Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 76

Chapter 76.

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Management building lobby.

We sat on the sofas with Graham and survivors from the capital, Avrid, exchanging stories.

Graham had crossed the sea by boat from a neighboring country to the Grandon Kingdom.

When I heard he'd endured it all just to see me, my chest tightened.

He'd first arrived at a coastal city near Avrid—completely deserted, nothing but ruins.

So he headed straight for the capital. Though a third of the city had been destroyed by avalanches, the rest was still somewhat functional—hence the number of survivors.

"The problem was that there were too many people."

Graham sighed lowly.

"Food was desperately scarce, and the military and administration collapsed within the first month of the ice age."

His calm tone made it easy to imagine how devastating the capital must have been.

"In the end, His Highness the Crown Prince moved his base to Norton."

"..."

"Avrid isn't a city anymore—it's a lawless zone divided among rival factions."

Rosebrook wasn't much different—just smaller.

Silence fell.

Everyone gave the reunited siblings space to talk.

But Graham said nothing about our family.

He didn't mention what he'd done in Norsellan, why he'd lost contact, or whether he knew about our parents' disappearance.

I'd never had the luxury of grieving—there were too many debts.

I still didn't know where my parents had incurred such debts—no one had ever told me.

Maybe there had been a way to find out, but I'd been a naive student.

I looked at Graham and cautiously asked,

"Brother—how have you been all this time..."

"Let's talk about that later."

I fell silent. He clearly didn't want to talk about his time in Norsellan.

Suddenly, a thought struck me—had he truly missed me?

Just then, Marcus, who had been listening with his arms crossed, cleared his throat and interjected.

"Alright—enough tearful reunions. We should assess the situation."

He leaned back against the sofa and looked from Graham to the Avrid survivors.

One of the armed men behind Graham stepped forward.

He introduced himself as Tony and spoke without preamble.

"We saw you use Winterstone power earlier—is that right?"

He must have thought I'd just used a stone, like anyone else.

I nodded—no need to correct him. Tony nodded back and continued.

"The capital is in the middle of a war over Winterstones—and that conflict has spread to Rosebrook."

I'd expected that—the novel frequently described such battles.

"Currently, our Tony's faction is locked in conflict with the Lowell Mercantile faction."

I looked at Tony, the leader of Tony's faction, and fell silent. I could guess who'd named it.

"Choose."

Tony's gaze fell on us.

"Will you side with us—or with Lowell?"

As soon as he finished, another man behind him laughed.

"Ah—why ask? They just had a family reunion—of course they'll side with us."

My mind grew complicated.

In short, Acorn Village had become the shrimp caught between whales.

It was Marcus who stepped in.

He crossed his legs leisurely and leaned back—completely relaxed, as if the tension moments before had never existed.

But his blue eyes were sharp, scanning the other side.

"As a businessman, I'm not fond of being asked to choose sides before negotiations even begin."

His quiet voice shifted the room's atmosphere toward him.

He tapped the armrest lightly as he continued.

"There's a proper order to a deal."

After a pause, he smiled faintly and looked around at Tony's people.

"What can you offer us?"

The room fell silent.

Tony's people exchanged glances, but no one spoke.

Marcus pressed his advantage.

"Blood ties might matter to our junior, but not to me—I'm a merchant."

He glanced at me briefly, then fixed his gaze on Graham.

"Cooperation between factions isn't decided by family or connections."

His smile remained, but his voice grew lower.

"We move only after weighing what value each side can provide."

He laced his fingers together leisurely.

"So if you want us to act—give us a reason."

Tony's people clicked their tongues and whispered among themselves.

"Can you negotiate with Rutland?"

"Damn it—how would I?"

"We have Everhart."

Graham shook his head.

"I can't help you this time."

After a moment, Tony's people bickered and reached a conclusion.

"Forget it—we'll move on our own."

Sensing their decision, Marcus added,

"By the way—do you know Tony's Faction is fighting a phantom enemy?"

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"The Lowell survivors have all vanished."

"It's true—just three hours ago, the hotel was full, and now they're gone without a trace."

At my confirmation, a heavier silence fell.

We had no reason to join them—especially when factions were fighting for power.

It would only drain us without helping.

Meeting Graham was welcome, but it had nothing to do with survival.

More than that—it doesn't make sense for Graham to be with these seemingly dim-witted survivors.

They must have some hidden asset—or their clueless act was all a performance.

Finally, Marcus sighed and made a proposal.

"Your target seems to be the Lowell representative—am I right? Whether to occupy this place or negotiate—that's why you came."

Tony's people nodded reluctantly.

"Then let's do this—we want to know the cause of this too, and we have people to save..."

He paused and looked toward the dark window.

"We'll help you find the Lowell representative and the survivors."

"Th-That's fine."

Tony nodded.

A temporary alliance was formed.

As the conversation seemed to wrap up, I turned to Graham—I'd almost forgotten something important.

"By the way, brother—I got married."

CRASH—

A vase on the table fell and shattered.

Graham's leg had knocked the table as he uncrossed it in surprise.

Undaunted, I introduced Logan, sitting beside me.

"Say hello—this is my husband."

"Wh-What?!"

Graham shot to his feet and glared at Logan.

Logan didn't flinch—he just sat there, arms crossed, staring back.

As if to say, What are you looking at?

Still—could you at least give my brother a nicer look?

"Eve—I know I have no right to say this, but you hated him—he was your rival, wasn't he?"

Graham asked, bewildered and clearly in disbelief.

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