I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 80
‘What is this…’
Cassian couldn’t understand his current situation.
The energy that seemed impossible to control suddenly became calm.
Until just a moment ago, it was like a wild horse, on the verge of breaking free from his control, but now it was moving exactly as he directed.
Because of this, Cassian could manage his energy more easily than before.
It was truly a fortunate turn of events, especially since there were still many demons left to defeat.
The battle with the demons continued for an unknown amount of time.
The number of demons had significantly decreased, but the knights were also greatly exhausted.
Cassian was no exception.
Although managing his energy had become easier, his condition was far from normal.
Perhaps because of this, Cassian made a mistake that he wouldn’t usually make.
He missed one of the demons’ attacks. Though he quickly used his energy to block the attack, he couldn’t avoid getting injured.
In the end, Cassian’s forearm bore the mark of the demon’s claw.
A red line of blood followed the scratch.
“Khal…?”
Even though her eyes were closed, not all her senses were gone.
When one sense is lost, another becomes more sensitive.
Lia heard the sound of someone’s flesh being cut. It was different from the sound of a demon’s body being sliced.
And it was very close. It came from Cassian’s body.
“Khal, are you okay?”
Lia called out to Cassian again, checking on his condition.
“I’m fine.”
“But just now…”
“It’s just a scratch.”
Despite Cassian’s words, Lia’s expression twisted as if she were about to cry. The fact that Cassian was hurt weighed heavily on her heart.
“Anyway, the rest of the work will be done by those guys, not me. So, this kind of injury is nothing.”
“…But you’re still hurt.”
“This is barely an injury.”
Considering the state he was in earlier, this was actually quite fortunate.
Just a moment ago, he had almost lost control. If that had happened, he would have sustained far worse injuries, and Lia wouldn’t have been safe either.
“…I don’t trust what you’re saying, so let me see for myself…”
“Not yet. You can only open your eyes once we’re out of here.”
“…Alright.”
Lia reluctantly nodded as Cassian gently held her eyes shut.
She wanted to check his injury immediately, but since Cassian insisted, she decided to follow his lead for now.
A little later, the long battle finally came to an end. With Lia in his arms, Cassian quickly left the Refaar Forest.
However, even after exiting the forest, Cassian couldn’t relax. Demons didn’t always stay within the forest. One might follow them out and attack, so Cassian put as much distance as possible between them and the forest.
Only then did he feel a little more at ease.
Fortunately, there were no more signs of demons after that. The attack at the edge of the forest seemed to be the final assault.
Finally, Cassian could catch his breath and patted Lia.
“You can open your eyes now.”
As soon as Cassian finished speaking, Lia quickly opened her eyes.
She frowned at the strong smell of blood and grabbed Cassian’s arm. Her hand landed on the injured spot, and she felt a wet sensation on her palm.
“…There’s so much blood…”
“It’s not blood; it’s tears.”
Cassian replied confidently.
“Since when were tears red?”
“That’s because they’re filled with my feelings for my angel baby. Love is… red.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Anyone can see it’s blood.”
“Then, I must have been mistaken. The real tears are coming from my angel baby now.”
Seeing the tears welling up in Lia’s eyes, Cassian gently reached out and wiped them away.
What is it about these dew-like tears that makes my heart ache so much?
“I told you not to get hurt.”
“Yes, that’s true. But my angel baby is safe, and that’s all that matters.”
Cassian preferred to be the one injured rather than Lia. He also preferred to overexert himself rather than let Lia do so.
How could he possibly allow this young child to take on such burdens?
“Please put me down. I want to see how badly you’re hurt.”
Lia said this because it was difficult to properly check Cassian’s wounds while being held in his arms.
“As a weak patient, I wish you would stay in my arms a little longer.”
“…You might be a weak patient right now, but I still need you to put me down.”
“What if I refuse?”
Lia’s face looked like she was about to cry just from seeing the blood. Cassian thought there was no benefit in her seeing his wound, especially since it was deeper than he had initially realized.
“…Then I’ll cry. I’ll keep crying until you put me down and show me your wound.”
“That would be troublesome.”
Cassian spoke with a genuinely troubled expression. He didn’t want to see Lia cry, especially not because of him. The idea of her small body shedding tears until she was dehydrated was intolerable.
So he had to comply, but doing so seemed like it would trigger her tears even more.
“Khal… Dad…”
In an awkward and embarrassed tone, Lia called Cassian ‘Dad.’ She remembered that he had once expressed a desire to be called that. She thought that if she called him ‘Dad,’ he might grant her request.
And now, somehow, calling him ‘Dad’ didn’t feel so strange anymore.
Though it felt a bit guilty to the father she had never known, she had grown so attached to Cassian that he felt like real family.
“…You little trickster.”
Cassian, momentarily stunned as if his heart had stopped, shook his head in defeat and gently set Lia down. The impact of hearing Lia call him ‘Dad’ was enormous.
How could he describe it?
It felt as though the world had suddenly brightened, as if he had been reborn.
At that moment, it felt like he and Lia were the only two people left in the world.
It was as if his entire being, his entire world, had been remade.
Now Lia, who had descended from Cassian’s arms, hurriedly inspected his wound.
She winced at the sight of the deep claw marks covering his forearm.
She had guessed the wound was serious from the strong smell of blood, but it was worse than she had imagined.
The skin had split open, revealing red and white flesh underneath. And the bleeding, which had started earlier, hadn’t stopped.
“I’m sorry, Khal. It’s because of me…”
“It seems my angel baby is stronger than I thought. To inflict this kind of wound on me is quite an accomplishment. It should be praised, don’t you think? How did my angel baby grow up to be so strong?”
Cassian said in a light-hearted tone, as if the wound wasn’t caused by the demon, but by Lia herself.
“But you got hurt because of me. You were trying to protect me…”
If it hadn’t been for her, Cassian wouldn’t have gotten injured. In fact, he wouldn’t have come to this place at all if it weren’t for her. The thought made Lia feel extremely guilty.
“No, I got hurt because of that wretched demon with useless eyes. The demon is the real culprit here.”
“…Still.”
“My angel baby, you have no reason to apologize. You did nothing wrong. If anything, I should be the one thanking you.”
“…Thanking me? But I didn’t do anything.”
All she had done throughout the demon-hunt mission was rest and sleep in Cassian’s arms.
“My angel baby has helped me a lot. I could have been much more seriously injured, but you prevented that.”
Cassian wasn’t wrong. Thanks to Lia, he had been able to stabilize his energy and avoid the brink of losing control.
He didn’t know exactly what Lia had done or how she managed to do it, but it was clear that she had quelled his dangerous state.
Because of this, he and the knights were all indebted to her.
“I really didn’t do anything…”
“Lia, I don’t lie. So if I say it, it’s true.”
Cassian spoke with utmost seriousness and firmness. His words weren’t just to ease Lia’s guilt.
In fact, there was no need for that at all. Her mere presence had been a great strength to him and the knights.
As the saying goes, one becomes stronger when they have something to protect. In this sense, Lia had been a great source of motivation during this demon-hunt mission.
“But…”
“Shh. Everything was my choice, my decision. I’m the one who should bear the responsibility. I believe you think the same, don’t you?”
“…Alright. But still, thank you, Khal.”
Cassian didn’t want Lia to feel sorry for him. So the best thing she could do for him now was to express her gratitude instead of her guilt.
“I’d much rather hear that.”
Although Cassian hadn’t been seeking her thanks, it was certainly better than hearing her apologies.
Their conversation was interrupted as Cassian, who had been gazing affectionately at Lia, turned his attention to Shion. Noticing Cassian’s gaze, Shion, who had been waiting for the right moment, quickly approached.
