730 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

"It's exactly the same as the criminal's hair color!" May her final voice reach someone. Pretending to resist in vain, the mistress swallowed the criminal's strand of hair. It might have been a futile act. However, the deceased's final voice lingered despite the crime scene being contaminated and time passing, eventually reaching the black-haired constable. Her cleverness ultimately allowed the deceased's voice to reach someone who could heed it. The onlookers couldn't help but be silenced by the undeniable evidence. "Damn woman. Even in death, she still manages to get in my way." Only the criminal could muster a hollow laugh. "What did that sweet girl ever do wrong!!!" Bang Dae Woo's outcry echoed through the inner court, having lost his mistress. "Who says she was sweet? That deceitful woman. Once she no longer had to pretend, her true colors came out." "You've got no filter, do you?" "Did you really kill my sister? Why? What did she ever do to you?" The mistress's younger sister screamed, directing her accusation at her former lover. "I always said it, didn't I? I'm not someone who will end up here. I said I'd make it big someday." It was just a mistake, that's all. Some of the audience began chuckling incredulously at the criminal's brazen attitude. "Why did my sister have to die!!!" "I didn't go there with the intent to kill! I only went there to seize an opportunity!" Was he trying to justify himself to his enraged lover? The criminal, seemingly aggrieved, bent slightly as if lamenting his situation. "An opportunity?" "My plan was to sweet-talk for her permission to marry you! I promised to give up drinking and gambling, to work diligently, and if your sister supported us, I would marry you, start a small business, and make you happy!" "And this is the result?" Did he believe the woman before him was on his side, even for a moment? The criminal desperately tried to persuade his lover, but the woman in front of him was a sister who had lost her sibling. "Damn it, I knew since the beginning when you'd smile at me, you thought of me as a mere insect...! Treating someone's sincerity as a drunkard's ravings. Is it any wonder anyone would go mad?" Realizing that the sister too had turned against him, the criminal revealed his true nature. "So you kill someone just because you want to live well? Can you even call yourself human?" "Yes! I wanted to live like a human too! You think I'm some thug with no future? What's the point of groveling for spare change all my life?" Excuses aplenty. Because of love, to live well. Whatever reasons he gave, the audience's frowns only deepened. "Did our family ever treat you poorly? We shared drinks and meat, and during prosperous times, we shared joy. Even beasts recognize favors. Yet you repay kindness with betrayal." Could the mistress's mother remain silent any longer? Indeed, not getting angrier after nearly being falsely accused, and maintaining her composure up to this point, was commendable. "Mistress. That, that’s...!" "Yes! As an employee at Hosanyakbang, you were treated quite well!" "Silence! Expect me to remain a servant all my life? I was offered a chance to marry a woman I love and start a small business to live happily! Am I an idiot to throw that away?" "Who said I'd marry a murderer like you?" "I told you! I had no intention of killing! I even gave her a choice till the end! I want to marry you! Why would I want to kill her?! If she hadn't been such a vile woman spouting insults without understanding the situation!" "......" It wasn't his fault. Even in his final moments, he placed blame on the mistress who wouldn't relent. The criminal’s nonsensical excuses left everyone speechless. Someone needed to mock those disgraceful statements. "Saying you hadn't intended to kill. That's quite an amusing excuse." I chuckled lightly, drawing everyone's attention to me. "You barbarian! What's so funny?" Feigning arrogance, like a masterful constable knowing all, I laughed cynically while shrugging my shoulders. "Isn't it funny how you try to deceive even yourself? The excuse of not intending to kill coming from someone who carried a knife just in case!" "I only meant to show resolve! If she hadn't spoken unfairly to me, I planned to declare I'd rather die there without her consent!" Was the knife for self-harm? Was it a newly-composed excuse or the one he had whispered to himself that night? It didn't matter. "You went there on a night when the master was away to say that?" A question to which no excuse could be given—why visit at an hour optimal for murdering a woman? "T-T-That’s...!" "When you carried a knife, you were not seeking the family's approval but intending to remove an obstacle." "......" The criminal was rendered speechless by the cold tone, resembling that of a judge discerning a liar's testimony. "Because of the victim's insults, because of passionate love. Surely there was some motivation." There was likely a motive for murder. "T-That's right! Everything's not just—" "The motive for drawing your knife. All you needed from that conversation was not permission, but a reason to draw your knife." Simply put, the man was waiting for that motive all along. A reason to erase his hesitation and slight guilt. The criminal sought only that. "Urgh...!" "What are you waiting for! Arrest that man immediately!" "Yes, Judge!" "I—I!!! I only!!" As the constables pounced to restrain him, even while being apprehended, he seemed to search for words to refute me. A servant of Hosanyakbang. "I'm innocent. Is it a crime to be a charming rogue good at wooing women? I just wanted to escape a pitiful life. My intentions went astray, but I was just a man in love." No matter how he tries to justify it, it doesn't matter. He is simply... "Simply, a murderer who killed a defenseless woman." ——— "Well done. Truly well done!!!" As soon as Jo Pan-gwan had the criminal apprehended, he pulled me aside to commend me. "I'm glad we caught the criminal." "At one moment during your deduction, I was so absorbed in listening that I forgot my duty as a judge and stood there dumbfounded! I'm embarrassed at having suspected the mistress!" "I initially suspected the mistress too. If I may say, Jo Pan-gwan, I'm sure you would have found the answer in time." I would be in trouble if he called me for every case. It was purely luck. I deflected the praise to my superior and kept a humble demeanor. "Oh, come now! Haha! Unlike that old fox Detective Zhegal Seolok, you've got a knack for making people feel good!" "I'm flattered." "Hold your head high! Why the gloomy face after nabbing the criminal?" It's just that I feel I'll be reporting for duty at the office tomorrow. "Even if I struggled relentlessly, it won't bring the deceased back." I replied with the regretful expression of a detective faced with a dilemma of needing to act after a tragedy occurred. "Haha..." "The master lost his mistress, the lady lost her lifelong confidante due to her own recommendation. The younger sister lost both her love and her only family. The damage left by that foolish rogue will linger for long." "We can't heal the wounds of those left behind. All we can do is eliminate the ruthless ones from this world so that more innocent people are not harmed." "You are right." This is beyond my capabilities, so it's up to Jo Pan-gwan to work hard on that front. "With their support, perhaps even the wounded can rise easily. What do you think? If you'd like, I can personally recommend you to my superiors." I knew this was coming. Time to maintain composure. Smile ruefully like someone thoroughly worn out by repeated murder cases. Respond with eyes filled with melancholic talent, like a youth who possesses skill but doesn't wish to reenter that world. "I left my insignia with unlimited jurisdiction behind." "It's a shame for someone of your caliber to waste away as a mere merchant." What's wrong with being a merchant? In a society that considers rising to high office a familial honor, making money is quite satisfying too. "From now on, I want to be known as Kang Yoon-ho of Mangum Trading House, rather than a constable." My path lies in the world of commerce. Although Jo Pan-gwan appeared reluctant to let go, he regarded me with an expression of regret before eventually chuckling softly. "Though it's your choice, I have a feeling you'll be known by another name soon." "What...?" What did that mean? Jo Pan-gwan, facing my confused look, gave me a knowing smile and turned away with a parting remark. "I look forward to our next meeting, Detective." ———— "I'm telling you, I won’t do it...!" I asked not to be sought out when a case arises, yet my defenses proved futile. Those government officials who passed difficult exams aren't ordinary, apparently. I grasped my head in agony. "How can they give up after witnessing your deductions?" Gil-san clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Without Ga-young's help, it would've been impossible from the start." "The master's assistant's duty is to aid when mistakes need correcting. It's a victory." UlFRblVJeEt0R01oWGZFZXFXMGFSK1Zhod... Isn't that my dedicated maid? Though I answered with a nonchalant look as if it were nothing, there was a hint of triumphant pride in her demeanor. If Gil-san hadn't been there, I would've patted her head right away. "Ga-young, you really did an excellent job." When we're alone, I'll have to make an offer for anything she wants. "You acted like a detective, deduced everything, even found the evidence for the criminal. No matter how amazing Zhegal Seolok, the novel's protagonist, is, the standard's too high." "I'm just an inadequate detective. I only employed some tricks." I dismissed Gil-san vehemently. "Miss Ga-young's help was crucial, but you essentially solved everything and just needed confirmation." While the soul was at rest, my deductions proved correct, and we did catch the criminal in the end. Though it's true, I couldn't readily assent. In the end, I peeked at the answers. The gap between a phony detective unable to trust his deductions and a real detective was vast. "In the spur of the moment. Because I lack as a detective, I used my skills as a writer. I even had to employ my talents as a merchant." "What are you talking about?" "Well..." Simply looking at the answer sheet wasn't sufficient. As I hesitated, Ga-young, who knew the truth, interjected. "No." "Miss Ga-young?" "The mistress. She didn't eat it." "Didn't eat it...? Eat what? The hair, perhaps?!" Gil-san's shocked gaze was met with a small sigh. "I figured out the motive for murder through deduction, but that was it. I knew the answer, but there was no way to get the criminal to confess." I am a fake. A clumsy detective. But the criminal had to be caught. "Don't tell me..." "There's no evidence. What is to be done?" Like a detective in a novel, I can't identify both the criminal and the evidence perfectly. My half-formed intuition and insufficient deductive power have limitations. It's fine. I am a writer and merchant before being a detective. There was a way. "As a novelist, one can imbue a narrative that touches everyone's heart. Like a merchant, one can deceive others to obtain what they want." "..." Somehow, I had to extract the criminal's confession. Small, easy-to-deny evidence wasn't enough. A definitive puzzle piece was required. But how? By completing a puzzle piece that was already missing—or never existed in the first place. I couldn't locate the evidence as a detective, but the solution was simple. "The sister swallowed the criminal's hair for the sake of her sibling. That should be enough of a narrative to extract a confession, right?" As a writer, I crafted a story, and as a merchant, I deceived the criminal. Knowing the answer, a half-baked detective like me just needed to fabricate the evidence.