Chapter 1. Grand Duke Beseten, Anelope 

“Layla, what time is the test today?”

“It begins at two o’clock, Your Grace,” a sharp-faced woman replied, her eyes scanning the documents as she answered Anelope’s question. 

Anelope, bored, fidgeted with her feet as she glanced at the clock. It was only 11 a.m. Despite the title of Grand Duke, Anelope lacked any sense of gravitas. She was still very much a princess in the Imperial Palace, fond of play and indulging in whims. 

“Ah, I’m so bored. I wish it were test time already.” 

“Have you decided on any candidates in advance?” 

“Of course.”

Anelope said, pulling a dozen or so specially marked CVs from a thick pile of documents.

“Here, I’ll choose these.” 

Although the test hadn’t even started yet, it seemed that Anelope had already decided on the successful candidates. As Layla glanced over the scattered documents, she noticed that all the profiles were of strikingly handsome men. 

“Your Grace, you didn’t choose them based on their looks and rank them from 1 to 15, did you?” 

“I did.”

Anelope replied, blinking her golden eyes – the symbol of the royal family – at Layla. 

Layla sighed softly, as if she had expected this. 

“Their swordsmanship must also be judged. After all, they will be your closest guards.” 

“Tch.” 

As if it mattered, they were all commoners anyway. 

Anelope swallowed the thought without saying it out loud. Despite the title of Grand Duke, it was almost ridiculous that she couldn’t even have her own private army. Not that she would want to, even if she could.  

She did not want to provoke her brother Astrid or do anything to upset him. She also didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention from the nobles. 

She was content with her present life. She wanted to enjoy this peace and moderate wealth for a long time, quietly and steadily. 

“Still, I’m glad my brother allowed it. 

“His Majesty is a benevolent man. 

“True, I think so too.” 

The neighbouring kingdom was said to be embroiled in a succession struggle that was practically a war. Fortunately, they didn’t have to deal with such chaos. 

Anelope muttered something to herself and collapsed weakly on the desk. 

“Ah, I want some of my own.” 

My own handsome knights. 

She smiled mischievously as she scanned the portraits attached to the CVs. She had even gone so far as to commission a designer to make knight’s uniforms especially for the occasion. 

Three hours. In just three hours, Anelope would finally have the knights she so desperately wanted. 

—

The knight craze began with the novel *[Oh, My Knight!]*, which had become a massive trend among noble ladies. 

It was so popular that it was said that there wasn’t a noblewoman who hadn’t read it. *Oh, My Knight, or Ona-gi for short, became a phenomenal hit. Twenty-year-old Anelope, unable to resist her curiosity after hearing of its popularity, had pestered Layla until she relented and let her read it. 

They say masterpieces are popular for a reason. 

Great writing, bold themes, and even a first edition limited to 30 copies with explicit illustrated scenes! 

After reading *Ona-gi*, Anelope was so overwhelmed that she spent days bedridden, whining about how much she wanted her own personal knights to guard her. 

And it all ended with Anelope pleading with Astrid. 

“Brother!” 

“Anelope, it’s been a while. How have you been?” 

“I’ve been fine. Have you been well too, brother?” 

Anelope smiled sweetly as she approached Astrid. While it would have been proper to show formal respect to the Emperor, she acted as casually as she had during her childhood as Crown Prince and Princess. 

But Astrid didn’t bother to correct her. In fact, he preferred it that way, believing that there was no need to be overly formal in the family. As long as she didn’t challenge his authority, he was lenient with her. Astrid loved Anelope and thought of her as her younger sister. 

“So, I see you’ve come to see me first. That must mean you have a favour to ask.”

Astrid sipped his Darjeeling tea as he met her gaze. Anelope, not bothering to hide her intentions, nodded eagerly. 

“Yes, brother. I’ve come to ask you a favour.” 

“Speak freely, Anelope.”

Astrid said gently, calling her by name instead of addressing her as the Grand Duke of Beseten. 

Anelope hesitated, her lips twitching slightly as she chose her words carefully. 

“Um… Before I say anything, you must promise not to misunderstand me.” 

Astrid chuckled slightly.

“Of course, don’t worry. Just speak freely.” 

Anelope let out a small groan, almost like a sigh. 

Her request was simple: “I want my own personal knights!” 

But she was afraid that her words might be misinterpreted. She was afraid that Astrid might think that she was asking for a private army, or that she was looking for power to build up military strength. 

“Really, you mustn’t misunderstand.” 

“I won’t.”

Astrid reassured her again. 

Anelope looked cautiously at Astrid to gauge his reaction. 

As mentioned before, the Grand Duchy of Beseten under her control was not allowed to have its own knights or army. This was, of course, a measure implemented by Astrid to keep them in check. Even the knights stationed in the Grand Duchy were all part of the Imperial Order – essentially Astrid’s loyal subordinates. 

Despite this, Anelope did not resent the situation. She was simply grateful that her brother had understood her lack of interest in power and had never turned his sword against her. 

“Um… the thing is…” 

After a long moment of thought, Anelope finally spoke. Astrid nodded encouragingly with a gentle smile, signalling for her to continue. 

“I would like to have my own personal knights… not the Imperial Order of Knights that you have assigned to me.” 

It was a request born of much hesitation and concern. But despite her concerns, Astrid simply smiled knowingly, as if he had already anticipated her request. 

“Haha, Anelope. So you’ve read the novel Oh, My Knight! too?” 

“Gasp… Brother, do you know that novel too?” 

“Of course I do. For a while, the Empress was so obsessed with it that she made a fuss by insisting on getting a limited first edition with the explicit illustrations. It was impossible not to know.” 

At his embarrassing confession, Anelope’s cheeks flushed a deep red. 

“Did you really think I wouldn’t give you something like that?” 

“Well… it’s just that my words could easily have been misunderstood…” 

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll give you up to 20 men. But there’s one condition.” 

At the unexpectedly easy permission, Anelope’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Astrid’s condition was simple: 

The knights must all be commoners. 

Some might criticise Astrid’s restrictions on Anelope as excessive, but she didn’t mind. It didn’t matter if they were commoners or nobles – as long as they were handsome knights, that was all that mattered to her. 

Like the male protagonist of Oh, My Knight!