Chapter 12: The Night the Bell Was Rung

“Everyone, don’t move!”

From somewhere far away came the voice of constables rushing in after receiving reports of the disturbance.

At that moment, my senses snapped back into place.

Before they arrive, I have to get the gold ring back.

It seemed the commander thought the same, because he moved quickly.

Just as he was about to rush forward, I felt arms wrap tightly around me from behind.

“No.”

I didn’t hear that voice.

My mind was filled with nothing but the thought that I had to retrieve the ring.

“Let go!”

“No!

Get a hold of yourself!”

At the familiar voice trying to stop me, I finally came to my senses and turned around.

It was Gyesa.

We stared at each other, our eyes trembling without direction.

“How did you….”

“Everyone, don’t move!”

Before I realized it, the arriving constables had surrounded us.

The commander, who had been trying to search Obaltan’s body, was beaten down and slammed to the ground by the constables, blood smeared all over him.

“Come quietly, all of you.”

Leaving the constables to deal with the bodies, Gyesa, the commander, and I were bound and dragged away.

When I glanced back in secret, I saw a constable taking the gun and the gold ring from Obaltan’s hand.

His body, crudely covered with straw, looked pitiful beyond measure, despite his massive size.

Had his soul finally been saved?

I didn’t know.

“Listen, how many times do I have to say this!

That man acted on his own.

We noticed something was off about him and followed him, that’s all!”

After being dragged in together, we were interrogated by the constables.

Because we were circus performers from the same troupe as Obaltan, the questioning went in circles without progress.

“Where do you get off raising your voice!

How does a mere circus performer walk around with a gold ring this big?”

“It’s mine.”

Gyesa repeated the same words over and over.

The constable thumped his own chest in frustration.

“That’s exactly the problem!

If you can’t even say where it came from, how can you claim it’s yours?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.

He’s lying.

That ring is mine!”

The commander tried to put on a kindly smile, but the greed and vulgarity filling his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

The constable looked at him suspiciously, then took the ring back again and scratched his head.

“Alright, let’s整理 this again.

According to you… the culprit was a gunman working at your circus, and the victim he shot was the bandit who killed his family?”

“Yes!”

“And you knew the culprit was acting suspiciously… followed him out of concern, and witnessed the scene?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Fine.

That much I understand.

But then—whose ring was the culprit carrying?”

“It’s mine.

The commander and that man stole it from me and ran, so I chased them.”

Gyesa insisted stubbornly.

The commander glared at him as if he wanted to kill him.

“Gyesa.

Then can you say where it came from?”

“And can you say where it came from?”

“I—I can!

I bought it with the money I saved my whole life…!

What, you think I wouldn’t have a gold ring just because I’m a commander?”

“Officer.

Investigate our circus.

We don’t have that kind of money.”

“You little—!”

“Hey, enough!

If you can’t explain this ring properly, none of you are going anywhere.”

The constable crossed his arms and leaned back, clearly prepared to dig in.

As everyone dug in their heels, time slipped away uselessly.

In the end, the commander—who had been calculating in his head—surrendered first.

“That ring isn’t mine.

I lied because I wanted it.”

“Thought so.

Do you think I’ve only been seeing people like you for a year or two?”

“Then… may I go now?”

“Hm.

For now, yes.

If we need anything further, we’ll call you.”

The commander left with his shoulders slumped.

But Gyesa and I weren’t released even as evening fell.

“My goodness… you’re really stubborn.

So, you’re still going to insist it’s yours?”

“Because it is.”

The constable, clearly exhausted from going in circles as well, sighed deeply and tried to coax Gyesa.

“Let’s be honest.

Your commander’s gone now.

Just tell us the source, and we’ll let you go.”

At his words, Gyesa’s eyes wavered slightly.

He glanced at me.

Seeing me battered, fallen, and rolled around until I was a mess, his expression darkened.

I shook my head faintly.

“Don’t worry about me.”

But Gyesa bit down hard on his lower lip and spoke.

“There’s a man named Lee Jipyeong who runs an arms business here.”

“How do you know this gentleman….”

The constable’s eyes widened at Gyesa’s words.

“The ring belonged to Madam Lee of Cheongjin, his aunt.

I received it when I met her in Cheongjin.”

The constable wrote down Gyesa’s statement, then glanced once at his refined features.

Clicking his tongue as if he understood, he frowned.

“Do you know that the licensed brothel system has been abolished?”

“Gyesa has never sold his body!

She offered to adopt him!”

At the constable’s obvious dirty assumptions, I—who had kept quiet until now—shouted out.

He scratched the back of his head, looking awkward.

“Well, who knows.

It’s not every day a noble lady offers adoption to a mere entertainer…

Anyway, we’ll look into it.

You may go for now.”

“You have to give the ring back.”

When Gyesa held out his hand, the constable snorted and firmly refused.

“No.

That won’t do.

The ring is evidence—we can’t just hand it over.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?

Obaltan stole my ring!

I already told you exactly where it came from!”

“That’s just your claim.

Now we have to investigate to verify the truth.

Until then, it remains evidence.

If you cause any more trouble, I’ll have no choice but to lock you up, so go quietly.”

Gyesa’s clenched fist trembled violently with resentment.

But there was nothing more we could do.

By the time we left the station, night had already fallen.

The streets, once crowded, were now silent, as if even the night insects had gone home.

“Gyesa… um….”

I couldn’t bring myself to approach him as he stood there, eyes shining coldly, so I called out carefully from behind.

The guilt that everything was my fault made my chest feel suffocated.

But Gyesa didn’t respond, lost in his own thoughts.

After a moment, he started walking somewhere with steady steps.

“Where are you going?

That’s not the way back to the circus….”

As I followed, limping, Gyesa replied in a low voice.

“We have to go to Mr. Lee’s house.”

“Mr. Lee… you mean Lee Jipyeong?

The man you mentioned earlier?”

“Yes.

If we explain the situation, something will work out.

Either we get the ring’s value from him, or at least contact his aunt.”

“But it’s already night….”

“You can go back if you want.

But even if you do, what can you do there?

The money demon and that pig bastard will be lying in wait.”

He wasn’t wrong.

If Gyesa had come looking for me despite worrying about being discovered, something must already have happened back at the circus.

“Alright.

Let’s go together.”

Gyesa glanced at my face once, then turned and walked on.

Normally, he would have slowed his pace to match mine, but whether from impatience or anger, he strode ahead without caring whether I followed.

Finding Lee Jipyeong’s house wasn’t difficult.

In Jeonsang City, there was no one who didn’t know the mansion of its wealthiest man.

Following the directions we were given, we walked for about half an hour and finally arrived at a grand estate.

Just looking at it made my spirit shrink.

Unusually built in Western style, it wasn’t an ordinary wooden house but a stone mansion.

Yet Gyesa didn’t seem intimidated at all and boldly rang the bell.

The sound cut through the silence, ringing loudly, and before long a thin, middle-aged man came out.

“Who are you?”

Narrowing his eyes, the man looked Gyesa and me up and down.

When his gaze lingered on my shabby appearance, his brow creased slightly.

“We’ve come to see the master of this house.”

At Gyesa’s request, the man scoffed.

“The master does not receive visitors without an appointment.”

He spoke with a hint of smugness, his attitude clearly drawing a line—as if people like us couldn’t dare approach someone so lofty.

It was unpleasant and intimidating at the same time.

Perhaps because he worked in such a grand estate, his confidence was equally imposing.

“I have something to say regarding Madam Lee of Cheongjin, the aunt of this household’s master.”

“How do you know her….”

The man’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked Gyesa over again.

After a moment, he spoke in an unwelcoming tone.

“Please wait.”

Before even a quarter of an hour passed, the man returned and opened the door.

“Follow me.”

The inside of the stone mansion was just as impressive.

Soft carpets covered the floors, and glass windows were set into the walls everywhere.

Electric lights illuminated the interior like daylight, and animal horns were displayed along the walls.

“Please wait here.”

The place he led us to appeared to be a reception room.

A large, plush sofa sat there—nothing like the small, flimsy chairs we carved by hand at the circus.

Gyesa sat down as if fairly accustomed to such surroundings, but I hesitated, wondering if someone as filthy as me even had the right to sit there.

As I stood there, fidgeting and unsure, the sound of a door opening reached my ears.

When I turned, a man who looked to be in his early forties entered.

He seemed younger than I expected, and despite the late hour, he was neatly dressed in a suit.

I watched him secretly with wide eyes, but our gazes met.

I quickly lowered my eyes, flustered, but he didn’t seem particularly interested in me at all.

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