Even If You Tear Me Apart - Chapter 60
The chapters are split like this so that the TL can update more consistently over time (✿ ＞◡❛)
And so Ezekiel barely managed to speak. Étienne gave him a scornful look.
“How can you so easily belittle my feelings?”
“…It’s just how I feel.”
“Ridiculous. So if you say you’re suspicious, I’m just supposed to accept that?”
Étienne sneered and gave an exaggerated shrug.
“It’s unfortunate that you doubt me, but my feelings for her are sincere. She was lying beside me, and she looked so lovely that I kissed her. That’s all.”
Those words were not only directed at Ezekiel but also at himself. Because he, too, had been stung by what Ezekiel said.
Étienne had only just realized it might have been because of Ezekiel. But his younger brother had so easily struck at the heart of the matter.
And so what rose in Étienne’s heart was not guilt, but defiance. A desire to flatly deny that Ezekiel’s words held any truth.
Alongside that, a thought bubbled up to justify himself.
‘Even if I’m enjoying Ezekiel’s anger, the truth is—I really did find Iris beautiful in that moment.’
“The sky was clear, and she was beautiful. How could I not kiss her?”
“Forever?”
“What?”
Ezekiel glared at him.
“Are you saying that your feelings toward Iris were not just for that moment?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking whether you kissed her out of a passing impulse.”
“Who knows?”
Étienne scoffed.
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. And what if it was a passing impulse, Ezekiel? What are you going to do about it?”
Ezekiel was shocked by the answer. Étienne certainly had his impulsive and reckless moments, but more often than not, he behaved responsibly, especially in matters as grave as this. He had always made a point of being accountable for his actions.
But now Étienne was behaving in a deeply childish and petty way.
He had kissed a girl of low nobility—no, one who barely even qualified as such—and was brushing off his conduct so vaguely.
“Brother, I can’t force you to do anything. But am I not allowed to ask your intentions?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Do you even realize how many people were present when you kissed Lady Iris?”
It had been a picnic with two princes. The daughter of Duke Arbois had been there too. Even though they had kept the group small, there were still three attendants and over ten guards.
And yes—when Étienne kissed Iris, the knights had been nearby.
Everyone had seen it. They had all witnessed Felicia slap Iris across the face.
Because of Étienne alone, everyone had become a spectacle.
Felicia had lost face, and Iris had become a girl touched by a prince. Ezekiel knew exactly who would be most hurt by this.
Étienne? No. As the crown prince, he was above reproach. His actions were beyond anyone’s judgment. Felicia Arbois was the daughter of a duke, and people could write it off as a brief indiscretion by a man.
But Iris Quilluxia.
Her father was a baron, and a baron in title only. Iris’s status hardly qualified her as nobility. How could she even begin to speak of what had been done to her, in front of others?
Ezekiel’s vision darkened. He remembered. He too had once tried to kiss her.
Even while condemning Étienne, he asked himself,
‘Am I any different?’
He did not know.
Rather than retreating, Ezekiel firmed his voice and faced Étienne directly.
“It’s not wrong to be drawn to Lady Iris. But if you truly loved her, then before kissing her, you should have spoken to Lady Arbois. Told her that you love someone else, and broken off the engagement—”
“Don’t be absurd, Ezekiel.”
Étienne cut him off with a voice full of irritation.
“Why should I break off my engagement with Felicia?”
“Brother!”
“Ezekiel, I see now how naïve you are. But do you really think love and marriage are always about true affection? Who am I? I’m the crown prince of Murenas. The one who will be Emperor.”
Étienne was shameless.
“And you expect me to give up the Duchy of Arbois just because of a fleeting attraction?”
