The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 47

After returning to my quarters in a state of shock, I agonized over it until my head ached, and in the end, I fell asleep as if I’d passed out.

 

It wasn’t until dawn that I finally opened my eyes.

 

‘Right—Gaon!’

 

I jolted upright in a panic.

 

Ack, I almost slept straight through to morning like this!

 

 

“Then does that mean the First Commander is leaving the mountain base first thing tomorrow morning?”

 

They definitely said that.

 

Fortunately, before falling asleep, I had already thought through how to deal with this sudden situation.

 

The first thing I needed to figure out was whether the flow of the original story had been completely derailed.

 

And the conclusion I reached was: no, it hadn’t.

 

Because—

 

In the original story, the Chief’s death and the massacre of half the bandits happened about five or six years later.

 

[That was when I was twelve years old.]

 

I could make that inference because I clearly remembered Park Dohyul’s line.

 

So what really mattered was when Gaon would return.

 

“It might take longer than expected.”

 

‘The Chief definitely said it could take a long time.’

 

Well, of course. In an era where horses were the only means of travel, finding and persuading scattered forces across the provinces…

 

That would take far longer than I’d imagined.

 

In other words, after tonight, I had no idea when I’d see Gaon again.

 

‘When Gaon returns… will he be able to avoid Park Dohyul’s trap?’

 

I pressed my lips together, anxiety tightening in my chest.

 

‘No… would I even be able to notice if Gaon was about to betray me?’

 

If he left like this, I might never get another chance to grow closer to him.

 

‘No! This isn’t the time for that! I have to do something right now!’

 

I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth and jumped to my feet.

 

Then, careful not to wake Malja and Bokhee, I tiptoed forward like a stealthy cat.

 

Kiiiiek.

 

Even as I opened the barrack door, I moved in complete silence, holding my breath and being as careful as possible.

 

Whoooosh—!

 

Only after stepping outside into the gusting cold wind did I pull my clothes tighter around myself and move forward cautiously.

 

My destination was the direction of Gaon’s barrack, which I had checked beforehand. 

 

‘Ugh, it’s cold.’

 

The path to Gaon’s barrack was quite a distance away.

 

Even though it was only early winter, the mountain’s high elevation meant faint snowflakes were already drifting through the air…

 

With my vision obscured, even walking was difficult. More than anything—

 

‘Ah, I came out barefoot!’

 

In my rush to sneak out, I hadn’t had time to grab my shoes. Every time my feet sank into the snow, it felt like my soles were freezing solid. 

 

‘Still… I’m almost there…!’

 

Step, step.

 

I toddled forward step by step. At last, Gaon’s tent began to come into view. 

 

Filled with hope, I took one more step forward. And then—

 

Whoosh—slash!

 

Just as I felt a sudden gust of wind sweep past, a large sword flashed by right beside me.

 

“Huh…?”

 

I reflexively turned my head. And then—

 

“!”

 

“Kiiing!”

 

I saw a wolf with a sword embedded squarely in the top of its head.

 

‘It was… aiming for me?’

 

It must have been sneaking up on me, muffling its footsteps under the cover of the dim dawn light.

 

‘I almost… died.’

 

The thought made my knees give out, and I collapsed onto the ground.

 

“You.”

 

At the sound of that clear, beautiful voice, I lifted my head.

 

Through the softly falling snow, Gaon stood there.

 

He was dressed in training clothes, perhaps having been practicing all through the early morning.

 

He looked at me with a cold, deadly gaze and asked bluntly,

 

“Do you want to die?”

 

“Huh?”

 

For a moment, I just stared blankly up at Gaon.

 

Then I glanced once more at the wolf that had been killed.

 

‘That sword… he threw it for me, didn’t he?’

 

I was sure of it.

 

If he hadn’t intervened, I would have naturally ended up as the wolf’s meal.

 

‘Then Kim Gaon… saved… me?’

 

It didn’t feel real.

 

I wanted to say something—anything—but the words wouldn’t come easily.

 

After hesitating, I ended up asking a stupid question.

 

“Y, you… saved me?”

 

“Why. You don’t like it?”

 

Gaon asked with his usual indifferent expression, and I hurriedly waved my hands in denial.

 

“N—no! Of course not. I mean, but why…?!” 

 

I nearly died—there was no way I’d dislike being saved!

 

What puzzled me was the fact that the one who saved me was Gaon.

 

“E-even Dad isn’t watching! You could’ve just pretended not to notice….”

 

“…!”

 

Flinch. Gaon’s shoulders jerked as if startled. Then he rolled his eyes for a long moment, choosing his words.

 

“D-don’t get the wrong idea. I only saved you because the Chief told me to let you live.”

 

“Th-that’s a lie! Th-then what about th-that snake back then?!”

 

You were trying to kill me then!

 

You even threatened me like you were going to kill me on the spot last time!

 

Since when did you ever follow the Chief’s orders so obediently?!

 

“Back then, the Chief hadn’t withdrawn the order yet… Hah, why am I even explaining all this to you?”

 

Gaon let out an exasperated sigh as he looked down at me.

 

“Stop spouting nonsense and hurry back to your quarters.”

 

Then he lightly tapped my backside with the sheath of his sword.

 

It seemed he intended to shove me back to my quarters if he had to.

 

But I had no intention of letting Gaon leave like this.

 

“Wait!”

 

When I boldly stepped in front of him, blocking his path, Gaon raised an eyebrow.

 

Ignoring that reaction completely, I finally spoke the words I truly wanted to say.

 

“D-do you… maybe now… not hate me… anymore?!”

 

Ugh, maybe because I was so nervous, the ends of my words came out all slurred.

 

Gaon’s face crumpled into a deep frown.

 

“What kind of question is that now?”

 

“…You said you hated me.”

 

No—this is bad. Those childish feelings surged up again, and for some reason tears welled up in my eyes.

 

I’d been pretending it didn’t bother me all this time, but in truth, I’d been anxious the whole while.

 

‘I’m sowwy!”

 

This had happened before, too.

 

Go Pilsuk. I had desperately apologized to her as well.

 

But in the end, I failed to change her heart.

 

In the past, even though I tried with all my might to atone for my family’s sins…

 

I was ultimately killed by the bereaved family of the person my father had killed.

 

That same helplessness I’d felt back then came rushing back.

 

‘No matter how hard I try… am I just destined to be hated?’

 

And if Gaon feels this way—

 

‘Then one day, when the other bandits learn the truth, won’t they all come to hate me too…?’

 

“Hngh…”

 

Sniff.

 

I hurriedly wiped away the tears spilling down with my sleeve. It took several swipes before the tears finally slowed, and only then did I manage to look at Gaon again.

 

He was silently looking down at me.

 

My face was flushed red, my lashes damp with tears.

 

Gaon watched it all quietly, saying nothing for a long moment. Then—

 

“What’s there to cry about? Why’re you crying over something like that?”

 

He grumbled suddenly, sounding half-annoyed.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna go tattle to the Chief that I made you cry—”

 

“I came to say goodbye!”

 

“…What?”

 

Gaon raised his eyebrows in disbelief. I quickly grabbed the hem of his training clothes.

 

“Say goodbye? You came all the way out here at the crack of dawn just for that?”

 

“Mhm! Please come back safewy!”

 

I greeted him brightly, my tone firm and cheerful—so much so that the tears from just a moment ago seemed completely forgotten.

 

Gaon’s expression twisted ever so slightly at that.

 

He was usually good at hiding his emotions, but this time, I could feel him hesitate just a little.

 

“…You’re telling me to come back?”

 

He muttered quietly.

 

I nodded.

 

“Mhm. This is Gaon’s place, isn’t it? So you have to come back, for sure.”

 

In truth… on the way here, I’d been worrying about what I should say to Gaon one last time.

 

‘I could’ve just said something nice, or urged him to come back quickly.’

 

But in the end, I changed my mind.

 

When I left the house, I decided to say the words I had always wanted to hear the most.

 

“Take care and come back safely.”

 

Gaon… is someone who was kicked out of his home.

 

It was only natural that he would be wary of me—a strange, suspicious presence intruding into his space—and dislike me for it.

 

For someone who had been forced to lose his own home…

 

This mountain hideout was the only place he could call home.

 

So I said,

 

“I’ll watch over this place. So that you can come back safely, Uncle.”

 

I wanted him to know, clearly, that I too was someone who wanted to protect the place he cared about.