Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 115

Chapter 115.

The Keeper—that damned Keeper.

I recalled Graham's words to me.

"Your birth secret is why you're in danger—White Veil is looking for you."

At this point, I felt like I needed to go meet these White Veil bastards myself.

Julian had also spoken of White Veil.

"As I said earlier—this seemed like it would destroy you. The more I studied it, the more I heard a strange voice in my ear."

"What did the voice say?"

"Bring the Keeper."

"How did you know it was me?"

"I met a member of White Veil once."

"Really? Who? What are they after?"

"I still don't know their true purpose. And he didn't know I suspected he was White Veil—I hid it. You probably don't know him—Captain Russell..."

I looked at Russell silently.

"To be precise, everyone suspected she was a candidate for the Heart of Frost's Keeper..."

Russell trailed off, meeting my eyes.

"But after seeing the power you wield, I'm certain—who the true Keeper is."

Ugh! Ugh—ugh!

Kaelan thrashed and glared at Russell—confirming he was telling the truth.

"What do they want with the Keeper?"

"To activate the Heart of Frost."

"Do they have it?"

"I know who does."

Russell glanced at Julian.

Julian shrugged playfully, feigning ignorance.

But the massive mana stone sat plainly in the corner of the greenhouse—covered, so Kaelan hadn't noticed it, but Russell clearly knew what it was.

"Ah—is it my turn to speak now?"

Julian said lightly.

Russell sighed—as if he'd seen Julian like this many times before.

"Then please explain for me, Director Everhart. It's been a while."

"Meeting you again with White Veil—I can't just let you go."

"Who helped you steal the Heart of Frost?"

Ugh—! Ugh?!

Kaelan erupted beside him—he must have been hearing this for the first time. I was too.

"Brother, why didn't you tell me?"

"There was no time."

Julian answered briefly, then tilted his head at Russell.

"And I still don't know—why did you help me?"

Everyone looked back at Russell.

He knelt and spoke calmly.

"My daughter was also a Keeper candidate."

He revealed something unexpected.

"She's still locked in a White Veil laboratory."

"Then why..."

"To get her back—I betrayed them."

He continued.

"At first, I believed them. That once the true Keeper was found, all the candidates would be released."

He slowly shook his head.

"But nothing changed. The experiments continued—candidates disappeared one by one. That's when I realized."

His voice trembled.

"They never intended to release the candidates. They didn't care who the true Keeper was—they were just useful test subjects."

He shut his eyes tightly, then opened them.

"No matter how loyal I was, they would never release my daughter."

Hearing that, I had to ask.

"If you betrayed them to help Julian, you must have wanted something—what was your goal?"

"To find the true Keeper before White Veil did."

Russell answered firmly.

"While working with the Director, I became more and more certain—that his sister might be the true Keeper."

He looked at Julian—the only one who frequented Julian's ice research lab.

Since Graham and Julian already suspected I was the Keeper, it wasn't strange that Russell, watching him, had reached the same conclusion.

"So the Heart of Frost..."

"Yes—I handed it over to the Director."

Russell said bitterly.

"I wanted the true Keeper to appear quickly, end this damned ice age, and uproot White Veil."

"What about your daughter's safety?"

"As I said—either way, they won't release her. They need her for experiments."

"What kind of experiments?"

"To turn ordinary people into mages."

Silence fell.

Everyone looked at me—reacting to the word "mage."

I'd heard the word "mage" so many times by now.

But even having seen and used this power, I still couldn't believe it.

Magic.

Did it really exist?

Was all of this truly magic that couldn't be scientifically explained?

Maybe I'd been stubbornly refusing to believe it.

"Who leads White Veil?"

Logan asked.

Russell stared at him and answered.

"There is no single leader—there's a committee and a chairman."

"What's the structure?"

"The chairman is the King of Grandon—currently all in the Southern Underground City."

What?

"The committee includes the late Duke of Cheshwind, the Earl of Everhart, and the Earl of Rutland."

I turned my head—taking in Aiden, Logan, and Marcus.

Our parents were alive—and all part of White Veil?

And they were all after me?

More than that...

My parents are alive?

I'd believed they were dead.

Five years since their disappearance—I'd never heard a word, so I'd assumed they were gone.

But they were alive.

And as members of White Veil—after me.

I felt like cold water had been thrown over me. My heart pounded. Betrayal crept in, slow and certain.

When Graham and Julian warned me, I still trusted our parents.

But they'd known I was drowning in debt for five years—and done nothing.

Now they were coming after me?

It didn't make sense.

How could they?

The father who whispered he loved me more than anyone—the mother who said I was the most precious thing in the world—how could they?

Logan spoke calmly.

"Even if they claim the 'Keeper' is a mage who can wield the Heart of Frost—what's their goal?"

"To end the ice age and redistribute power—to seize control of the continent."

Even in disaster, was the pursuit of power human nature?

And to think the King himself led it—for such a reason.

Power and continental control.

"Whoever holds the Keeper, they believe, will hold the power."

Everyone looked at me again.

I calmly asked Aiden,

"Did you know, Your Highness?"

"No—if I had, I'd have headed south first."

Aiden replied, looking troubled, and pressed his forehead.

That was true—such details never appeared in Ice Age Survival.

The novel was about Aiden building survival bases and finding a way to end the ice age.

I fell silent. White Veil wouldn't have attacked this village and tried to kidnap me without a plan.

Looking back, they'd had a considerable amount of Winterstones—though they'd all been absorbed into me.

Aiden spread out a map.

"Tell me everything you know about the Southern Underground City."

He addressed Russell.

"Location, command structure, troop numbers, defenses, supply lines, entry routes—every detail, no matter how small."

Aiden's eyes burned fiercely.

"The King abandoned his people to hide and plot power redistribution—I cannot tolerate that, if he's truly alive."

"I don't care what my father does—but if he's after Eve, that's different."

Logan added irritably.

"I have no attachment to my adoptive father—I respect him, but I don't love him."

Marcus finally spoke.

Graham and Julian were already furious, so I'll skip them.

It seemed everyone was shaken.

But I was probably the most confused.

Learning my parents were alive was enough to make my head spin.

And now they were looking for me—not as family, but as a tool called the "Keeper."

I slowly clenched my fist.

I want to see for myself.

I didn't want to believe everything based on hearsay.

Whether my parents truly made that choice—or if there was truth I didn't yet know.

In the end, I'd have to go and see for myself.

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