Her hips gave a slight jolt. As she slowly moved her hand, the tingling sensation deepened and an insatiable desire for something more intense began to consume her. 

“Hah…”

Touching herself in the knights’ quarters felt far more exciting than when she had done so while reading Oh, My Knight! alone. Though the release she craved still eluded her, the experience was undeniably more exhilarating and spine-tingling. 

“This sort of thing… they said only vulgar women did it…”

The words of the tutor who had given her lessons in propriety and sexuality as a child echoed in her mind and she felt a pang of guilt. But at 20 years old, having never experienced true s*xual pleasure, Anelope found herself hopelessly drawn to the aching sensations that now consumed her. 

Her hand moved faster, rubbing up and down her cl*t, but the pressure was too weak to bring her any real satisfaction. The tingling only intensified and her breathing became heavier and more erratic. Her once tidy skirt was now in complete disarray and she had spread her legs wide on someone else’s bed, completely unaware of the embarrassment of her actions.

“Hnng… ahh…”

Her mind felt empty. She had the distinct feeling that there was something more she could do to make herself feel better, but she had no idea what or how to go about it. 

‘They said it felt good if you put something inside…’ 

But she didn’t even know where that “inside” was. 

Tears welled in her eyes, dampening her cheeks as frustration and unfamiliar sensations overwhelmed her. The unrelieved *rousal left her feeling pitiful and helpless. 

“Hnn….”

‘I want… just like Peria…’ 

Closing her eyes, Anelope began to imagine the faces of her knights. In her mind, they ravaged her freely, their calloused, muscular hands roughly caressing and exploring every inch of her body, their tongues licking her skin with abandon. 

The slick sound of w*tness echoed between her legs, her *rousal coating her fingers and soaking the sheets beneath her. Despite the mess and her lack of relief, Anelope couldn’t bring herself to stop. 

‘I want… something more, something beyond this…’

At that moment, the tightly closed door to the room suddenly burst open. A metallic clatter echoed as one of the knights standing in the doorway dropped his sword.

“Your Highness?”

Startled, Anelope hastily pulled down her skirt and withdrew her hand, but it was too late. The owner of the room and the knights accompanying him had seen everything – her skirt lifted, her desperate fingers rubbing her cl*t in solitude.

Her head spun in panic. Her vision was blurred with tears and shame consumed her. She wished she could disappear or die on the spot. Struggling for words, her lips trembled as she stammered incoherently.

“Th-That’s, that’s not, um, I mean, that’s…”

The unusual tension drew more knights into the room, unaware of what had happened. One by one they entered, only to find their princess in the middle of the scene.

Unable to bear the growing humiliation, Anelope finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably where she sat. 

—

One by one, the knights did their best to comfort Anelope. They brought her desserts, assured her that they had seen nothing, and even went so far as to declare that they would not hesitate to gouge out their own eyes if she displeased them. 

But Anelope’s sobs showed no sign of stopping. 

She felt utterly humiliated. The shame was so overwhelming that even when they tried to comfort her, she felt like throwing herself out of the nearest window. 

“Sniff… Hic… I’m going to die. It’s too embarrassing. Sniff… Don’t stop me, Hic, I’m really going to die.” She cried and ran to the window. 

The knights, alarmed, scrambled to stop her from throwing herself out. 

“Your Highness, please forgive me! It’s my fault for opening the door. I’m so sorry – just cut off my hands and gouge out my eyes instead! Please, why must you die? You can’t!” 

“Wahhh, I don’t care, I don’t care! Sniff, don’t stop me…!” 

Anelope screamed. Her sobs echoed around the room. Normally, the knights would never have dared to touch her precious body, but in their desperation to calm her, they clumsily grabbed her to prevent her from moving any further. 

“Your Highness, please calm down! It’s really all right. Everything’s fine, okay?” 

Their voices were filled with urgency as they tried to reassure her, but Anelope continued to struggle, the tears streaming down her cheeks a testament to her humiliation. 

Anelope clung to one of the knights, sobbing uncontrollably in his arms. Fortunately, she no longer threatened to throw herself out of the window. The room echoed with her screams and the knights’ desperate attempts to comfort her.

“Everyone gets urges sometimes! It’s only natural! You can’t talk about dying over something like that, Your Highness… Please calm down!” 

“Exactly! I do it all the time!” 

“Me too! Three times a day!” 

Desperate to reassure her, the knights began to say whatever came to mind. One Knight even explained that he did it during every break, reassuring her that it was no big deal. 

Strangely enough, their exaggerated ‘confessions’ had the desired effect. Anelope, who had been determined to end her life in shame, began to calm down. 

Time passed and her sobs gradually subsided. Her tear-stained face was flushed, and she sniffled repeatedly as she wiped her swollen eyes with her hands. 

“Are you feeling a bit calmer now, Your Highness?”

One of the knights asked gently, leaning towards her with genuine concern in his voice. 

Anelope nodded hesitantly, still sniffing. 

“We are just Your Highness’s loyal dogs, here to serve and protect you no matter what. So please don’t worry too much. Even if you were to take a life for no reason, we would stand by your side. But if you say you can’t bear to see us because of something like this, it would break our hearts.”

Instead of answering, Anelope sniffled again, her face still wet with tears. As an uncomfortable silence fell over the room, another knight, clearly upset, jumped in. 

“Exactly! We men do this sort of thing far more often than Your Highness ever would! So please stop crying and cheer up, will you?” 

Anelope, who had been staring at the floor, slowly lifted her eyes to the knight who was speaking. After a long moment of hesitation, she finally opened her mouth, her voice tentative. 

“…Do you all really do such things?” 

At her question, the knights exchanged brief, panicked glances before nodding furiously as if their lives depended on it. They all knew that denying it now might send her running for the window again. 

“O-of course we do!” 

“Yes! All the time! Back in my hometown they used to call me the King of Self-Relief because I did it so much!”