“Luna might have something to tell me, so shall we check a little? First, could you lock the door?”
Of course, it was a lie.
There was no way Isla, who had pushed all the servants away, could have had such an experience.
It didn’t make sense for someone of noble blood to teach such things, especially when they would be touching someone’s body recklessly.
It was simply not logical.
Would Luna know? If she were from some noble family, perhaps.
So, if she had ever been told she must marry someday, wouldn’t she understand that such things were simply “left to the husband”?
But Luna hesitated, then eventually turned away.
Click.
And the door was locked.
When Isla had first met Luna, she never thought she would do such a thing.
Many events had happened. And there were many reasons. Some of those reasons lay with Isla, and some with Luna.
No, it was clearly Luna’s fault. That’s what Isla decided.
In order to act, one must first decide in their heart.
You must have a purpose and understand why you are doing it, so later on, you can rationalize it.
After locking the door, Luna turned back toward Isla.
“Are you just going to keep standing there?”
Luna hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked toward Isla.
Was she scared? She didn’t look like it. Or had she started to despise Isla? Normally, a woman would, but not many women would like being touched by another woman.
But Luna’s hesitation didn’t seem to be that.
Isla didn’t particularly like interacting with others, but that didn’t mean she was indifferent to other people’s emotions.
In fact, by watching from a distance, Isla had learned a lot about how people moved and what they thought.
The men who smiled in front of women would gather in the back and talk among themselves, glancing at the woman who had started the conversation.
Their expressions would sometimes be flushed, other times filled with scorn. They would smile when facing the woman, but once they turned their backs, their expressions would quickly change.
The same applied to women. They would lavish compliments on men when they were around, but once they turned their backs, they would gossip about other young ladies.
Whether it was with someone of the same sex or the opposite sex, it didn’t really matter.
But no matter how well you hide your feelings, you could always see some similarities. Genuine expressions versus fake ones.
“……”
From Isla’s point of view, Luna was not particularly good at acting. She could hide her expressions, but she couldn’t fake emotions that didn’t match her face.
She could be a great actress who hid her expressions perfectly, given she had hunted dragons before… but Isla wasn’t so sure.
“Luna.”
“Yes, Isla-nim.”
“Have you learned?”
At Isla’s light question, Luna blinked her eyes.
It was awkward, but strangely, Isla found herself liking that blink. Luna had furrowed her brows, perhaps trying to hide her expression.
It was a look that seemed to have been created by Luna’s own fault. It felt like the right expression for the moment.
Isla idly flipped through the pages of the book she was holding.
The book’s content was absurd. It contained stories of romantic relationships and sexual acts between women, but it was clearly meant for men.
It talked about how you could feel something with your fingertips or how any part of the body could be an erogenous zone.
Well, maybe it wasn’t entirely wrong. Every time Luna touched Isla, she seemed to feel something.
Maybe when Isla touched her own body too, so the book’s content might not have been completely wrong after all.
“Didn’t you learn? This is an order. Answer me.”
“…I haven’t learned.”
Luna answered.
Her voice didn’t tremble, but her cheeks turned a little redder.
She was trying to keep a neutral face, but a bit of sweat was starting to show on her forehead.
The sight of her slightly damp hair sticking to her skin made the atmosphere feel a bit strange.
Even when she faced off in swordfights and lost every time, Luna’s face never changed.
She never made any expression other than annoyance, even when facing the Empress.
But now, in front of Isla, she made this expression.
Isla was curious about the reason. She wanted to find out. But she didn’t want to hear the answer as an “order.”
She hoped Luna would look her straight in the eye and tell her.
Or maybe look up at her. Actually, it didn’t matter much to Isla.
“Does saying you haven’t learned mean that no one has ever touched you?”
“That’s right.”
Luna answered with a still red face and then suddenly tilted her head, as if something was strange.
“Isla-nim, I apologize, but may I ask a question?”
“Yes, I’ll allow your impertinent question.”
“Thank you. Then… does that mean someone has touched you, Isla-nim?”
Of course, no one had ever touched her.
No, someone had touched her. It was none other than Luna. Isla had received massages from her, and Luna helped her when she bathed or changed clothes.
But before that, Isla had never allowed anyone to linger around her to do such things. As the daughter of a baron, she had that right.
“Of course.”
Isla answered as if it were obvious, then pretended to be as indifferent as possible and turned her gaze back to the book.
“Do you know? The female body and the male body are much more different than you might think. Naturally, the parts that feel pleasure are different too.”
That was almost word-for-word from the page Isla was reading. It was a scene where a maid was trying to teach the mistress something.
Goodness, had Seila read such a book? Well, it was probably a relief that she no longer seemed to be the type to read such things.
“But I must keep my purity, so I can’t touch another man’s body.”
She continued reading the next line, as if she were saying it herself.
She had touched a man’s body… It was a well-toned body. His stomach and chest were firm, and his arms were much thicker than Isla’s.
When she tried to grab his thick wrists, he would follow her, as though unable to resist Isla’s strength.
Just like Luna.
“So, I use the woman’s body as a teaching aid. I touch it, and the other person touches it with their hands too. That’s the only way to get a sense of it. The difference between just knowing the theory and actually experiencing something is huge, don’t you think? If you go to bed with someone for your first time and know nothing about it, how embarrassed would the man be?”
Isla threw a glance at Luna.
Luna was frozen stiff.
It was as if she was jealous.
Aylla couldn’t help but smile, so she lightly covered her mouth with the book.
“But Luna doesn’t know anything, so I’m a little worried. I was thinking of getting some help.”
“You can do it.”
“Huh? I couldn’t hear you well.”
“You can do it.”
“Even though you don’t know anything?”
“At the very least, I know about my own body, Lady Ayla. And I’ve learned where to stab a person while handling a sword.”
“You say that as if a sword and that place are the same. Well, getting stabbed would kill you either way.”
Even when Ayla made a slightly suggestive joke, Luna’s serious expression didn’t change.
Ayla’s heart pounded.
Did she go too far?
Did Luna find it off-putting?
But Luna’s attitude was certainly… jealousy.
Or at least something very similar to it.
“Vital points are that sensitive, after all.”
Hearing Luna’s words, Ayla thought she had made a pretty accurate guess.
Well, she had learned before that kicking someone in the groin was an effective tactic.
“But who wouldn’t know that?”
“…….”
“You can stab a blood vessel, sure. But you’re not going to touch it directly with your hands, are you? My goodness, getting excited about stirring up a wound— that’s hardly normal.”
Luna blinked.
“Or… fine. Alright. That works too.”
Ayla smiled and lowered the book.
Then, she turned her hand over and extended it toward Luna.
“Come here. Will you teach me? What you know.”
Luna didn’t say anything and simply stared at Ayla’s hand.
In that brief moment, Ayla’s lips felt a little dry.
No matter how close they were, even if Luna was her personal maid, this kind of request—
There might be people who would ask, but it wouldn’t be common for a lady or a mistress.
Was what Ayla saw on Luna’s face really jealousy?
But she didn’t have to wait too long.
Luna’s expression hardened once again.
But this time, her face turned twice as red.
Now, with her face completely flushed, Luna reached out and took Ayla’s hand from below, as if she were about to kiss the back of it.
But Ayla gripped Luna’s hand tightly and pulled her toward herself.
This was a little different.
It wasn’t that Luna was weaker than Ayla— she was simply going along with Aylla’s mood.
She didn’t resist and let herself be led.
But still, Luna was weaker than Ayla.
Why that was, Ayla didn’t know.
This was the same swordswoman who had once hunted a dragon.
For now, she decided not to think too deeply about it.
In an instant, their positions changed.
Thud— the sound of a book hitting the floor echoed.
Ayla, who had been lying on the sofa, was now on her stomach.
And Luna, who had been standing in front of Ayla, had somehow ended up pinned beneath her.
“Lady Aylla…!”
Without realizing it, Luna reached out with her free hand.
But Ayla grabbed that hand too and pressed both of Luna’s arms down beside her head.
“Will you stay like this?”
Ayla spoke.
“It’s an order.”
A pair of amethyst eyes trembled before Ayla.