I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 07
“Alright. Since it seems like you said it without much thought.”
Earlier, her sharp tone had lost its edge, and Lia said it indifferently.
He didn’t seem to have any common sense to begin with, so there was no reason to be surprised.
“As expected, heaven…”
“Let’s stop talking about that. Anyway, until I know your name, I’ll keep calling you ‘Sir’ like that, so be aware.”
In response to Lia’s firm words, the man wore a very disappointed expression.
Not saying the word “angel,” continuing to call him “Sir,” somehow made him feel melancholic.
It would have been better if she could call him in a friendlier way.
But since he couldn’t remember his own name, there was no suitable title to ask her to call him.
“Then I will really go now. Looking at your condition, it seems you need rest. Whether your head or body hurts, something seems seriously wrong.”
“… Really, you’re also kind.”
To worry about my head and body condition that I don’t even know, he was momentarily touched.
The man made an expression that seemed to be moved at first glance.
In response to his reaction, Lia had a somewhat embarrassed expression.
Whether it was simply because he had lost his memory or if that was his original personality, no matter how much she thought about it, it seemed like a missing piece in someone’s character.
If that’s not the case, there was no way he couldn’t understand the hidden meanings in people’s words.
Lia pretended not to notice the man’s reaction and left the room.
Despite feeling hurt to the point of being mean, the man wore a disappointed expression at Lia’s retreating figure, but he didn’t hold her back.
Somehow, he had a feeling that if he were to hold her now, she would probably find it annoying and hit him once with that prickly hand of hers.
Of course, trying to hit her with those small and cute hands would only result in how much pain he would feel, but he couldn’t disturb the lovely child’s time.
And there was something the man had to do alone.
Something that he couldn’t do with Lia a little while ago, which was to regain his own memories.
***
That night.
Alone in a space filled only with silence, the man groaned in agony.
The hand gripping the blanket so tightly that the veins bulged seemed extremely desperate.
Amidst the excruciating pain that felt like his whole body was being torn apart, the man was fervently wishing for something.
He didn’t even know what he was wishing for himself.
He just vaguely felt that there was something he must do, even if he had to dedicate his heart to it.
Even the writhing in endless agony was brief. Finally, the pain subsided.
Along with it, the man found a part of his memory.
***
Two days had passed since the man regained consciousness.
During that time, there hadn’t been any significant progress.
Neither the man’s memory nor finding ia’s guardian had yielded results.
Therefore, despite the growing frustration and restlessness, it wasn’t something that could be resolved by being anxious.
“Come to think of it, it feels strangely familiar and friendly.”
Taking a moment to catch her breath, Lia mumbled softly while thinking about the man’s presence.
For some reason, Lia felt an unexplainable sense of intimacy toward him.
Even though they had clearly just met, she felt a strange comfort as if they had known each other before.
As if he were someone she had spent time with in the past.
Or someone who was extremely precious and important to her.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like he’s a bad person, so that’s fortunate.”
He simply felt like a person with a few loose screws.
However, the fact that these quirks didn’t bother her much was because the man clearly harbored goodwill toward her.
The way the man presented himself in front of her and the emotions hidden beneath his indifferent face were expressions of affection and fondness directed at her.
Although she couldn’t understand the reason.
Nevertheless, if she felt it, it was a clear fact.
Lia, even when she was much younger, could distinguish between those who were friendly to her and those who were not.
And until now, her instincts had never been wrong.
So, in its own way, it was fortunate.
Even if she thought that the man might get involved in annoying matters, the man himself wouldn’t be a harm to her.
For some reason, it didn’t seem like the man was just a passing connection.
Indeed, regardless of who the man truly was or why she felt that way…
Since she had coincidentally found him, it might not be a bad idea to build a good relationship with him.
Such thoughts were set aside for a moment. Lía had to receive an unwelcome visit from troublesome relatives.
It was the visit of relatives who hadn’t come for a while.
“I said that I would carefully consider the issue of a guardian within the time Your Majesty allowed, but I don’t know why you’ve come to see me for what business.”
Lia immediately got to the point as she didn’t want to exchange unnecessary pleasantries.
The relatives who saw Lía’s actions as disrespectful had contorted expressions.
However, they quickly composed themselves.
It seemed that simply urging her wouldn’t achieve their goal, so they wanted to persuade her.
To do that, they had to make a good impression on her.
“I’m just worried about how young lady is doing. I’m sure young lady will handle the guardian issue well on her own.”
An elderly noble, pretending to be benevolent, spoke with a gentle smile.
But even that wasn’t enough to hide the desire clearly evident in his gaze.
Lia inwardly sighed in annoyance.
‘I’m not some two-year-old.’
It appeared that he was trying to appease her and win her over as a guardian by pretending to cater to her preferences, but since he had already revealed his true intentions, the noble wouldn’t get what he wanted.
“Yes. I’m doing well on my own, so there was no need to come.”
Despite openly showing her displeasure at the relatives’ visit, Lia spoke with a bright and cheerful face.
The noble’s expression stiffened once again at her words.
However, it didn’t take long for the noble to regain his composure.
“Nevertheless, as an adult, how could one not be concerned? Living alone in this vast mansion must be terribly lonely and desolate.”
“Ah, you’re worrying over nothing. The age for feeling lonely in a big mansion by yourself has passed, don’t you think? And… I’m not really alone.”
“Young lady, you don’t have to pretend to be a gentleman in front of us. With the passing of the great duke, we are now part of your family, right?”
Lia’s expression turned cold at the mention of ‘family.’
It was not a word they should casually utter.
That’s why she felt extremely uncomfortable and angry.
For Lia, family meant only her grandfather.
And with her grandfather gone, the only individuals she could consider as family were the butler and perhaps Sebain.
Yet they spoke of it carelessly, not understanding the weight of that word.
As much as she wanted to grab the noble by the hair and throw him out the window, she couldn’t do so.
Doing that would only prove she wasn’t fit to hold any authority in her own right.
“You seem to be under a big misconception. I’m not pretending, I’m really fine. Well, maybe when you were twelve, you couldn’t sleep alone because you were lonely, but I’m different.”
She held back the urge to retort more aggressively, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be polite. Lia’s tone was particularly acerbic.
The noble clenched his fist as if trying to contain his anger at her words.
Ignoring it was one thing, but such impolite words.
However, he needed to gain her favor to become her guardian, and getting angry at her would serve no purpose.
In the silence of the noble, another noble who had come with him spoke up.
“Seeing your sensitive reaction, it seems you’ve been quite shocked since the Duke’s death.”
“Well, it’s not so much the shock as it is the daily nuisance of these people.”
She would have preferred to resolve the situation amicably, but it seemed futile to reason with them.
Anyway, at this level, they won’t make a big deal out of it.
The noble who spoke for the first time in response to Lia’s consecutive acerbic remarks hesitated for a moment but seemed determined not to back down.
“Isn’t it our intention to comfort young lady’s sorrow of being left all alone?”
“I merely mentioned that there are people pestering me. I didn’t say who they are.”
It sounded like they were making excuses as if their feet were asleep.
Lia couldn’t help but sneer internally.
“Well, regardless, if that’s how you feel, then it’s your choice, but it’s a kind of care I don’t want.”
“Even if you say that, I understand that you’re suffering greatly from being all alone. So, wouldn’t it be natural to bring someone you don’t even know to stay in the mansion?”
Lia’s expression stiffened at the noble’s soothing tone.
Sebain had certainly emphasized that the man’s presence must be strictly monitored. However, the fact that this information had reached the noble meant that someone had defied Sebain’s orders and conveyed the information to others.
‘Already in this state…’
It seemed that if she managed to secure a guardian and began to take on the duties of the head of the house, she would have to start organizing the servants in the mansion immediately to ensure that such matters didn’t reach the ears of others.
So that events within the mansion wouldn’t leak to outsiders in this way again.
“I see, was there such an incident?”
Lia pretended not to know and asked.
The noble who spoke might not believe her denial, but his motives seemed suspicious enough that he wouldn’t readily accept her words.
“Oh, well, it seems you still don’t properly know what happened at the mansion after losing your only grandfather.”
‘Huh.’
Lia let out an internal bitter laugh with lowered eyes.
Is this how it’s going to be?
Well, it wasn’t an unexpected turn of events.
No matter how greedy they might be, they weren’t without wits.
It should be an easy task to determine how to make use of something and in what way.
Besides, dealing with a child shouldn’t be that difficult.
“We would like to take care of young lady to help you recover from the shock of losing the Duke as soon as possible. What do you think?”
They were asking for her opinion, but in reality, they had already reached their own conclusion.
Even so, Lia had the right to reject them.
Not joining the family didn’t change the fact that she was the legal heiress of the Duke.
That’s why Lia decided to just dismiss them instead of continuing the useless conversation with them. Just as Lia was about to speak.
With a knock, the door opened, and the man appeared without waiting for Lia’s permission.
‘No, why is the man appearing at this timing?’
“Who are you? Entering a room with guests without permission, that’s really impolite.”
“… Well, these days even noisy little bastards get treated like guests. They don’t even know where their homes are and come barking at someone else’s house. It seems like they just have something wrong with their heads.”
The man, his voice tinged with cold sarcasm, retorted sharply.
