I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 120
“Khal, is something wrong?”
Hearing Cassian mutter something softly, Lia asked with a worried look. His unusually serious expression made her wonder if there was some sort of problem.
“It seems today’s lunch menu might be steamed buns.”
“…What?”
Lia furrowed her brows in confusion, puzzled by the sudden and unrelated comment.
“I see steamed buns right in front of me.”
“But the food hasn’t even been served yet?”
Cassian’s response only deepened Lia’s confusion. She stared at him with an even more perplexed expression.
“To be fair, it does look appropriately cute and fluffy. It looks quite delicious, actually.”
Cassian mumbled again, his face turning serious once more.
“Do you dislike steamed buns? Or are you unable to eat them?”
Not knowing why steamed buns suddenly became the topic of conversation, Lia wondered if it was something serious, like not being able to eat them. So, she asked.
“Of course not. If it’s a steamed bun like my little angel, I’d be more than happy.”
“…Wait. Are you saying I’m the steamed bun you’re talking about?”
At this point, it was hard not to catch on to what he meant. Lia asked, her face showing a mix of disbelief and amusement.
“After whatever happened last night, your puffy face really does resemble a steamed bun.”
The problem was that, even with a face puffed up like a steamed bun, she was still adorable, which made things worse.
He thought to himself that someone who saw his angel looking like this might just snatch her up, captivated by how enticingly soft and fluffy she looked.
Her puffy eyes and cheeks were so endearing that he could barely resist the urge to take a playful bite. For that reason, it was fortunate that Jeshuan, that mischievous little rascal, wasn’t around.
Currently, Jeshuan was the prime suspect when it came to ‘potential thieves.’
“So, I should be the one asking. What on earth happened last night?”
Cassian’s question carried a genuine sense of concern for Lia.
“It was nothing, really.”
“Nothing? Your face is perfectly puffed up for eating.”
Even someone completely oblivious wouldn’t fail to notice how swollen Lia’s face was from crying.
“Seriously, it was nothing. I just had… a sad dream, that’s all.”
Seeing Cassian’s persistent gaze, Lia gave a vague answer, knowing he wouldn’t let it go until she said something. She couldn’t bring herself to say she’d seen her mother in the dream—or that she’d watched her mother die.
Even uttering those words was unbearably difficult and painful for her.
“It seems your sleep wasn’t very restful. For it to make my angel baby cry like this, it must have been a truly sad dream.”
Cassian didn’t know exactly what dream Lia had. He was curious about what kind of dream could make her cry so much, but Lia didn’t seem willing to explain.
So instead of probing further, he let the topic drift naturally.
“It wasn’t like that…”
Lia forced a casual expression, as if to dismiss it as nothing significant.
“My angel baby was crying—how could that be nothing? How about sleeping with this father from now on?”
Cassian’s words were, as usual, a mix of humor and teasing. He had mentioned before that if she couldn’t sleep, she was always welcome to come to his room and rest with him.
However, Lia’s face grew complicated at his suggestion this time. This wasn’t something she could just brush off.
The reason was the way he unconsciously referred to himself as ‘this father.’
Of course, he likely didn’t know the truth—that she was his daughter—when he said it.
In the past, when they hadn’t known much about each other, he had jokingly told her to try calling him ‘Dad.’
This felt similar, another joke along those lines.
But now, she could no longer dismiss it as a mere joke—because Cassian was, in fact, her real father.
‘Come to think of it, should I call it intuition…?’
His peculiar obsession with being called ‘Dad’ and his strangely insightful behavior—everything about it felt as if he somehow knew. Yet, she was sure he didn’t know the truth, that she was his daughter.
After all, if he did know, he wouldn’t be able to joke about it like this.
‘It’s truly strange.’
Had he, like her, instinctively sensed it? That they were connected by blood, as family?
From the very beginning, his attitude towards her had been unusually kind—so much so that it was hard to comprehend. His affection had been almost absolute, even more so than what one would expect from family.
“Hey, Khal.”
Cassian’s casual reference to himself as ‘this father’ left Lia feeling conflicted. With a slightly serious expression, she opened her mouth to speak.
She had been trying to ignore it, but now that she knew the truth, she couldn’t help but feel confused.
She wasn’t sure how to treat Cassian anymore.
While his unchanged demeanor helped ease her discomfort, it couldn’t completely resolve the inner turmoil she felt.
The lingering emotions from her dream only heightened her sense of conflict, making the truth she had uncovered feel heavier.
“I’m here. Always by my angel baby’s side.”
Cassian’s tender words, filled with affection, left Lia’s expression unreadable.
She could no longer take those words lightly, as she had before.
Hearing such words made her want to lean on him—to keep him by her side, all while hiding the truth.
But Lia stopped herself before she could say anything and closed her mouth.
This wasn’t a feeling she could process in just one day, nor was it a decision she could make overnight.
She needed more time.
She wanted to delay the moment she would talk about the truth she had discovered.
“My angel baby, if you have something to say, feel free to tell me. Whatever it is, I’m ready to listen.”
Seeing Lia’s conflicted expression, Cassian spoke in a soothing voice.
“It’s nothing, really.”
“There’s no way anything my angel baby says could ever be ‘nothing.’”
Cassian didn’t know what Lia was about to say. However, her expression made it clear that it wasn’t something trivial.
“Really, it’s nothing.”
It was just a fleeting impulse to ask.
Even though she knew that asking him or hearing his answer wouldn’t resolve her dilemma, it was still too heavy for her to bear alone.
At that moment, she longed for her grandfather. She missed him deeply.
It was a concern she couldn’t bring herself to share with Cassian.
If it were her grandfather, she felt certain he would provide her with an answer.
“Even if it’s nothing, that’s fine. But if it’s weighing on my angel baby’s heart, I can’t just let it go.”
Cassian’s gentle reassurance gave Lia a bit of courage to open her mouth.
“…I was just going to talk about my father.”
She had only hesitated because she didn’t know how to broach the subject or in what manner to bring it up.
At her words, Cassian’s expression hardened into something cold and unyielding.
His brow furrowed in displeasure, and his tone, when he finally spoke, was sharp with sarcasm.
“Ah, you mean that pathetic excuse for a father who abandoned his adorable daughter?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say pathetic exactly…”
“No, pathetic doesn’t even begin to cover it. Even beasts know to cherish their offspring, but that man is worse than a beast.”
Cassian’s icy expression was so unyielding it seemed like not a single drop of blood could flow from him.
Lia found herself at a loss for words.
In the past, when she hadn’t known who her father was—and even though her feelings toward him weren’t entirely positive—it had been easier to let such comments slide.
But now things were different.
Her father had his own reasons.
And… that father was Cassian himself.
“Well, even so, he’s still my father… That’s why I was thinking of finding—”
“Don’t. There’s no need to look for a man worse than a beast. Why would you want to find him? That man has no right to see my precious angel baby. He doesn’t even deserve to have you in his sight.”
Lia had been about to say she had already found her father and was wondering what to do next.
She thought she might ask Cassian for his advice, even though he was the subject of her query. She hoped for guidance, for someone else to make the decision for her.
But before she could finish, Cassian cut her off firmly.
He misunderstood her intent, assuming she meant to search for him.
“If that wretched excuse for a father dares to show up in front of my angel, I’ll gladly blind him so he can’t see. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“My angel, am I not enough? Surely, I’m better than someone who could never cherish you as I do.”
Cassian interrupted her again, clearly displeased with the mere mention of her father.
As if that wasn’t enough, he spoke with firm conviction.
“My angel baby, remember this: that man is not a father. He’s nothing more than a beast unworthy of you.”
Even while trying to soften his words for Lia, Cassian couldn’t hide his disdain.
“No…”
“Repeat after me: ‘He’s nothing more than a beast unworthy of me.’”
“……”
Lia remained silent.
How could she repeat such harsh words in front of the very man they were about?
Of course, Cassian didn’t know that he was her father, but Lia, who knew the truth, found it incredibly difficult to navigate this situation.
“Let’s just eat…”
Realizing it wasn’t a good idea to continue this topic, Lia decided to end the conversation. She couldn’t bear to watch Cassian unknowingly criticize himself.
Moreover, his volatile demeanor made her wary of what might happen if the subject continued.
Since she wasn’t planning to take any immediate action, it seemed better to wait for another opportunity.
But Cassian didn’t seem willing to let the matter go.
“My angel baby, that pathetic man can’t be your father. If you truly need one, why not become the Grand Duke’s noble daughter? My offer of adoption is still available.”
