Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 10

Chapter 10.

Puzzled, I entered the greenhouse—and the little creature tugged at the hem of my dress.

Led by him, I stopped in the middle of the garden.

Then he began frantically digging under a tree with his paws.

After a while, he handed me something.

It was a Wintercore.

And not the kind we'd found in the basement—this was a Goldstone.

"Is this for me?"

Chippy didn't answer, but his tail swished gently.

I had just received a Wintercore proposal from a squirrel. I take back what I said about him being a cranky squirrel—he was a romantic one.

Did the novel ever mention a Goldstone in the greenhouse?

As far as I remembered, only the Redstone in this house had been mentioned.

Curious whether the Goldstone would also be absorbed immediately, I thought I should consult Logan first.

So I decided to place it on the table for the time being.

Flash—

But without warning, the Goldstone emitted a golden light and was absorbed into my body.

I immediately recalled the Goldstone's properties.

When held in the hand, it enhanced physical strength by 10%, and when applied to a weapon, it increased durability by the same margin.

If it wasn't just held but absorbed into the body—what would happen?

If it enhances strength, then I should be stronger, right?

To test it, I looked around and spotted a terracotta pot. It held a lemon tree—a pot that would normally require two grown men to lift.

In my original state, even sliding it would have been difficult. But the pot moved.

Not bad.

I tried a few more experiments.

I couldn't lift and carry the pot, but I could bend a shovel.

Something was off.

There were limitations, but the strength enhancement was still very welcome.

Drip—

Though every time I used the power, my nose bled.

I still get nosebleeds like before—but something's different.

There was no dizziness or anemia. In fact, I felt full of energy.

I experimented with the Redstone and Goldstone powers in various ways, learning to control them.

I wondered why I had acquired such abilities, but it felt as difficult to figure out as understanding why I had been reincarnated into the novel Ice Age Survival in the first place.

As I sat at the greenhouse table, deep in thought—

Chirp—!

Chippy came scurrying over.

"What's wrong, Chippy?"

At my question, the squirrel clasped his little paws together and stood at attention as if saluting.

Anyone watching would think I was drilling him.

It seemed the little guy considered me something like his "captain."

But technically, the owner of this greenhouse—and the mansion—was Logan.

Still, Chippy darted forward, then back to look at me, then forward again—trying to get my attention.

He wanted me to follow.

I rose from my seat and followed him.

And there I saw it—the crops, which I hadn't checked in a while, had grown so lush and abundant that they were ready for harvest just a month after planting.

I knew the greenhouse guardian had the ability to help plants grow, but I hadn't expected it to be this remarkable.

I looked at Chippy in surprise—and he planted his paws on his hips, puffing out his chest.

Feeling proud of him, I patted his head.

He promptly bit my finger.

I no longer felt proud.

As I engaged in a small scuffle with the squat little squirrel, using both hands—

"Eve? Are you in here?"

Just then, Logan entered the greenhouse. Behind him stood Marcus.

I smoothed down my slightly disheveled hair and waved my hand—still attached to Chippy's mouth.

Logan strode over, grabbed Chippy by the scruff, and lifted him up. Fortunately, the squirrel let go obediently.

No blood—his baby teeth were still too small to do any real damage.

"Eve, I appreciate you reminding me of our first meeting, but this one's no ordinary creature. Be careful next time."

Marcus looked around the greenhouse and the squirrel with a stunned expression.

Then, behind Marcus, his aide Jack Harper appeared.

"Ah, good day, my lady—ah, I mean, Your Grace, the Duchess of Cheswinds."

Jack Harper's polite greeting seemed to please Logan somewhat.

"You have a decent aide."

By now, I wasn't surprised by Logan's biased judgments.

"I never imagined the ducal couple would be living a pastoral life in a place like this."

Marcus muttered, surveying the greenhouse. He seemed to have accurately assessed our current situation—like an elderly farming couple living self-sufficiently in a rural village.

We all sat around the greenhouse table and brewed tea.

Jack still looked bewildered, his eyes darting around the greenhouse.

Marcus and Logan stared at each other, locked in an invisible battle of wills.

"I have no intention of letting any humans into this village except Eve and my aide."

Logan's deep-seated distrust of humanity surfaced again.

At first, I was thinking of sending them back too...

But after recalling what Marcus was like in the novel, my thoughts had begun to shift.

I already knew what it was like to survive alone with Logan in this place.

And yet, the result was the same: my death.

Maybe that means we need to change our survival strategy entirely—in a direction we've never tried before.

Marcus, hearing Logan's words, quietly looked at me.

"Eve, do you think the same?"

I shrugged.

"The owner of the house is Logan."

At that, Marcus reluctantly turned to Logan. He seemed to ponder for a moment—

Then suddenly slammed his head onto the table.

Thud.

Huh?

"Please accept me, my junior Duke."

I thought Jack, his aide, would be flustered by this sudden action—but he didn't bat an eye. As if he was very used to Marcus behaving like this.

Ah. That reminded me—Marcus was the type who would stop at nothing for money.

That was how he'd amassed vast wealth at a young age and become the chairman of a railway company.

"I refuse, Senior."

Logan replied without blinking.

I quietly watched the two of them, then spoke up.

"Senior Rutland, what can you do?"

I asked in a manner reminiscent of interviewing a new farmhand at a rural estate.

Marcus looked at me with wavering eyes for a moment, then answered.

"I'm good at repairing and maintaining the mansion. I also know how to manage a farm—I did all that when I was young."

In the novel, the protagonist Aiden had always wanted to recruit him, too.

Actually, Marcus's true skill wasn't repair work—it was negotiation. He was an essential asset for any survival camp.

"And you?"

I asked, looking at Jack.

Jack sat up straight, placed both hands on his knees, and almost shouted:

"I—I have some medical training! I have some medical knowledge!"

"I see."

I turned to Logan.

"Let's give these two a house each in the village and see how they do. What do you think, Logan?"

"Of course not, Eve."

Logan answered firmly, then frowned and sighed.

"...Eve, you trust people too much."

To be honest, I owed Logan a great deal.

I was grateful even for his blind devotion to me—to the point of risking his life.

But in this life, I was going to grow stronger.

By absorbing Winterstones.

And I wouldn't lose my humanity.

I had to stay grounded.

Because I didn't want Logan to lose his humanity, become a villain, and annihilate mankind.

Whether Logan loved me—

Or whether he was simply obsessed with the person he'd lost nine times—

I still couldn't tell.

But either way, the result was the same.

He had regressed nine times to save me.

Whether it was obsession or twisted love, I couldn't stand by and watch someone who had sacrificed so much for me fall into darkness and become a villain.

I'd said it before: if he had given up everything in the ninth life and turned dark in the tenth, he should have stopped caring whether I lived or died.

"So you don't like it?"

I meant: do you dislike that I trust people?

At my question, Logan fell silent. He wouldn't dislike it—that was probably why he'd come to like me in the first place.

"No. That's why I like it."

"Then trust me."

At my answer, Logan's expression crumbled.

He must have given me countless chances like this over his nine lives.

And every time, what returned was my death.

"This time will be different."

Yes. This time, it really would be different.

"Because we have Winterstones."

I was going to gather as many Winterstones as possible—a whole lot of them.

At the mention of Winterstones, Logan finally looked at me with unsteady eyes.

"It really is different."

He muttered.

"...Yes. This time, it seems a little different."

I shrugged and looked at Marcus and Jack, who were watching our exchange in confusion.

"In that spirit—"

My eyes sparkled.

"—let's start by digging up the potatoes."

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