The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 92

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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 92
“Yes. The village is growing larger, and it’s become difficult for Logan and me to manage everything alone.”
“A sound judgment.”
She nodded slightly.
“I heard you’d solicited nominations.”
“I did. But no one came forward.”
“An inevitable result.”
Her answer came without the slightest hesitation.
“People fear responsibility more than authority. Especially in a village where commoners predominate—they’re unaccustomed to stepping into prominence of their own accord.”
Lindsey spoke with courtesy, but her tone was resolute.
“So you mustn’t wait for volunteers.”
“Do you have another method in mind, Lindsey?”
“Grant the authority directly. Appoint them to the position yourself.”
Lindsey’s gaze settled into a composed, steady expression.
“And establish both a chamberlain and a lady’s maid.”
“……A lady’s maid?”
“Yes.”
She continued as though the answer were obvious.
“Someone is needed to manage the Duchess’s schedule, receive guests, and establish proper order in the household. Only then will the Cheswind Ducal House command proper authority.”
I crossed my arms and fell silent in thought for a moment.
Lindsey wasn’t wrong.
It was the proper protocol in royal courts and noble society alike.
But this place was neither a royal court nor noble society, and the Duke’s Territory was even less so.
Lindsey observed me for a while, then offered a quiet smile.
“I hold you in tremendous respect.”
It didn’t seem like flattery or empty praise. It was genuine admiration, plainly spoken.
“I’m grateful that you saved us, and even more so that you’ve taken us in like this.”
Lindsey’s voice was solemn and clear, carrying a peculiar weight.
“That’s why I’ve decided I want to devote myself—body and soul—to the Cheswind Ducal House.”
And that is why I listened to her plea. Perhaps the other new residents of Dotori Village felt the same way.
She truly wanted the Cheswind Ducal House to stand properly established over Dotori Village.
‘I won’t point that out. It’s her pride, the way she’s lived her life.’
If I dismissed her counsel carelessly, she would feel as though her entire past were being denied.
I didn’t want that.
I wanted to have her on my side.
‘She’d be perfect as an administrative director.’
So I needed to persuade her—without wounding her pride.
“I’ll consider your advice carefully and give it thought. Let’s discuss the details further at a later time.”
Once Lindsey saw her opinion gaining ground, she bowed her head with evident emotion.
Her eyes appeared slightly glistening. Only then did I notice her hands trembling.
She was shaking with tension—something I hadn’t detected while she was speaking.
After the memorable meeting with Lindsey concluded and I’d seen her out, I returned to find a man sitting on the sofa.
“Oh? Logan? How long have you been here?”
The man reading a book finally looked up.
“I’ve been here since around lunch today.”
“……The whole time?”
“The whole time.”
“You heard all of it?”
Logan nodded instead of answering. My cheeks burned with embarrassment for some reason.
But thinking about it again, it was fortunate.
Logan is a real Duke, after all. I may bear the title of Duchess, but I’ve never actually acted in that role before.
“What’s your take on it?”
“…….”
“How should I persuade Lindsey? She seems perfect for the position of administrative director.”
Logan closed his book.
“I don’t think you need to persuade her at all.”
“Why not?”
“She already respects you. She calls you her life’s savior. That’s why she’s eager to impress you—why she’s offering counsel that doesn’t quite fit the situation.”
That was a fair point. It made me worry even more.
“If stubbornness had threaded through her voice, it would usually be hard to break. People rarely think they’re wrong—especially when they see themselves as standing for what’s ‘right.'”
Hearing Logan’s words, I paused to gather my thoughts.
“People live by their convictions, don’t they? Especially when it comes to a way of life they’re proud of—they don’t let go of that easily.”
Logan chuckled softly and nodded in agreement.
“A lifetime of accumulated pride can’t be broken by logic alone.”
“Exactly. So I won’t deny Lindsey’s pride.”
I spoke as if making a vow.
“Instead, I’ll make that pride work for this village.”
Suddenly I felt Logan’s gaze on me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Logan just shrugged.
“I don’t remember, but I think I understand now why the old me liked you.”
“What’s the reason?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be fun.”
“I don’t want it to be fun.”
Logan burst out laughing. Why was he laughing? I was being serious.
“There’s still no progress with your memory, then?”
He nodded at my question.
“Still the same.”
I’d thought I should get to know him anew, but having never even understood how romance worked in the first place, I had no idea what people in a “getting-to-know-each-other relationship” were supposed to do.
I was hopeless at love.
‘I should have read some romance novels.’
Then Logan shifted his seat sideways and pointed to the space next to him.
“Sit.”
My gaze naturally turned to that empty spot.
It was close. Close enough that sitting pressed together seemed unnecessary.
I hesitated for a moment, then quietly took the seat beside him.
We weren’t quite touching, but we were definitely close.
Only I seemed self-conscious about it; Logan gazed out the window once with a calm expression, then turned his body back toward me.
“Now let’s talk.”
“Huh? What?”
The atmosphere suddenly grew so serious that I straightened my posture without thinking.
Had his memory returned?
Or was there something important he wanted to say?
“I’m not interested in the management problems of Dotori Village. It’s not even part of the Cheswind Duchy.”
Ah. So that’s what this was about. My shoulders sagged.
Logan kept one arm draped over the back of the sofa as he spoke matter-of-factly.
“But since we’re husband and wife…”
Logan trailed off as if he had no choice, then gave a slight nod.
“I have to follow where my wife goes.”
“What?”
“I’m saying I’ll help.”
“Earlier you said claiming we were married was just delusion.”
“There are witnesses all over this village—would I be stubborn and unreasonable if I didn’t acknowledge it?”
That’s true. With so many witnesses, refusing to acknowledge it would just be stubbornness and willfulness.
“How are you going to help?”
“First, with the Census.”
Ah.
This was another direction I hadn’t anticipated. Why hadn’t I thought of it?
“It’s important to first grasp the names, ages, origins, skills, and health conditions of the people.”
He continued as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“A lord can’t govern a territory when he doesn’t even know who lives there.”
Only then did I truly feel that he was the sole heir of the Cheswind Ducal House, educated in its ways and destined to inherit the ducal title—a true nobleman of the highest rank.
“After that, a school.”
“A school?”
“Don’t send only children there.”
“Why not?”
“If there are adults with the desire to learn, send them too. So that skills and knowledge can be shared among them.”
“…That’s a good idea. The school won’t just be a place for children—it’ll become a place for the entire territory.”
Logan glanced at my face.
I shrugged and added to what I’d said.
“In the end, it’s people who build a territory.”
“It’s convenient not to have to explain.”
Logan seemed pleased for a moment.
“You really do think like me. Whenever I reach a conclusion, you always arrive at the same one at the same instant.”
“Somehow…….”
I let the words die in my throat.
I’d poured blood and sweat into surpassing Logan. And in doing so, I’d become like him.
Ironic, wasn’t it? Competing with a rival only to grow to resemble them.
“That’s probably why my past self recognized you.”
Logan continued, as if intrigued by this turn.
“Even when faced with the same problem, you always arrive at the same answer I do.”
I smiled faintly.
“You said it doesn’t matter if I’ve lost my memory. I can just find the same answer again.”
A brief silence fell between us. Logan fell quiet, his expression growing pensive.
I found myself thinking it no longer mattered what he was pondering.
As he said—we’d reach the same conclusion anyway.
“I’m back!”
Just then, Luca returned home, having spent the whole day outside playing with the children.
Luca looked startled to find Logan and me gathered in front of the living room sofa, occupied with something.
“Duke, has your memory returned?”
I shook my head at Luca’s question.
Luca’s face fell in disappointment, and he trudged toward his room.
“Hey.”
Had Logan not called out to him, he might have made it—but instead, Luca’s ankle was caught.
Luca turned toward us with a puzzled expression, and Logan rested his chin in his hand, slowly scanning Luca from head to toe.
“This brat—are you really our son? Your hair’s black, after all?”
“So now any child with black hair is your son?”
He looks nothing like you. Nothing.
Of course, Luca was a handsome young sapling with such promise ahead of him, but he certainly looked different from Logan.
At that, Luca’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Logan.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Then Luca strode toward me and planted himself in front of me protectively.
“You’re not bothering our Eve, are you?”
Luca usually called me Duchess, but every so often he’d slip into that affectionate formal tone, calling me “Eve” with the utmost respect.
And he used that name mainly in front of Logan.
Logan’s expression shifted to one of obvious irritation as he looked at Luca.
A subtle tension bloomed between the two of them.
Why in the world was a ten-year-old child having a standoff with him?

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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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