I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 116
Jeshuan paused for a moment.
It was the first time he had ever revealed the details of his condition to someone.
While most nobles already had a rough idea of his state, none knew the specifics. This was because Jeshuan had deliberately avoided discussing it.
Even as an object of fear, disclosing further details would only heighten their fear and unease.
How could he bring himself to speak of it?
Even apart from that, he didn’t want to explain his condition in his own words.
Though he had resigned himself to it and accepted his reality, putting it into words was never easy.
It felt as though he would be admitting that he was a monster, an existence that shouldn’t be allowed to live.
However, he had to tell Lia. She alone needed to know. No matter how difficult it was, he couldn’t hide it from her.
She had willingly stayed by his side and reached out to him.
How could he remain silent even to her?
Now that they were living together in the same space, he had no choice.
These thoughts passed through Jeshuan’s mind before he opened his mouth again.
“My very existence is like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. I could lose control at any time, even without a specific trigger.”
This made him all the more dangerous.
Other ability users, at least, showed signs or had specific triggers before they lost control, making it possible to prevent it in advance.
But not Jeshuan. Simply being alive was both a sign and a danger.
The risk of losing control was present not only when he was awake but even while he slept.
Thus, he had isolated himself.
Living deliberately in a remote palace far removed from his true nature, he allowed only essential personnel to enter. He avoided meetings or interactions with others entirely.
After all, just because he seemed fine one moment didn’t mean nothing could happen the next. He never knew when or how something might occur.
In his childhood, even when it wasn’t a full loss of control, the energy that burst out of his body accidentally hurt someone close to him.
Of course, that had been the first and last time Jeshuan had injured someone. While there were many close calls, he managed to avoid incidents by leaving the scene beforehand.
Being near Jeshuan was far from safe.
He had already lost control once before.
At that time, the only reason no lives were lost was that Cassian had appeared in time to subdue him.
Despite Cassian’s intervention, the palace Jeshuan was staying in had been almost entirely destroyed due to his outburst.
If Cassian hadn’t been able to stop him, the damage would have been unimaginable.
Lia needed to understand this—to comprehend just how dangerous it was for him to remain in the duke’s household.
She had to know what could happen, just as it had when he destroyed the palace. This time, it might be the entire duke’s mansion that gets destroyed.
The last time, there were few people in the palace, so the damage was minimal. But the duke’s residence was a different matter entirely.
After listening to Jeshuan’s explanation, Lia remained silent.
She had been aware that his condition was not good and had a general sense of the situation.
However, hearing his detailed account made her realize that it was far worse than she had imagined.
Even so, she had no intention of withdrawing her decision now.
Though staying in the duke’s household wasn’t the best choice from a practical standpoint, she couldn’t bring herself to turn away from Jeshuan.
The danger wasn’t only in his potential outbursts. The energy he carried within him was inherently dangerous.
Merely preventing his outbursts wouldn’t be enough.
Despite this, Lia trusted both her abilities and Jeshuan.
Her intuition was clear. She was convinced that Jeshuan needed her and that she was the only one who could truly help him.
She chose to follow that conviction.
Moreover, hearing his story helped her understand his situation better. His extreme aversion to people, as well as the widespread fear others had of him—it all began to make sense.
But how could that be Jeshuan’s fault?
He hadn’t done anything wrong.
No one was to blame, yet Jeshuan had been made to shoulder all the burden, as if he were a sinner.
“If you want to refuse my father’s request now, you can,”
It was his father who, without revealing the full truth, had burdened Lia with a request. If she chose to refuse it now, no one could blame her.
“No, I’m not planning to do that. If anything, listening to you has made me feel that we should stay together—for both our sakes,”
That would be enough.
As long as she was by his side, the energy he couldn’t control wouldn’t harm anyone else. He wouldn’t lose control again, either.
“Yes, it may be safer with you by my side, Lia. Perhaps nothing dangerous will happen. But…”
Lia couldn’t be by his side 24/7. She was a duke, with responsibilities and duties she had to fulfill.
How could he expect her to dedicate all her time to him?
It wasn’t fair to her.
The real problem was not knowing what might happen when she wasn’t around.
“We’ll find a way. I’m sure there’s a way to fundamentally solve this problem since I am able to help you,”
“…Alright.”
Although words of rebuttal circled in his mind, all Jeshuan could manage was an acknowledgment.
He understood that arguing further would be pointless. No matter what he said, they would just keep going in circles.
So what could he do?
Jeshuan decided to respect Lia’s opinion and follow her decision.
“And until we find a solution, we should stay close as much as possible. That said, I’m quite busy, so I might not be able to give you my full attention even if we’re together.”
“That’s fine. I don’t want to interfere with your time.”
Lia had already made so many sacrifices for him.
How could he ask for more?
Jeshuan felt grateful just to be able to spend time with her.
Even if she did nothing for him, the mere fact that he could spend more time with her, sharing her world, was enough to make him happy.
Knowing he wouldn’t have to long for her from afar anymore, that he could see her whenever he wanted, made his heart feel full.
“Thank you for understanding. Oh, and this… I’ll take it back,”
Lia said with a gentle smile, as if trying to ease the guilt and debt he felt. She reached into her chest and pulled out a pendant.
“That’s…”
Jeshuan’s eyes widened at the sight of the pendant in Lia’s hand.
He had assumed it was lost. Yet here it was, in her possession.
He felt both relief and curiosity about how it had found its way back to her.
Sensing his unspoken question, Lia nonchalantly explained with a shrug,
“I guess I just happened to find it by chance.”
Her tone was casual, as if it was no big deal.
“Thank goodness… It wasn’t lost after all.”
The weight of guilt he had felt about losing it now seemed to lift slightly.
The fact that he had lost something so precious to Lia, with his own hands, weighed heavily on Jeshuan.
The pendant was special to her. He had promised himself he would never lose it and would cherish it dearly.
“Well, since I found it myself, it’s hard to say it was truly lost. So, I’ll take it back now. I don’t think you will need it anymore,”
Lia had lent the pendant to Jeshuan to ensure he wouldn’t feel alone or suffer while she wasn’t by his side.
But now, since they had decided to live together at the duke’s estate, she believed there was no longer any reason for him to endure such pain in her absence.
“Yes, I’m fine with that.”
After all, he had received something far more valuable and precious.
“Well then, I’ll be going now. I only came by to check on your condition and let you know in person that I’ve accepted His Majesty’s request,”
“…You could stay a bit longer.”
Jeshuan’s disappointment at their brief meeting was evident in his tone.
“…I promised Khal I’d return early. If I’m late again this time, he might really come to find me,”
“I see. Then I can’t stop you,”
Jeshuan replied. Even he found Cassian’s temperament difficult to handle and had no choice but to let her go.
After all, they would all be living together from now on. It wouldn’t do to start off on the wrong foot with Cassian.
“Yes, I’ll see you soon! Stay healthy and don’t get sick in the meantime! Oh, and please get along with Khal from now on!”
Lia added with a bright smile, subtly asking him to get along with Cassian.
“Of course, I’ll do my best.”
Jeshuan nodded with a kind smile.
***
After returning to the duke’s residence earlier than usual, Lia joined Cassian for dinner.
“Angel baby, is something on your mind?”
Cassian asked. While enjoying their meal, he noticed that Lia seemed unusually distracted and preoccupied.
“No, nothing like that,”
She replied, denying it. However, despite her words, her face betrayed her inner turmoil.
From the moment she returned to the estate, Lia had been wrestling with a single problem—how to obtain Cassian’s blood.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a plausible method.
She couldn’t just snap her fingers and make blood appear. To draw blood, she would have to wound him, an idea that she didn’t like at all. Moreover, inflicting a wound on Cassian without him noticing seemed almost impossible.
This dilemma frustrated her. Without his blood, the holy water would be useless.
What was she supposed to do?
Cassian quietly waited for her answer, his gaze fixed on her.
Finally, after much hesitation, Lia spoke with a determined expression.
“Khal, do you have any blood to spare?”
