I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 63
The person who spoke to me was unfamiliar to Lia. However, judging by his attire, he was undoubtedly a nobleman.
And a fairly high-ranking one at that.
But she couldn’t tell who he was. Either they had never met, or she simply couldn’t remember.
While attending the congratulatory banquet and royal ball, she had familiarized herself with the faces of the nobles to some extent, but it was impossible to remember all of them.
Sensing Lia’s confusion, the nobleman opened his mouth with an exceedingly kind expression to introduce himself.
“I am Sylla, the head of the Marquess of Lathsiron.”
The nobleman, no, the marquess, was smiling kindly at Lia. He seemed somewhat excited.
However, Lia’s expression appeared a bit awkward.
It was ambiguous to think that she was simply feeling uncomfortable from the unexpected acquaintance.
“Nice to meet you, Marquess of Lathsiron.”
Lia forced a smile as she greeted him.
“I am also pleased to meet the Duke.”
Lia faced the marquess with a puzzled expression.
Most of the nobles so far had been busy ignoring her.
There were few who called her a duke, and even those who did so subtly showed signs of disrespect.
But the marquess before her was different.
He properly addressed her as “Duke” with respect, and his attitude was very polite.
Even if he was of a higher rank, it would have been uncomfortable to use honorifics for someone much younger than himself.
“Next to you is Sir Kaiten, the grand duke’s aide.”
“Nice to meet you, Marquess.”
Even though Shion was Cassian’s aide, his status was lower than that of the marquess. Therefore, Shion couldn’t ignore the marquess’s greeting and paid his respects accordingly.
“I didn’t expect to see the duke and grand duke’s aide together.”
The marquess still wore that initial smile, but Lia felt a strange sensation from it.
It was a feeling that was difficult to explain, an unsettling and uncomfortable sensation.
“I saw the duke at the last royal ball. The duke seemed to think I had helped her, so she wanted to treat me to a meal.”
Shion made up a plausible excuse. It might seem strange to other nobles to see him, the grand duke’s aide, with the duke.
It would be problematic if this caused their relationship to be exposed, as Cassian and Lia had no official connection.
Lia nodded in agreement to Shion’s explanation.
“Yes, that’s right. If Sir Shion hadn’t been there at the last ball, it could have been troublesome.”
It wasn’t a complete lie.
If Shion hadn’t stopped her at the last royal ball, she might have drunk an alcoholic beverage and made a mistake.
Using that incident to treat him to a meal seemed excessive, but it was a convenient excuse to avoid the marquis’s suspicion.
“I didn’t know you two had such a connection.”
Shion and Lia couldn’t read anything from the marquess’s response, whether he truly believed their story or was suspicious.
“It’s a shame. I had some matters to attend to and couldn’t attend the ball, missing the opportunity to meet the duke.”
“Now that we’ve met, it’s settled. But… I didn’t expect the marquess to want to meet me.”
He was someone she didn’t know well, someone she had never met before.
But his words about wanting to meet her made Lia feel uncomfortable.
The marquess’s attitude contributed to this uneasiness.
Most of the nobles had ignored her so far, so it wasn’t surprising for the marquess to do the same. It wasn’t strange that he didn’t.
After all, it was the ones who disrespected her because of her age who lacked manners.
But why?
Lia felt uncomfortable with the marquess’s smile and his unexplained kindness.
It wasn’t just uncomfortable; it was unsettling and unpleasant.
“Isn’t you the head of the family that succeeded the Sithran name? I was curious about who would succeed that position.”
“Is that so?”
“Especially since the new head of the family is the granddaughter of the esteemed Shubaren, whom I have respected for a long time.”
“That makes me think I should work even harder not to disgrace my grandfather’s name.”
Lia responded appropriately to the marquess’s words, formally but not insincerely.
Even Lia herself didn’t understand why she was so concerned about the marquess, but it was an instinctive reaction.
For some reason, every word he said made her nervous and tense.
So she was cautious in her responses.
“There’s no need for that. The fact that you have his blood is already sufficient qualification.”
The Marquess’s words were, unusually, the most favorable response Lia had received from any noble she had met so far.
Had these words not come from the Marquess of Lathsiron, Lia would have gladly accepted them.
Her image of him would have improved as well.
“It’s also a great honor for me to be born as my grandfather’s granddaughter.”
The more the conversation continued, the more Lia wanted to send the Marquess away as quickly as possible, but she did not show it.
The Marquess had committed no offense or mistake. Ending the conversation without reason would be impolite.
“That would be the same for Lord Shubaren. Having such an excellent granddaughter.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. It seems I am not a lacking granddaughter for my grandfather.”
“How could that be? Lord Shubaren must have been very distressed after losing his daughter. Even though he couldn’t find her, it is fortunate that he gained such a lovely granddaughter.”
The Marquess spoke with a benevolent smile, seemingly without any other intent.
But why?
Lia felt more and more irritated by the Marquess’s words.
An unknown something kept triggering her warning instincts.
However, Lia suppressed all those feelings. There was no benefit in showing such emotions outwardly.
So she just responded to the Marquess’s words as if everything was fine.
“If, as the Marquess said, I was able to be of any support to my grandfather, it would be a joyous thing for me.”
“How could it not be? However, seeing you like this makes my heart heavy.”
“Really?”
“It might be unnecessary concern, but haven’t you lost your only remaining family member after your mother? You’ve faced experiences that would be difficult even for an adult, several times over. It must have been very hard for you. I wish there were other family members who could support you in such times.”
The Marquess genuinely seemed to feel sorry for Lia’s situation. Losing her family at such a young age and being left alone.
There was no other intent in his words.
It didn’t seem like he was trying to belittle her or gain her favor.
It really seemed that way.
“I appreciate your concern, Marquess, but I’m fine. So you don’t need to worry about me any further.”
It was a gentle rejection.
Also, it was a clear boundary that Lia was drawing between herself and the Marquess.
The Marquess showed no sign of displeasure, even though he noticed the boundary.
He acted as if there was no reason to be upset by her attitude.
From the beginning, the Marquess had been different from the other nobles Lia had met.
His attitude was different from them in every aspect.
Had it been any other noble, they would have felt offended by her words, thinking she was being rude.
Even though they were the ones who had been truly rude.
However, separate from all that, Lia felt uncomfortable with the Marquess.
She really wanted to end the conversation with him.
But the Marquess didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.
At that moment, Shion, who had been silent, intervened.
“Marquess, I apologize, but this is a time the Duke has arranged to thank me for a previous favor.”
It was a polite way of saying, ‘Please don’t interrupt and leave.’
It was close to being rude to say such a thing to a higher-ranked Marquess, but Shion didn’t care much.
Although more rational than Cassian, Shion wasn’t exactly mild-mannered either.
He was someone who would speak his mind even to the Grand Duke.
The Marquess was no exception.
Moreover, Shion could sense that Lia was uncomfortable with the Marquess.
That alone was enough reason for Shion to intervene.
Even if the Marquess felt offended by his attitude, Shion didn’t care. If it became a problem, he trusted Cassian to handle it.
Although currently hiding his identity and staying missing, Cassian would surely help in any way needed.
Especially if it was for Lia’s sake.
Fortunately, the Marquess showed no sign of displeasure at Shion’s words.
“Oh dear, I must have been thoughtless. I was so happy to see the Duke at this moment when I wanted to meet her… I hope to see you again, Duke.”
With that, the Marquess left, albeit reluctantly.
Only then could Lia breathe easily.
Unconsciously, she had been holding her breath, and she exhaled deeply all at once.
