The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 27

“Samyong, pick up the baby. We’re taking her home.”

 

“Yeees?!”

 

“First, we’ll go to our house to feed and treat the baby. In the meantime, find out where this child’s home is.”

 

Waaah! I did it! I did it

 

I couldn’t show it outright, but with my hands clasped behind my back, I balled my fist tightly.

 

“Baby, can you stand up and let this man carry you on his back?”

 

“Uuuung…”

 

Of course, I muttered weakly, trying not to reveal that I had planned everything.

 

* * *

 

Cradled in Samyong’s arms, I arrived at a grand tiled-roof house like nothing I had ever seen before.

 

“Now, go back immediately and find out where this child’s parents or home are.”

 

“Understood, Young Master!”

 

As soon as Park Dohyul arrived, he gave his orders.

 

Realizing there was no time to waste, I quickly opened my eyes wide and scanned every corner of his house.

 

‘Is this… like a villa belonging to the Anseong Park family?’

 

“I’ve heard rumors that he came down to the district briefly to catch a traitor…”

 

From what I heard earlier at the marketplace, this place is probably just a temporary residence.

 

Even so, seeing something so grand made it clear just how immense the protagonist family’s power was.

 

I felt a bit intimidated by that presence and shrank back slightly, then clenched my fist tightly.

 

‘Don’t get anxious; let’s approach this step by step, according to plan.’

 

After that, I accepted Park Dohyul’s kindness and devoured the delicious baby food.

 

Then, the arriving physician treated my ankle.

 

“It’s all done. For a while, be careful not to get it wet. Apply this medicine consistently day and night.”

 

“I understand.”

 

Park Dohyul replied like that and carefully examined the top of my foot.

 

“You have an interesting and pretty birthmark, don’t you?”

 

He tilted his head, his eyes sparkling.

 

Fortunately—or unfortunately—it seemed he knew nothing about the mark of royalty.

 

Anyway, I was now sitting on the main hall floor with Park Dohyul, patting my full belly and wiggling my legs, quietly looking for a chance to get closer.

 

“Was the food delicious?”

 

“Mhm!”

 

When I nodded sincerely, he gave me a gentle smile.

 

Honestly, I’m not just saying it—it was really delicious. I guess the rice from a wealthy household really is different somehow.

 

As I made a “heh—” face, recalling the texture of the delicious rice, Park Dohyul pushed the fruit he had offered me toward me.

 

“Then eat this too. It’s called a strawberry.”

 

“Taw–berry?”

 

I certainly knew what a strawberry was, but I deliberately tilted my head, acting even more like an innocent little child.

 

“Hehe, yummy!”

 

At my laughter, Park Dohyul closed his eyes and smiled gently. Before long, a deep dimple had formed on his handsome cheek.

 

“Sweet, right?”

 

“Mhm!”

 

“You eat it all. I’m fine. You should drink some water too.”

 

Sssrk.

 

He also pushed the glass of water toward me.

 

I gently picked up the glass with both hands, took a sip of water, and sneaked a glance at him.

 

‘I mustn’t let my guard down.’

 

Although still young, the man before me was a genius, a type that only comes once in a century.

 

‘Is that all? He was also a ruthless person who would even overthrow his own father for the greater good.’

 

In the original story, he devises and executes brilliant and remarkable strategies one by one.

 

I remember each and every one of them being astonishingly fascinating.

 

‘If he notices that I deliberately followed him, it’s over. I have to look as harmless as possible.’

 

In other words, just because he’s smiling at me now doesn’t mean he’s someone to be underestimated.

 

Park Dohyul was leaning against a pillar, reading a book.

 

Flutter.

 

The way he was turning the pages and focusing… it was like watching a child model in a commercial.

 

‘The more I look, the more I realize he really is a handsome child, isn’t he?’

 

I murmured a brief sigh of admiration and then quietly approached his side.

 

It was because I was curious about what book he was reading.

 

As I drew closer, Park Dohyul casually asked while turning the pages of his book.

 

“Why?”

 

“Mhm?”

 

“Are you curious about this?”

 

“Mhm!”

 

“That’s something a child doesn’t need to know.”

 

“Pft!”

 

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

 

That’s because, in fact, it was Park Dohyul saying that which made him seem even more like a child!

 

Phew, a child is a child!

 

Park Dohyul lifted his eyes from the book, looked at me, and chuckled.

 

“What, you little thing, why are you laughing?”

 

Perhaps because the mood had eased.

 

My eyes widened, I stared at him intently.

 

“Wittle thin’, why aww you waughing?!”

 

“Suddenly pretending to copy me? You’re saying I’m a little kid too, aren’t you?”

 

“Uuuh? I’m a widdle kid too?”

 

“It feels like I’m the one being picked on.”

 

Park Dohyul shook his head and then slid the book toward me.

 

“Do you want to see?”

 

There, along with some Chinese characters, was a drawing of a large ship.

 

‘What’s this? It looks kind of like a turtle ship?’

 

As I tilted my head in confusion, Park Dohyul spoke casually.

 

“This is a book I wrote. This one.”

 

“!”

 

“It’s something like a military strategy manual… Weapons or ships that I think would be useful in battle. And I write down any tactics that come to mind. Based on what I wrote beforehand, I sometimes develop even more advanced strategies.”

 

“….”

 

“Ah, sorry. You probably don’t understand what I’m saying, do you? I mean, what am I even talking about to a child?”

 

No, I understood it so well that my mind is spinning.

 

I stared fixedly at the military strategy book. The only thing that came to mind was the Chief.

 

‘Then if this doesn’t exist… could I at least delay the time when the Chief’s life becomes endangered?’

 

My fingertips trembled with anxiety. I barely managed to curl my hand into a fist.

 

‘I’ll hold back for now. I need to keep the conversation going and wait for the right opportunity.’

 

I tilted my head with an innocent expression.

 

“You, wrote dis?”

 

“Haha, yeah.”

 

“Did you… have fun writin’ dis?”

 

For a moment, Park Dohyul’s eyes flickered slightly. And I didn’t miss that timing.

 

“What is dis for?”

 

Realizing that this place was inside the novel, I desperately tried to recall the details of the original story.

 

So I knew exactly the part he would later regret in the future.

 

[“Looking back, I never felt happy while writing military strategy books and devising various tactics as a child.”]

 

[“I knew that my father intended to use the military strategy books to kill innocent people. But I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to go against his will. So… writing them… was unbearably painful.”]

 

[Because I learned and created a military strategy to save and protect people, not to harm them.]

 

It was clearly written like that. I remember it vividly.

 

‘So please… you have to realize it now, Park Dohyul.’

 

I prayed desperately.

 

That he could realize now, not later, that this was wrong—that this wasn’t what he truly wanted.

 

“I’ve… never thought about that.”

 

But after a brief silence, Park Dohyul answered shortly, his expression cold and stiff.

 

In that state, a delicate silence hung between us.

 

‘Ugh, what should I say, and how should I say it?’

 

Feeling a headache coming on, I nervously bit my lips.

 

In truth, neither in my previous life nor in this one had I ever met someone who guided me onto the right path and wished for my happiness as they offered me advice.

 

So it was only natural that I had no idea how to give advice in a way that would actually reach a child.

 

‘Wait… there was someone.’

 

Then, a person suddenly came to mind.

 

I clenched my fists and turned my head to look at Park Dohyul.

 

“You know, Brother.”

 

“Mhm?”

 

“Your fadher… he’s like dat… but for me, you’re a special person.”

 

“You’re a special child.”

 

The words the Chief said when he sent me here.

 

Of course, he wasn’t my real father, but those words resonated with me the most.