Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 105

Episode 105: 

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Thump—

Thu-ump—

Ugh. My tongue.

I can’t do this anymore. I quit!

I tossed the rope I’d been holding and collapsed flat onto the snowfield.

Because I’d overused the power of the Winterstone, I couldn’t use any of it—Silver, Gold, or Red—for the time being.

So I tried moving using only my physical strength, but after dragging both an unconscious grown man and a massive mana stone, I’d managed barely ten meters.

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“This is bad. The sun is setting.”

Beep—

Just then, Pipi—who’d been asleep in my pocket for ages—popped out.

“You. You really have no idea how to read the room, do you?”

At my words, Pipi tilted its head and settled on top of mine.

Still, at least I wasn’t alone.

Should I count that as a blessing?

I rummaged through Julian’s bag again. The one silver lining was that he’d clearly done a lot of camping on his way here—his gear was well-stocked.

There were even several Redstones inside.

I hurriedly set up camp.

First, I stamped down the snow firmly with my feet to make a solid floor. Then I spread a waterproof sheet over it and drove in pegs to pitch the tent.

A sharp wind blew, but thankfully the tent blocked most of it.

Next came the fire.

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I took one of the Redstones from Julian’s bag and placed it in the center of the brazier.

Channeling the faint remnants of Winterstone energy still left in my body through my fingertips—

Fwoosh.

A red flame quietly bloomed.

In an instant, the air inside the tent grew warm.

“Haa…”

I let out a sigh of relief.

Now came the biggest problem: Julian.

“Brother, excuse me for a moment.”

I slipped my arms under his armpits. Then, with all my strength, I dragged him backward.

With a dull thud, he fell from the sled—where he’d been lying beside the Heart of Frost—onto the ground.

Drag.

I pulled him.

Drag.

Again.

Drag.

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Inch by inch, I moved him.

A grown man’s body was far heavier than I’d expected. After slipping and nearly falling countless times, I finally managed to haul him to the tent entrance.

Hah... hah...

My whole body was trembling.

‘Seriously? It was barely a few steps.’

It was only a single stride’s distance, yet I felt like I was about to die from exhaustion.

After catching my breath, I put strength back into my arms.

Heave—

At last, Julian’s body—along with the Heart of Frost—was inside the tent. I immediately pulled out a thick blanket and wrapped it around him.

I pried off his frozen gloves and loosened his coat, which had gotten soaked from dragging him over the snow.

I pushed the brazier a little closer, and the red warmth began to slowly envelop him.

I pressed my fingers to his neck again.

His pulse was still faint, but he was definitely alive.

---

The problem was the enormous black mana stone Julian was clutching.

Because of it, I couldn’t even take off his coat.

“Why won’t this thing come off?”

I tried to pry it away, but it wouldn’t budge. It was as if it had become one with his body.

Just then—

Throb.

Throb.

The Heart of Frost pulsed ever so slightly, and Julian’s fingertips twitched faintly.

“No way… Is it because of the Heart of Frost?”

The reason Julian was still alive.

I withdrew my hands.

For now, I thought it best to leave things as they were.

Outside the tent, the crimson sunset was already vanishing beyond the mountain range.

The long night of Silvermere Lake had begun.

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At some point, I fell asleep—and for the first time in a long while, I dreamed of Julian.

I must have been about twelve. Julian always carried bruises and scrapes.

Father used to say it was because Julian had a difficult temperament and was always picking fights with friends.

“Eve, you’re our light.”

Sometimes, when we crossed paths, he would stop me and pour out such gentle words.

I could never believe that the same person was known outside as hot-tempered and prickly.

“Eve, when you choose your major later, how about considering the Department of Northern Ice & Environmental Change Studies?”

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“The field you’re researching, brother?”

“Yeah. You’ve always been interested in it, haven’t you?”

“It sounds fun.”

“Right. Knowledge is always good to have.”

Graham had warned me to be careful of our parents.

And just like Graham, hadn’t Julian also known something for a very long time?

After that, the dream dissolved into a jumble of disconnected, ordinary scenes.

Drifting aimlessly through that haze, I slowly opened my eyes.

Warm sunlight was streaming in beneath the tent flap.

The sun had risen.

I calmly sat up.

Then I glanced toward Julian—and nearly screamed in shock.

Julian’s eyes were open.

“Brother?! Are you okay?”

Startled, I rushed over to him.

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Julian blinked his violet eyes slowly and replied in a drowsy voice.

“This feels like a dream… but it’s not, is it? You’re really Eve, right?”

Then he looked down at the massive mana stone he was still holding.

“Seriously. Why won’t this thing come off?”

He was lying slightly on his side, the stone cradled in his arms.

Fortunately, his arm was on top, so it wasn’t crushing him—but he still looked terribly uncomfortable.

I clenched and unclenched my hands, gauging the energy left in my body.

‘It seems like I’ve recovered a little.’

Just in case, I placed my hand over the Heart of Frost.

Then I gathered all the Winterstone energy I’d absorbed so far and channeled it into the stone.

Amazingly, a faint glow began to emanate from within the black mana stone.

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“Welcome back.”

Welcome back? What does that mean?

Along with that voice—which seemed to rise from somewhere near my ear—Julian’s body finally detached from the stone.

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and slump down onto the spot.

At that moment, Julian came over and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“I knew you’d be alive, Eve.”

His voice was trembling.

“Thank you. For being alive.”

I hugged him back, burying my face in his shoulder.

He smelled cold and clean—like cool, crisp air.

He looked exactly as I remembered him, just before he disappeared five years ago.

Only then did I realize that my own body was shaking too.

I’d thought he was dead. I’d already said my goodbyes to him in my heart. To meet a family member I’d lost like this—and find him perfectly fine—was anything but ordinary.

---

I told him everything—how Graham and our parents had also vanished, not just Julian; how I’d married Logan; how we’d lived together in “Acorn Village” after the world collapsed.

With a heavy, choked feeling, I just stayed silently in his arms.

After a long time, I finally managed to speak.

“……I met Graham. We were all looking for you.”

After calming down a little and pulling back, I gave him a brief update on what had happened.

“You married Chesvind?”

Unlike Graham, Julian didn’t seem all that surprised.

Instead, he rested his chin on his hand, nodded seriously with a thoughtful look, and seemed to accept it.

“That bastard—I figured he’d do that. The way he looked at you was anything but ordinary.”

Wait. Graham said the exact same thing.

Was I the only one who hadn’t noticed Logan’s gaze?

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“I’m relieved. Even though I couldn’t protect you.”

He stared for a moment at the black mana stone lying inside our tent, then let out a sigh.

“I’ve been in hiding all this time. I’m sorry I couldn’t send word. I couldn’t afford to be caught by the Nobles.”

“Is it because of this? Is this why you had to stay hidden?”

I pointed at the black mana stone—the Heart of Frost.

A dying soldier at the naval base had said it: that Julian had stolen the Heart of Frost and fled.

Julian confirmed it.

“Yes.”

“What really happened? I thought you were dead. Down there, beneath the lake.”

“Right. I thought I’d sealed it by sacrificing myself…”

“Sealed? You don’t mean… You sacrificed yourself, and I ruined it? But in that situation, I had no choice but to save you. Even if I went back, I’d do it again.”

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At my resolute self-answer, Julian looked taken aback.

I emphasized my point once more.

“Don’t leave me behind.”

“Ah. No, it’s not that… When I created the sealing array and entered the lake with that thing, I realized something. I’d assumed that because you’re the Administrator, it would try to destroy you—but that wasn’t it.”

“Huh?”

“It was the opposite.”

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

“This mana stone is protecting you.”

With that, Julian began to tell me everything that had happened.

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