Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 21

Chapter 21.

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Nathan wondered how things had ended up like this.

He'd only wanted to survive...!

And he'd only been faithfully following his superior's orders...!

The burly men grabbed Nathan by the collar and shook him.

"If Charlotte doesn't come back, you die."

Why on earth did he have to die in Charlotte's place?!

Separated from the main assault team, they were lying in wait, hoping Charlotte would appear. But time passed, and there was no sign of her coming out.

"Damn it—did that bitch betray us?"

"Boss, I told you this would happen."

"Let's go in."

"Isn't that too dangerous?"

"The Duke of Cheshwind is at the front gate."

Charles opened the side gate and stepped inside.

"Huh? Boss, why are you back out here?"

He'd opened the door and gone in—but he was back outside. Confused by the inexplicable situation, Charles turned around.

He opened the door and went in again. But before he knew it, he was back outside the wall.

"Huh?"

He opened the door again, went in, and opened it once more—but he was still in the same place.

"Boss, are you messing with us?"

"What the hell!?"

Charles grabbed one of his large subordinates by the collar and shoved him through the gate.

And astonishingly, the man thrown inside popped back out through the door.

"What the hell is going on?"

Everyone was in chaos.

"This is forbidden ground! The Devil's Village!! T-The rumors were true!"

"Huff—you're right! We're right! Shouldn't we run?!"

The confusion grew. Nathan watched the ragtag mob's panicking in stunned silence. For all their size, they sure were cowards.

From what he'd gathered, all of them were criminals—violent offenders who'd killed people, part of this gang. In other words, they were beyond redemption.

"Damn it. I've had it with you bastards!"

Just then, Charles drew a knife and plunged it into the throat of one of his panicking men.

Gurgle.

Blood sprayed like a fountain as the man collapsed onto the white snow.

Instantly, the atmosphere turned icy cold.

Charles, splattered with blood, turned to his men.

"Alright. Who's next? Anyone who goes in and gets bounced back out ends up like this bastard."

Creak—

At that moment, the door opened—from the inside.

The person who appeared wasn't who Charles had expected. But it was someone he'd waited for even more than the Duchess of Cheshwind.

Marcus Winston Rutland.

With his deep gold hair, noble demeanor, and matching handsome looks—he was dazzling.

If only his personality matched his appearance.

With his hands in his pockets, Marcus strolled out leisurely and bent down to meet Charles's gaze.

"Long time no see?"

Charles felt an overwhelming urge to punch that arrogant, pretty face.

But he saw the rifle slung across Marcus's back. He couldn't act rashly.

Damn! Damn it!!!

Charles gritted his teeth. If Marcus was armed, he had no chance of winning.

Even with that pretty-boy face, Marcus was an excellent shot—it made Charles so furious he could go mad.

No—we have numbers.

Right. There was no beating numbers. And just then, another person emerged from behind Marcus.

A woman with navy hair and a haughty expression—Charlotte Murray.

Charles instinctively knew: that bitch had betrayed them.

His face slowly twisted.

"...Charlotte, you little wench! I knew it!"

Charles raised his knife and charged.

Marcus reflexively stepped in front of Charlotte and raised his rifle.

He was about to pull the trigger at the approaching Charles—

Thwack!

A thick wooden club came out of nowhere and struck Charles squarely on the temple. He lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.

It wasn't Charlotte. It wasn't Marcus either. The one who'd swung the club at Charles's head was Nathan.

"Pleased to meet you, Chairman Rutland. I'm Nathan Holt, aide to His Grace, the Duke of Cheshwind."

At Nathan's crisp greeting, Marcus awkwardly nodded back.

Marcus, like Logan, was a celebrity whose photo appeared in the papers daily, so it wasn't strange that the Duke's aide recognized him.

"Thank you, Mr. Holt. Let's save the formalities for later..."

Marcus looked past Nathan's shoulder and quickly loaded his rifle.

Bang!

At the same time, a gunshot rang out from the rooftop—from Eve.

The bullet struck the ground at the remaining men's feet, and they scrambled to take cover. But before they could, Charlotte moved swiftly, swinging her blades at them.

Ten men left.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted from all directions.

Watching Charlotte fly through the air, Marcus confirmed the men's positions and calmly pulled the trigger.

Bang bang bang bang bang—

Without a single miss, without a single pause. One by one, the men fell, shot in the legs.

Five left.

Sweat beaded at Marcus's chin and fell. Even in this freezing temperature, he was drenched in sweat.

"Kill Marcus first!"

Charles, having gotten back up, tried to flank Marcus—

"Nice try."

Marcus read him instantly and turned his gun.

Bang!

The gunshot cut through the blizzard.

He fired one after another.

Bang bang bang bang—!

All the remaining men took bullets to their legs and collapsed.

Some of the ones Marcus had shot earlier groaned and lay buried in the snow.

He should have finished them off like Logan—but he couldn't. He just couldn't bring himself to kill.

The reality he had overlooked, grown accustomed to a safe, sheltered life, now struck him coldly.

Marcus felt his fingertips burning.

No—it wasn't just heat. Something was boiling deep inside him.

I'm going mad. I'm so angry.

At the gang that had pushed things this far. At their stupidity and malice.

Hah.

Marcus took a slow, deep breath.

Eve will be here soon.

He wanted to have this cleared up before then.

The situation was as good as over anyway. All the men were wounded, and even if they tried to strike back, it wouldn't do much damage.

There was no more need to be angry.

But he was. Still.

"Urgh..."

Marcus frowned at Charles, who was groaning in pain.

Disgusting vermin.

Curses rose to his throat.

But in the end, he didn't raise his sword.

The moment he killed Charles, he felt he would become no different from them.

Marcus let out a long breath, then slowly opened his mouth.

"Hey, Charles. Thanks to you, I've realized one thing."

Charles groaned and lifted his head with difficulty.

"That I had more humanity in me than I thought."

After saying that, Marcus let out a dry laugh. Even he found it amusing.

He'd spent his whole life calculating numbers and results.

He'd always thought of himself as a cold-hearted boss to his employees.

He'd even thought his subordinates who followed him without being given much were more than he deserved.

"I used to think I saw my employees as nothing but parts."

He paused and looked at Charles.

The man before him had once been his employee. But at the same time, he was also the one who'd killed his employees.

"But when I actually lost them, I realized that wasn't true. I was angry—beyond endurance."

His cold eyes, fixed on Charles, trembled slightly for the first time.

Marcus closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

Charles was still groaning in pain. Marcus doubted the man was even listening, but he continued anyway.

"You called me a demon because you needed someone to hate. Not because I actually am one."

His tone was calm.

If anything, it was colder than when he'd been enraged.

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