The captain stammered, unsure of how to answer. The other knights exchanged nervous glances, clearly feeling the weight of her words.

“I must have made you very uncomfortable. I promise I won’t do it again. I’ll make sure I don’t behave like I did before.”

Anelope said gloomily, her voice so weak and fragile that it seemed to break at the slightest touch.

“Your Highness, we didn’t come here to complain about your behaviour.”

One of the knights said urgently, his tone filled with concern.

“It was we who were ignorant. We simply assumed that Your Highness would secure an excellent match and marry someone far more distinguished than any of us. That’s why we feared that a match with people like us would bring dishonour to you. And besides…”

The knight trailed off, hesitating. Another quickly stepped in, raising his voice to fill the silence.

“We have never felt uncomfortable around Your Highness. Not at all.”

“That’s true. And, if it’s not too much to ask… we would be delighted if Your Highness could visit the annex again. That is, if you’d like to, of course.”

Hearing her words, Anelope’s head shot up, her eyes wide with surprise. The despair that had been weighing on her seemed to lift momentarily, replaced by a glimmer of hope and disbelief.

“How could we possibly make Your Highness uncomfortable? We were simply afraid that our unworthy selves might disgrace your noble presence -“

“Not unworthy!”

Anelope suddenly shouted, cutting him off.

“What nonsense is this? Who says you’re unworthy?”

She stormed over to the bookshelf by her bed and pulled out a hefty compendium of noble genealogies. She turned a few pages with quick, decisive movements, pausing at a particular portrait and thrusting it in front of the knights.

“Look at that! I’d take you over those decrepit, barnacle-like men any day!”

The startled knights stared blankly at the portrait of an ageing man with a bald head and a sullen expression.

[Baron Roman Albert]

The name inscribed beneath the image only added to their growing discomfort as they glanced at each other awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to her fiery outburst.

It seemed that the Baron in the portrait was indeed the one who had once proposed to Anelope. The knights frowned. He was undoubtedly a man who was completely unsuitable for her – in every way.

“If I have to marry someone like that, I’ll never be able to kiss a man again, and I hate that…” Anelope whimpered, covering her face with both hands and sniffling.

“I want a young, handsome man!”

The knights, hesitant at first, began to approach her cautiously, glancing at each other as if silently urging someone else to take the lead. It was clear that she was bitterly resentful of being propositioned only by older, unattractive men; her slender shoulders trembled with each sniffle.

“How could anyone say you’re unworthy…”

She went on, her voice trembling.

“The only unworthy men in this world are the ugly ones.”

“Er… Well, is that so?”

A knight stammered, unsure of how to answer.

“You are not unworthy – not even a little.”

In fact, she thought their faces were treasures – priceless works of art.

Anelope swallowed hard. The knights laughed and patted her on the back. Anelope liked the touch and deliberately made herself look even sillier. If Layla had seen her, she would have scolded her for keeping her body in shape.

Wiping away her tears, Anelope closed the fancy book and said.

“So you want to f*ck me now?”

She paraphrased, but the knights knew what she meant. Anelope confidently pulled out a second set of onagi.

“I want to do this to you.”

The page unfolded to reveal the 6Ps in all their n*ked glory. The knights scratched their heads in confusion.

To be precise, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to do it with Anelope, but that he thought she was dreaming up positions that were too extreme for her, having never done it before.

“Your Highness, with all due respect… it would hurt you if we did this from the beginning.”

“It’s not that we don’t want to do this with you, Your Highness ……, it’s just that we’re really thinking about you.”

“It probably won’t be a pleasant memory…”

They said, coughing in embarrassment. Anelope tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

“Why? In the novel, Peria is a big fan of yours.”

“Well, it’s a novel…”

She hadn’t even tried to walk properly, yet she was already looking to run, which made her seem both innocent and adorable. Meanwhile, the knights fidgeted uneasily, adjusting their cloaks or tapping their sword hilts for no reason, trying to hide the redness in their faces.

“Well, we’ll see when we try it, won’t we? Then let’s all do it together today. I’ll come over tonight!”

The knights jumped at Anelope’s words.

“W-Wait a minute, are you saying you’re not going to do it with one or two of us, but with all of us?”

“Yes. Why? Is that a problem?”

She blinked innocently, her golden eyelashes fluttering beautifully up and down.

Fifteen of them, rolling around together – what on earth? The knights swallowed nervously. Anelope, whose only knowledge of such things came from books, had naively said something without realizing how exhausting it would actually be.

“In another sense, her purity is overwhelming.”

They could already imagine her whining about how tiring it was. The knights could only smile awkwardly.

***

Avoiding the eyes of the servants, Anelope quickly made her way to the annex. Since

Layla was already off duty, there was no one to keep an eye on her except for a few low-ranking maids.

As soon as she knocked on the door, one of the knights opened it as if he had been expecting her and greeted her warmly.

Fresh from her bath, a pleasant mixture of her flushed skin and fragrant oils lingered around her. The knight, his face flushed, quickly hid his reaction and escorted Anelope inside.

As they made their way to the room, knights who had just showered dried their damp hair. Some had towels wrapped around their waists, while others wore only pants. It was a far cry from their usual spotless uniforms.

For the first time in her life, Anelope saw the n*ked bodies of the men. Her face flushed as if it would burst. The sight of their solid, muscular bodies glistening with lingering water was strikingly sensual. Her heart began to beat wildly.

“Your Highness, you have arrived.”

A soft, deep voice greeted her. Anelope nodded, unable to find her voice. It was not until they entered the annex that the reality of what lay ahead began to sink in.