Chapter 9
Marcus felt as if his body had been soaked in water.
It was unbearably heavy, and a burning fever coursed through him.
How did I end up like this?
Where am I?
How long has it been since I last felt warmth?
Unable to force his eyelids open, Marcus gave up trying and instead retraced his memories.
The great disaster had struck without warning.
As he left the hotel, he met his aide, Jack.
From that moment onward, it had been nothing but a desperate struggle to survive.
They wandered all over Rosebrook searching for food and shelter.
But every safe-looking shelter already had occupants, and they were driven away time after time.
The Rutland family also owned a luxurious villa in Rosebrook, a symbol of their enormous wealth.
Unfortunately, it stood in the northern part of the Upper District…
The very area that had completely collapsed beneath an avalanche.
Ha… Nothing ever goes my way.
At first glance, the city looked completely deserted.
Not even an ant seemed to be alive.
But that was only an illusion.
Many survivors were hiding in the shadows.
The only reason Marcus had managed to stay alive this long was thanks to his extraordinary memory.
Once he saw something, he never forgot it.
That ability gave him information, and information kept him alive.
Although he was the chairman of the Rutland Company, he was also one of the most influential information brokers in the underworld.
He had been born into poverty.
Everything he had achieved had been earned through schemes, strategy, and gathering information.
Thankfully, those talents proved useful even during the disaster.
At least…
Until they found him.
About a week after the catastrophe, groups of survivors began forming throughout Rosebrook.
They were ruthless.
To survive, they would do absolutely anything.
At first, they looted food warehouses.
Then they stole coal for heating.
Eventually…
They began capturing people and using them as slaves.
The terrifying part was that they weren’t ordinary thugs.
They operated like an organized force.
They had patrol units.
Lookouts.
They even planted spies among other survivors.
They were completely insane.
To survive, they built a new order on top of the old one.
The strong took everything.
The weak froze to death.
Only one month into the Ice Age, they had already taken control of Rosebrook’s survivor community.
Marcus and Jack accidentally encountered them while searching for food.
From then on, they became hunted.
They ran.
They were chased.
Then they ran again.
In their desperate escape, they eventually wandered into the forest known as the Devil’s Land.
“Chairman! If we go any farther, we’ll reach that place! We can’t! Even those monsters avoid it!”
“Then should we just die here? The sun’s about to set. We need shelter.”
Marcus continued forward, dragging his exhausted body through the snow.
Jack reluctantly followed behind him.
Neither of them knew how deep they had traveled into the forest.
Eventually…
They found the forbidden place.
The Devil’s Village.
To their surprise, far less snow had accumulated there.
Even more shocking…
Smoke was rising from the chimney of a huge mansion at the edge of the village.
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
“Chairman… I think someone lives there!”
“No one should be living in the Devil’s Village.”
He continued walking.
“Let’s find out whether it’s a person… or a devil.”
“I-I’m scared…”
Jack trembled for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold.
“The sun’s setting. Stay here if you’re afraid.”
Marcus continued toward the mansion with slow, heavy steps.
Jack hesitated…
Then faithfully followed after him.
The moment they crossed the village entrance…
Warmth.
It wasn’t enough to instantly thaw their frozen bodies.
But there was unmistakably warmth throughout the village.
Barely managing to reach the grand mansion with smoke rising from its chimney, Marcus and Jack knocked on the front door.
Perhaps because the tension finally disappeared…
Their bodies, pushed beyond every limit, finally gave out.
Using the last of their strength…
They knocked once more.
Then collapsed.
.
.
.
Marcus slowly opened his eyes.
His blurry vision focused on the face of a woman with shining silver hair.
“…Logan… Marcus has woken…”
An angel?
How could someone be so radiant…
So beautiful…
She looks exactly like Eve Rania Everhart.
Eve looked just like that…
Wait.
Eve?!
Marcus’s eyes snapped wide open as he sat upright.
He found himself in an unfamiliar room.
There was no visible breath escaping his mouth.
The realization made him quickly look around.
Outside, people froze to death within minutes after sunset.
Yet this room was unbelievably warm.
He lay on an old cherry-wood bed with a worn mattress.
Even so…
The blanket smelled faintly of soap and felt wonderfully soft.
The bedroom was neither large nor small.
Looking through the window above the bed…
He saw green trees.
The room was on the second floor.
What…? Green trees?
Click. Creeeak…
The bedroom door opened.
A man entered.
He wore a black military uniform.
Black hair.
Red eyes.
His expressionless face looked like a perfectly carved sculpture, impossible to read.
“Chesswind?”
Logan Arthur Chesswind.
His junior from the Academy.
Why was he here?
“What are you doing here?”
Not How did you get here?
Not Are you alright?
Not How have you been?
His first words were…
“What are you doing here?”
Marcus let out a dry laugh.
Still just as rude as ever.
Of course…
He kept that thought to himself.
After all…
Logan had saved his life.
I’m sure I saw Eve.
Then Marcus realized something.
If Logan was here…
There was no way Eve wasn’t.
Letting out a tired sigh, he answered,
“I came here to survive.”
Logan remained silent.
An awkward silence filled the room.
“Thanks for saving me.”
“I didn’t know this was your shelter.”
“If you knew, you’d be getting ready to leave.”
Logan casually jerked his head toward the door.
Marcus nearly lost his temper.
But he held it back.
Logan was his savior.
When Marcus said nothing more, Logan raised an eyebrow as if surprised.
Changing the subject, Marcus asked,
“Eve’s here too, isn’t she?”
“You call her ‘Eve’ pretty casually.”
“And you speak awfully casually to your senior.”
“Oh.”
Logan answered without emotion.
“I became a Duke while you weren’t looking.”
Damn noble society.
Marcus looked away, knowing he had lost that exchange.
Just then…
Eve entered the room.
“Senior Rutland, it’s been a while.”
“How are you feeling?”
Of course.
Wherever Logan was…
Eve was too.
Damn it.
“No, Logan.”
“Our senior just woke up. Why are you standing there?”
“Didn’t you check his condition?”
“He’s perfectly fine.”
“He talks a lot.”
Logan answered childishly.
Outside Eve’s line of sight, he pointed two fingers at his own eyes…
Then pointed them at Marcus.
I’m watching you.
That was clearly what he meant.
That brat really hasn’t changed.
If Eve and Logan had always been rivals…
Then Marcus and Logan had always been sworn enemies.
Despite being in different grades, they constantly clashed.
Usually Marcus started it.
Logan simply responded.
But he never lost.
The reason Marcus always provoked him was simple.
He wanted to pursue Eve.
Logan kept getting in the way.
Marcus smiled warmly at Eve.
“Eve.”
“Would you check my condition instead?”
“Huh? Why?”
“…What?”
“Since you’re both men, he’d probably be more comfortable helping you than I would.”
Eve smiled innocently as she rejected him.
She clearly had no idea what Marcus had actually meant.
Logan quietly chuckled.
Moments earlier, he had been standing nearby with folded arms, nervously tapping his finger.
Now…
He looked completely relaxed.
Completely victorious.
Oblivious to all of that, Eve smiled politely.
“Then get some rest.”
“Oh, and don’t worry.”
“Your aide is resting in the room next door.”
“We’ll explain everything a little later.”
“W-Wait, Eve!”
Before Marcus could stop her…
She had already disappeared from the room like the wind.
Marcus remained frozen with one hand stretched helplessly into the air.
Watching him…
Logan smiled.
It was the unmistakable smile of victory.
I know why Senior Marcus is always so nice to me.
It’s because I’m a Count’s daughter.
He desperately wanted to become part of high society.
Being the adopted son of a Count was already impressive.
But that wasn’t enough.
He also wanted the title of husband of a Count’s daughter.
Even so…
Marcus wasn’t connected to either the protagonist or Logan, the future villain.
More accurately…
He was destined to become an outstanding strategist and adviser in the survivor camp that opposed Crown Prince Aiden.
But…
To be honest…
Life in the Devil’s Village with just Logan had become surprisingly peaceful and comfortable.
We didn’t really need any extra mouths to feed.
I should send them away.
After making up my mind, I headed toward the greenhouse.
The transparent glass walls let me see everything inside.
Standing near the entrance was a tiny creature pacing back and forth anxiously with its little paws clasped together.
“Chippy?”
The squirrel’s ears perked up the moment it heard my voice.
It immediately began hopping around excitedly to get my attention.
Aww… How adorable.
Then…
It threw the acorn it was holding straight at the glass door.
Thunk!
“What is it now?”
“You grumpy little squirrel…”
THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER 9
