The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 116

‘Originally, I was going to find out on my own and tell him when I was certain, but…’

 

But my desire to make Dad happy had gotten ahead of me, and I had blurted it out impulsively. 

 

‘What if I find out later that it’s not true and Dad gets disappointed… what do I do?’

 

I carefully raised my head and observed the chief’s reaction. For some reason, he was looking at me with a stiff expression.

 

“Who tells you such things?” 

 

“Well… Brother Dohyul said… the reason Grandfather Prime Minister is chasing me is because I’m Dad’s biological daughter…”

 

Not knowing how much to say, I was rambling.

 

Thud, the chief went down on one knee and placed his hand on my head.

 

“…I see. You heard such a story from Dohyul.”

 

His voice was lower and more cautious than usual.

 

“But Yeong, that is not important.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

At the unexpected reaction, I opened my eyes wide. The chief faced me with wavering eyes.

 

“You are undeniably my daughter. That will not change, no matter what anyone in the world says. Do you understand?”

 

It was a resolute voice.

 

I lost my words and clamped my mouth shut. Somewhere in my heart, a tickling sensation arose.

 

“The reason I brought you here today was because I wanted to show you to your grandfather as well. Here.”

 

He opened his arms as if telling me to come into his embrace.

 

Keeping my head deeply bowed, I quickly ran to him and was embraced.

 

He lifted me up in a flash, held me in his arms, and resumed walking, continuing the conversation as if it were nothing again.

 

“…This place is where Dad came with Grandpa and Mom a long time ago. Back then…”

 

The chief’s words continued calmly, but I merely buried my face in his chest.

 

‘This is… too different from what I expected.’

 

I thought he would be happy, or tell me we should look into it closely.

 

‘No matter how much he cherishes me… the current me is a fake daughter, after all. I thought he would consider it different from a biological daughter.’

 

But he didn’t.

 

Rather than caring about a biological daughter… the chief was striving to ensure I wouldn’t misunderstand or get hurt by any chance.

 

‘I see. Dad… is protecting me first for fear that I might get hurt.’

 

Perhaps because I had been watching the chief for a long time.

 

Only now did I seem to understand just how carefully he was reading my mind. 

 

‘To Dad… who I really am truly doesn’t matter.’ 

 

…Because he loves me.

 

As that fact seeped deep into my heart, a surge of emotion washed over me.

 

I secretly and quickly wiped away the welling tears,

 

“Our Yeong, you were thinking about something else without listening to Dad’s story.”

 

The chief smiled and lightly stroked my head. Then, as if accustomed to it, he held out his ring finger.

 

“Do not pay it any mind, Yeong. Because it truly is not an important matter. Shall we make a promise with Dad?”

 

“….”

 

I stared blankly, alternating between his finger and his face, before at some point, holding a faint smile, I nodded.

 

‘Right. Something like that doesn’t matter. I am… already Dad’s daughter.’

 

Dad’s daughter, who is receiving such overflowing love.

 

I carefully reached out my hand.

 

“Yes. I will. Daaad.”

 

Our ring fingers touched and shook a couple of times. Only then did the chief smile as if relieved.

 

Gaon quietly watched that scene, then lowered his gaze for a moment. 

 

An inexplicably complex look flashed across his face.

 

* * *

 

Gaon’s mind was in turmoil, having watched the conversation between Yeong and the Chief right beside them.

 

‘The Prime Minister… chased Yeong because he thought she was his biological daughter?’

 

While mulling over those words, Gaon recalled the events that had occurred thus far one by one.

 

At first, he merely thought Yeong had been abandoned after getting swept up in a power struggle within the royal family.

 

He also assumed the reason the Prime Minister was chasing Yeong was because the fact that she was by the Chief’s side held exploitation value.

 

But—

 

‘If Yeong were the present king’s daughter, isn’t it strange that she was abandoned in the mountains?’

 

Above all, the fact that the Prime Minister’s subordinates had treated Yeong so ruthlessly kept bothering him.

 

To the point of even shooting arrows… it was as if they didn’t care if she got hurt.

 

Furthermore, if he thought she was not the biological daughter.

 

Would he have had a reason to chase her so persistently?

 

Most crucially.

 

‘Yeong truly is the spitting image of Her Highness the Crown Princess.’

 

That thought was an undeniable fact.

 

Whether it was because it was a painful memory the Chief wanted to forget that he unconsciously blocked the thought… he seemed completely oblivious, but Gaon alone could be certain.

 

However, in contrast to that, the most reluctant part was also clear.

 

‘To investigate Yeong’s birth, I would ultimately have to bring up the story of Her Highness the Crown Princess.’

 

For years, her name had been a taboo that could not be carelessly uttered in front of the Chief.

 

A name that no one even within Seolhwa could easily bring up. The Chief’s wound was that deep.

 

Even so—

 

Gaon made up his mind.

 

Taking a short breath in front of the tent, Gaon lightly clenched and unclenched his fist.

 

“Chief, may I excuse myself for a moment?” 

 

“Enter.”

 

Along with the concise command, the tent flap opened.

 

The Chief stood expressionless inside. He wore a face that seemed immersed in extremely deep thought.

 

“What is the matter?”

 

“I have something to say regarding what… Yeong said earlier.”

 

“If it is about that… no, do not ever bring up such words in front of Yeong again either. Do you understand?”

 

Gaon nodded.

 

He too knew well what the Chief was worried about.

 

“Park Dohyul… why on earth did that boy say such a thing to Yeong for no reason…”

 

The Chief let out a sigh and shook his head.

 

Gaon hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

 

“But do you not know it as well, Chief? Park Dohyul is the Prime Minister’s son. If the Prime Minister truly believes that and is chasing Yeong, should we not also uncover the truth of the matter?” 

 

He was resolute.

 

“If, truly… Yeong is your biological daughter, Chief, then Her Highness the Crown Princess might also—”

 

The very moment Gaon tried to continue his words.

 

“Enough.”

 

The Chief cut him off sharply and briefly. For a moment, a heavy silence lingered inside the tent.

 

The Chief caught his breath for a moment, then placed a hand on his forehead.

 

With his lips bitten tightly, he was quietly enduring it with a trembling jawline.

 

“Do not… bring up that story any further.”

 

At that sight, Gaon could not continue speaking.

 

Because he knew better than anyone with just how complex a heart he was standing there right now.

 

“I apologize. Her Highness the Crown Princess has already… passed away.”

 

After that day, the Chief suffered from sleepwalking for a while.

 

After spending every day in agony, he barely managed to stand back up, and after that…

 

In places out of people’s sight, he quietly and constantly yearned for her.

 

To bring up the Crown Princess’s name to him again.

 

That in itself was a great discourtesy and a risk for Gaon.

 

However, he felt that this was a time when he could no longer look away.

 

Even for Seolyeong, that child’s sake.

 

“I will offer just one last word.”

 

The Chief cast his gaze upon him. Gaon bowed his head briefly and continued calmly.

 

“I shared a brief conversation with that boy, Park Dohyul. In my short judgment, that boy is not of a nature to fabricate absurd stories.” 

 

Gaon’s gaze distanced for a moment.

 

Having always done the work of looking into people’s minds and discerning their true intentions, he trusted that intuition.

 

“So… could you not look into this deeply just one more time?”

 

The Chief looked at him without a word.

 

“This is also for Yeong’s sake. Only by knowing the truth will we be able to properly face the enemy.”

 

It was a careful, yet resolute tone.

 

Bow—!

 

Gaon bowed his head deeply and retreated outside the tent without adding any more words.

 

“Haa…”

 

Only then did a long, suppressed sigh flow from the Chief’s lips.

 

It felt as if the memories he had firmly pressed down and buried until now were rising to the surface once again.

 

Her laughter, her warm touch, her final farewell.

 

‘Gaon’s words… are right.’

 

The Chief cupped his jaw with a trembling hand.

 

It was important that the one who brought it up was ‘Park Dohyul.’

 

A son who was always by the Prime Minister’s closest side, and someone who had no reason to speak lies.

 

‘If that boy was not spouting nonsense… the Prime Minister must be chasing Yeong with certainty.’

 

The Chief knew what kind of person the Prime Minister was.

 

Given the Prime Minister’s thoroughly calculating nature, there was no way he would have moved based on a single vain belief.

 

If so, it meant there was solid evidence somewhere.

 

However.

 

‘That can’t be…’

 

The Crown Princess had definitely been bestowed poison while carrying a child in her womb… it had been years of believing everything was over.

 

Throb. Just recalling that memory made his chest tighten.

 

Squeeze.

 

He quietly reached a hand into his clothes and brought out something he had kept cherished without anyone knowing.

 

A small handkerchief.

 

On that old thing, frayed and bursting at the seams, there was a single character embroidered with care.

 

[Martial Fortune]

 

It was the final gift she had handed him as he left for the battlefield.

 

The Chief closed his eyes.

 

As if struggling to suppress the surging emotions of yearning.

 

“Dad!”

 

At that moment, Yeong’s voice sprang to mind.

 

Like a lie, his confused and dizzy mind calmed down.

 

‘…I will have to investigate this properly.’

 

So that Yeong wouldn’t know, yet for Yeong’s sake. The time had come to uncover the truth.

 

He slowly folded the handkerchief and placed it back into his embrace.

 

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had become a degree calmer and firmer than before.