Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 109

Chapter 109.

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Julian watched Eve with a bewildered expression.

He, too, had honed his hunting skills alongside Graham, so he was confident with firearms.

But Eve surpassed him—not just in marksmanship, but in her ability to wield Winterstones with such freedom.

To think she could use Winterstones that freely...

His eyes followed her movements—he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Now he understood what "they" had meant by "the Keeper."

It was power beyond human limits.

Bang!

With the first shot, a snow monster's head exploded and it crumpled into the snow.

CRUNCH—!

THWACK—!

The ice spears Eve created pierced the monsters' shoulders and limbs, pinning them to the ground.

In an instant, the charging monsters were immobilized.

"Now's our chance!"

A shout echoed from inside the station.

Haywood's survivors leaned over the barricades and fired.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The snow monsters, unable to dodge, fell one by one.

Without pausing, Eve raised her hand again.

Cold spread across the ground, freezing the monsters' feet in an instant.

CRACK—!

Another ice pillar erupted with a sharp sound.

As the front line collapsed, the monsters behind them became entangled.

"Push forward!"

"Out beyond the barricades!"

Haywood's survivors charged with a roar.

Eve picked off the monsters blocking their path with precise shots.

Bang!

Bang!

Each bullet pierced a head.

Eve and Julian closed the distance, drawing nearer to Haywood's group.

Their voices grew louder.

"What kind of woman is she?"

"The Duchess of Cheshwind!"

"Who? What kind of duchess fights like that? Are you making this up because you think I've never seen a noble?"

Julian shot them a bewildered look, but had no time to argue—he was busy covering Eve with his borrowed rifle.

Eve was practically flying.

The Goldstone's power, she called it.

Watching his little sister, grown so magnificently in his absence, Julian's eyes sparkled.

I want to study her!

---

The situation was resolved quickly.

I was out of breath as I released the ice barriers and walked through the corpses.

Haywood's survivors parted like a wave, clearing a path.

At the end stood the leader of Haywood's shelter.

"It's been a while."

I extended my hand—an offer to shake.

The leader, flustered, awkwardly kissed my knuckles instead.

What are you doing?

But something else shocked me more.

This place looks like it's falling apart.

The central station seemed barely survivable.

Only about ten survivors remained.

We're not here to ask for help—we need to help them.

I was taken aback, but quickly reconsidered.

Tony had said Haywood was a small, elite shelter—these survivors were all combat-ready.

"How about leaving this place?"

At my words, the leader sighed, looking even gaunter than when I'd last seen him.

"As you can see, survival is difficult—food is getting harder to find."

"Would you consider merging into another shelter?"

Acorn Village was short on manpower.

Though the Lowell survivors were helping with the village, military strength still relied on Logan, Clare, and Leon alone—which said it all.

The Haywood leader's eyes widened in surprise.

Some survivors who overheard immediately objected.

"Merging? We don't want that."

"We're grateful for your help, but we won't bow to anyone!"

A few voices rose—but those who had been through Lowell retorted fiercely.

"You're alive because of the Duchess."

"We're grateful for this time, but—"

"No! We survived Lowell thanks to her too!"

"Really? Even Lowell?"

I smiled and said,

"I'm sorry—let's forget the offer."

A cold silence fell.

I drove the point home.

"It seems you don't understand the situation. I'm not a philanthropist—I have no reason to help those who refuse."

Finally, the survivors looked around their shelter.

The condition was poor—barricades half-destroyed, walls crumbling, cold air seeping in.

Snow fell through the broken glass roof, piling up before it could be cleared.

Ice had frozen thickly between train cars, making many doors impossible to open.

White breath seeped through the wooden boards covering the windows—proof the heating wasn't working.

Faces were pale—some showed signs of frostbite necrosis.

Combat strength and survival ability were different things.

Even without the snow monsters, they couldn't have lasted much longer.

"Ah—we..."

"Damn it—this is why you should listen before talking."

"Can you honestly believe we can survive here alone?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am—our people are rough and uneducated, but they're good at heart."

The leader apologized on their behalf.

I thought for a moment, then spoke.

"I'm sorry—I won't reconsider."

Their faces turned pale.

"We want to merge—we were being stubborn..."

"Please help us, ma'am—surviving here is too hard."

They hadn't even heard what I was offering.

But my firm refusal made them anxious, as if they already knew what was at stake.

Good thing I learned negotiation from Senior Marcus.

I kept my composure and added,

"If you accept my terms, I'll consider helping you."

I needed to test them—I didn't know if they were trustworthy.

And in the process, I'd acquire whatever Winterstones they had.

---

At the White Veil camp, Captain Russell sighed as he watched his exhausted troops.

To be reduced to this over one small village.

And now snow monsters had joined the fray—forcing a tactical retreat that was itself hampered.

"Captain—there are people over there."

"Enemy reinforcements have arrived."

"The Duke of Cheshwind is coming this way!"

Russell didn't panic—he tried not to.

If he showed any sign of wavering, his army would collapse.

"Capture Eve Rania Cheshwind—then we'll accept you."

He recalled the orders from White Veil's leadership.

After the ice age struck, both White Veil and the Grandon King had abandoned the country.

He'd tried to join the Crown Prince in Norton when he heard—but was kidnapped by those who caught wind of it.

Branded a traitor, he'd been under constant surveillance.

Already on thin ice for failing to stop Julian from stealing the Heart of Frost, Russell was completely cornered.

"Did you really not know that Director Everhart stole the Heart of Frost?"

One day, his adjutant had asked him that.

What had he answered?

No—he hadn't answered.

The reason was simple: he had known—and he had helped Julian do it.

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