The Naked Truth

"Part six?" Derb asked in confusion. He was clearly unaware that there was such a part in the script.

The red-haired man named Blend elbowed Derb hard. He tried to stop him from questioning the captain, but Derb clearly did not listen to him. He was curious about what was happening.

The commander glared at both of them with a cold look that made them sweat nervously. He was annoyed by their lack of professionalism and discretion.

But the one who posed as an officer explained to him without noticing the tense atmosphere, "I thought all the major actors already knew, anyway the Madam will deal with the spy, like talking to him or something, maybe she will do what she usually does when she interrogates women. Afterwards, he will be locked up in a confined room."

Hearing this, Derb's face grimaced in horror, the image of the lady doing her thing started to build up in his imagination. He felt sorry for the poor spy who had fallen into her trap. Seeing this Blake silently chuckled for buying his nonsense. He had made up some details to scare Derb so he would hesitate to provoke him whenever.

He continued to say, "So, the acting probably will resume tomorrow or maybe not. It depends actually on the Madam's decision." He meant that they had to wait for her signal to continue with their performance.

Blake, the naked man, scratched his legs impatiently and said, "Heh, are we free to go now? I want to take a good shower."

He walked to the cell door and stopped. He looked back at Gerard, the commander, and waited for him to dismiss him. "Shoo! Just go. Approved! Approved!" Gerard shouted impatiently, waving his hand at him.

"Yes!... Hah! Thank you, sir!" He saluted happily and thought about taking a dump while showering. He had been in the cell for a long time and felt dirty and smelly. He was eager to get out of there and enjoy some fresh air and water.

Commander Gerard ignored him and took off his chains. He massaged his wrist and said, "We need to change this clasp. It's getting harder to take off." He examined the chains that had been attached to his arm. They were old and rusty, and they had left marks on his skin. He didn't mind wearing them, because they were part of the props. He would endure anything for the act.

He then immediately saluted the soldier and said, "Hah! Captain! Reporting for duty." He straightened his posture and tried to hide his discomfort. He didn't want to show any weakness in front of his superior. He respected the captain and admired his leadership skills.

"Come on. At ease. At ease. You're too stiff. Besides, you're all on break until the madam calls. Just make sure you're all available when the time comes," the captain said with a friendly smile. He was a veteran of many battles and had a relaxed attitude towards his subordinates. He knew how hard it was to be in their position, so he tried to be supportive and understanding.

The commander dismissed the two, and followed the lead of the soldier and the officer out of the cell, leaving Derb and Blend behind.

Derb lay on the floor, still pretending to be injured. Blend, his partner stood next to him, looking bored. 

Blend didn't like him very much. He thought he was a useless and annoying burden. He wished he could be assigned to someone else.

"I guess I should take a shower too…" he said. He was about to leave when he saw Derb not moving. He nudged him with his foot and said, "You're staying here? I'm leaving, don't blame me if you get lost." He was annoyed by his laziness. He wanted to enjoy his break and relax his body and mind.

"The floor… I've grown fond of the floor and made an intimacy. Can you drag me instead?" he said weakly. He seemed to have no energy to get up and walk. He lay on the floor like a dead fish, hoping that he would pity him and help him. He was afraid of being left alone in the cell, but he was also too lazy to move.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Shush, I'm leaving…" he said impatiently. He didn't want to waste his time with his jokes. He thought they were stupid and childish.

"Pretty please…" Derb pleaded with a pitiful voice. He looked at him with big eyes, trying to appeal to his emotions. He knew that he was not a bad person, and that he cared for him deep down.

"Tsk." With a defiant face, Blend grabbed his feet and dragged him out. He didn't want to admit that he cared for his friend, but he also didn't want to leave him behind reasoning to himself that his friend could be trapped here for months. He pretended that he was doing it out of duty, not out of friendship. He hoped that he would appreciate his gesture and stop being so annoying.

◇

She tried to insert the key into the keyhole with a shaking hand, anxious about what she would see in the room. She had received a shocking report from the guard who had delivered the food to the spy prisoner earlier.

He had told her what he had seen: furniture overturned, books scattered, curtains torn, and valuables missing. But she still wanted to believe that he had been mistaken. She hoped that her sister's room was still intact and beautiful, as it always had been.

'Sen-sen, sister failed you. I should have known that he would do this, his grin when he was delirious was already a bad sign.' she thought sadly. She blamed herself for not being more careful with the man she had brought to her sister's room. He was supposed to be a harmless and unfortunate commoner, but he turned out to be a scum.

She knew that he was likely to escape, but ransacking the whole room and provoking her should have been the last thing on his mind. Escape was not guaranteed. If he was caught again, he would not want to face her wrath. He must have had some hidden agenda or he was confident enough to flee the fortress.