The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 41

* * *

 

The next day.

 

“Now, it’s complete!” 

 

I woke up early this morning to prepare for the feast, wearing a bright red skirt and a lovely silk jeogori.

 

Perhaps because of its colorful hues and design, it was a very cute and eye-catching outfit, just like the one I had seen with the Chief before. 

 

“Baby!” 

 

No sooner had I finished getting ready than Uncle Gaeddong barged into my barrack.  

 

‘As expected, our little one is so cute.’

 

He approached with a satisfied smile.

 

“Now, I’ve got lots of things prepared! Let’s go together! The Chief is waiting! Uncle will carry you!” 

 

“Yes!” 

 

Flash—! 

 

Uncle Gaeddong lifted me up and put me on his shoulders like a horse ride. 

 

I was carried straight to the grand square where the feast was being held.

 

After walking a short distance, I could see the Chief, Dupil, and Gaon sitting in the distance, waiting for me.

 

‘Oh, cool.’

 

Although it was a feast held at the mountain stronghold, they were dressed appropriately in formal attire.

 

“Gasp!”

 

“So cute…!”

 

At my entrance, gasps from the bandits erupted from all around. 

 

The Chief strode forward and immediately reached out his hand toward me.

 

Without hesitation, I opened my arms and hugged the Chief tightly. 

 

“You look so pretty today.” 

 

The Chief met my eyes and whispered as if brushing past me. 

 

I’m sure the other bandits had said the same thing, but somehow, hearing it from the Chief made me feel inexplicably embarrassed. 

 

“Hehe…”

 

My ears felt hot all of a sudden, and I awkwardly pouted my lips. 

 

“But aren’t you a little cold?” 

 

The Chief reached out and took out a brown, fluffy earmuff. 

 

“Let’s wear this too. I’ve prepared one that suits you in advance.”

 

He carefully placed it on my head and securely tied the knot under my chin. 

 

The earmuff had round ear-shaped decorations on top, making me look even cuter and more charming. 

 

“Ah, so cute!”

 

One of the bandits, who had been watching the Chief anxiously, let out a gasp from behind. 

 

Surely, he must have made this earmuff himself. 

 

The Chief smiled with satisfaction. 

 

“Good. Let’s go. We’ll walk through first so everyone can see your face.” 

 

Flash—!

 

The Chief held me in his arms and strode forward without pause. 

 

“That’s the little baby!” 

 

“I’ve never seen this face before, but how cute!” 

 

“It seems the Chief is wearing an even happier expression than usual?”

 

At every spot we passed, I could hear the bandits whispering among themselves.

 

‘There are far more bandits than I expected.’

 

Only then did I understand why the Chief had ordered everyone to be gathered.  

 

‘Seeing that there are even faces I’ve never seen before… it seems they must have sent one or two from each region.’

 

In other words, it seems they had been dispatched to various places and returned only upon hearing the order. 

 

In any case, the Chief made a round, as if to show me to everyone in the stronghold 

 

He stopped again in front of the campfire. 

 

There were so many bandits lined up there that it was hard to even count them. 

 

‘They’re all… looking at me?’

 

Feeling all eyes on me, I blushed a little from embarrassment. 

 

“Step aside.” 

 

Clack, clack, clack, clack—!

 

At the Chief’s command, the bandits stepped aside. 

 

“Abu?” 

 

A breathtaking sight unfolded before my wide eyes. 

 

‘What…is this?’

 

Step, step.

 

The Chief carried me forward, and we found ourselves standing at the center of the spectacular scene. 

 

Only then did I realize what these things were. 

 

Flowers carved from ice. 

 

‘What… is this? Did they make all of this by hand?’

 

The carvings were so densely packed that they could be called a field of ice flowers. 

 

“Do you like it?” 

 

The Chief spoke with a low, gentle laugh. 

 

“I prepared this because the child likes things that sparkle. These are very special things you can only see in the mountains, colder than the villages.” 

 

Something felt strange.

 

The reason the Chief and the Four Ddong Uncles’ hands were slightly red when they came to see me yesterday… 

 

‘So that’s why… they carved all of this by hand.’

 

Sniff.

 

The Chief picked up one of the ice flowers and handed it to me.

 

Up close, the sparkling ice flower was even more dazzlingly beautiful.

 

“On a special day, shouldn’t there be flowers and jewels?”

 

The Chief smiled faintly, his beautiful black eyes, as if pulling me in, filled with me.

 

“But even if this melts… I will make sparkling flowers for you again and again. Whenever you wish, at any time.”

 

Staying by your side.

 

The Chief lifted the ice flower high into the air, and the bandits responded by raising their cups. 

 

“Listen, everyone!”

 

And then, he suddenly raised his voice.

 

“From today onward, I recognize this child as one of us and intend to adopt her as my daughter.” 

 

‘Mhm? I’m going to become the Chief’s daughter?’

 

When I opened my eyes wide, the Chief looked at me with gentle eyes.

 

It was as if he were seeking my consent, asking if it was alright. 

 

From his gaze, I felt a warm affection for me, so I pressed my lips tightly together and nodded once. 

 

Then the Chief, as if relieved, continued speaking. 

 

“Furthermore, I intend to bestow a name upon this child.” 

 

At that moment, the clouds in the sky parted, and bright sunlight poured down.

 

Under the sunlight, the carefully carved ice flowers sparkled even more brilliantly. 

 

Like real flowers, breathtakingly beautiful just before nightfall. 

 

“Seolyeong.” 

 

One word flowed from the Chief’s lips.

 

He looked back at me, and under the sunlight, the Chief’s black eyes sparkled like obsidian.

 

“Snow ‘Seol’, Shine ‘Yeong’.”  

 

“….!”

 

“It means ‘One who brightly illuminates the cold snow.’” 

 

The Chief’s eyes softened and curved gently. He reached out and lightly brushed my bangs aside.

 

Flutter. White snow fell from the sky. Snow descending in the brilliant sunlight was truly enchanting. 

 

“We’ve always lived in these cold mountains where the snow piles up, but with you here, we can live more brightly and warmly. So.” 

 

The Chief reached out his hand to me.

 

“Stay with us, Yeong‑ah.”  

 

Once more, not as a one-sided announcement, but gently asking me. 

 

I looked down at his outstretched hand.

 

In a short period, so much had happened. 

 

I had faced life-and-death situations… and even tried to leave this place. 

 

And I also felt unfamiliar emotions I had never experienced in my past life. 

 

I came to realize that this place was a world from a novel.

 

And for the first time… I met someone who told me to become their family. 

 

I met someone who called me a shining presence… even though everyone else had avoided and ignored me. 

 

This person, who respects and cherishes me to the point of feeling almost unreal. 

 

How could I possibly refuse? 

 

Swoosh.

 

I took the Chief’s hand.

 

For some reason, my chest swelled with emotion. 

 

At this very moment, an irresistible urge surged within me to speak the word lingering on my lips to him. 

 

I raised my small hand, cupped his ear, and brought my lips close to it. 

 

And then, I whispered so softly that he could just hear me. 

 

“D—ad.” 

 

Come to think of it, I hadn’t been able to speak this word for a very long time. 

 

This word reminded me of ‘that person,’ which is why I hadn’t said it.

 

The word ‘Dad’ was nothing short of a deep wound for me.

 

But the moment I finally spoke it aloud myself after such a long time… 

 

‘Now… it’s okay, right?’

 

I realized then that this word no longer hurt me or caused me pain. 

 

Now, ‘Dad’ had become the strange, yet strangely warm man before me… a man so warm he could bring me to tears. 

 

Whoosh—!

 

At that moment, the Chief wore a stunned expression. 

 

It was the same expression he had when he saw me dressed up beautifully before, but this time his eyes trembled even more intensely. 

 

“Ahem!” 

 

His earlobes turned slightly red as if he was embarrassed.

 

“Ahem, ahem, ahem!”

 

Unable to speak, he hesitated with his face flushed.

 

“Thank you for coming to us, my… daughter, Seolyeong.” 

 

He called me carefully—very carefully and with great tenderness.

 

Whoosh—!

 

Then he tightened his hold on me in his arms. 

 

With his other hand, he held a cup of liquor and drank it in one gulp. 

 

“Waaaaaa!!!” 

 

As he emptied the cup in an instant, the bandits all began cheering together.

 

I laughed heartily with everyone and spent a truly happy time.

 

Perhaps that’s why—I hadn’t even noticed.

 

That there was someone glaring at me with a piercing gaze.