The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 5

‘Is this… my savior?’

 

I stared at the door, filled with hope, but…

 

The one who entered through the door was the bandit who had gone out earlier to fetch water.

 

He even returned with a large wooden basin full of water.

 

‘Why did he come back so quickly!?’

 

But the problem was…

 

‘Huh? The water’s so icy cold, it feels like it could chill me to the bone!’

 

The kind of icy water you’d only get into during military survival training.

 

It already felt like I could sense the extreme cold radiating from it—so intense it seemed like I’d faint just by dipping a toe in.

 

“Alright, let’s take off your clothes and get you cleaned up.”

 

“Oh, it’s so refreshing!”

 

“Once you rinse yourself in this water, it’ll completely refresh you and make everything disappear, I’m telling you!”  

 

“Waaaah! Waaaah!”

 

“I burst into tears at the actions of those guys trying to shove me into the cold water and force the torture through.”  

 

Desperately begging for my life on the inside! 

 

“Ouch!”

 

“Huh?”

 

Shuddered.

 

“Come to think of it, didn’t the chief say we should keep the baby warm? Isn’t this water cold too?”

 

“Gasp! That’s right!”

 

“W, we’re supposed to keep the baby warm, aren’t we!”

 

Thanks to one bandit who at least remembered the leader’s words, I avoided dying. 

 

But my ordeal didn’t end here.

 

“Body heat, body heat! Hold her, hold her!” 

 

The bandits suddenly stripped off their tops and pulled me into their hairy chests, holding me tight.

 

“Hold it!”

 

They squealed so hard I could barely breathe.

 

“I’ll hug you too!”

 

“Me too, me too!”

 

To make matters worse, they all rushed in and hugged me together, making the pressure even more intense.

 

Only then did I realize that the cause of my death had simply changed—from freezing to being crushed.

 

‘Ughhhh… (Please… save me….)’ 

 

While I was gasping for air and writhing in agony.

 

Bang—!

 

As if by a miracle, the door opened once again.

 

The sunlight shone brightly.

 

Dupil stood there.

 

Like a savior!

 

‘I’m alive!’

 

Even though he’d left me for four days.

 

Still, I was so happy to see him in this situation that tears welled up in my eyes.

 

‘The boss said to keep me alive, didn’t he? So how about saving me, huh?’

 

You’re the vice chief, right? Then you should know something’s wrong here more than they do. Right? 

 

“What… are you doing?”

 

As expected. Dupil frowned at the shocking sight and asked.

 

The bandits simply smiled brightly and lowered their heads.

 

“You’re here, Vice Chief! We’ve been watching over the baby just like you ordered!”  

 

“I did tell you to take care of the baby, but still…”

 

Dupil glanced at my pale face, as if he didn’t understand, and then let out a faint sigh.

 

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

 

As if they truly knew nothing, they blinked innocently, and Dupil opened his mouth as if to say something, then simply shook his head.

 

“…Forget it. Do whatever you want. I’m leaving now.” 

 

Hey, you crazy brat! 

 

You’re just going to leave after seeing this?! You’re still human after all that!

 

I literally squeezed out every bit of strength I had left, gathering power in my core with a loud “Heeuph!” 

 

“Heeeeeeeey!!!”

 

“?!”

 

Even to the ear, it was clearly a different kind of cry than before.

 

Because it was a desperate cry to stop Dupil from leaving.

 

Dupil flinched and turned back toward me.

 

And at that precise moment, I pointed at him and gestured.

 

“Yaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”

 

You, get over here. Right now!

 

You enabler of child abuse!

 

Dupil seemed to hesitate for a moment, then tilted his head as he met my eyes—like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

 

“So…”

 

Then he raised his index finger and pointed at himself.

 

“Me?”

 

“Uwa!”

 

‘Then who else could it be but you?’

 

I narrowed my eyes sharply and gave him a firm, resolute nod as I glared at him.

 

With the fierce intensity of interrogating a criminal in the interrogation room!

 

“Come?”

 

Nod, nod!

 

I gave another firm nod and this time stretched out both arms, signaling to him with a beckoning motion. 

 

‘Come on, come on!’

 

Dupil walked awkwardly toward me. Everyone was silent, their faces stunned as if they couldn’t believe the situation.  

 

“Abu!”

 

As soon as Dupil came before me, I confidently stretched out both hands, as if I had been waiting for this moment.

 

As if telling him to pick me up right this instant.

 

‘Come on, quickly pick me up and save me—the cute and pretty baby that I am.’

 

I even gave a bright smile right then and there for emphasis—because seeing my adorable smile, he wouldn’t be able to resist picking me up!

 

Ah, why am I so sure?

 

For the past four days, I had been mostly left alone—and thanks to that, I was able to do a variety of things.

 

One of those things was taking a closer, more careful look at myself!

 

How did I manage to see myself, you ask?

 

‘Through the wet nurse’s eyes, of course.’

 

The wet nurse Dupil had brought would feed me at regular times, holding me in her arms. While in her embrace, I could listen to her heartbeat—or even meet her gaze from time to time.

 

“You’re so pretty.”

 

She would quietly look at me and mutter in admiration.

 

‘Am I really pretty?’

 

By then, I started getting curious too.

 

What exactly did I look like—this “appearance of mine” that even the rough-looking bandits and the wet nurse couldn’t help but praise as cute?

 

Fortunately, the wet nurse had bright, clear eyes, and thanks to that, I could faintly see my reflection during the sunlit hours.

 

‘I… I’m actually quite pretty, you know?’

 

Pale, white skin and round, springy cheeks as soft as mochi.

 

Charming light brown eyes and hair.

 

A small, well-shaped face with large, round eyes set in perfect harmony, a high, delicate nose bridge, and tiny, cherry-like red lips!

 

No matter who looked, it was clearly the very definition of a “pretty and adorable face.”

 

‘They say daughters take after their fathers… I guess that king, who’s supposedly my biological dad, must be pretty good-looking.’

 

It was one of those rare moments when the biological parents I thought would be of no help at all in this world actually came through.

 

“Bya!”

 

Anyway, please hug me quickly!! 

 

When I tilted my head, smiling confidently,

 

Dupil reached out his hands and took me into his arms from the bandit holding me.

 

‘Mhm…?’

 

But something felt off.

 

‘Why are you tilting your head down?’

 

Holding me awkwardly by the ankles, Dupil looked flustered, clearly unsure of what to do.

 

“…Is this it?”

 

“You’re truly amazing, Vice Chief!”

 

“I guess that’s why the baby wanted to be held by the Vice Chief.”

 

Ah, I see.

 

He really doesn’t know anything, does he? Well, I guess it makes sense—what would someone who’s holed up in the mountains and only comes down to steal know about this stuff?

 

Feeling the blood rushing to my head, I thought bitterly.

 

“But why doesn’t the baby look so good?”

 

Dupil shifted his arms around me, his expression filled with anxiety, but as expected, all he found were uncomfortable positions.

 

“This feels a bit like working with a newbie who just came in and doesn’t know anything.”

 

Back in my day, even a six-month-old baby would’ve laughed at working like this, I’m telling you. 

 

“I guess this isn’t the right way to do it. I’ll have to find a better way to care for it.”

 

“We’ll find out!”

 

“Leave it to us! We’ll do better from now on!”

 

While they were vowing to learn more about childcare, I made a different resolution.

 

‘As expected, I really need to find a way out of here quickly.’

 

It was starting to seem more likely that my life would be in danger before their parenting skills had any chance to improve.