## Chapter 12 – No. 25. Going Out # 2
Aser slowly stepped away from the railing, sweeping her wind-tousled blonde hair behind her ear.
“Let’s really go now. I can’t stand looking at that any longer.”
“Are you going like that?”
“Why? Is there somewhere else to go?”
Charlotte, at Aser’s question, grabbed No. 25’s shoulder and said,
“You’re not thinking of sending him out in those clothes, are you?”
The hem of his skirt was dragged and dirtied, and the sleeves were so long they hid his hands. It was almost admirable how No. 25 had followed along silently in this state. Aser, too, seemed to realize this wasn’t right and agreed to Charlotte’s suggestion.
“You’re right, he definitely needs new clothes. Should we buy all the clothes he’ll need while we’re at it?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea! Should we pick them out while seeing him wear them?”
Aser gave a pleased smile, looking at No. 25’s face.
“As expected… Charlotte knows what’s up. Of course, you have to watch in real-time while picking out men’s clothes.”
No. 25 couldn’t follow the conversation between the two. But one thing was certain: he would soon be treated like their toy. Aser, having made a delightful plan with Charlotte, opened her mouth with a much softer expression than before.
“Let’s go down for now.”
As Aser snapped her fingers again, No. 25 felt the opposite of the floating sensation from before, a feeling of falling. In a terror that felt like his organs and heart were about to drop, No. 25 squeezed his eyes shut.
After a fleeting moment, No. 25 felt a change in the air. Following that, the delicious smell of street vendors, whetting his appetite, wafted over.
He had returned to the shopping district of the territory he had first arrived in. He could tell without looking. Aser grabbed the hand of No. 25, who was still dazed from the aftereffects of the fall, and began heading somewhere.
As they entered an increasingly dark alley, anxiety began to sprout again in No. 25’s heart.
‘Am I going to be sold off like this? Is today perhaps my last day, so they’re being nice to me…?’
No matter how well Aser treated him, it was difficult for him to open his heart easily, having been confined for decades, sold off here and there, and living through beatings. Suspecting everything and fearing everything was already a part of No. 25’s daily life.
Contrary to those worries, Aser opened her mouth in a bright voice.
“There’s only one store inside that carries men’s suits. Let’s go buy the clothes you’ll wear when you work, and also the clothes you’ll wear casually.”
After finishing those words and turning a corner, an old store with dust piled up on the doorknob appeared. Aser coughed, brushed off the dust piled on the doorknob, and carefully turned it.
The door, which hadn’t had a customer in a long time, made an unpleasant grinding noise as it creaked open. The bell hanging above, meant to announce the arrival of a customer, had already lost its function and didn’t even make a sound.
Aser, looking at the dark interior, expressed a minor complaint.
“Even if there aren’t any customers… this old man is managing the store carelessly again.”
Looking around, someone was lying face down and sleeping at the counter. Aser approached him and tapped his head as if to wake him up.
“Wake up.”
The person dozing at the counter was an elderly man with white hair, a bit too old to be called “mister.” He pushed up his glasses and checked the person who had come in and touched his head.
“Your Majesty? What brings you here?”
“Can’t you tell? I came to buy clothes.”
He rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, and looked at No. 25, who was standing blankly next to Aser, and asked politely.
“Your Majesty, who is that boy?”
Aser nudged No. 25’s back to send him in front of the old man, introducing him.
“He’s a new servant who came to our castle this time. I’m trying to get him fitted for clothes. This is the only place that sells men’s clothes, right?”
“Oh, I see. Isn’t this the first time a male servant has come to the castle? Maybe that’s why Your Majesty’s face is blooming for the first time in a while.”
At the praise, given with a kind smile and no ulterior motive, Aser blushed and scratched her cheek.
“S-Spare me the useless talk. Just quickly show me the clothes. Something reasonably comfortable.”
The old man got up from his seat and stretched out his hunched back with a groan. He was quite old, and the sound of his cracking joints sounded unsettling. The old man took a measuring tape from the drawer and approached No. 25, skillfully starting to measure his body.
After checking all of No. 25’s measurements, the old man rummaged through the clothes hanging on the wall and handed five outfits to him.
“Take these and try them on in the dressing room over there.”
It was when No. 25, holding the clothes the old man had given him, was carefully moving towards the dressing room.
“There aren’t any men, so there won’t be any customers coming anyway, right? Should we just have him try them on here? It’s annoying to keep going back and forth every time he tries something on. Mister, is that okay?”
“Yes, yes… well, I don’t mind much…”
No. 25’s eyes instantly filled with bewilderment. There was one secret he could only protect by changing clothes in the dressing room.
“T-That’s…”
Taking off his clothes here meant exposing his manhood to the world. He cast a desperate gaze at Charlotte, as if asking for help, but she, too, couldn’t do anything in this situation.
Charlotte avoided No. 25’s gaze, looked at the distant mountains, and hummed a tune. Her expression seemed to say that she wouldn’t be caught anyway.
As No. 25 hesitated and looked around, Aser couldn’t help but look at him strangely.
“What’s wrong? Are you perhaps sick?”
Aser reached out with a worried heart, but No. 25 flinched so much that it seemed excessive, avoiding Aser’s touch. And that was No. 25’s biggest mistake. Aser withdrew her awkwardly outstretched hand and opened her mouth in a subdued voice.
“What is it? Why are you avoiding my hand?”
“I-It’s not that I’m avoiding Your Majesty’s hand…”
Aser couldn’t hear No. 25’s excuses anymore.
“I’ve been so good to you, but are you still scared of me? How much more do I have to consider you? How much more of a good side do I have to show you for you to open your heart to me?”
As the situation suddenly took a strange turn, Charlotte stepped forward to stop No. 25 directly.
“Hey, it’s not like he’s scared of Your Majesty, right? No. 25 even told me earlier that he was lucky to meet someone as good as Your Majesty! He just instinctively avoided it because you suddenly tried to touch him. You haven’t forgotten what kind of life he’s been living, have you?”
With Charlotte’s desperate defense, Aser barely regained her runaway reason and took a breath.
“Sorry… I must have been out of my mind for a moment.”
But at the same time, Aser’s actions just now were no different from making a mistake in her future relationship with No. 25. No. 25 didn’t hear her apology. He felt the fear that dominated his entire body.
“I’m sorry… I won’t disobey you again. I’ll take them off here right away.”
No. 25 apologized to Aser in a tearful voice, and began to unbutton his buttons one by one with fidgeting fingers.
It’s a penis I’ve already shown once. It’s just that the place is a bit embarrassing, and I was flustered because of the secret with Charlotte. No. 25 steeled himself. Just as he was about to take off his top and even his bottoms, the old man’s voice was heard.
If it hadn’t been for the old man’s voice, No. 25’s internal affairs would have been revealed.
“Your Majesty really doesn’t know men’s hearts…”
The old man slowly shook his head and said to Aser.
“What does that mean?”
“The atmosphere is important to all men. Would he want to show his unprepared body in front of a woman he likes? Men only feel like showing their bare bodies when they’re alone with someone they like, in a crucial situation. If you suddenly tell him to take them off here and then suddenly try to touch him, of course he’ll be flustered.”
Aser’s expression softened at those words. She wasn’t not regretting what had just happened. In her haste, unrefined negative emotions momentarily came out of her mouth. She admitted that it was unlike her usual self.
Aser put her hand on No. 25’s head and spoke in a much kinder voice.
“No. 25, then you should have said so beforehand. I have no intention of making you do something you don’t like.”
No. 25 quietly stared at Aser’s face with tearful eyes. Seeing that expression made her heart ache even more. The old man also thought that leaving the two of them together any longer would be detrimental to each other, so he personally guided No. 25 into the dressing room.
No. 25 barely caught his breath in the dressing room, which could easily fit three people. Thanks to the owner’s consideration, No. 25 was finally able to have some time alone in the dressing room. But as soon as he was left alone, there was no one to stop the negative thoughts around him, and No. 25 began to sink endlessly into a sea of negativity.
Was it because of his rash actions earlier that he was hated by Aser? Would he no longer be able to see that smile? Just thinking about it made him feel like he would burst into tears right away. An irreparable emotional rift had formed between the two. While he was thinking that, Charlotte suddenly entered the dressing room.
Charlotte hugged No. 25 without saying a word. Charlotte’s embrace, which he was suddenly enveloped in, was incomparably cozy and warm.
He had forgotten about his mother’s existence, but at this moment, embraced in Charlotte’s arms, he felt like he had returned to being a child in his mother’s arms. At that warmth, No. 25 unknowingly shed tears.
Charlotte gently stroked No. 25, who was embraced like a child, for a while. But there was no way Charlotte would have gone there solely for comfort. Charlotte looked at No. 25, who was embraced in her arms like a child, narrowed her eyes, and gave a sly smile.
‘Now… just one more step….’
