The Devil Wears Fine Clothes (6)

Winter nights are chilly.

When the banquet is over and the soldiers go to bed, unable to resist the merriment, the loneliness of the woman who goes to bed alone at the top of the palisade shines even brighter. It was time for her to go to bed, but she was still wearing her uniform.

Because the porter had told her it was pretty.

She sat on the edge of the bed facing the door, pressing the soft mattress with her hand as she waited for her guest. A skilled and handsome man who could find his way here secretly was expected to come.

She adjusted her collar once, which was stiff from dust. Then she looked in the mirror and pondered once more whether it would be better to unbutton her shirt buttons in advance or keep them tightly fastened. She also sniffed to check if there was any strange smell coming from her clothes and inspected her back to see if anything strange was stuck to it.

Then, surprised by her own foolish behavior, she plopped down in place and cleared her throat, trying somehow to regain her composure. What would the other soldiers think if they saw her like this now? Just thinking about it made her face turn red and involuntarily stamp her feet.

“It’s me.”

And a low voice was heard. Kerberos carefully answered while biting her nails:

“Yes…”

While she was berating herself for answering too much like a young lady, the door opened, and the porter, who had changed into clean and comfortable clothes, looked a little confused to see her still in uniform. She found even that expression of his lovely.

She said to the porter:

“You came dressed comfortably. What were you expecting?”

The porter, without changing his expression even at Kerberos’s naughty question, asked back:

“What were you expecting when you called me?”

Kerberos was rather flustered by that question and turned her head to the air. Then, blinking her eyes as she searched for words, she carefully said while placing her hand on her chest:

“I-is this outfit really pretty?”

The porter looked over the clothes once more and nodded. Then he smiled and said:

“Yes. It’s really pretty.”

“Can you tell me which parts are pretty?”

“I like the neat color combination and the strict atmosphere from arranging the uniform. And the subtly revealed body lines are nice too.”

“…You’re naughty.”

The porter shook his head as if wronged by Kerberos’s reaction. She watched his reaction and grinned again, then lifted her outer garment. The porter silently watched her actions. Kerberos lifted her outer garment enough to show her white shirt and asked the porter:

“Today, did you come just because I called? Without any emotion? Professionally?”

“I came because you looked like you needed comfort.”

The porter’s answer was correct in a way, and not correct in another way. Kerberos asked while unbuttoning her outer garment:

“You must have said that to many other women. Like you would to women passing by. Are you going to treat me the same way?”

“I have never comforted with lies.”

“There’s no love in that.”

Kerberos threw off her outer garment. The clothes fell fluttering onto the bed, making a suggestive sound. She was only in her shirt and pants now. The uniform pants were tightly fastened with a belt, covering her underwear. Kerberos said while undoing her belt:

“Today. I talked with a woman. A woman who hated me, who was disgusted by everything I did. I couldn’t understand. Why she was like that. What good would come from treating a defector like this.”

The porter remained silent. Kerberos completely undid her belt and held it in her hand. The belt, dangling like a dead snake under her hand, made a crisp sound as the metal part met the floor.

Kerberos, with her hand on her pants, said to the porter:

“She said her husband died. In the war.”

The porter swallowed. Kerberos continued speaking in a still calm tone. She unbuttoned and pulled down her pants, revealing her firm thighs and velvet panties under the moonlight. Kerberos threw her pants to the side and said to the porter:

“After hearing that, I thought a lot. That woman said she could never be friends with me. No matter how hard I try, the hatred will never disappear, is what she meant.”

The porter said:

“It takes time. It takes a very long time. Once you experience a tragedy, demons are demons. Even if they’re friends, demons are demons. Names become labels, and they follow us like that until the tragedy is completely buried.”

“I thought that me loving you was enough. That someday you would look back at me. That I could win.”

The porter kept silent again. Kerberos touched the desk with her hand and said:

“But it seems like it was too early a greed. Right? Both you and I needed more time, but I went too far ahead.”

Kerberos could understand the porter. He doesn’t completely love her, but he can’t ignore her desperate expression asking him to come to her room. If she loses love and falls into despair again, who knows how she might change. None of the demons had considered Kerberos’s betrayal.

She was essentially threatening the porter without realizing it herself.

To love her.

Kerberos looked at the porter and said:

“I went too far ahead. So far that it’s overwhelming to catch up.”

The porter slowly nodded. His eyes held sadness rather than lust. It was always like that. The porter had never looked at Kerberos with lustful eyes. The way he looked at her always contained some indescribable complex emotion.

Today, Kerberos felt like she had glimpsed a part of the emotion he held, if only for a moment.

Kerberos felt her face getting hot. It wasn’t because of the wind. Caressing her feverish face with her hand, she said:

“Still, just for today… I’d like you to stay with me.”

The boisterous banquet and merry people.

These were things she could no longer have.

All the comrades who might dance with her were demons, and the soldiers still found her, a former demon, a bit difficult to approach. She tried to blend in with others, but each time she could only feel alone.

“As you know… I’m an outsider here, an uncomfortable presence.”

Kerberos’s hand reached for the porter’s chest. She stroked his chest and met his wet eyes. The porter’s heartbeat could be heard very faintly.

“You said it takes time, right?”

Kerberos’s hands hugged him tightly. She put her ear to his chest and felt his heartbeat. She breathed while rubbing her nose and looked up at his slender jawline with desperate eyes.

“I want you to give me time. Time to endure until you come back.”

Her fingers grasped the porter’s waist and interlocked.

So he couldn’t escape.

So this moment could last a little longer.

---

And in the deep night. Nigel, unable to sleep, jumped out of bed. She slipped out secretly through the general store window, briefly greeted the soldiers guarding the barracks, and went inside. They didn’t doubt Nigel’s words that “Kerberos called her about payment.”

Having passed through the rooms smoothly like that, she stood in front of the commander’s private room with a nervous face and hesitated. Then she carefully knocked on the door and asked:

“Um, Commander. Can I come in?”

“Sob…! Ah, w-wait…! Just a moment…!”

Kerberos made a cute nasal sound, and then suddenly there was a loud clattering noise. For a moment, footsteps spread out as if a four-legged beast was moving, followed by the sound of a chair being dragged and bustling movement.

Then came a hurried reply:

“C-come in…!”

Nigel opened the door.

Kerberos was sitting in front of a large desk. She was wearing just a shirt, and other clothes were spread out on the bed. Kerberos’s face wasn’t clearly visible due to the darkness, but her breathing was strangely rough.

Nigel tilted her head and asked:

“Commander?”

“…I didn’t call anyone, who let you in?”

Her voice was thin as if holding something back. Nigel, not having time to think that her voice sounded awkward, waved her hands in front and said:

“I-I’m sorry. I-I lied to get in. I said the commander was paying…”

“S-so… What’s… the matter? Huff…”

Kerberos’s hand clenched into a fist. It seemed like she might be angry that someone suddenly came for no reason, or she might be sleepy judging by how she was hanging her head. Either way, Nigel felt she should leave the room quickly.

“Huff…!”

Kerberos exhaled heavily again. Nigel said:

“I-I came to tell you that the clothes suit you really well and look pretty…”

“I-is that so? Thank… you… Huff…!”

Kerberos nodded and then buried her head on the desk again.

Watching this, Nigel stepped back and said:

“I-if you’re sleepy, I’ll go…”

“Ah…! Y-yes…! Ha…!”

Kerberos waved her hand and tilted her head back for a moment, then

As soon as Nigel closed the door, she made a strange sound.