The Precious Baby of the Bandit Leader Chapter 56

‘It feels like there’s something more to it.’

 

I stared at Gaon’s retreating figure, lost in thought.

 

In the original story, Gaon had been nothing more than a minor supporting character.

 

His past had never been described in detail, and naturally, I didn’t truly know the circumstances of his life either.

 

‘Whatever Gaon went through… I think I need to look into it more.’

 

Gaon’s return after all this time had left me with several homework assignments. 

 

‘More importantly… if I let Gaon send a reply to that letter, it’s over.’

 

Whatever happened, I had to stop that.

 

* * *

 

“We will move out in a few days.” 

 

The moment the Chief finished speaking, the bandits inside the barracks stirred.

 

It had been nearly five years since the Chief had declared a campaign as a righteous outlaw.

 

In other words, they would be raiding the granaries of the Anseong Park clan and the families connected to them.

 

Meanwhile, I kept a close watch on Gaon whenever I had the chance.

 

But he remained shut up in his room, showing no particular movement.

 

‘That’s a relief. It looks like he’s prioritizing his recovery and staying put.’

 

However, once news of the expedition spread—

 

“Chief…!”

 

Gaon sought out the Boss’s barracks immediately, even with his leg in a splint.

 

At that moment, I was sitting on the Chief’s lap, reading aloud the characters I had learned.

 

At Gaon’s arrival, I immediately lifted my head.

 

The Chief deliberately composed his face before speaking gently to me.

 

“Yeong-ah, step outside for a moment.”

 

“Yes!”

 

I quickly gathered my book, hopped down, and scampered out the door.

 

The Chief watched me with a fond gaze…

 

But I very naturally slipped around to the back of his barracks. Because!

 

‘There’s a peephole back here too!’

 

I crouched down and peered through a small gap I had dug out a long time ago.

 

“I heard I’ve been excluded from this expedition.”

 

Gaon began calmly.

 

“That is only natural. Your leg is injured. This mission will be dangerous, and I cannot include a wounded man.”

 

“….”

 

Gaon clenched his fist tightly.

 

“I will not become a burden. You know this. I am an archer. I can provide support from a distance.”

 

I swallowed hard without realizing it.

 

‘He can make that kind of face too…’

 

Gaon looked unusually desperate. I had never seen that expression on him before.

 

But the Chief was firm.

 

“That will not do. Remain at the mountain stronghold this time. For the past five years, you have devoted yourself enough to our Seolhwa.”

 

For an instant, despair flickered across Gaon’s face.

 

“Does that mean—”

 

His voice trembled faintly.

 

“—that you are throwing me away now?” 

 

“Gaon.”

 

The Chief stepped closer with a deep sigh. But Gaon took a step back.

 

“How could I ever throw you away?” 

 

“….”

 

Gaon pressed his lips shut. After a long silence, he spoke again.

 

“For the past five years, I have traveled across the nation and witnessed countless things. The number of people suffering under the tyranny of the current king and the Anseong Park clan cannot even be described. Yet… I cannot allow everything to collapse simply because I failed to secure provisions.”

 

The Chief looked at Gaon with dark, steady eyes.

 

“This is not your fault, Gaon.”

 

“No. It is my fault.”

 

“Enough! Gaon. You tend to react over-sensitively if even the slightest thing goes wrong in a matter you are involved in. Are you still haunted by the ghost of your father?” 

 

‘The ghost of his father?’  

 

I pressed my face closer to the hole. It sounded like something important was about to come out.

 

At the Chief’s sharp remark, Gaon faltered.

 

For a moment, there was silence. When he finally spoke, his voice was damp with emotion.

 

“Yes.”

 

“….”

 

Suddenly, he sank down into a chair.

 

“I… look like this.”

 

Then he roughly tugged at his bright hair.

 

“Being born like this… I have to be perfect.”

 

Ah. The Chief let out a faint, pained sigh.

 

Then he sat beside Gaon and gently comforted him.

 

“How many times have I told you?”

 

His voice was infinitely soft.

 

“That you do not have to be perfect. This incident is not your fault. Not just this, but nothing is your fault.” 

 

“I know what you are saying.” 

 

Gaon’s voice was growing more unsteady.

 

“But….”

 

His words trembled as if on the verge of breaking.

 

“I cannot forget how my mother’s limbs were torn apart… because of me.”

 

The Chief’s eyes wavered for a moment.

 

I clapped a hand over my mouth in shock.

 

“Because my mother, a mere foreigner… dared to have me….”

 

“….”

 

“If I had never existed, that would never have happened. My very existence… caused my mother’s death. I only wanted to repay the Chief’s expectations after he took in someone as wretched as me, and yet….”

 

My heart felt heavy. I rubbed my reddened eyes with the back of my hand. 

 

‘The feeling that my very existence is a mistake.’ 

 

The anxiety that whatever happened, it happened because I did something wrong. 

 

I knew that feeling better than anyone. 

 

Because I had not been loved by anyone, I had never learned to love myself.

 

Because I only knew how to blame myself… those thoughts had been inevitable.

 

‘So Gaon had a childhood like that too.’

 

I had never imagined it.

 

Because although Gaon was blunt, he was usually quite bright and got along well with the people here.

 

But to think his mother received the punishment of being torn limb from limb simply because he was born. 

 

And to have had to witness that horrifying sight… firsthand.

 

‘How painful must that have been.’

 

Only now did I begin to understand why he had become somewhat twisted.

 

“Chief… I….”

 

“You need not say more. How could I not understand your heart?”

 

Hoo. The Chief let out a short sigh.

 

Then, after a moment’s thought, he yielded.

 

“…If that is truly how you feel, I have no choice. I permit you to accompany us.”

 

Gaon’s pupils widened.

 

“However, you will participate only as a long-range supporter alongside the archers. Do you understand?”

 

At that, Gaon—who had looked utterly dejected—brightened as though granted salvation.

 

“I understand! Chief!”

 

‘That’s enough. I should get out of here now.’

 

Whoosh—!

 

I carefully stood up, fearing I might be caught. 

 

Then, I tiptoed and crept toward my own barracks. 

 

But my thoughts were in complete disarray.

 

‘Think. Think, Seolyeong.’

 

Gaon was going to join the expedition. He had even overturned the Chief’s opposition.

 

But… Gaon’s current state was completely unstable.

 

First, his leg was injured.

 

Second, he was psychologically extremely unstable.

 

Third, and most critically, he had received a letter from the very family who shook him so deeply.

 

It was a perfect storm for a situation where one ‘cannot make a rational judgment.’ 

 

Moreover, at the mountain stronghold where Seolhwa was being raised, contact with outsiders was nearly impossible.

 

But once they left for the expedition, that would change.

 

Which meant if Gaon were to send a reply to that letter—

 

‘It would most likely happen during this expedition.’

 

It was the sharp instinct of a seasoned detective.

 

I was certain.

 

‘So what do I do?’

 

I couldn’t exactly tell the Chief to search Gaon’s body right now for a suspicious letter…

 

‘He might have already destroyed it after I found it. Or hidden it somewhere else.’

 

If he misunderstood that I had snitched on him, I didn’t know how Gaon would react. 

 

In the end, I had to catch him in the act of delivering the reply.

 

The problem was—unexpectedly—the Chief.

 

Ever since I had nearly been killed after becoming a target of the Prime Minister, the Chief had strictly forbidden me from descending to the villages.

 

“Dad, can’t I go down with you too?”

 

I had asked several times to go along.

 

“Absolutely not. Not even over my dead body! Never!”

 

The Chief was immovable.

 

‘Then there’s only one way.’

 

I slowly turned my head.

 

Toward the cart piled high with bundles of straw that was clearly meant to accompany the expedition.

 

Gulp.

 

I was worried about the aftermath if I were caught, but…

 

‘Ah, whatever! I’ll deal with it somehow!’

 

First, act—worry later!