The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 16

“Chief, should we search nearby to see if the parents are around?” 

 

“It seems it hasn’t been long since the child was abandoned. If we search, they surely haven’t gone far.”

 

“Although it’s a bit far, how about going back to the village to find someone who can take care of this child?” 

 

“Or, let’s just leave her. Judging by her condition, I don’t know if she can survive much longer.”

 

Gaon and his subordinates stepped forward and told him.

 

Prrr…

 

But in the next moment, the Chief felt the baby’s small body trembling as if in a seizure.

 

Unconsciously, he pulled the child close and held it tightly in his arms.

 

“I’m taking the child with me.”

 

At the Chief’s resolute command, doubt appeared on the faces of his subordinates.

 

“It’s getting dark. We can’t delay any longer. I’ll take the child with me and decide what to do afterward.”

 

The Chief quickly added.

 

At first glance, it seemed like a reasonable statement, but it was a decision he wouldn’t have made before.

 

“Depart.”

 

At the renewed command, the band of bandits began to move. In the Chief’s arms lay the small, unconscious baby, limp as if buried against him.

 

A tiny life, small enough to hold in one hand… yet somehow radiating warmth.

 

And so, he picked up the baby.

 

It was the first impulsive decision made by the Chief, who had always been known for his rational choices.

 

* * * 

 

After discovering the royal mark, the Chief was engulfed in his greatest dilemma.   

 

‘Right now it’s not easy to find a suitable adoptive home… and I can’t kill the child.’

 

That said, it was also true that caring for the child in the mountain hideout felt uneasy. 

 

Most of the bandits harbored hatred toward the current king.

 

Even if they didn’t hold a personal grudge, most of them had joined the bandits because they had starved under a king who neglected the welfare of the people. 

 

If they were to find out that he had brought his daughter into the mountain hideout while their hatred was at its peak… 

 

It was certain that it would cause a huge uproar.

 

Above all, it was clear that he must not give his heart to her. 

 

So, he had no choice but to postpone deciding the child’s fate for the time being and keep his distance.

 

But…

 

“Abubu!”

 

The way the little arms and legs clung desperately to my arms was just so adorable and amusing. And then…

 

“Bhu!” 

 

When he saw the baby smiling so beautifully, almost like a fairy.

 

He was once again swept up by an inexplicable, powerful attraction.

 

He tried to avoid it, but he couldn’t.

 

He tried to turn away, but his heart kept lingering. 

 

In the end, the Chief ended up choosing to take care of the child himself. 

 

A dark night.

 

The Chief, who had woken up from a nightmare as usual, felt something different and looked down into his arms.

 

Something small and wriggling clung tightly in his arms, asleep with tiny, uneven breaths.

 

He started to get up but stopped, awkwardly lying back down again. 

 

He exhaled deeply, holding back on purpose, worried that even the rise and fall of his chest might disturb the baby.

 

In that position, the Chief lowered his head and quietly gazed at the child’s face. 

 

The sight of such a tiny, fragile life completely relying on him and asleep… 

 

Before he knew it, he let out a small laugh 

 

‘Ah.’

 

At that moment, an indescribable emotion washed over him like a receding tide. It was a different feeling from when he first saw the child.

 

And then the Chief realized.

 

Since meeting this child, he felt emotions he didn’t understand with every passing moment.

 

These emotions could not be dared to be named, measured, or even defined.

 

But…

 

Thump, thump, thump.

 

His heart was pounding.

 

It had been a life of running and surviving only by killing others. In that life, he had never once felt this.

 

The sensation of being truly alive. 

 

‘Is this… what it feels like to be alive?’

 

An emotion so difficult to express and impossible to predict. 

 

All the feelings he experienced when facing this tiny life. 

 

The Chief remained still with his eyes closed. Then, he gently lifted his hand to support the child’s body. 

 

So that the child wouldn’t be disturbed even by the slightest movement.  

 

* * *

 

In other words, he couldn’t let this child die.

 

Even if it meant risking his own life. 

 

“If I don’t come back, Dupil will take my place.”  

 

After preparing to climb the ice cliff, the Chief gave the order.  

 

“No, Chief. You can’t.” 

 

“No… You mustn’t go…”

 

“Everyone, speak no more. I have no intention of bending my will.” 

 

Leaving words as if they were a final testament, the Chief stood before the ice cliff without hesitation.

 

This ice cliff was said to be a mountain that no one in the Great Ho Nation could climb.

 

Moreover, around the ice cliff, unusually fierce winds blew and a sinister aura surged. 

 

That was also why.

 

That the Chief had chosen a location near this ice cliff for the hideout, in order to avoid the eyes of the royal troops, was…

 

For an ordinary person, it would be normal to avoid even approaching the area around this ice cliff.

 

Of course, the Chief himself had no intention of climbing this ice cliff either.

 

Until the child was affected by the poisonous plant

 

Swoosh—!

 

The Chief drew the large sword he had strapped to his waist. 

 

[Great Ho Nation’s Number One Swordsman]

 

The brilliantly shining blade and the inscription upon it revealed that his sword was the greatest in the country. 

 

Sshk–!

 

He drove his sword straight into the ice cliff.

 

Next, he drew his sword, leapt onto the ice again, and drove it in once more, repeating the process.

 

How far had he climbed by then?

 

“Ha, haa.”

 

The ground had become a dizzying distance below, and the thick white fog made it difficult to see.

 

Every time the wind blew, the crackling sound felt eerie. 

 

‘I’ve got a cramp in my shoulder.’

 

It was due to the strain on his entire body from climbing the ice cliff alone. 

 

But the Chief didn’t stop; he drew his sword once more and leapt high.

 

‘Just a little more.’

 

Although he couldn’t see an inch ahead, he was certain. 

 

The high point is not far away.

 

“Ha, haa.”

 

But soon, the air grew thin, and his head began to throb. 

 

Feeling his mind gradually growing foggy, he quickened his pace.

 

Gaon, who had been stubbornly following him and calling out loudly whenever he hesitated, was now quiet.

 

Even his subordinates must have reached their limit.

 

There was no doubt that it would probably stop at some point below, unable to even dare to come up any further.

 

“Damn it.”

 

The Chief muttered a curse under his breath.

 

‘I can’t see well ahead.’

 

His vision grew hazy, a result of the prolonged lack of oxygen.

 

Whoo…

 

A woman stood in the middle of a driving snow storm.

 

A woman so precious that whenever she stood before him, he became restless, as if he were a child who had done something wrong.

 

The only woman he loved.

 

“You’re finally here. You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting.”

 

Dressed beautifully, she warmly welcomed the Chief back from the battlefield and, shortly after, shared the news of her pregnancy with him.

 

It felt like he had the whole world. 

 

He thought that no amount of wealth or fame could make him this happy.

 

He bought all kinds of books and studied how to raise children well. It was also the first time he read a book with such enthusiasm. 

 

“Husband!” 

 

“When our child is born, what shall we name them?”

 

“Oh my… the sun has already set. Have you been reading childcare books until this hour?”

 

“My husband will be the best father. I’m sure.” 

 

He adored the woman who chattered by his side every single day.

 

His one and only wife.

 

The face he hadn’t seen, even in dreams for a long time, flickered before his eyes, like a mirage.

 

Smile. 

 

The Chief twisted his lips into a smile.

 

‘What a terrible hallucination.’

 

The next moment, it seemed as if he had raised the dagger he had been holding in his left hand for support, instead of plunging it into the ice cliff 

 

And he drove it straight into his side.

 

Ssshk—!

 

With a groan escaping his lips, a light returned to his previously clouded eyes. 

 

The Chief gripped his weakening hand firmly.

 

Fortunately, the hallucination shattered and vanished as the hot blood and sharp pain, flowing from his side down to his thigh, grounded him in reality. 

 

At the edge of his newly cleared vision, something caught his eye.

 

Sparkle—!

 

The top of the ice cliff, seemingly within reach if he climbed just a little higher.

 

There is something faintly shining at the end.