The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 39

“Dak-ddong!” 

 

Ugh, it sounded like a muddled version of “just shut up and poop” or something like that…. 

 

S, still! Maybe that wasn’t too bad after all! 

 

“Heuph!” 

 

Luckily, Uncle Dakddong seemed to approve too. His eyes, partially hidden behind his hand, glistened with moisture. 

 

A faint smile… 

 

Only then did I relax and let out a small, relieved smile.  

 

If I ever meet them again, I definitely want to tell them. 

 

I remember each of their names clearly. 

 

“Thank you.”

 

Even though they knew nothing about childcare, they treated me with all their heart. 

 

Not only did they carve out time from their busy schedules to come care for me every single day,

 

They even prevented me from accidentally swallowing poison and dying. 

 

They made all sorts of toys for me, decorated my room… everything, all of it. 

 

At first, I was scared of them and felt burdened. But not anymore. I wanted to make sure they knew that.

 

“Fow not hating me… thank you, uncles.” 

 

They were the first uncles I had ever had.

 

In my previous life, even my relatives turned their backs on me and abandoned me.

 

After my father was detained and disappeared, I had no choice but to grow up in an orphanage.

 

So I didn’t know what it truly meant to have “uncles.” But now, I think I understand.

 

At my little whisper, all the uncles—without exception—rushed over to me. 

 

Flash—!

 

Just as I felt my body lift into the air, the uncles took turns pulling me into their arms and hugging me tight.

 

“Who could possibly dislike something this cute!”

 

“That’s just nonsense! Absolutely!” 

 

“No need to thank me!”

 

“We’re the ones who should be thankful, baby.” 

 

Uncle Dakddong spoke quietly, one last time.

 

“Thank you for coming.”

 

“Yeah. You have no idea how much we missed you.” 

 

“They say you don’t notice who’s there, only who’s gone… and without you, it felt so unbearably empty.”

 

As such heartwarming words kept flowing back and forth, I couldn’t help but tear up.

 

Click—!

 

The door swung open, and suddenly someone barged in.

 

“….!”

 

It was the Chief.

 

Seeing his familiar face, I sprang to my feet. 

 

But… 

 

‘Why is he acting like that?’

 

Normally, the Chief would have come straight over and picked me up, but he was frozen in place as if nailed to the spot.

 

Puzzled, I tilted my head and cautiously spoke. 

 

“You came?” 

 

I gave a small, delighted smile—beams of happiness flickering across my face.

 

“!”

 

In that instant, the Chief’s gaze went blank.

 

I had seen the Chief look shaken a few times before, but this was the first time I had ever seen him so utterly stunned, as if his soul had been knocked clean out of him. 

 

“Ahem!”

 

A few seconds passed like that… then the Chief finally seemed to regain his senses and gave an awkward cough. And then—  

 

Creak— creak.

 

“Mhm?” 

 

What’s this? It doesn’t seem like he’s actually come to his senses…?

 

The chief’s arms and legs were moving on the same side as he walked toward me—like a robot. 

 

The chief, who had come to a stop right in front of me, creaked again and slowly turned his head to look at the bandits.

 

“Who dressed the child up like this?” 

 

At the expression that looked as though he might draw his sword at any moment, the bandits swallowed hard and exchanged wary glances. 

 

Malja and Bokhee came running forward, out of breath, and bowed their heads deeply.

 

“T, that…”  

 

“Chief, we shouldn’t have dressed her in fine clothes when there was no occasion… it was our mistake…”

 

“I suppose I should reward them.” 

 

Everyone doubted their ears at the Chief’s completely unexpected words.

 

Malja and Bokhee slowly raised their heads, their eyes wide with surprise.

 

“Is… is that really true?”

 

“Yeah. Including Gaon, who brought you here, I will grant each of you one nyang as a reward.” 

 

“T, thank you! Thank you!” 

 

The two women’s cheeks flushed as they rejoiced. In the meantime, the men slipped forward quietly.

 

They began to butter him up at the Chief’s side, smiling with feigned nonchalance.

 

“Chief, but earlier I noticed there were quite a lot of other pretty clothes for the child as well.”

 

“Chief! Since we also need to decide what she’ll wear for the feast, wouldn’t it be best to try a few different outfits on her now?!”

 

At Four Ddong Uncle’s reasonably logical(?) suggestion, the Chief’s eyebrows twitched. 

 

“Wouldn’t you like to see her hair neatly pulled back and tied into a single sleek style as well?”

 

“They say children grow up quickly, so you might not even be able to dress her in those clothes for long.”

 

“What…?!”

 

The Chief snapped his head up, his face plainly showing his dismay. 

 

At that, Malja and Bokhee, who had already tasted the sweet reward(?), hurriedly threw open the wardrobe

 

“There are clothes like these! Chief! Shall we try dressing her in a few different ones today?”

 

“This is a child’s outfit made from rabbit fur, so she looks like a little rabbit when she goes out to gather wild greens. We made it ourselves… it even has ears attached!”

 

W, what is that? Those bizarre things…?! 

 

So it wasn’t just the clothes Gaon had bought?

 

They were looking at me with sparkling eyes, as if they’d been pulling all-nighters ever since arriving at the mountain stronghold to create my personal clothing collection.

 

‘Surely they’re not going to make me wear that, right? Chief? There’s no way I’d be dressed in something like that for the feast anyway!’

 

I looked at the Chief with a desperate plea in my eyes, but…

 

“Yeah. It seems it would be quite good at keeping her warm. It would be best to see whether it fits properly, so have her try it on at once.” 

 

‘…Chief?!’

 

However, contrary to my hopes, the Chief accepted the idea without hesitation.

 

On top of that, he even issued the order to ‘have her put it on immediately’!

 

‘This feels wrong somehow.’

 

I began to fidget nervously at the sight of the massive pile of clothes, while the Four Ddong uncles nodded with satisfied smiles.

 

“Ah, if we’re going to open her eyes, Chief… should we call the painter?” 

 

“Painter?”

 

“Yes. They say there’s a fellow under the First Commander who draws like a god. They say his name is Kim Heungdo…! Wouldn’t it be just wonderful to capture the baby’s lovely face in a painting?” 

 

“That’s a good idea. Bring him over right now!”

 

And that’s when I had a gut feeling.

 

‘I think today… it won’t be easy?’

 

I knew it would be a longer day than I expected.

 

* * *

 

And so, the work of dressing her in various outfits and creating the portrait continued for two whole days.

 

‘Of course, I like pretty things too, so I don’t mind… but…’

 

I’m running out of energy now! 

 

Today was another whirlwind of trying on all sorts of clothes, and by nightfall, I was completely exhausted and collapsed onto the bed.

 

“Please sleep, young miss. I’ll stay right by your side, so call for me anytime if you need anything.” 

 

After giving her final farewell, Malja moved to the small living quarters next to my tent.

 

Only then was I finally granted some time to myself.

 

I pulled the blanket over myself and quietly sank into my own thoughts.

 

‘It still doesn’t feel real.’

 

To think that I’ve truly returned to the mountain stronghold and will be living here with the bandits again.

 

With a strange feeling stirring inside me, I couldn’t fall asleep easily, blinking up at the ceiling in the darkness. 

 

‘Come to think of it… it’s already tomorrow.’

 

The feast that officially announces me as a member of the bandit group. 

 

Thinking that such an event would be held… I suddenly realized all over again that I would truly be living in the mountains from now on.

 

On the other hand,

 

I found myself suddenly more worried about the future that awaited the bandits.

 

‘About six years from now, more than half of the bandits will be dead, and the Chief will lose his life too.’

 

I knew this because, in the original work, there’s a line declaring that the bandit group was wiped out. 

 

Six years from now, the Chief will die.

 

Not long after, the male protagonist would pass the imperial examination, according to the storyline.

 

‘I’ll save the Chief. No matter what.’

 

And I was determined to change this course of events, no matter what it took.

 

‘Then, what is the very first thing I must do to make sure the Prime Minister’s scheme doesn’t work?’

 

I tried to recall the original story in more detail. 

 

‘Ugh, so sleepy.’

 

Then, just as I was about to give in to the overwhelming sleepiness and close my eyes…

 

Clunk—!

 

The door opened, and a man with a familiar face stepped into the barracks.