I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 09
Lia, who was left alone with that man, had a complicated expression, wondering how to handle this situation.
For now, she managed to drive away the guests who had come to find her in a somewhat hasty manner, but the problem lay ahead.
They couldn’t just give up like this.
Using today’s incident as an excuse, she intended to stick around the mansion with the intention of emphasizing the man’s danger.
That, too, was very troublesome, but there was an even bigger problem.
It was the man’s fate.
No matter how capable and noble the man might be, they couldn’t simply overlook the fact that he had harassed and threatened other nobles.
Of course, depending on the man’s status, it might change, but… Even though she was fairly certain that the man was a noble, she didn’t know his exact identity.
In this situation, the man couldn’t just get away with what he did today.
Lia could see the man’s inner thoughts and, with an expression as if to say ‘I did well, right? So, praise me,’ the man looked at Lia.
It was a striking change in the atmosphere, considering the fierce aura he exuded just a little while ago.
“Um… Sir.”
Lia called the man with a composed heart, her expression somewhat awkward.
In response, the man, who seemed to be responding like a dog without ears to his owner’s call, perked up his nonexistent dog-like ears.
It was clear that he had no idea what trouble he had caused.
“I will do my best to protect you, but since today’s incident is clearly your fault, you may receive punishment for the crime of insulting a noble.”
Even if he is a noble, without proving his status, he would be treated as a commoner.
Especially insulting a noble is a crime that allows for immediate punishment.
Even if there is an obligation for the Empire’s citizens to protect Ability Users, it doesn’t extend to those who harm others or commit crimes.
“Is that so?”
Even in response to Lia’s words, the man showed a casual reaction.
“This is not a situation where you can just say ‘Is that so?’ right now. You could lose an arm or a leg in no time if you’re not careful!”
Lia didn’t wish for the person she had rescued to be in such a situation, but there was nothing she could do. However, since the man was at fault, there was nothing she could do.
But since the man was at fault, Lia had no choice but to accept the situation.
“If they’re dares to draw a sword in front of me, they will have to wager their life.”
“Of course, sir, you have the ability to do that! You might become a fugitive and be pursued, but that’s just how it is.”
Even if the man doesn’t use his abilities properly, his basic physical abilities are superior to those of ordinary people.”
But how to deal with those nobles right away is not an easy problem to solve.
But the man, who is the person directly involved, didn’t seem to care at all.
“Why should I become a fugitive? Did I just kill a few flies at most?”
“That’s because you’re just an Ability User with an unknown status, and the people you touched are nobles.”
Lia’s expression showed her frustration, as if she was saying, ‘Do I have to explain such an obvious fact?
“Then it doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because I’m an Ability User who can reveal my status.”
“But isn’t that the problem?”
“No, that should be enough. In the Empire, nobles who can defy my will and still survive are limited to the current head of the Sithran Duchy and a few very few others, who were the great-grandfather of the baby angel of the Sithran Duchy.”
“Huh?”
What’s with the confidence?
No, can he really be a Grand Duke?
If that’s the case, it made sense.
Certainly, if he was a Grand Duke, he stood at the pinnacle of all nobles.
Only those from the Royal Family could dare to confront a Grand Duke so casually.
But not all nobles were the same.
But there’s no way someone that crazy could be a Grand Duke.
If that were the case, I seriously worried about the future of the Duke’s family.
“To introduce myself properly, I am Cassian Feronchyan, the current head of the Feronchyan family.”
“Ah, yes.”
Lia was shocked by her unexpected identity and had no idea what to say.
Of course, a while ago, she had wondered if he might be a Grand Duke, but she didn’t really think he would be.
Even so.
Lia, who couldn’t easily believe the man’s words, opened her mouth with a suspicious expression.
“You said you don’t remember.”
“I did. But fortunately, I did remember who I am.”
“Ah.”
Lia was a little confused about how to handle the current situation.
It seemed he hadn’t fully recovered all his memories, but at least he remembered who he was.
At least now she knew where to return him.
But the fact that the identity revealed was that of a Grand Duke was somewhat awkward.
After all, the situation in which she found him wasn’t ordinary.
Not to mention, even touching an Ability User was not a light matter, let alone a Grand Duke?
She didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes, but that alone made the situation serious and heavy.
But what could she do now that she had already picked him up?
If the other party is a Grand Duke, they will handle it on their own, no matter what the situation.
If he’s from the Grand Duke’s family, he can easily deal with anyone who is after him.
Of course, it bothered her a bit that the ‘Grand Duke’ happened to be such a crazy person.
But she had no time to worry about others when she was struggling to survive.
“So I want to propose a deal with the Baby Angel.”
Watching Lia’s expressions change several times in a short time, the man slowly opened his mouth.
Since he was already revealing his identity much earlier than he had planned, he wanted to speak slowly after organizing his thoughts.
After all, even if he had found his memories, knowing who he was and what kind of person he was, was all there was to it. So he needed time to understand the current situation.
But now that he had revealed his identity earlier than he thought, he wondered if there was any need to delay.
“A deal?”
“Yes, when the Baby Angel found me, I was heavily injured and had collapsed. And from what I’ve observed, it doesn’t seem like I can use my abilities freely as before.”
“That’s right.”
“So, even though I don’t know what I was doing, it’s clear that I’m being chased by someone. I intend to hide my identity until I find out who that person is and regain my memories.”
It would be better to do so.
Revealing the fact that he was still alive in his current state, when his memory was still incomplete, would only invite unnecessary danger.
It would be fine if he could use his abilities as an Ability User, but that wasn’t the case.
If someone were targeting him in the current situation, it was uncertain what would happen.
“But the problem is my immediate accommodation. I can’t return to the Duke’s family while hiding my identity, and it’s not easy to find a place to stay either.”
So, he needed a safe place to stay, one that could also keep his identity hidden from others.
In that regard, the Sithran Duchy was not a bad choice.
The status of the Duke’s family didn’t disappear just because the head of the family died.
At the moment, the head of the family was vacant and might be a little shaky, but it wouldn’t easily collapse.
And once the head of the family was filled, there would be no more problems.
“So, will you let me stay in the Duke’s family until I find my memories? In return, I will grant one of the Baby Angel’s requests.”
Cassian’s words left Lia unable to respond prematurely.
It wasn’t a matter to make a hasty decision about.
If she was drawn into Cassian’s affairs, the Duchy could also suffer a blow.
But for some reason…
Lia’s heart leaned towards accepting Cassian’s proposal.
Considering the family, it made sense to reject unnecessary risks.
And in fact, if he hid his identity, the chances of being drawn into his affairs would be lower.
There might be no perfect secret, but at least it would be enough as long as he didn’t reveal it to others until he regained his memories.
After that, he could handle things on his own.
Moreover, if Cassian was really a Grand Duke, he had conditions that were hard to reject even from her perspective.
Currently, the biggest challenge for Lia was finding a guardian.
She had carefully examined the documents that Sebain had investigated, but there was no one who satisfied her requirements.
However, Cassian seemed to roughly fit her guardian criteria.
His status was undeniably certain, and he had no reason to covet her family.
He possessed power that was unmatched and had no reason to target the Duchy.
Moreover, there was an unwritten rule in the Empire that the head of one family should not interfere in the affairs of another family.
So, he had no worries about devouring the Duchy and was even willing to grant her the qualification as a guardian, allowing him to handle the Duke’s affairs as he pleased.
Moreover, since he mentioned hiding his identity, at least until he revealed it, there would be no significant involvement with the Duke’s family.
Anyway, when it came to choosing a guardian, the most important thing was not the opinion of the factional nobles but the Emperor’s approval.
If the Emperor approved, it wouldn’t be a problem to appoint him as a guardian even if the factional nobles resisted.
Furthermore, the rudeness shown to the people who had come looking for Lia today could easily be resolved.
The position of her guardian itself already held a status comparable to the Duke’s family.
So, there was no need to reveal Cassian’s identity to them.
‘So that’s how it was.’
Somehow, it felt like this connection wouldn’t be just a passing one but something deeper.
‘In that case, my decision is…’
