The Ice Age Came And I Just Got Married - Chapter 97

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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 97
If a building was completely sealed off, they would eventually need to either break through the collapsed rubble or find another way in—a window, a door, somewhere they could force their way through.
“You’re right. The windows and doors are all collapsed.”
Despair crept into Graham’s voice.
Logan stood with his arms crossed, studying the ruined Mansion in silence.
‘There has to be a way. There has to be…’
His crimson eyes swept slowly across the wreckage.
The scene was dire. The Mansion’s exterior had been demolished beyond recognition.
A collapsed roof, fractured walls, a tilted chimney.
His crimson gaze moved along the foundation of the structure, not the debris itself.
Above ground, everything except a few sections of the first floor appeared to have caved in entirely. That meant the only possibility lay below.
Logan approached the collapsed outer wall and brushed away the snow from his eyes.
Beneath the frozen ground, a blackened Iron Hatch was partially exposed.
“This is…”
Brian drew near, narrowing his eyes.
“A coal chute. It should lead to the storage area in the Mansion’s Underground.”
At Logan’s answer, Brian glanced at him. Unlike with Marcus, Logan treated Brian with deference—as a senior. Whether that was something to be grateful for, Brian wasn’t sure.
Meanwhile, Graham approached and placed his hand on the Iron Hatch.
A faint breeze was seeping through the gap.
Unlike the collapsed upper levels, the Underground space apparently hadn’t been completely sealed.
“We’ll enter here.”
Logan drew his greatsword.
The blade’s tip wedged into the boundary between the frozen iron plate and the stone foundation.
Crack-crunch!
The twisted iron door screamed as it was wrenched free, revealing beneath it a narrow black passage—just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
Logan didn’t hesitate. He lowered his body.
“I’ll go first.”
No reply was necessary.
He was already moving inside before his words had finished.
Graham and Brian had no time for deliberation or thought. They had no choice but to follow Logan into the passage.
A dark Underground corridor.
Thud-thud-thud-
They walked in single file, an awkward silence settling between them. Logan and Graham remained like time bombs, tension coiled tight.
It would stay that way until they found Eve.
“How did you come to care for Eve?”
A question, directed at Logan in that volatile state.
It was bound to touch a nerve. Yet Logan’s response was far calmer than expected.
‘Come to think of it, that’s a bit odd.’
Earlier too, the way he’d treated Eve had been subtly different from before.
“Hmm. Does a reason need to exist?”
Logan answered without turning around.
“For me, at least, that answer matters. As her brother, it’s natural that I’d want to know how much she’s loved, isn’t it?”
Graham’s reply was plausible.
He was family, after all. And his devotion to his sister was uncommon. He had every right to want that answer.
Logan was silent for a moment.
Brian walked behind them both, tension evident on his face.
“She’s beautiful.”
The answer was honest and plain, yet enough to disappoint Graham. But Logan’s words didn’t end there.
“Here’s what you might not know: Eve is far more single-minded than you’d think. Once something captures her attention, she sees nothing else.”
Graham and Brian both knew this already. The memory surfaced of Eve during her Academy years, seeing only Logan.
In those days, Eve had seemed as though her entire reason for living was Logan alone.
“If you’re within her sight, you’ve won. Because you’ll have her obsessive attention.”
Logan continued.
“I’ve lived a life without shortage of anything. So I’ve never been obsessive about anything, not once. That’s why Eve intrigues me.”
Brian sensed something odd. Logan didn’t sound like he was speaking of the past—it felt like he was speaking of the present.
“She’s like a flame. Simply watching it brings rapture, and if you stare at that light long enough, you feel the urge to leap into it.”
As though his feelings for her had only just taken root.
“It’s inevitable. She’s a captivating woman.”
He didn’t use the word love. Listening to his words alone, he sounded like a man who’d only recently developed feelings for her, a man only just beginning to understand what affection meant.
‘Am I imagining things?’
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Brian tilted his head, but the response seemed to satisfy Graham.
Though his face remained hidden, his posture conveyed a deep satisfaction with the answer.
“And I must say, my mood has never been worse. Of all people, Eve had to become isolated with the Crown Prince.”
“I share your sentiment entirely. Of all the complications.”
Graham agreed with Logan’s grievance as though he’d been waiting for the chance.
The Crown Prince was an excellent leader, but he had a reputation for women that was decidedly colorful. He fell easily for them and surrendered readily to their charms.
Yet at the same time, he was a cold man who would turn away without mercy if he deemed something contrary to duty.
‘But the other party is Eve.’
Brian reflected. Aiden might abandon his affections on principle, but Eve was hardly the sort of woman to fit the measure of duty.
‘Though, admittedly, His Highness does maintain clear boundaries.’
He would never cross into a love that betrayed those lines. That too would contradict duty.
But the human heart—wasn’t it a thing beyond anyone’s control?
Their pace quickened as they moved forward.
* * *
Crown Prince Aiden was a man of ice.
He was a man suited for the throne. Except where women were concerned, he never acted from personal sentiment—never.
If something ran counter to the Kingdom’s interests or his own, he classified it as an enemy and crushed it without hesitation.
Which was why he had come into conflict with Logan.
And so I could never fully trust him.
At any moment, we could become enemies.
“Escaping the building seems difficult. The outer walls have collapsed entirely, and there are no clear gaps to exploit.”
We made our way barely through the rubble and snowdrifts before finally abandoning the attempt to exit.
Clang.
That was when I felt something beneath my feet.
“Your Highness. Wait a moment.”
I used Redstone to clear all the snow from the floor.
As the white powder scattered to either side, a square iron frame emerged at the center of the ground.
It looked like a door built to open from below.
“It appears to be an entrance to the Mansion’s storage level?”
At my question, Aiden nodded and seized the handle, pulling with force.
Creeak.
The rusted metal shrieked, but the door didn’t budge.
Aiden drew forth Redstone and channeled its power to pull at the door. Still, it wouldn’t move.
“Hmm. It won’t open even with Redstone’s power alone. It’s truly frozen solid……”
“Let me try.”
Aiden hesitated and turned to face me. I read the conflict that swept across his features.
Perhaps his instinct not to burden a woman with difficult labor and his sense that I might be capable of something clashed in that instant.
So I placed my hand on the handle without waiting for his answer. Then I gathered the heat of Redstone at my fingertips and slowly melted the iron hinges.
After a moment—
The metal plate lurched with a soft thunk.
Crack.
Then the door, sealed for so long, opened slowly.
From below rose cold air and the smell of musty dust.
When I shone the Lantern down, a narrow staircase descending into shadow came into view.
And in that moment,
Bang—bang!
Gunfire echoed from somewhere distant. A firefight was erupting somewhere.
“Help, please help us!”
Someone’s desperate cry followed.
Silence hung for a moment.
Then Aiden spoke.
“I must descend. It’s the duty of a Crown Prince to aid those in need. They are citizens of Granden, after all.”
“Let’s go together. I was taught never to turn away from those who cry for help.”
Of course, those words had come from my father.
“Eve, if you find someone in need, you must always offer your strength. That is your obligation.”
Obligation. Even now, I wondered why he’d chosen such a grand word back then.
I looked at Aiden with a questioning gaze.
We faced each other and nodded in unison.
In truth, we had little choice. Staying here meant nothing but remaining trapped.
And so I began descending the stairs, following in Aiden’s footsteps.

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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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