Even If You Tear Me Apart - Chapter 3
The Emperor of Murenas had three sons and one daughter.
After the first Imperial Crown Prince died soon after he was born, not even three months old when he succumbed to a fever, the Emperor made a vow to the Seven Gods.
He would dedicate the next child, whoever it might be, to the gods. So he pleaded with them to grant him another child.
The child born after that was Étienne.
But when he saw his newborn son, the Emperor no longer wanted to offer his child to the gods.
So, he made another vow.
He reasoned that if he offered Étienne, Murenas would face a bleak future without a successor. Therefore, he promised to dedicate the next child to the gods.
And that was how Ezekiel was born.
Ezekiel was an exceptionally beautiful and intelligent son. The Emperor even considered offering Étienne instead of Ezekiel. But a promise was a promise.
Thus, when Ezekiel turned eighteen, he became a paladin of Udal, the god of storms, thunder, and truth.
A sacred mark symbolizing his position as Udal’s paladin was engraved on his neck, and his soul was offered to the god.
…And that, he thought, was the end of it.
“Ezekiel, I need you to do me a favor.”
It was three months ago when Crown Prince Étienne summoned Ezekiel.
News had already reached Ezekiel that the youngest Imperial Princess, Geneviève, had thrown a fit and nearly wrecked the palace, refusing to marry an old mage.
So Ezekiel assumed Étienne had called him to help calm Geneviève down. The young Geneviève would listen to anything Ezekiel said.
But that wasn’t it.
“I need you to escort Iris.”
The unexpected name from Étienne’s mouth made Ezekiel dizzy. It was a name buried deep in his memories that had suddenly resurfaced.
“Iris… who is that?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Ez. You know her. Iris Quilluxia, the daughter of Baron Quilluxia.”
Ezekiel remained silent. He was aware that Étienne was watching him closely, as if observing his every reaction.
Étienne smiled faintly.
“Have you forgotten the trouble you ran into during your leave a few years ago?”
“…So, you mean that Quilluxia.”
Ezekiel barely managed to respond, as though retrieving the name Quilluxia from the depths of his memory.
Étienne shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, given how much has happened, it makes sense that you’d be hazy about something from five years ago. But it’s only been five years, Ezekiel.”
“I remember. But… Why have you brought up Miss Iris Quilluxia…”
Iris Quilluxia.
Why was he suddenly being tasked with escorting a woman from such a small, low-ranking noble family, a family so lowly that even calling it ‘low’ was an overstatement?
Ezekiel asked again, his eyes clearly showing his confusion—a detail Étienne didn’t miss.
But Étienne pretended not to notice and smiled slyly.
“Geneviève said she’d rather die than go through with the marriage, so what choice do we have left? I suggested to our Lord Father that he adopt a daughter.”
“……!”
Ezekiel clenched his fists without realizing it.
But Étienne continued speaking.
“An adopted daughter is still a daughter. Originally, we tried searching through the branch families of the imperial lineage, but the girls from noble houses suitable for the Imperial Family had either already married or were only infants.”
“……”
“That’s when I remembered the ‘Limping Baron’.”
Baron Quilluxia.
Everyone referred to him as the ‘Limping Baron’.
The reason was simple.
Baron Quilluxia had originally been a knight in the imperial palace without a noble title. But by chance, he saved the Emperor’s life.
To be precise, the Emperor had nearly slipped and fallen off a marble terrace, and the knight had thrown himself forward to catch him.
Unfortunately, in the process, the knight’s leg had broken, leaving him with a permanent limp.
The Emperor, who was just a boy at the time, had generously granted him the title of baron and a small estate.
That title, however, was one of many under the Emperor’s control, set to revert to the Imperial Family upon the baron’s death. Truly a stingy arrangement.
“Anyway, saying that she’s from a branch family isn’t entirely untrue. The title technically belongs to the Imperial Family.”
