Even If You Tear Me Apart - Chapter 29
The chapters are split like this so that the TL can update more consistently over time (✿ ＞◡❛)
“Where’s Henri?”
The reason Iris asked Ezekiel about Henri’s whereabouts was simple. Upon hearing the words ‘Your Highnesses’, Henri had panicked and yielded his room to Ezekiel. Ezekiel sighed.
“I told him the guest room is more than sufficient and came back.”
As he said that, Ezekiel reached to take the blanket from Iris’s hands, but she pulled it back with a soft laugh, saying, “Oh dear, what now?”
“The blanket I used is fine.”
“No, it’s not that… Are you planning to share a room with me?”
“…What?”
Ezekiel looked completely stunned. Iris shrugged.
“Henri and I were going to use the guest room.”
Only then did Ezekiel realize whose room Felicia must have taken, and he pressed a hand to his forehead. Iris gave a small smile.
“It’s fine. There’s another guest room that’s been left empty.”
As a result, the blanket Iris had been carrying was laid out once again in the guest room Ezekiel had stayed in.
The ‘unused guest room’ Iris mentioned was full of dust from not being cleaned, and though Ezekiel, with a determined look, insisted he would sleep there instead, Iris firmly refused.
In the end, the two agreed to clean the room together, each armed with a rag. Iris giggled.
“If Missus Babbin saw us, she might faint.”
“She must’ve been quite shocked.”
“More than shocked.”
The first thing Missus Babbin had said after hearing from the villagers that the boys were princes was, “D-Did I make His Highness do the dishes…?”
Ezekiel couldn’t hold back a laugh either.
“Well, thanks to that, I learned how to wash dishes.”
“And how to draw water.”
“And I even fixed a chair.”
Their eyes met, and both burst into laughter once again. In any case, although there had been a bit of a commotion, it all ended up being a good thing for the Quilluxia estate.
After everything was sorted out, Étienne instructed Felicia to give Iris Quilluxia two sacks of gold coins. Since the Quilluxia Barony wasn’t obligated to pay taxes, the money was technically being returned to them. Iris was overjoyed.
“At first, I was going to use it to rebuild the bridge.”
The bridge? Ezekiel looked at her curiously, and Iris smiled sheepishly.
“The bridge Your Highnesses crossed—it collapses every two or three years. The stones in this area are hard, but that makes them brittle in the rain. Our estate is so poor, though, we never even dreamed of fixing it properly.”
“……”
“But Lady Arbois had it rebuilt today, and it’s very sturdy.”
“Ah, that bridge… Still, it’ll need at least one more round of repairs.”
Because it was hastily constructed in the rain, the workers had warned them repeatedly before leaving at sundown—Make sure to reinforce it after the rain stops.
“Still, it looked incredibly solid.”
“If more funds are needed for repairs, I’ll gladly provide them.”
“It’s alright. What’s been done already is more than enough. And you’ve given us gold.”
Iris gripped her rag and smiled.
“With that money… maybe we can take Henri to see a mage about his illness.”
It probably wouldn’t be nearly enough. But Ezekiel didn’t say so, he only smiled.
“If you ever find yourself needing a mage nearby, you could always come to the capital. His Majesty the Emperor has mages as well.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose…”
“It’s not an imposition.”
A slightly hoarse but still bright voice cut in. Both of them turned to look at the door.
It was Étienne. Arms crossed, draped in a thick cloak.
“Brother.”
“Ezekiel, you vanished, and next thing I know, you’re working as a servant in the Quilluxia Barony?”
Étienne coughed as he joked. Iris, who had been kneeling to clean the furniture, stood up quickly and tried to explain.
“It’s not like that—His Highness was helping me.”
“Because Lady Arbois took Iris’s room.”
Ezekiel added. “Ah-ha,” Étienne raised a brow.
“I see. It was because of Felicia.”
“I apologize.”
“But hold on—‘Iris’? When did you two get so close?”
