I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 119
The blood of Lia, which dripped into the vessel containing holy water, mixed with Cassian’s blood.
This could only mean one thing.
“…So, it’s true… Cassian… was my father all along?”
She had already half-expected this possibility—that he might be her father.
From the first time they met, Lia felt an inexplicable familiarity and intimacy with Cassian.
But now, confirming that Cassian was indeed her father, she felt a mix of confusion and unease.
It wasn’t that she disliked the fact that Cassian was her father.
How could she?
Even when he didn’t know she was his daughter, he cherished and cared deeply for her.
Without him, she might not have recovered so quickly from the grief of losing her grandfather, let alone fulfill her duties.
And now, she understood.
Her father hadn’t left her out of irresponsibility or because he disliked her.
He entrusted her to her grandfather for her sake.
He couldn’t take his beloved daughter down the dangerous path he had chosen for himself.
He couldn’t bear to endanger the only daughter his beloved wife had left behind.
Of course, just because she understood his reasons didn’t mean she could fully accept all of Cassian’s actions.
There were still lingering questions beyond the fact that he had left her with her grandfather.
Especially about the twelve years.
The twelve years she grew up in her grandfather’s care, never once seeing her father’s face.
That time was long enough to make her forget her longing for him.
Couldn’t he have come to see her, even just once?
At the very least, couldn’t he have sent her a letter or a gift to let her know he existed?
So that she wouldn’t have to think she had been abandoned by her father?
If she had remained unaware of her father’s existence, her resentment might have faded away, like sand worn down by the wind.
But now, encountering her father unexpectedly had reignited that small, forgotten sense of resentment.
Though the resentment wasn’t overwhelming, it lingered.
Because it was Cassian.
Whether intentional or not, his presence had ultimately been a great source of strength to her.
“…What am I supposed to do now?”
Through the holy water given by the emperor, Lia had confirmed that Cassian was her father.
This wasn’t something that could be denied—it was an irrefutable truth.
But beyond that, everything else was vague.
The truth weighed heavier than she had anticipated, leaving Lia confused.
When she first suspected that Cassian might be her father, she was focused only on confirming it.
But now that she knew the truth, she had to make a decision.
Whether to bury this truth forever or to reveal everything.
And… if she decided to reveal the truth, how should she proceed?
The realization that Cassian was her father was not something she could simply brush off.
The significance of Cassian himself was too great for that.
He was the one and only Grand Duke in the empire, and she was his daughter.
At the same time, as the granddaughter of the former Duke Sithran, she had inherited the title of Duke.
A single person could not hold two titles simultaneously.
If she revealed the truth that she was the Grand Duke’s daughter, she would ultimately have to choose between the two.
Would she remain as the Grand Duke’s daughter, or stay as the Duke?
It was not an easy decision.
After all, she was the only heir for both families.
But this wasn’t the only issue weighing on Lia.
There were also her mother’s death and Cassian’s actions.
Had she remained ignorant, it might have been easier to let it go.
But now that she knew, Lia couldn’t simply turn a blind eye.
“But… I don’t know.”
What choice should she make?
What would be best for herself and for Cassian?
Should she stop Cassian from seeking revenge?
Should she just let things flow, hoping he wouldn’t regain his memories?
Or should she tell him what she had learned and actively support his quest for vengeance?
Lia also wanted to know.
Who had killed her mother, why they had done it, and what had driven them to such an act?
She wanted to uncover the whole truth about her mother.
Something about her mother’s disappearance seemed to have hidden circumstances.
Yet, she hesitated to uncover the truth.
Cassian had been gravely injured in his attempt at revenge.
He had suffered life-threatening wounds, lost his memories, and had been poisoned.
Now, he had barely recovered from his injuries and neutralized the poison.
She didn’t want Cassian to find himself in danger again.
She had only just found her father, the one remaining family member she had left.
She didn’t want to lose him.
She didn’t want to let him go.
Of course, Lia understood.
All of this was her selfish desire. Hoping that Cassian would give up on revenge and stay by her side was a selfish wish.
That was why she needed time.
To accept this new reality and to make a decision that would be best for everyone.
For now, she was too confused to make a choice.
**
That night, Lia had a dream.
She couldn’t tell when the memory was from.
In the dream, she was an infant, cradled in her mother’s arms.
She received gentle caresses and fell into a peaceful sleep.
It was a moment of pure warmth and comfort.
But the atmosphere shifted suddenly.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense.
Lia’s mother urgently hid Lia. In a place only her husband would know to find.
The woman prayed desperately.
That she could at least protect her daughter. That those pursuing her would not discover her beloved child.
So, the woman pleaded earnestly with the infant who couldn’t yet understand her words.
“Please, don’t cry. Stay silent. Just stay asleep like this.”
Her wish was only half fulfilled.
The woman protected her daughter and kept her hidden.
But contrary to her hope for the baby to remain peacefully asleep, the infant woke up.
Thus, the baby, who didn’t even yet know what the world was, had to witness her mother’s death at the hands of another.
“Gasp…!”
Lia woke from her sleep with a harsh gasp, the memory of her blood-soaked mother still vivid in her mind.
Her unfocused eyes trembled, and her forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
The scenes in the dream were hazy, as though she was looking at fragmented pieces floating aimlessly.
But the emotions from that moment were clear.
The final moment, her mother bleeding to death, was seared sharply into her memory.
“…Mom.”
Tears seemed inevitable.
Even in her final moments, her mother’s concern had been solely for her.
Her gaze had been on Lia, filled with an indescribable depth of warmth and love.
Her mother had felt sorrow.
Sorrow for leaving behind such an empty life.
Sorrow for not being able to shower her child with all the overflowing love she had.
And yet, she also felt relief.
Relief that her killers were unaware of her daughter’s existence.
Relief that she had ultimately managed to protect her daughter because they had failed to discover her.
All these emotions came crashing over Lia, and she couldn’t escape the overwhelming tide.
It might have just been a dream.
But Lia knew better.
She understood instinctively that this was a fragment of her own memory, buried deep in her mind from when she was too young to remember.
It was a primal realization.
Lia wept for a long time, in pain and sorrow, mourning her mother’s tragic and fragile death.
She grieved over the short moments of comfort in her mother’s arms, fleeting as the passing wind.
Lost in her overwhelming emotions, Lia cried herself to exhaustion and eventually fell back asleep.
Just before sleep claimed her, a fleeting memory surfaced—a moment when her eyes met someone else’s.
The other person hadn’t noticed her, but Lia had seen them.
However, overshadowed by her mother’s death, Lia failed to recognize or recall the presence of that individual.
***
The next day, Lia received a letter from the imperial palace.
It was an invitation to the regular noble assembly scheduled for a few days later.
“…Has it already been that time?”
The empire held regular assemblies twice a year, every six months.
Of course, not all nobles attended.
The empire was vast, and there were too many nobles to gather them all.
Thus, certain criteria were set, and only nobles meeting these conditions were invited to attend the assembly.
Naturally, the Sithran Duke House was included among the attendees.
Major noble families inherently met the conditions for participation.
“How will it go, I wonder?”
This was her first appearance in an official setting of this kind.
It could be considered her first official public act, which made her feel a bit nervous.
She had to attend the assembly as the head of a noble house with significant influence among many other noble families.
‘But,’
It’ll be fine.
After all, she was the Duke of Sithran.
She was her grandfather’s brilliant granddaughter.
Reassuring herself, Lia opened another letter that came along with the invitation.
This one was a personal letter from the Emperor, stating that after the assembly concluded, he would send Jeshuan to the Duke House.
“It’s really happening soon.”
The thought of truly living with Jeshuan in the Duke Manor left Lia with mixed feelings.
She felt a strange combination of excitement and unfamiliarity… emotions difficult to describe.
For a moment, she was lost in those feelings. After reading through the correspondence from the palace, Lia decided to head to the dining room.
Having overslept unintentionally and skipped breakfast, she decided to eat lunch earlier than usual.
When she arrived at the dining room, Cassian was already seated, waiting for her.
Seeing Lia, Cassian smiled warmly before his expression turned slightly peculiar.
It was a serious and thoughtful look.
Then, in a low murmur, he said,
“…This is troubling.”
