently observing the squirrel that had just bitten his Boots, opened his mouth.
“How is a squirrel even alive in weather like this?”
At Aiden’s murmur, Vincent, who had been following behind, looked around as well.
“I confess, I cannot explain it either, Your Highness.”
Aiden studied the squirrel in silence for a moment, then turned to Marcus with a question.
“I’ve become quite curious—just how much Redstone does this village possess?”
It was a question Aiden had wanted to ask since he first arrived in this village.
“How much must they have to keep the entire settlement warm like this?”
The village itself was special—not because of Redstone, but Marcus judged that the Crown Prince before him wasn’t the sort to believe such an explanation.
“You would need to ask the master of the house directly about that.”
“Fair enough. I’ll wait.”
Aiden nodded readily and rose to his feet.
“Would you give me a tour of the village?”
“I’m afraid that’s beyond my authority as well. At this point, with Your Highness neither confirmed as enemy nor ally, it would be folly to reveal all our cards.”
Marcus was resolute. Jack, standing behind him, gazed at his superior with profound admiration.
The man had the audacity to stand firm before the Crown Prince. Truly, our chairman is remarkable!
“Moreover, it would be discourteous to tour a house whose master is absent.”
“Now, listen here. Rutherland.”
When Vincent looked at Marcus disapprovingly again, Marcus smiled gently.
“I beg your pardon, but there are things that cannot be done, even for a Crown Prince. I, too, answer to our master.”
“Our master?”
Aiden tilted his head and looked at him curiously.
“You mean the master of this house—Logan?”
“No. The master of this village is someone else.”
Aiden asked who that was, but Marcus gave no answer.
Yet Jack, standing behind him, found himself in complete agreement with that sentiment.
Logan owned the land, perhaps, but the true master of this village was surely Eve.

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