"I'm sorry. I can't let you go." Tanjiro smiles as he does so, but you see the tension tightening his lips. You can tell that he is refraining from scolding you and pressuring you to stay home.

"I'm just trying to protect you."

A matchmaker; that's what he meant. Tanjiro will protect you because he is stronger and has experience. He is paranoid about your goal of achieving freedom and hurts himself just to escape it.

But you manage to leave anyway, ignoring everything.