Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 56

Chapter 56.

---

I dropped the acorn I was holding.

The cranky squirrel had climbed onto my head and hit me with another acorn.

Damn squirrel!

"His Highness the Crown Prince has set up camp next door—he looks like he's planning to stay for good."

I looked up at Charlotte's grumbling.

She was chopping the field roughly with a hoe, then sighed and stood.

"Still—I'm glad you made it back alive."

Charlotte looked at me with a gruff expression, then—as if embarrassed—scuffed the ground with her toe and turned away.

"It's not like I want my rival to die. And this village belongs to you two."

She seemed to be writing her own little story, but I didn't correct her—I just smiled.

I was grateful she was worried about me.

I stood and brushed off my hands.

"Right—it's a good thing I came back alive so you wouldn't be troubled."

At my words, Charlotte spun around, her face bright red.

Just then, Logan entered the greenhouse.

It had already been a day since we arrived at Acorn Village.

Yesterday, the moment we arrived, my legs gave out and I collapsed, so I hadn't had a chance to talk to Crown Prince Aiden.

Seeing my condition, Aiden had told me to rest and talk tomorrow, graciously stepping aside.

I hadn't even had a proper conversation with the Acorn Village group—I'd been too busy recovering from exhaustion.

I have no idea why Aiden came to this village so early.

According to the novel, Aiden was supposed to visit about half a year after the ice age began.

I'd been working on a project to make Acorn Village look harmless and inconspicuous by that time...!

Was it because of me? Because I'd acted differently from my previous lives?

"We haven't cleared the snow for two days—it's a problem. The roofs need regular clearing or they'll collapse."

Logan's aide, Nathan, grumbled as he entered the greenhouse.

He glanced at Logan, then at me crouched beside Charlotte, then covered his mouth with both hands.

"So last night wasn't a dream after all!"

Nathan Holt was a wild-looking man with curly hair covering his forehead and a thick beard. Seeing him act like a delighted child, I couldn't help but look away.

"If we all work together, we might be able to clear it before sundown."

It felt like we were finally returning to everyday life.

Though thoughts of my missing family kept circling in my mind.

I need to start investigating Julian's disappearance properly soon.

But for now, clearing the snow was urgent.

I stepped out of the greenhouse and picked up a broom.

"What should we have the Crown Prince do?"

Charlotte, who was tidying up inside, was horrified.

"Are you serious?"

I tilted my head.

"Of course—in this ruined world, anyone who doesn't pull their weight is useless. Crown Prince or not."

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"But he's still the Crown Prince..."

"I don't mind."

A voice came from behind me. I turned—Logan had approached and grabbed my shoulder, then gently pushed me behind him.

"Sorry for the late greeting—it's been a while."

A man with elegant blue-gold hair loosely tied back smiled softly and extended his hand to Logan.

Logan didn't shake it.

Aiden tilted his head and looked at me behind Logan.

"You must be the famous Duchess of Cheshwind."

"I don't even care why you're here, Your Highness. Just stay out of the way and leave this afternoon."

I slapped Logan's back at his rudeness. He didn't flinch, glanced at me, frowned, and added,

"Ah—if you're going to act like the Crown Prince here, leave now."

Jack Harper, watching nervously, slipped away—probably to fetch Marcus.

"Ah—I came to see you two, actually."

Aiden, as a Crown Prince, was no pushover—he didn't blink.

Logan and Aiden's relationship was neither good nor bad. Just politically entangled—but Logan seemed to dislike Aiden for some reason, always trying to protect me from him.

Why? Had I died by Aiden's hands before?

But Aiden is the protagonist...

Then I remembered—Logan was the villain.

Yes—as the villain's wife, I wouldn't be spared by the protagonist.

Now Logan's reaction made sense.

Or maybe they'd just had bad blood since the academy.

Aiden was a year below us, but I'd never had any dealings with him.

Honestly, I hadn't gotten close to anyone at the academy except Logan—and even with him, we weren't exactly friends.

He looks a bit older than me.

Whether because of his status or personality, Aiden certainly didn't look young.

"Would you spare me a moment?"

Aiden asked me directly—probably realizing Logan wouldn't listen.

I hesitated.

It was impossible to talk to Aiden with Logan around anyway. Whatever Aiden's business, Logan wouldn't entertain it.

So it was better to avoid a formal conversation.

Ideally, we'd make Acorn Village look inconspicuous and harmless.

In the end, I chose a somewhat rude but effective approach.

I handed Aiden a snow shovel, along with the broom.

"We were just about to clear the snow in the village—would you like to talk while we work?"

I needed to find out why he'd come here—whether he'd already classified Logan as a villain.

Of course, I hadn't anticipated that Aiden would be more curious about me than Logan.

Vincent, as Captain of the Guard, objected fiercely—but Aiden readily agreed.

He had no choice—Logan was standing there with a clear "refuse and you're out" attitude.

So Aiden and Vincent both took shovels.

Along with Aiden, I, Logan, Marcus, and Brian worked on clearing the village ground.

Nathan, Jack, Vincent, and Charlotte took care of the roofs.

There was a plan behind this division—we'd placed people best suited to handle Aiden in the right spots.

I sidled up to Aiden, not pausing my sweeping, and asked,

"So—why are you here?"

Aiden glanced at Logan and Marcus, then leaned toward me.

"If you wanted to talk, you could have sent them away—but instead you handed me a shovel. Quite an impressive reception, Your Grace."

I answered honestly,

"I wanted to see what kind of person you are—so I gave you a shovel. Consider it a test. I have no excuse if you find it presumptuous. Does it bother you?"

Marcus and Logan, with sharp ears, must have caught most of it.

"Not at all—it's made things more interesting."

Aiden continued shoveling calmly.

"To be honest, I came because I was curious about you."

At that moment, Logan—shoveling snow some distance away—stopped.

The veins on the back of his shovel-holding hand stood out clearly. He turned his head with a calm expression.

Our eyes met, and I gave a small shake of my head.

I'm fine.

I conveyed it with my eyes.

Logan stared at Aiden for a moment, then silently resumed shoveling.

But the sound of the blade cutting through ice was far rougher than before.

I turned back to Aiden.

His eyes gleamed sharply—contrasting with his relaxed, easygoing demeanor, his gaze was alive and piercing.

Back   Next