Tracking!

“Hey, Ailen.”

I was still tidying the bedsheets when Young Miss suddenly called my name.

“…Young Miss, no matter what you say, I won’t let you touch them again, alright?”

I covered my chest with one hand, helplessly staring at Young Miss.

—Although Young Miss didn’t do anything out of line that day, she always pestered me, wanting to experience the so-called ‘texture’ once more…

…Of course, I refused her every single time with righteous indignation!

“Tsk…”

Young Miss seemed to click her tongue… It was truly ungraceful, far beneath the dignity of a noble young lady. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear it.

“Ailen, though I haven’t given up, what I want to talk about this time isn’t that.”

…I advise you to give up quickly!

Young Miss cast her gaze out the window and motioned for me to come and look with her.

Following Young Miss’s direction, I also looked out the window.

In the distance, I could see the golden-haired young master, dressed in formal attire, carefully adjusting his appearance before nervously stepping into a carriage.

“Something’s not right, ten out of ten something’s off… I smell a sour stench!”

Saying this, Young Miss wrinkled her small nose.

“He’s always going out recently, all day long, I don’t know what he’s doing outside! And he won’t say when I ask him!”

…Even I could see Young Master Claude’s intentions this time.

“…So, Young Miss, what do you intend to do this time?”

Hmm… Actually, I could somewhat guess Young Miss’s thoughts.

Hearing this, Young Miss lifted her face and gave me a mischievous smile.

“That’s to follow Brother, of course!”

Indeed, just as I expected.

…I just have one question: is secretly observing other people’s dates a traditional culture in our family?

“So… Young Miss, what does this mean?”

At this moment, Young Miss was wearing a strange brown overcoat and a brown beret, her long golden hair completely tucked into the hat, with two springy whiskers glued to her face, dressed strikingly similar to a detective from a novel.

And I was also asked to change into a similar outfit… only it was a women’s version, and without an overcoat, and I also wore a brown wig.

But why were the skirts of every outfit Young Miss chose so short?

A lot of my thighs were exposed, my lower body was chilly, and I couldn’t concentrate at all.

“That’s a disguise for investigation, of course! This way, Brother won’t recognize us! You know, my golden hair is quite conspicuous, right? Oh, right, remember to call me Rod now! And you are my assistant, Celine!”

“But I think it’s even more conspicuous in another sense…”

These outfits made us completely out of place with the rest of the town, not to mention we were sneaking around, not looking like good people at all.

In fact, some people were already staring at us… Fortunately, Young Master Claude hadn’t noticed.

I was extremely worried someone would call the guards, leading to our arrest.

…No, more than that, the stares from other people were more tormenting.

I tried my best to pull down the hem by even a millimeter, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Wuwu…”

“Celine, stop worrying about this and that, Claude is making a move!”

We could see Master Claude entering a jewelry store.

We were about to follow him in, but unexpectedly, Master Claude came out very quickly, holding a small box in his hand.

It seemed he had pre-ordered, and this time he just came to pick it up.

It was a good thing he came out quickly, otherwise, we might have run into him.

Then, Young Master Claude made another move; it looked like he was preparing to head to his next destination.

“Let’s go, we’ll follow!”

Young Miss said this, but as she passed the jewelry store, her gaze was fixed on the items in the display window.

“This… should suit Celine very well…”

“Young… Master Rod, Young Master Claude is leaving, you know?”

Only after I reminded her did she snap back to reality.

“Ah… Oh, let’s follow him!”

“Celine, this dress looks really good on you, don’t you think?”

“Master Rod! Why do you always pick such revealing clothes for me! Rejected!”

“Tsk!”

“This book… is quite interesting.”

“Let me see, how to make a maid…”

“Hey! Celine! Who told you to look!”

“This sword… feels great in my hand, and it’s very beautiful… Celine, what do you think?”

“I think it suits you very well.”

Next, we followed Young Master Claude to various places, like clothing stores, bookstores, and even a weapon shop, but we never saw the “person of interest” he was supposed to meet.

Now he was resting in the square, and taking advantage of the crowd, we also decided to take a break here.

“Grrr…”

Young Miss’s stomach rumbled.

“Ugh…”

I looked at her, her face completely flushed.

“Pfft.”

“What are you laughing at, Ai… Celine!”

“Nothing, Master Rod, I’ll go buy you something to eat.”

After walking for so long, it was almost lunchtime, so it was normal to be hungry.

But we left in a hurry, and I hadn’t prepared any food to take out, so I could only let Young Miss make do with something bought outside for now.

Food wasn’t hard to find; this was, after all, a bustling square, with various stalls set up around, and naturally, a wide variety of delicious foods.

Was there anything convenient and tasty that Young Miss would accept?

If it were ordinary food, she would definitely say again, “I won’t eat anything that Ailen didn’t make.”

Let me take a look…

“Crepes! Delicious and cheap crepes!”

A shout from not far away reminded me; crepes seemed like a good choice.

They could both fill her stomach and be classified as a dessert.

—Although she wouldn’t eat meals made by others, Young Miss would still eat desserts made by others.

After all, I couldn’t make most desserts, and Young Miss had a constitution that couldn’t refuse desserts…

Then there was only one answer.

“Two crepes, please!”

(Katarina’s POV)

After strolling around today, it somehow felt like I was on a date with Ailen.

Just the two of us wandering around town, chatting, playing, laughing together, occasionally my heart would pound because of her every expression… Unconsciously, time quietly slipped away.

When I came back to my senses, it was already time for lunch.

…What a miscalculation. I should have told Ailen earlier so she could prepare lunch before coming.

Ailen even said she was going to buy me something to eat… But other than things Ailen made, I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything else!

Even if I were to jump from here, I wouldn’t take a single bite!

“Ma… Master Rod, please enjoy.”

Initially, I wasn’t even planning to look, but…

Who knew what she brought over was actually a crepe! A CRÊPE!

The sweet aroma wafted into my nostrils, making my mouth water uncontrollably.

But… but I had already decided not to eat…

And… eating outside, it’s unbecoming of a noble…

But… this barely counts as a dessert, right? This is a dessert, right?!

If it’s a dessert, then it should be fine, right?

Besides, I’m not the Duke’s daughter right now, but an ordinary person, Rod!

Just then, Ailen leaned in and breathed into my ear:

“Young Miss, crepes are best enjoyed warm, you know? I’ve already tasted it, it’s delicious.”

Under the stimulation of that warm breath, my rationality snapped.

To hell with sticking to my principles!

…It smells so good!