I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 87
Cassian watched the entire scene with a serious expression.
There was a clear intent behind Cassian’s sudden request.
It was to verify whether she was truly a saint.
According to the book he had read, contact with a saint had the effect of calming energy and healing the wounds of those with abilities.
If Lia was indeed a saint, the wound she touched would heal regardless of its toxicity.
If Lia wasn’t a saint, the wound would remain unchanged.
Thus, by checking whether his wound had healed, he would know if she was truly a saint.
However, Cassian decided to delay confirming this.
He didn’t want to expose his wound to Lia again.
He didn’t want to see Lia feeling hurt by seeing it.
“You still haven’t found the antidote?”
“…No, not yet.”
He needed Shion to return after finishing off the demons before he could ask for help regarding the antidote.
Of course, that didn’t mean Cassian had been idle.
He was diligently searching for the reason why the demons were targeting Lia, while also trying to find a cure for his poison.
But it wasn’t easy. The poison that could affect a person with abilities and their energy wasn’t common.
If Cassian himself hadn’t been poisoned, he wouldn’t have known that such a poison existed.
‘If only my memories would return at the very least.’
Even just recalling who poisoned him would be a great help in finding the antidote.
If he caught the culprit, he might at least find a small clue.
However, the memories that seemed to be coming back gradually had shown no further fragments since then.
He knew that there were gaps in his memories, but that was all.
No matter how hard he tried, nothing came to mind.
Who he had been chasing, why he was chasing them, and how he ended up injured—all of it was a blank.
‘What’s the problem?’
Was it possible that the poison affected his memories as well?
If so, could he regain his lost memories by curing the poison?
But there was no way to be sure.
That’s what made it all the more frustrating.
‘…Tsk.’
Cassian felt a sense of helplessness that he had never experienced before.
No obstacle had ever shackled him in his actions before.
But this time was different.
He was the only one who could solve it, but he knew nothing about the situation.
What on earth had his past self been doing?
If he had left even a hint with Shion, recovering his memories wouldn’t have been this difficult.
But for some reason, his past self hadn’t told Shion anything and had moved quietly by himself.
That must mean it was something cautious and sensitive.
‘…It seems it’s related to the Grand Duchess.’
He couldn’t remember, but according to Shion, his past self cherished and liked the Grand Duchess a lot.
Yet, Cassian couldn’t even remember the Grand Duchess’s existence.
He didn’t remember what she looked like, how they met, or what her circumstances were.
“…Khal?”
Noticing the darkened look on Cassian’s face, Lia called out to him in a worried voice. His gaze, which had been lost in thought, turned toward her.
“My angel baby. I’m glad I met you.”
In this frustrating situation, if it weren’t for Lia, Cassian would have lost control and done something drastic.
To him, Lia was like a ray of light.
In the pitch-black darkness where nothing was visible, she was the lighthouse guiding his way.
Though he still didn’t know what he had to do or how he should proceed, one thing was clear.
No matter what, he would protect this child.
And anyone or anything that got in her way or posed a threat, he would remove them all.
That sole objective was keeping Cassian grounded.
For anyone else, it would have been a situation filled with despair.
How could it not be? Nothing was easily resolved.
But Cassian didn’t despair, nor did he crumble.
Even if it meant the end of his life as a person with abilities, as long as Lia was by his side, he could not give up on anything.
“Why are you suddenly saying such cheesy things?”
Lia mumbled with a slightly embarrassed face at Cassian’s honest words that had been blurted out.
“I just realized once again how much my angel baby means to me.”
“You’re special to me too. Khal, you’re a special person to me.”
Now, the strange wariness she felt when they first met was so distant that Lia couldn’t even recall it anymore. She trusted and relied on Cassian completely.
How could she describe it? To her, Cassian was like a long-lost piece of herself.
Meeting him made her feel as if a part of her life had finally been filled.
That thought led Lia to another, a bit more speculative one.
Maybe, just maybe, there was some unknown connection between Cassian and herself that she wasn’t aware of.
Perhaps that was why she instinctively felt an unexplained familiarity and closeness to him.
But for now, even if there was a relationship between them, she had no way of knowing what it was.
***
That night.
Cassian, who was awake alone and not sleeping in his room, began to remove the bandages wrapped around his arm.
He had delayed checking the wound because he didn’t want to show it to Lia again.
“…As I thought.”
As the bandages hiding the wound disappeared, Cassian’s face looked deeply conflicted.
He seemed confused, not knowing how to accept this fact.
The wound had healed.
It was hard to believe it was just an illusion, as it was completely healed.
This wasn’t a wound that should have healed in just one day.
Even recalling the doctor’s words confirmed that. The doctor had said it would take three days for the wound to fully heal, even for a person with abilities.
But the wound that hadn’t shown any signs of healing until now had almost completely disappeared, leaving only a trace behind.
“Lia… is a saint.”
With that, everything made sense to Cassian.
The reason he felt so at ease when he was with Lia, how the pain disappeared when he held her hand while trying to recall his lost memories, how the wild energy within him calmed.
And even the Crown Prince, that annoying brat, showing such unusual interest in Lia.
‘Of course, it’s because Lia is a saint.’
A saint—the origin of those with abilities, and the endpoint of all things.
But for some reason, the existence of the Saint had never been revealed until now.
Even Cassian, a person with abilities, didn’t know what a Saint was or that such a thing existed.
Whether someone deliberately erased the traces, or it was naturally forgotten, it wasn’t something that could be brushed aside.
Considering the significance of a Saint to those with abilities, it was even more concerning.
That’s why Cassian was even more worried about Lia.
For now, no one but him knew about the existence of the Saint, nor did anyone know that Lia was a Saint.
But what if others learned the truth?
They would undoubtedly try to use Lia in some way.
The Saint’s abilities were not just limited to healing wounds and calming the energy of those with abilities.
The Saint could also exert a tremendous influence on them.
People with abilities are instinctively drawn to the Saint.
Since the Saint is their origin and starting point, it’s only natural for them to feel affection and be drawn to her.
It wasn’t something that could be resisted.
Especially for those with abilities… the Saint’s word was law.
No matter how strong a person’s abilities were, they couldn’t refuse the Saint’s commands.
The more genuine the Saint’s words were, the more powerful the compelling effect they had.
“…I must never let anyone know that Lia is a Saint.”
It was the obvious choice for Lia’s safety.
Then, Cassian began to wonder.
Did the former Duke of Sithran know about this?
For some reason, Cassian thought that he might have known.
If he hadn’t known, there would be no reason for the book about the Saint, which no one even knew existed, to be hidden within the Duke’s estate.
And it was hidden in a place where only the head of the family could enter.
“Is that why?”
Was that why the former Duke of Sithran protected Lia so carefully?
Why he hid her in the Duke’s estate without revealing her to the outside world until she turned twelve?
At first, Cassian thought it was just because the Duke, having lost his daughter, was afraid of losing his granddaughter as well.
But after learning that Lia was a Saint, he couldn’t help but reconsider.
‘Now that I think about it…’
Lia wasn’t the only one the former Duke had hidden in the estate without revealing her to the world. He had done the same with Lia’s mother.
As if he was afraid of something.
If so, it was possible that Lia’s mother had also been a Saint.
‘Who knows.’
Perhaps Lia’s mother went missing because of that.
Someone may have discovered that her mother was a Saint and kidnapped her.
But if that was the case, what had happened to her mother?
And how had Lia ended up with the Duke?
Though Cassian briefly pondered these questions, his resolve became firm.
Whoever was involved in Lia’s mother’s disappearance, if they were to target Lia as well, he would never forgive them.
Although he couldn’t be certain, considering that Lia was the only one who had returned to the Duke’s estate and lived there, it was likely that Lia’s mother was dead.
He couldn’t let Lia suffer the same fate.
Just as the former Duke had done, Cassian couldn’t afford to lose someone precious.
So, he would protect her.
Even if he had to kill everyone who knew that Lia was a Saint.
At that moment, Cassian heard footsteps. And the owner of the steps was Shion.
