I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 85
The next day, Cassian returned to the study with Lia.
Lia was holding a stack of documents that needed to be approved.
Since she had agreed to help assist him at Cassian’s request, she planned to support him actively from today. However, she couldn’t just stop working, so she brought her tasks along as well.
Her plan was to do her work while keeping an eye on him, so she could help whenever necessary.
Upon arriving at the study, Lia found a suitable spot, settled down, and placed the documents on the desk.
Then she walked briskly over to Cassian, who was busy searching through books.
“Please tell me which book you need, and I’ll fetch it for you.”
“…With that body?”
Cassian looked at the small Lia, who barely reached his waist, with a puzzled expression.
“…There’s a small step stool to help me reach books on higher shelves, you know?”
“It’s still dangerous.”
How could he possibly let the angel baby carry something as heavy as a book?
“It would be safer for me to get it than for a patient to do it.”
“Just because I’m injured doesn’t mean I’m incapable.”
Though Cassian enjoyed Lia’s concern for him and intended to act a little more hurt to get some attention, he wasn’t willing to pretend to be so incapacitated that he’d let her do dangerous tasks.
“Well, it’s better not to strain yourself. Besides, I may not know exactly what you’re looking for, but I’m quite familiar with most of the books in this study, so you might as well rely on me.”
After all, Lia had spent all of her childhood inside the Duke’s household.
Since she had no friends her age to play with and was not allowed to leave the estate, the study had become her main playground.
It also helped that her grandfather, the former Duke of Sithran, spent most of his time either in his office or the study.
Therefore, Lia was well-versed with the books in the study.
Even though she hadn’t read all of them, she knew where each book was located and what kinds of books there were.
Sometimes, when she grew bored while reading, she would memorize the titles and locations of the books to pass the time.
“As expected of my angel baby, so clever.”
Cassian was impressed, knowing it wasn’t easy to remember the contents of such a vast library.
“So, what book are you looking for?”
“Well, it should be a book about demons, but is this all there is in this library?”
If that were the case, they would have to look elsewhere for a different perspective, not related to demons.
Since he had already checked all the demon-related books yesterday.
“Oh, yes, but… ah! No, there’s more elsewhere.”
Just as she was about to nod, Lia suddenly remembered something and shook her head, her eyes gleaming.
“Is there a hidden room in the study?”
“The books in this study are all ones that can be easily obtained. The rarer, more difficult books are kept separately. And among those, I’ve seen a few books about demons.”
“…Am I allowed to read those?”
“My grandfather… wasn’t fond of others entering that area. But now, I’m the head of this household…”
So, as long as she permitted it, Cassian could read those books without any issue.
Moreover, he wouldn’t be taking them out; he would be reading them here and returning them to their place, so there should be no problem at all.
“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes, I’ll go fetch them. Please wait here.”
“Won’t it be hard to retrieve them?”
“No. My grandfather arranged those books so I could access them easily.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
It seemed like a place only the head of the household could enter, so Cassian had been hesitant to step foot in it. But now, he was relieved.
Following Lia’s instructions, Cassian quietly sat at the desk where she had placed the documents and waited for her.
It wasn’t long before Lia returned, carrying several books.
“Tsk, you should’ve called me.”
It was only around ten books, but they seemed like a lot in her small hands.
Even one of those books looked heavy, so carrying all ten must have been difficult.
“This much is fine.”
“Well, it looks like the books are carrying you, rather than the other way around.”
“That’s not true at all!”
Lia, feeling annoyed, spoke up.
“Anyway, from now on, call me for something like that. How could I let my precious angel baby carry such heavy things?”
“It’s just a few books.”
“Even one of those books is too heavy for my angel baby to carry.”
“But aren’t you the one who’s injured?”
“I can still carry this much with one hand.”
Though Cassian was injured, he didn’t seem to feel any discomfort.
While he rarely got injured in life, Cassian was fundamentally numb to pain.
It wasn’t as though his bones were broken or his arm was severed, so there was no reason he couldn’t use it.
“Anyway, thank you, angel baby.”
“If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”
Having found the book Cassian wanted, Lia figured she could stop paying attention to him for a while as he read.
Flipping through pages was something he could do on his own, so she wouldn’t be needed for a while.
Thus, Lia planned to focus on finishing the documents she had brought with her.
She still had to finish the report she had started yesterday, as well as write a letter to the crown prince.
The letter would inform him that he would have to wait a little longer for their next meeting.
Lia felt a bit guilty thinking of Jeshuan, who was probably worried about her, but it couldn’t be helped.
Although they had completed the demon subjugation and returned to the duke’s estate, she was hesitant to leave since Cassian’s condition still concerned her.
So, while she wouldn’t have to stay until his injuries were fully healed, Lia felt that she should remain by his side for the time being.
While Lia busily drafted the report for the emperor and pondered over the letter to Jeshuan, Cassian was reading the book she had found for him with a serious expression.
As expected of a rare book, the content was far more detailed than the ones he had read the night before.
However, he still couldn’t find the information he was looking for.
‘Tsk.’
Cassian clicked his tongue in frustration.
He was never fond of reading in the first place. He didn’t enjoy sitting still and doing something for an extended period.
He preferred to use his body instead, which was why being born with powers and assigned to demon subjugation suited him well.
It also gave him an excuse to hand over the bothersome paperwork to Shion.
Though he was getting tired of reading, he couldn’t just give up.
‘I didn’t expect it to be easy to find.’
After all, this wasn’t a simple matter.
He had faced countless demons, but it was the first time he had seen a creature specifically targeting an individual, like in the Refaar Forest.
And the way the demon charged at them, disregarding its own life, made it all the more unusual.
Demons generally had low intelligence, so their instincts tended to be much stronger.
Among those instincts, the strongest was, of course, survival.
However, the demon targeting Lia was acting against its basic survival instinct.
‘That means….’
It meant that Lia’s very existence must pose a significant threat to their survival—or something even greater.
“What could it be?”
When he thought about it, this wasn’t the only thing that bothered him.
Up until now, his main concern had been the fact that the demon was targeting Lia, but there was something else that kept nagging at him.
Just before he lost control, when Lia hugged him, the chaotic energy that had been surging within him suddenly calmed down. That event wasn’t something he could simply ignore.
‘Perhaps both events are somehow connected.’
Or maybe they both stemmed from the same cause.
In any case, he had to find out the reason.
Especially since it concerned Lia.
How much time had passed since then?
In the quiet room, the sound of a growling stomach echoed loudly.
Cassian’s gaze naturally shifted toward Lia.
“It wasn’t me,”
She said, feeling guilty, without even turning her head.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“…Well, yes, that’s true.”
Lia, like a guilty thief, had spoken up unnecessarily, revealing that the sound came from her, which made her feel embarrassed.
“Let’s go eat. It seems it’s already about that time.”
Cassian looked at Lia with a loving expression as she blushed in embarrassment.
“Let’s do that. I was getting hungry anyway…”
“Yes, I thought so. That sound was so loud… oops?”
“Oh, sorry. I thought there was something on your lips.”
Lia quickly covered Cassian’s mouth, trying to prevent him from finishing his sentence, and pretended like nothing happened.
“It’s a natural bodily function. There’s no need to feel so embarrassed.”
Why was she getting so embarrassed over something as trivial as a growling stomach?
Of course, her shy, blushing cheeks were so cute that Cassian wouldn’t mind seeing them more often, but he still couldn’t quite understand her reaction.
“It’s just a little embarrassing.”
“There’s nothing but cuteness in it. My angel baby even makes a growling sound seem like a work of art.”
“I didn’t say that! That sound came from your stomach, not mine.”
Even though it was, as Cassian said, a natural bodily function, admitting it made Lia feel embarrassed. The idea of a growling sound coming from a duke’s stomach was a little… uncomfortable, wasn’t it?
“Let’s go with that, then.”
Though he felt the urge to tease her further as she blushed, Cassian held back.
It wouldn’t do for his angel baby to get upset and stop attending to him.
After finishing their meal, Lia and Cassian returned to the study.
Lia still had documents to finish, and Cassian hadn’t finished reading his book yet.
So, once again, they both focused on their respective tasks.
Suddenly, as Cassian, looking quite bored, skimmed through the pages, his eyes sharpened.
‘…I’ve finally found it.’
