I Picked Up My Father Who Left Home 92
“…Then, I’ll lend it to you a little longer.”
Lia hesitated as she said this.
Even though it was something extremely precious to her, if it could help Jeshuan even a little, lending it a bit longer seemed fine.
If it was Jeshuan, she could trust him. Surely, he would treat the pendant as carefully as she did.
“…Are you sure about this?”
Jeshuan, who had taken out the pendant intending to return it, widened his eyes at Lia’s unexpected words.
“Yes, because it’s you, Jeshuan. But to be clear, I’m not giving it to you—I’m just lending it a little longer.”
“But it’s something precious to you.”
“Right now, it’s precious to you too. So please take good care of it. I’ll be checking on it every week.”
Jeshuan seemed unlikely to lose it, but if he ever did, Lia knew she would be devastated.
Although she spoke as if it was nothing, it wasn’t an easy decision for her to make.
How could it be?
The pendant was the only memento of her mother left to Lia.
The warmth of her grandfather and mother were both etched into that pendant.
It was a treasure like no other in the world to Lia.
“You don’t have to go to such lengths for me.”
Even though Lia said she was lending it to him, there wasn’t a set period for its return.
How could he accept something so precious to her that easily?
Jeshuan knew just how important this pendant was to Lia.
Even though the pendant had become special to him as well, he had no desire to take something so dear from her.
After all, the reason it was special was because of Lia’s heart attached to it.
“I’m lending it to you because I trust you, Jeshuan. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t have even considered it. So, it’s fine. Both my grandfather and my mother would be happy knowing their precious mementos were helping someone else.”
“But what if I lose it…?”
“I’ll bite you.”
At Jeshuan’s worried words, Lia replied firmly without hesitation.
“How could I ever make you cry, Lia…?”
“Well, I might cry, but I said I’d bite you, didn’t I?”
“…Oh.”
Jeshuan had misunderstood her words, confusing ‘bite’ with ‘cry,’ leading to an awkward expression on his face.
For a moment, the misunderstanding lingered.
“You can hit me. Pinch me or even kick me if you want.”
“But you’re a crown prince! How could I…?”
“It’ll be my fault if I lose your pendant.”
“Then I’ll gladly do it. In that case, we should put it in writing. That way, if something happens and I hit you later, there won’t be any problems.”
Lia didn’t refuse Jeshuan’s suggestion. If it made him feel less guilty, there was no reason to reject it.
And honestly, if he really did lose her precious pendant, Lia thought she might not care about him being the crown prince or anything else.
Of course, aside from that, Lia trusted Jeshuan. She knew he wouldn’t lose something so important to her easily.
Her words were more a formality, meant to ease Jeshuan’s guilty conscience.
“Alright, let’s do that.”
Jeshuan nodded with a smile.
He tore a page from the back of a book he had brought with him to read while waiting for Lia and began writing a small contract.
Seeing this, Lia flinched.
“Are you sure it’s okay to tear that book?”
“Yeah, my father gave it to me as a gift.”
Jeshuan replied casually.
“Then shouldn’t you be even more careful with it?”
Jeshuan’s father was the emperor. In other words, this was a gift from the emperor.
Even if there was no paper, was it really okay to tear this book? She imagined the emperor might be dumbfounded if he found out.
“The last page was blank anyway.”
“Still…”
“It’s fine. Think of it as compensation for lending me your precious pendant. Though it seems a bit too small a gesture in return.”
“…Alright, since you’ve already torn it, I’ll think of it that way.”
Even if she glued it back together, it would still look odd.
Besides, she hadn’t torn the book—it was Jeshuan himself, the one who had received it, who had done it. So, even though it was a gift from the emperor, it likely wouldn’t be a big deal.
“I signed it. Now only you need to sign, Lia.”
Jeshuan, who had already completed the contract with elegant skill, handed the paper to Lia.
Lia received the paper and carefully read through the contract.
Even though it was something said lightly, it was still a contract, so it couldn’t be taken lightly.
As Lia continued to carefully read through the contract, her expression became a bit strange.
“Um, is this clause okay?”
“What?”
“‘If the pendant is lost, the responsibility is on Jeshuan, and he must hand over something precious to her,’ this part.”
“Yes.”
“And, ‘If the pendant is damaged, Jeshuan must compensate Lia to a level that satisfies her’—this too…”
“That’s only natural. Plus, with that kind of risk, I’d be more careful.”
“Well, compensation is one thing, but the part about satisfying me… the standard is quite vague.”
What did he think I would demand as compensation under such a condition?
“Just as you trust me, I trust you too.”
Jeshuan wasn’t too worried because he trusted that Lia wouldn’t make any unreasonable or impossible demands.
“… Jeshuan, trusting people too easily isn’t always good.”
“Do I seem like someone who would do that?”
Jeshuan, as if hearing this for the first time, smiled amusedly.
“No, it’s good that you trust me, but I feel like this is a bit much…”
“Lia, you said you’d lend me the pendant because it was me. I feel the same. I put that condition in because it’s you. It’s because you’re Lia that I trust you this much.”
It was only because it was Lia.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have wasted his time like this, nor would he have written a contract with clauses so disadvantageous to him.
“Well, in my case, it’s fine… but don’t do this with others, or you’ll be taken advantage of.”
Lia, softening at Jeshuan’s words, voiced her concern.
“I wouldn’t do this with anyone else but you, Lia.”
For Jeshuan, Lia was the only special person.
His behavior was reserved for Lia alone.
“Even though I worry about how you act with me, we’re friends… so I guess it’s okay if you’re a bit of a pushover.”
After all, she wasn’t planning to take advantage of Jeshuan or swindle him.
After thoroughly reviewing the last part of the contract, Lia signed it.
“You keep the contract.”
“Yes, I’ll carefully store it in a safe just in case.”
That way, she could confidently hold Jeshuan, the crown prince, accountable if necessary.
Though she hoped that day would never come.
“Good idea.”
Watching Lia fold the contract neatly and tuck it away, Jeshuan looked at her with a gentle gaze.
Just for a moment, it felt like the breeze of spring was blowing between them, but that atmosphere soon changed as Jeshuan’s demeanor shifted.
The smile he’d been wearing just moments before disappeared, and his gaze sharpened. The air around him became tense and unusual.
“Jeshuan?”
“Lia.”
Jeshuan’s voice, as he spoke her name, was serious and intense.
“What’s going on?”
Lia, sensing the sudden shift in Jeshuan’s mood, realized that everything about him now seemed like a strange warning.
A hint of tension appeared on Lia’s face as well.
“Stay by my side and don’t leave.”
Jeshuan, who said this, quickly stood up and approached Lia, as if he were trying to protect her from something.
At first, he considered telling her to run away.
However, he decided against it because letting her run away alone could be even more dangerous for her.
After all, they weren’t the only ones here. There were knights hiding in ambush, concealing their presence while protecting them.
These knights, like him, were also people with special abilities.
So, it seemed better to leave what was about to happen to them and focus on ensuring Lia’s safety.
Instinctively, Lia grabbed the hem of Jeshuan’s clothing, staying close to him.
She didn’t understand why Jeshuan was suddenly saying such things, but her instincts told her that something dangerous was approaching.
She had a bad feeling.
At that moment, Lia saw something she never wanted to see again.
It was a demon.
Just like the one they had encountered in the Refaar Forest, it was a terrifying and grotesque creature.
“Wh-why… why is this happening?”
Lia tightened her grip on Jeshuan’s clothes and murmured her confusion.
This wasn’t the Refaar Forest. It wasn’t some desolate place.
But why had a demon appeared in the imperial palace?
“Lia, it’s going to be okay.”
Jeshuan spoke kindly, looking at Lia, who had frozen with fear, unable to even blink.
“…Help… we need help…”
“Yes, there’s someone here who will help us. So… just stay by my side.”
If anything were to happen, Jeshuan was determined to protect Lia himself.
With those words, the knights who had been hiding their presence revealed themselves.
Although they had been a step slower in sensing the demon compared to Jeshuan, they were imperial knights. Their skills were reliable.
At the sight of the knights, Lia finally exhaled the breath she had been holding.
Surely, with them here… everything would be fine.
She and Jeshuan would be safe.
However, things didn’t unfold as Lia had expected.
