The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 42

* * * 

 

“Haaaaaam!” 

 

The next day, I woke up surprisingly earlier than usual. 

 

Even though I had gone to bed late because of yesterday’s celebration, I woke up at the crack of dawn—fully awake and alert. 

 

‘Is it because I have a name now? I feel like I have energy too.’

 

I grinned broadly and stretched my arms wide. 

 

And then, a thought suddenly struck me, and I sprang up. 

 

‘The ice flowers! I wonder if they’ve melted? I wanted to see them once more in the morning!’

 

Since it was located halfway up a high mountain covered in eternal snow, it was almost unaffected by the four seasons and was always cool. 

 

Even in early winter, there were occasional warm spells, so I couldn’t let my guard down. 

 

The thought that some of the ice flowers the Chief had made by hand might have melted made my heart ache. 

 

‘Let’s go see!’

 

Once I made up my mind, my actions were swift. 

 

I quickly got off the blanket and tiptoed so as not to wake Malja and Bokhee. 

 

I didn’t want to wake them because they had worked hard helping to wrap up the celebration late yesterday.

 

I quietly opened the door and stepped outside. The early morning air was cold. 

 

Shivering, I hurried toward the grand square where the ice flowers had been displayed. 

 

‘Mhm? Someone’s there?’

 

Under the dim dawn light.

 

In the square, which I had assumed would be empty, there was someone standing.

 

Crush.

 

I stepped closer to him, treading lightly on the thin layer of snow. 

 

At that moment.

 

The man, who had been standing still, suddenly turned his head toward me.

 

‘Gaon…?’

 

Why is he standing there alone so early in the morning?

 

Suddenly, I realized that this was the first time I had faced him alone since we parted in front of Im Daeseung’s family. 

 

‘Somehow… it feels like it’s been a long time.’

 

He had left for the nearby village to gather necessities as soon as I returned to the mountain hideout.

 

Come to think of it, no matter it was the Chief’s order, he had brought Malja and Bokhee along as well. 

 

He had personally bought all the things I needed. 

 

I suddenly felt grateful for that, because from Gaon’s perspective, there was no way he could have been pleased with me. 

 

‘Could it be that he’s starting to open his heart…?’

 

Half in hope, half in worry, I shuffled forward, taking small, cautious steps.

 

“Huh?!”

 

At that moment, I let out a small gasp at the sight before me.

 

One of the ice flowers at Gaon’s feet had been broken. 

 

Shattered to pieces!

 

“N, no!!!”

 

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

 

I hurriedly scampered forward on my small feet toward the shattered ice flower.

 

I knelt down and carefully examined the broken pieces.

 

Of course, the Chief hadn’t made just a single ice flower.

 

But since each one had been made with such care, seeing even one broken pained me deeply.

 

Thud—!

 

I lifted my head and, just like in my days as a detective, began analyzing the situation. 

 

‘The others haven’t cracked or melted at all.’

 

And… crucially, a piece of ice had stuck to Gaon’s straw sandal. 

 

Could it be…

 

I raised my head and looked up at Gaon.

 

“Did you… break this?”

 

I had to confirm first. He might have accidentally broken it.

 

“….”

 

But Gaon didn’t respond.

 

He simply looked down at me with a murderous gaze.

 

I hunched my shoulders at the strange, intense aura radiating from his entire being.

 

‘Could it be… that he’s still thinking about killing me?’

 

“Actually… I was the one who let that snake loose.”

 

For a moment, I forgot.

 

He not only hated me, but he was someone who had even tried to kill me.

 

‘Is he trying to kill me behind the Chief’s back or something?’

 

Overcome with anxiety, I quickly stepped back. Seeing this, Gaon twisted his lips into a wry smile.

 

“You’ve grown so much.”

 

His distinct, thin, and clear high-pitched voice rang out. Tilting his head slightly, he added casually, almost indifferently.

 

“Pathetic.”

 

“What?!”

 

I was shaking with anger. Judging by the way he spoke, it was clear he meant, “You noticed, didn’t you?”

 

“Why did you break my ice flower!” 

 

Everything else, I could forgive—but this, I absolutely can’t!

 

“I told you. Because it was pathetic.”

 

With a nonchalant expression, Gaon shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “So what?”

 

Then he took a step toward me, closing the distance between us.  

 

“Ugh!”

 

When I flinched and stepped back, Gaon’s eyes flashed as he toyed with the hilt of the sword at his waist.

 

As I flinched and stepped back, Gaon’s eyes flashed sharply as he lightly rested his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

 

“You think I don’t know?”

 

“W, What are you talking about…!”

 

“Even if the Chief or the others don’t notice, you can’t fool my eyes.”

 

His piercing gaze slowly swept from the top of my head all the way down to my toes. 

 

“You… you’re hiding something.”

 

“!”

 

His gaze felt as if it could pierce straight into the depths of my soul.

 

In the dawn mist, Gaon’s eyes flashed like those of a predator.

“A crawling child managed to strike down a snake… and even now, look. You remember everything I said and did back then, and you’re acting on it, aren’t you?”

 

“!”

 

“You learned to crawl and walk, even to speak, far too quickly. And on top of that, you seemed to understand everything we said—ever since you were much younger than you are now.” 

 

Gaon’s sharp words left me speechless, and I could only roll my eyes helplessly. 

 

‘Putting everything else aside… killing a snake with a stone was definitely not something a child could do.’

 

Because it was done with precise calculation of the snake’s range of movement and executed with incredible speed.

 

If Gaon had witnessed the whole thing, he would surely have been convinced that I wasn’t an ordinary child. 

 

Even if that had been the case before, it didn’t really matter, since I was planning to leave this place anyway. 

 

Now, things were different.

 

“What are you?”

 

“….”

 

He was suspicious of me. If I didn’t give him the answer he wanted, he would definitely do whatever it took to dig out the truth.

 

Then there was only one thing I could do!

 

“Hehe, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

 

It’s the ‘play dumb’ strategy! 

 

I scratched my temple and tilted my head, pretending I had no idea at all. 

 

Gaon smiled faintly, as if he had expected me to act that way.

 

“I expected you’d react like that.”

 

“Hng?” 

 

“But do you know what I did yesterday?” 

 

Gaon glared at me and spoke quietly.

 

Unable to answer, I blinked rapidly, and he whispered with a faint sigh. 

 

“Because of you, I barely managed to find and bury the two members who died.” 

 

“…What?” 

 

“The ones who died saving you on the day you returned here.”

 

“…!”

 

He muttered as if holding back his emotions, and I kept my mouth shut, feeling a lump in my throat.

 

‘Why… did I forget?’

 

The sounds of the fierce battle and the smell of blood that I had experienced while being carried in the Chief’s arms… 

 

Like in a movie, like in a novel… there was no way anyone could have survived.

 

“Is that all? There are even more who are still being treated. Even the Chief himself was hit by an arrow and seriously wounded.” 

 

I found myself breathing out of sync with him as he spoke, as if blaming me. 

 

‘Because of me…’

 

My heart felt heavy and sink.

 

I unconsciously clenched my fists.

 

“That—that was… I-I’m sowwy. But… I just—I just wanted to live…!” 

 

“Yeah. But?” 

 

Gaon said casually.

 

I bit my lip and glared at him, and he continued slowly.

 

“Apologizing won’t bring them back to life—and your circumstances are none of my concern.”

 

“….!”

 

“Don’t get it twisted just because the Chief took pity on you, adopted you, and gave you a name—as if that makes you someone special. Know your place and live quietly, as if you don’t exist.” 

 

Gaon spoke each word with deliberate force, letting every syllable land heavily. 

 

“I have no intention of accepting someone like you as our real family—someone who keeps putting the Chief and all of us in danger, and who’s suspicious to the core.” 

 

His gaze… seemed to deny my very existence.

 

“Since the Chief is protecting you so fiercely, I’m letting it slide for now.”

 

Gaon’s voice grew cold.

 

“…If you put the Chief and us in danger even one more time…” 

 

Swish. He finally drew his sword. 

 

His eyes blazed with killing intent, as if he might swing the blade at any moment.

 

“I’ll kill you.”