Brassieres that exposed most of her br*asts, panties with bold openings in revealing places, and lace-covered, suggestive designs that could only be described as scandalous. 

Had Layla seen them, she would probably have torn them all to pieces, declaring them to be the kind of clothing only courtesans would dare to wear. 

Unaware of the frustration and concern of the knights who had spent the morning worrying about her disappearance, Anelope happily donned the lingerie. Over the daring undergarments, she slipped into a demure white dress, creating an image so innocent and pure that no one could possibly imagine what lay beneath. 

Satisfied with her transformation, she threw on a fur coat and made her way to the training grounds. 

“Your Highness!” 

“Your Highness, where on earth did you go this morning?” 

“Are you sure you’re unharmed?”

“Do you have any idea how worried we were, thinking something might have happened to you?” 

“Why didn’t you bring your escort knights with you when you went out?” 

The moment she appeared, the knights rushed at Anelope from all directions. Almost on the verge of tears, they surrounded her, hugging her tightly and checking every inch of her to make sure she wasn’t hurt. 

With fifteen knights clamouring around her, asking if she was all right, Anelope was almost overwhelmed. She tried to calm them down, reassuring them as she urged them to follow her into the annex. 

“I have something to show you! Let’s go to the annex, hurry!” 

Reluctantly, and still full of concern, the knights followed her into the annex. 

As soon as they entered the knights’ quarters, Anelope locked the door behind them and proudly began to remove her cloak. The suddenness of it caused the knights to blink in confusion. 

“Your Highness?” 

“Look at this!”    

“If I may ask, Your Highness, what exactly is this…?” 

Anelope stood proudly with her hands on her hips, dressed in a bra that barely covered her chest, panties with a bold opening and even a garter belt to complete the ensemble. 

The knights tilted their heads in confusion, clearly not understanding the situation. 

“I bought it today.”

At her words, the knights immediately sprang into action, checking her again for injuries, as if something terrible had happened. 

“Good heavens, Your Highness! If you needed underwear, why didn’t you tell us before? Please, from now on, make sure – no, promise – that you take us with you!” 

“Indeed! We were so worried about you…” 

“We are your escort knights, after all.” 

“Perhaps Your Highness was embarrassed to buy underwear with a full escort. Whatever! No matter how embarrassing it may be, it is our duty to stay by your side and protect you!”

Contrary to Anelope’s wishes, however, the knights, who had been uneasy in their hearts since the morning, did not recognise her ambitious plan.

Seeing them still only concerned with their own safety, Anelope asked in frustration.

“You… is that all you have to say after looking at my underwear?”

“Yes?”

For a moment, there was a heavy silence. The knights looked at each other nervously, unsure of what to say, mouths agape. Then, breaking the silence, one brave knight spoke up.

“Uh… um, you’re beautiful…?”

One by one, the other knights began to praise Anelope as well.

Then, starting with him, the other knights began to praise Anelope, each one following suit.

“That’s right! Yes, you’re beautiful! It suits you so well, Your Highness!”

“Wow, it really does, it suits you perfectly!”

“It’s the kind of underwear that suits Your Highness! It’s a perfect fit! It’s a perfect fit for you, Your Highness!”

Anelope’s expression crumpled at her response. As her face grew darker, the knights hurriedly continued to repeat how beautiful she was.

“You really… is that all you have to say?”

“…”

“Isn’t there anything you want to say or do?”

Anelope spoke in a trembling voice. As tears welled in her eyes, the startled knights exchanged uncertain glances.

“Forget it, I’m leaving.”

With tears streaming down her cheeks, the pouting Anelope hurriedly dressed and fled from the annex. The knights, unsure if they had said something wrong, anxiously replayed her words over and over in their minds.

But they still couldn’t understand why she was angry.

* * *

Shocked by the realisation that all her efforts had been in vain, Anelope slumped helplessly over a glass of strong whisky that afternoon.

‘Am I… really just a terribly unattractive face?’

Depressed, she picked up the hand mirror on the table and examined her face.

Her golden hair and eyes, praised as noble throughout the realm, complemented her chiseled features perfectly. Any way she looked at it, she was beautiful. Her sharp eyes, pointy nose and full lips – thanks to her royal genes, there was nothing unattractive about her.

‘Then why…?’

Upset, she downed the whisky in one gulp. Then she picked up the book again, her fingers trembling as she held it.

‘Is it really just a novel?’

A deep sigh escaped her lips.

She felt dizzy from drinking more than usual because she wasn’t used to alcohol. The more she thought, the deeper her sadness became.

She felt resentful towards them for doing everything but never seeing it through to the end. Then she suddenly remembered the s*x education she had learned when she was a child.

It taught that in a relationship with a man you should stimulate him by stroking his g*nitals up and down or giving him oral pleasure – a totally male-centred and outdated approach to s*x education.

But Anelope, unaware that the content reflected a male-centred approach to s*x education, simply sighed in exasperation.

‘Now that I think about it, I’ve only ever focused on myself…?’

Yes, because of the difference in status, they couldn’t ask me to touch them! I should have taken the hint and done it myself!

Having finished her thoughts, Anelope, heavily intoxicated, staggered as she got up from her seat. The sun hadn’t set yet. The knights were probably in the middle of their training.

Her alcohol-soaked body felt hot, and her mind was foggy. She could hardly tell if she was walking on solid ground or floating in the air. Nevertheless, Anelope made her way to the knights’ training ground, book in hand.

As she stumbled into the training ground, the startled knights rushed towards her in panic.

“Your Highness!”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“Why can’t you walk properly?”

“What’s going on?”

The knights flinched at the strong smell of alcohol emanating from Anelope. Realising she was drunk, they moved quickly to support her.

“I think it would be best for you to rest for today.”

Despite their attempts to dissuade her, Anelope was adamant. Puffing out her cheeks like a sulking child, she stomped off towards the annex. The knights rushed after her, trying to stop her, but to no avail.

“I said don’t stop me…!”

“Your Highness…”

“You don’t look well…”

Despite the knights’ best efforts to stop her, Anelope shook them off and stretched out on a bed in the annex. Whose bed it was, no one knew, but it was undeniably an embarrassing situation.

Completely drunk and sprawled out on the bed, Anelope screamed:

“Who should I touch first?”

“Pardon?”

“Hurry up! Who’s first? Who do I touch first?”

Her slurred speech made her words even harder to believe. She slapped the bed with her hand and shouted again.

“I was so clueless, enjoying everything by myself…”

Her hazy eyes wandered as she rolled around on the bed before suddenly jumping up. Then, crawling on all fours, she began to approach the knights standing around her.

“Y-Your Highness…?”

The nervous knights stared at her in shock. Anelope giggled softly, swaying as she made her way towards the knight who happened to catch her attention that day.

“I’ll touch you…”

“S-Sorry…? W-What exactly are you going to touch…?”