Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 33

Chapter 33.

"So what if he's the heir of the Cheshwind family? Why does everyone treat Logan like some untouchable legend? He's just a person—he has feelings, he makes mistakes. So just watch—I will definitely beat him."

Marcus had once overheard Eve saying that to her fellow housemates.

And Logan, hearing it, had smiled.

As if to say, No one has ever spoken about me like that before—you're refreshing.

He really is a pervert, I guess.

As Marcus pondered, Logan turned a corner with Pipi and disappeared.

"Senior, aren't you going to follow?"

At Charlotte's question, Marcus shook his head.

"We have to follow—let's hurry."

---

The baby bird, Pipi, flew without hesitation, as if he knew exactly where Eve was.

Logan, carrying a lantern, watched Pipi's round back and felt troubled.

He had lived nine lives. Yet Pipi and Chippy were creatures he'd never once seen in all nine lives.

He'd thought only snow monsters existed—what were these creatures?

And Winterstones were the same.

"Logan—it's okay to stop now. I'll be fine. Forget me and live your own life."

In the ninth life, Eve's last words echoed in his mind.

Forget you and live my own life?

Logan gritted his teeth.

That would never be possible. If there was one thing he could never let go of, even at the cost of his own life, it was Eve.

A past he alone remembered.

Memories he alone held.

It was the lonely path Logan had chosen. He wanted to save her so much that he'd gladly endure repeating the same life over and over, carrying everything alone.

Give her up? Never.

Squeak— Squeak—

Just then, Pipi chirped as if he'd found something and fluttered his wings.

Logan hurried down the stairs.

At the bottom, he saw an open door—and Eve standing in front of it.

Her pale cheeks were flushed with a faint pink.

Even amid the blazing flames, Eve seemed lost in thought.

"Eve!"

Logan grabbed her shoulders and asked,

"What on earth were you doing here?"

And Eve gave an unexpected answer.

"Ah—I was talking to some soldiers. They were telling me about the Ice Age Research Institute."

"What?"

"They all knew Julian."

"Wait—Eve—who were you talking to?"

"The soldiers trapped in here..."

"There's no one here but you."

"Huh?"

"They're all dead."

At Logan's answer, Eve turned around in confusion.

As he said, the quarantine zone contained only frozen soldiers.

The color drained from Eve's face. Logan calmly looked down the corridor.

He saw blazing flames and the bodies of wolves with gunshot wounds.

Logan furrowed his brow.

Eve must have done that.

It was the same in previous lives. Eve's body was weak, but her combat ability had always been top-notch—she was skilled at hunting and riding.

And yet she'd been murdered every time.

Because she trusted people too easily.

But if asked whether he wanted to see Eve distrust humans like he did—that wasn't it either.

He'd fallen in love with Eve's warmth and overflowing humanity.

He shouldn't control Eve—he needed to grow stronger himself.

But now, with Eve wielding the power of Winterstones, Logan's worries and concerns were becoming unnecessary.

"Eve!"

"Junior—you're awake!"

Just then, Charlotte and Marcus came running down the stairs. And so, they were reunited.

If it weren't for the gun aimed at them, it would have been a rather pleasant reunion.

Beyond the flaming corridor, a soldier was aiming a rifle at them.

"Drop everything you've got."

So he was the one who'd opened the door to let them in.

Logan sensed it instinctively.

With an exasperated sigh, he drew his greatsword.

---

The soldier's name was Arnold Dawson.

And he was subdued by Logan far too easily.

With Arnold captured, we moved into the [Operations Conference Room].

It seemed like a good place to talk.

Arnold, dragged in by Logan, was forcibly seated in a chair.

His gun had already been taken, so there wasn't much he could do.

More than anything, he looked gaunt and emaciated—whatever he'd been eating, it wasn't enough.

I can sense Winterstone energy from this man.

I remembered the Bluestone—presumably used to trap the dead soldiers in the quarantine zone.

So that's where it was.

Arnold kept muttering,

"I'll die if I go out. How did you get here from outside? How..."

"Wasn't it you who opened the door to let us in?"

At my question, Arnold paused.

"I didn't know anyone was out there. I just opened the door to try and get out myself..."

Now that I thought about it, how could he have known someone was outside from this underground facility?

I stared at Arnold, bewildered.

I'd forgotten—since Logan, Charlotte, and Marcus had appeared—but I still remembered the soldiers in the quarantine zone.

Had my conversation with them been just a dream? A hallucination?

Was I going mad?

Above all, those soldiers had said there was a traitor. How likely was it that the traitor was this man?

"...The soldiers in the quarantine zone—you killed them, didn't you?"

"I didn't kill anyone!"

Arnold jerked up, and Logan grabbed his hair and slammed his face onto the table.

A brief silence.

Logan looked at me with an utterly calm expression and said,

"Continue."

Continue? Continue what?

I organized my thoughts and spoke.

"I met your comrades."

"Th-That's impossible—"

Arnold asked, his head still pressed to the table. Logan lifted his face.

"They must have died so unjustly that they're still wandering, unaware they're dead."

At my answer, Arnold's pupils shook violently. He still didn't seem to fully believe me.

I recalled the names engraved on the soldiers' chests.

"Tobias, Walter, Dillon, Oliver, and Robert. They told me there was a traitor—someone who lured them into the quarantine zone and trapped them."

Arnold's face finally went pale.

I hadn't known them long. They weren't acquaintances of mine.

But the way their eyes sparkled with gratitude when I opened the door—I wouldn't soon forget.

There was no need to interrogate Arnold about why he'd done it.

The dead comrades couldn't be brought back, and the man before us didn't seem likely to live much longer anyway.

"Do you happen to know anything about Julian Wesley Everhart?"

At my question, Arnold's eyes widened as if he hadn't expected the name.

"Julian Wesley Everhart... you mean the Director of the Ice Age Research Institute?"

"Yes, that's right. I'm Director Julian's younger sister."

"?!"

Clatter.

Arnold tried to stand in surprise, but Logan pressed his shoulder down firmly.

Arnold rolled his eyes back and said,

"Then this person is..."

"Lieutenant General Cheshwind."

"The Black Lion!"

The Black Lion was Logan's nickname from his military days—born from his overwhelming combat prowess and commanding ability.

I asked the stunned Arnold,

"So—what's your answer to my question?"

Finally, he turned to look at me.

"Ah—you asked about Director Julian..."

Arnold seemed to search his memory, then hesitantly began to speak.

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