CH 20

Okay, Let’s do it!’

To fulfill the black wolf’s wish, Ashley became more motivated than before. With a smile, she suggested, “Let’s give him a drink this time. Grape wine would be good.”

The black wolf liked grape wine. He used to drink wine as much as he could while eating vegetable dishes.

“I see. Wine.” Clyde and the others simply nodded. Since prior to that, they fed it vegetable dishes the other day.

“Alright. Let’s bring wine from the cellar in the main house right away. It’d be better to bring a barrel of it.”

“And some salt, please.” 

Upon Ashley’s words, Clyde’s eyebrows rose up, “Salt? What is it for? Is it for a snack?”

“No. I’ll mix it with wine.”

That was how the black wolf drank. Moreover, with a large amount of salt. After all, the lower ranking demons would be in awe as well as impressed that the demon king’s aides had different drinks.

“It’s kind of like soda…”

“It seems bad for the health.” Clyde and the others  frowned. However, the black wolf is a powerful demon and a magical beast therefore it shouldn’t be correlated with human logic. Still,

“Alright. We’ll bring a barrel of wine and some salt.”

“A lot of salt, please.”

“―I understand.”

After a while, the requested items were placed before the black wolf. Ashley and Jeanne poured the purple wine in a silver bowl that came from the kitchen. The rich aroma of grapes spread throughout the stable. Then, Hank added the salt.

“How much will be put in it?”

“More.”

“―this much?”

“Much more.”

“―it may wake up from pain, but the moment it wakes up, it’ll probably collapse.”

That’s not true. The black wolf always drank like this. She remembered a fellow black rabbit came up to her and secretly told her in her ear, “I hear they put a lot of salt in the wine, even though it’s not usually much in their regular diet.”

“It’s ready.”

“Well, it looks like regular wine.” Clyde commented at the smooth-looking beautiful purple liquor. 

Hank opened the black wolf’s mouth with his hands while Jeanne scooped large spoonfuls of grape wine from the bowl.

“Here you go.” she said while she poured it in.

Ashley and the others watched with their breaths held in.

‘Mister Black Wolf, it’s your favorite salted grape wine. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Please drink it.’

As Ashley prayed with a hopeful gaze, the black wolf’s paw moved. Its claws scratched the floor.

‘He reacted!’

As her attention was focused on his paw, they heard a small gurgling sound from its throat. She quickly looked up and saw Clyde and the others’ faces beaming with joy. The black wolf drank the wine. 

“Then, have more!”

“It’s drinking! It’s drinking!”

It swallows each mouthful of wine slowly.

‘Mister Black Wolf, does it taste good?’

Ashley excitedly put her hand on the black wolf’s back and gently stroked its thick black bushy fur. After five mouthfuls, the black wolf stopped. Then—

“What’s that sound?”

Jeanne looked around, puzzled. A low, deep bass sound can be heard at regular intervals. It sounded like a growl. She looks down at the black wolf, and sure enough, it is the one making the sound. Its eyes remain closed, yet it continues to growl.

“―it made a sound.” Clyde muttered in a hoarse voice. His handsome face was full of joy. Eventually, the growling stopped, but the black wolf did let out its own sound.

“Finally. Isn’t it incredible?”

“Perhaps the day it’ll wake up will come soon!” 

“True.” Clyde responded with a tone full of joy at Hank and Jeanne’s delighted exclamations.

‘We did it. Next is―’

“Let’s dress it up!”

“What?” The hopeful faces of the three all turned blank and slowly looked at each other, then slowly back at Ashley again. 

“―To who?”

“To the black wolf…” she nodded confidently.

The black wolf also liked to dress up. He often wore peacock feathers, nuts and flowers tied together with veins of leaves on his head, and sometimes he’d wear a woven banana leaf around his waist.

Clyde looked up at the ceiling and thought about the fact that everything Ashley said would induce a reaction from the wolf. After a moment, 

“―Okay, let’s do it.” he said.

“Sounds good.” Hank was in a good mood, “Let’s do it. Make it fashionable.”

Jeanne had no objections and thus, “Operation Fashionable Black Wolf” began.

“I think a cloak would look good on him. Since it’s black, maybe we can use the same color with pearls decorated on it.” Clyde suggested.

“If I say, for men’s fashion. There should be a hat. Like a top hat. A felt hat would be nice after all.” Hank chimed in.

“How about knitted socks and such? Fashion does start from the feet up. We’ll need two pairs.” Jeanne said.

‘Everyone, it sounds wonderful.’ Ashley nodded happily.

With this, the stylish black wolf would be satisfied. She then immediately decided to go to the chief maid to ask for it.

They left the stables and walked through the backyard by the stables where the real stables with horses are, that’s located at the side of the main house. Ashley listened to the whines of the horses thinking that it’s just an ordinary horse stable.

“Buu…!” She felt a shock on her left cheek and couldn’t help but let out a strange cry. She was walking aimlessly that she bumped on Clyde’s back, who was walking in front of her.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

‘I should look straight and walk properly.’ As soon as she cleared her mind, she started walking again.

She turned around and saw Clyde’s face, his eyes were wide. He seemed surprised.

“What is it?”

“No―it’s nothing.”

‘What’s wrong?’

Clyde stood there stunned, covering his mouth with his right hand. As Ashley wondered, she followed the others as they went ahead.

Clyde muttered behind her, “Could it be that…the friend she mentioned got used to her fiancée?”

Ashley indeed bumped into him earlier. She seemed to be thinking about something but still.

“…I see.” he chuckled, his hand covering his mouth.

In the laundry room of the main house, Rosalie greeted them with a smile.

“Oh, Miss Ashley and Master Clyde. The magicians are here, too. Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry but we urgently need a hat, cloak, and socks.”

“Very well. Is it for the master?”

“Well, I suppose…”

Rosalie looked at them strangely, but soon let out a smile, “What design do you prefer?”

“I need the cloak black with pearls or something on it. It should be short, about forty centimeters would probably be good.”

“…Isn’t it too short? There’s only those that goes from the shoulders up to the middle of the back.”

“It’s fine. I just thought I’d try something shorter.”

“…Ah.” Rosalie tilted her head at the thought of the short cloak.

“I’d like a top hat made of felt. I want a cool looking one, please.” Hank said.

“Alright.”

“Make two holes at the sides. I need it so that it won’t get in the way of the ears.”

“…ears out of the way? From the top hat?”

“That’s right. My ears are quite big, aren’t they?”

“…Isn’t it normal?” Rosalie looked unconvinced and glanced at Clyde’s ears.

Jeanne said, “Socks too, please. I was thinking of a chic knitted style. If they have strings attached, it’d be easier to keep them on. Oh, and two pairs, please. Which means it’s a total of four socks.”

“…Will you be changing them? In that case, both will have a slightly different design.”

“Please make it the same. If the front and back have different designs, there’d be a sense of incongruity.”

“…front and back?” Rosalie lifted her head, “Very well. I will have it quickly prepared with the maids.” 

“Please, and I’m sorry for the unusual request.” Clyde said.

Rosalie laughed, “It’s all right. I was getting quite tired making the usual clothes.”

‘Wonderful, Rosalie!’ She truly is the epitome of a chief maid.

On their way back to the stables, Ashley had an idea and said, “Let’s get a mirror! A mirror would be good. So that when the black wolf wakes up wearing its clothes, it’ll be able to see itself right away.”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s go get one right away!”

“There must be one in the wardrobe.”

So, Ashley, along with Hank and Jeanne, ran out of the stables.

* * * *

Clyde returned to the stables alone and smiled at the sleeping black wolf. If you think about it calmly, it’d be impossible to dress up a demon beast, but he has been surprisingly enjoying it. He sat in front of the black wolf, resting his elbows on his thighs and resting his cheeks on his hands. He stared at the sleeping black wolf in front of him.

‘I wonder when he will wake up.’

Will it wake up? It has lived for six hundred years, even a high ranking demon would have its life run out by now. He tried to calm his anxious mind. He sighed and stood up, stretching his arms up. As he turned around, he felt a presence of something.

Clyde quickly turned back and their eyes met. Its eyes are the same jet-black color as its black body. Its sharp eyes were piercing as if it would shoot at the person who looks at them, staring straight at him. It stood up with its thin body, its paws firmly on the ground. It was remarkably a majestic figure.

Clyde took in a small breath and gave a sincere smile, “Hello, it’s been a while.”