Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 77

Chapter 77.

Ever since the beginning, my brother had never liked Logan—he found him arrogant. (Not that they'd been lovers; even if they had, I'd have hated for Logan to lose on purpose.)

But even if he didn't approve, there was nothing to be done. Whatever the circumstances, I had no intention of annulling my marriage to Logan.

I felt a duty to stay by his side and keep him from falling into darkness—just as he'd struggled to save me. At least in my own judgment, that was true.

"Wait—Junior. We have more urgent matters—can we save this conversation for later?"

At Marcus's interjection, Graham glared at Logan for a moment longer, then sighed.

"Fine. For now, let me introduce our team."

Graham finally introduced the Tony's faction survivors.

Including Graham, there were seven of them—and the leader was Tony MacCuff.

"I was wondering when you'd introduce us."

Tony had short hair and a tanned complexion—a ruggedly attractive man.

Sensing my gaze, Logan subtly stepped between us.

He was annoyingly perceptive.

"I came to meet the Lowell representative—Tony's here for the turf war. Our goals align, so we're traveling together."

Graham didn't say why he wanted to meet Frank.

Tony's people said they didn't know either.

If they're following without knowing, maybe Tony's group really is that naive.

They'd been hiding in the basement when people suddenly flooded into the building around evening—and the commotion stopped right before we arrived.

We decided to search the management building thoroughly.

Marcus and Graham each split off to explore different sections.

Logan came to me and said quietly,

"Eve—in all my previous lives, I never saw you meet or encounter your family. I always assumed they were dead."

He was talking about his past lives—that he'd never seen them in all nine was surprising.

"I don't know if your ability to handle Winterstones caused this change, or if everything was destined to be different this time."

"It's a good sign, isn't it? I'm definitely not dying this time—it's okay."

At my bravado, Logan's expression flickered. He forced a smile, trying to steady himself.

"Right—don't die. I don't need a world without you."

Logan spoke of destruction calmly.

"If it ends the same way this time, I don't think I can bear it."

"..."

"I don't want to leave anyone alive in a world without you."

It was terrifying—he looked ready to destroy everything if he let go.

"Since that's not going to happen, how about we focus on finding Lieutenant Wayne and Sergeant Faulkner?"

I lightly touched his arm and pulled away.

"And the Winterstones."

Finding Winterstones had been my original reason for accepting Frank's invitation.

"What are you two talking about?"

Graham appeared at some point—startling me.

Logan remained still. When he didn't respond, Graham's smile faltered.

"Nothing—just talking about the missing people."

I saw an opportunity to change the subject.

"Brother—can we talk? I have so many questions about our family."

Graham, unruffled, smiled gently and deflected.

"Shouldn't we find clues about this place first?"

He turned and walked away.

I stood there, watching him go, bewildered.

Logan, who had been listening, patted my shoulder and moved to investigate further.

Fine...!

We could talk about everything later.

I couldn't stay idle—I had to move.

Though the management building was single-story, it was as large as a commercial complex. It seemed to have been used by park staff.

Past the lobby, a long corridor stretched through the building's center, with offices, storage rooms, tool rooms, and break rooms lining both sides.

Wall lamps with glass shades were sporadically lit—more than half were off, conserving power.

Maps and work schedules still hung on the walls.

[Carousel Inspection]

[Ferris Wheel Lubrication]

[Fountain Maintenance]

I studied the park map closely.

The park fanned out from the hotel, with facilities marked densely in each zone.

Past the main gate, the carousel square came first. Beyond it were the Ferris wheel, fountain square, and outdoor stage—with an artificial lake and walking path to the west.

To the east were a small zoo and greenhouse garden, and at the far end, a restricted maintenance area marked "Staff Only."

Nothing unusual...

But there were plenty of places to hide—it would take forever to search.

I looked lower on the map—black-and-white photos were pasted there.

[Carousel Square]

[Ferris Wheel]

[Fountain Square]

Small photos of the park before the ice age.

"...Huh?"

I leaned closer to look at the carousel photo.

In the picture, white horse statues with ornate decorations hung on the carousel.

But their backs were empty—no people, no monkey statues.

Right—the carousel horses shouldn't have statues on them.

Otherwise, children couldn't ride.

But just before entering the hotel, I'd definitely seen statues sitting on the horses.

Were they people who'd frozen while riding when the ice age struck?

No—that couldn't be.

What I'd seen weren't human-shaped statues—they looked more like monkeys.

I threw open the door and rushed outside.

"Eve!"

Logan and Graham, startled, followed me.

"Eve—what's wrong?"

I couldn't answer.

The carousel...

The statues were gone.

The horses' backs were empty, covered only in snow.

Just then—

Rumble—

A deep vibration echoed—so strong it rattled the entire space.

"What—what's happening?"

Marcus and Tony's group rushed out.

I didn't know where the sound came from.

Then, suddenly, the Winterstone locations inside the park shifted all at once.

?!

It felt different from before—as if they'd changed a while ago, and I was only now receiving the notice.

The missing people, the shifted Winterstones, and the vanished monkey statues.

So that name...

Something clicked.

I turned and ran back into the corridor—ripped the park map off the wall—and spread it on the lobby floor.

There was no need to find a connection between the carousel and monkeys—the Winterstones would lead me there.

Sure enough, the Winterstones scattered around the park had all converged in one spot.

The circus tent visible beyond the carousel—actually a parade waiting area.

Where clowns might be.

"Maybe they're preparing a parade."

"What?"

"Junior—what do you mean?"

People looked at me in confusion.

Only one person understood.

"I see."

Logan.

"Capuchin monkeys."

I nodded.

In the novel, their official name was "Snow Parade Monkeys"—so named because even the refined Aiden called them "damn monkeys."

They were intelligent snow monsters that enjoyed playing tricks on humans.

That's right.

Survival Strategies for the Ice Age was a insane world where you had to fight snow monsters in minus-sixty-degree temperatures, where even breathing could kill you!

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