Chapter 24: The Jade Button

No one could tell why that mad military contractor was laughing so hard.

After laughing to his heart’s content, he finally stopped and, with a shameless expression, made his demand.

“Hand over that jade button.”

“Pardon? But this is something I was given—.”

“That belongs to me.”

Why a man with more money than he could ever spend would covet such a tiny jade button was beyond comprehension.

The constable felt wronged, but faced with Ji-pyeong’s calm insistence and the burly guards standing behind him, he had no choice but to hand over the jade button.

“Here… it is.”

Even so, the injustice could not be helped.

Perhaps noticing the look on his face, Ji-pyeong gave an order to Deok-chun.

“Reward him for returning my property.”

“Yes.”

In an instant, the constable’s face lit up.

“Oh dear, you really didn’t have to… thank you.”

Watching the constable leave with repeated bows, Ji-pyeong curled his lips into a dark smile.

Deok-chun, looking puzzled, asked cautiously.

“Why did you buy that jade button back? It doesn’t seem to have much value.”

“Ah. Because I need it. I had forgotten about it, is all.”

At Ji-pyeong’s cryptic answer, Deok-chun’s curiosity only deepened, but he dared not ask his master anything further.

“Deok-chun.”

“Yes.”

“I need you to find someone.”

At Ji-pyeong’s meaningful smile, Deok-chun suppressed his curiosity and nodded.

Unlike before, the road back to the circus felt especially arduous.

“Have I been selling blood too often…?”

The bouts of dizziness were becoming more frequent, and her heart raced faster than it should.

She had always been sturdy, never once falling seriously ill despite her bad leg and frequent tumbles, but even that strength seemed to be fading lately.

On top of that, as she went out more often and brought back money to pay down Gyesa’s debt, the ringmaster began to threaten her at every turn.

“Did you skim money from somewhere? Where did you get this cash?!”

“I earned it.”

“Oh? You little b*tch. You’ve been disappearing a lot lately. Be honest. You’ve been selling your body somewhere, haven’t you?”

“No! I’ve never done anything like that!”

“Hah! What a joke. You used to scream and fight it so hard. If you were going to spread your legs anyway, you should’ve done it sooner. Acting all high and mighty….”

“Say what you want. I’ve never done that. As long as I bring you the money, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

“Now you’re talking back too. Hah. Unbelievable. Fine. As long as I get my money. But remember this. If you can’t pay, that Gyesa bastard will be sold immediately.”

“Just keep your promise.”

“That depends on you. Oh, and if you can’t find a man to sell yourself to, tell me. I’ll introduce you.”

The ringmaster had laughed vilely, that unpleasant sound still echoing in her ears days later.

But no matter how much he sneered, no matter how the other performers whispered behind her back, no matter how her body weakened, she could not stop.

She had not even repaid a third of the principal yet.

The debt piled up over many long, unjust years was not something that could be cleared with the money from selling blood a few times.

“At least I don’t have my own debt.”

The ringmaster had taken everything left behind by the Snake Fairy as payment for letting her stay with the troupe, wiping out her own debt, but that also meant she had no savings left.

She tried to console herself that at least she was debt-free, but it was infuriating that despite working like a servant every day, she still had no money to pay off Gyesa’s debt.

Still, she had no time to wallow in resentment.

She had to recover quickly so she could sell blood again and keep up with the circus drudgery.

“If I could just see Gyesa once… just once, to know he’s okay, I’d have strength again.”

Gyesa still refused to see her.

That hurt, but at the same time, the more he avoided her, the more stubborn resolve welled up inside her.

“Just you wait.”

I’ll get you out, no matter what.

I won’t let you die, and I won’t let them sell you.

She no longer clung to naïve expectations.

There was no kindness without a price.

Violence always flowed toward the weak.

She had thought the world outside the circus would be different.

She had only realized too late that it was not.

So she would sell everything she could.

Hope included.

“Hey. The ringmaster is calling for you.”

As she dragged her exhausted body back toward the tents, Spider Lady, who was waiting there, spoke with a worried look.

“What for?”

Spider Lady shook her head with a sigh.

“I don’t know. Says there’s a guest looking for you.”

A guest.

That was impossible.

In twenty years, no one had ever come looking for her.

“And… he said to wash up properly and put on makeup.”

“What?”

She asked in disbelief.

Spider Lady frowned as if she felt the same disgust.

“Tell him not to joke around.”

Just as she tried to turn away, barely suppressing her boiling anger, the ringmaster came running toward them from afar.

Waving his fists, he shouted.

“What are you doing, standing around? Hurry up!”

“Why should I? Don’t be ridiculous!”

When she tried to slip into the tent to avoid him, he grabbed her arm and snarled.

“Shut up and get ready, then come to my tent. If you don’t, I’ll sell Gyesa immediately.”

“How can you do that? That’s not what you promised!”

“Enough! Just hurry up and get ready. Don’t keep him waiting. Damn it!”

The ringmaster looked unusually agitated.

It was the first time she had ever seen him like that.

But that was none of her concern.

In fact, she wanted nothing more than to see him burn with panic.

Still, the threat involving Gyesa left her no choice.

“Anyway, hurry.”

Cursing nonstop, the ringmaster ran back to his tent.

Just who had come that made him so frantic.

Anger rose along with her curiosity.

“Fine. I’ll see who it is, and I’ll make a scene.”

Having steeled herself, she hastily tidied her appearance and headed for the ringmaster’s tent.

The deputy ringmaster was standing guard at the entrance.

And beside him was a face she did not want to see.

It was Deok-chun, the servant from the stone mansion.

Memories of past violence surged back, her hands trembling, but she clenched her fists and glared at him.

Deok-chun avoided her gaze and cleared his throat awkwardly.

She stopped staring at him and, like a general marching into battle, roughly pulled aside the tent flap.

Inside were the ringmaster, grinning and wiggling his hips like a clown, and the man she had seen before, Ji-pyeong.

“Why are you so late—!”

The ringmaster shot her a warning glare.

But in front of a man he was busy flattering, the ringmaster no longer frightened her at all.

Standing stiff-faced, she watched as Ji-pyeong chuckled softly and gestured to the chair across from him.

She trudged over and dropped into it, while the ringmaster kept glaring at her from the side.

“You may leave now.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes…!”

The ringmaster tried to warn her with his eyes until the very end, but she did not spare him a glance.

The cold man before her was far more unsettling.

Clasping her trembling hands together, she forced the words out.

“So, why did someone as grand as you come all this way to see a beggar?”

Though shaking, she met his gaze head-on.

Ji-pyeong looked amused, resting his chin on his hand as he studied her face.

“You don’t seriously think I came to buy a mere beggar, do you?”

At her question, he burst into laughter.

The laughter felt like mockery.

He was deeply unpleasant.

“That wretched, pitiful state of yours resembles that woman.”

He was openly ridiculing her.

She did not know who “that woman” was, but the pitiful one he referred to was clearly her.

“And yet you’re the one who came to see that pitiful woman. Say what you want and get it over with.”

“You even share her insolence.”

Frowning at his incomprehensible words, she abruptly stood up.

“If you’re just going to waste time insulting me, I’ll be leaving.”

“Still, it’s more entertaining than watching you tremble like last time. But I despise people who don’t know their place.”

What exactly was this man trying to say.

“Did you come just to humiliate me? Then at least pay me.”

She turned to leave, unwilling to waste another second.

That was when he stopped her with a single line.

“Are there fathers who buy their daughters with money?”

She must have misheard.

That had to be nonsense.

Slowly, she turned back.

Ji-pyeong placed something on the table.

It was the jade button she had once given to the constable.

“Why do you have that?”

“Because it’s mine.”

Nothing made sense.

“But that… I’ve had it since I was a baby—.”

“Of course you have. It was something that woman stole.”

As she stared blankly at the jade button, Ji-pyeong smiled faintly.

“Do you feel like having a proper conversation now?”

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