Ellaria’s fingertips trembled slightly as she touched it, her heart pounding furiously in her chest—thump, thump.
And then, an absurd thought abruptly surfaced in her mind.
What would “that” smell like?
Before she realized it, Ellaria’s hand slowly drew back, inching closer to her delicate, elegant nose…
The distance narrowed bit by bit, her breath unconsciously held.
Hmm…a faint hint of steam drifted into Ellaria’s nostrils.
In that brief instant, Ellaria’s consciousness felt as if it had been struck by a bolt of lightning magic.
Ellaria! What are you doing?! Have you gone mad?! How could you do something so… so shameless!!! You are a princess of the Empire!!!
A sharp roar echoed within her heart. As if scalded by a burning iron, she suddenly flung the thing in her hand away.
She stumbled backward, her back pressed against the icy wall, and slid weakly to the floor, trembling slightly, her heart still racing out of control.
Clearly… clearly she had always been normal before, well-read and well-mannered…
But ever since that threat from the teacher, ever since that embarrassing “eyepatch incident”…
It felt like… like she had started to change. How could she be having such… such hentai thoughts?!
This is too strange…too frightening!
No! Absolutely not! Ellaria clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.
She had to stop! She had to return to being the elegant, proper, and noble Princess Ellaria of before!
Her inner and outer conduct must match her status! She absolutely could not… absolutely could not do such things again.
Ellaria drew a deep, trembling breath, then slowly exhaled, doing her best to calm the storm in her heart and slow her racing pulse.
It was a long while before she finally managed to support herself against the wall and stand up, her face regaining its usual cold composure.
She walked over to where she had tossed the thing, her gaze complicated as she looked at it. This was the “evidence” of her disgrace—a crime that must be dealt with.
After all, Teacher Sefina probably didn’t want it back anyway.
Ellaria bent down, her expression frosty as she picked it up, determined to simply throw it into the living room trash bin and be done with it.
Step by step, Ellaria made her way to the living room, standing beside the trash bin. She looked at the empty bottom of the bin, then at the thing in her hand……
For some reason, she hesitated.
Was she really… just going to throw it away?
Wouldn’t that be…too much of a waste…
No! Ellaria! What are you thinking?! Waste what?! Throw it away! Right now! Her rational mind screamed in her heart.
Yet, her fingers seemed unwilling to obey, clutching the panties tightly and refusing to let go. In her mind, it was as if two tiny figures were locked in fierce combat—
One represented reason and propriety, urging her to quickly discard this “unclean thing.” The other embodied a secret thrill and attachment, making her reluctant to let go.
In the end…
She let go.
Gave up.
After a brief but excruciating internal struggle, Ellaria drew her hand back and did not throw it into the trash bin.
Reason told her it was wrong, but this little piece of cloth seemed to possess some strange, sinister magic, drawing her in so strongly that she couldn’t bring herself to part with it.
Forget it, forget it…
She found herself a seemingly reasonable excuse:
How about… I just wash it clean, and once it’s dry, I’ll find a chance… to return it to the teacher? Yes, that’s it, just giving it back to its owner, not wasting it…
With this thought, she tried to comfort herself, attempting to conceal that real but unspeakable motive buried deep within her heart.
So, Ellaria hurried into the bathroom, as if to scrub away her “sin,” and washed the pure white panties over and over, vigorously and with great effort, until not a single trace of any particular scent remained—only the faint fragrance of soap.
Then, she went to the little clothes-drying rack in the living room, carefully unfolded it, set the hanger in place, and hung them up.
Afterward, Ellaria grabbed the books and notes she had long prepared for class, and all but fled from her dorm, slamming the door behind her.
She ran down the dormitory corridor, her heart still pounding wildly and her cheeks burning hot.