Audrey’s Peculiar Investigation

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

‘The fools from the ducal estate stormed my home and abducted me; this grudge I shall remember.’

‘They even dared to arrange for me to serve some delicate young lady as a servant—are they jesting?!’

‘Do not presume that providing me with a private room and delicious food will earn my forgiveness!’

Rhine, using a script he had learned from the starry sky, recorded his thoughts in a diary, transforming his indignation into an insatiable appetite as he snatched up corn tortillas and devoured them.

‘Truly delicious, far superior to the fare at Babel Tower; damn these wicked noble classes!’

‘A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, let alone for a wizard of my caliber.’

‘I am merely delving into the industry’s pain points, shifting market strategies, and personally infiltrating their ranks under disguise to scout the enemy’s situation, all in preparation for the grand blueprint of my future vengeance.’

‘Plan 1: A covert approach. Secretly plant explosive magic throughout the ducal mansion, awaiting the opportune moment to send them all neatly into the sky.’

‘Rejected. Rationale: insufficient stealth, low feasibility, and easily discovered, which would alert the enemy. Furthermore, even if the plan succeeded, it wouldn’t guarantee the annihilation of their effective forces. The Norman Empire would undoubtedly dispatch armies one after another, and they could simply wear me down to death.’

‘Plan 2: Reveal my identity and confront the Duke directly, demanding compensation for damaged equipment and emotional distress.’

‘Rejected. Rationale: those detestable nobles would never be so benevolent; they are all ruthless individuals who devour people without spitting out the bones, and they would rather exploit their power to bully than reason with you.’

‘Plan 3: Use soul-snatching magic to turn the Duke into my puppet, thereby avoiding war with the Norman Empire, incurring no cost, and still securing compensation.’

‘Regrettably rejected. Rationale: the Duke also has a wizard by his side, and in my current state, I cannot easily overpower them. I must progressively accumulate strength.’

Setting aside his quill and concealing his diary, Rhine lay upon the flannel bed in his single room. The absence of the starry sky above him filled him with an overwhelming emptiness.

‘I will surely catch you.’

He reached out towards the ceiling, yet was ultimately overcome by weariness and drifted into a deep sleep.

The following morning, having donned the formal servant’s attire, Rhine gazed at his handsome reflection in the mirror, instinctively pinching his smooth, delicate cheek.

‘This skin quality is rather good; aside from looking a bit effeminate, it’s quite passable.’

‘If not for my male secondary sexual characteristics and short hair, I might even be mistaken for a girl.’

‘Tch, the one who crafted this body must have a fondness for soft, cute girls. Had I not vehemently insisted on a male form, they might have sent one without… well, without it. The thought alone sends shivers down my spine.’

‘What normal man would choose to become a girl?’

‘Though a feminine-looking boy isn’t much better.’

Rhine scoffed at the notion of maintaining one’s appearance; in his previous life, he had likewise neglected such matters, embracing a casual approach.

Consequently, the assembled maids would often spot the endearing young boy, impeccably dressed in his formal attire, strolling through the corridors. The tuft of unruly hair on his head drew a second glance from every passing maid, his charm yielding an astonishing rate of head-turning.

‘It seems I’ve even become cuter?’

‘Is she not merely a troublesome young lady? Watch me effortlessly handle her in mere moments.’

Burdened with the tearful, earnest pleas of the previous, previous-previous, and previous-previous-previous dedicated maids, the mysteriously confident Rhine disregarded dozens of bizarre rules concerning the young lady and fearlessly pushed open the heavy doors of the library.

It was rumored that Young Lady Audrey was elusive, appearing and disappearing without a trace, yet she could reliably be found within the Duke’s private library.

This brought to mind his days spent hunting mushroom beasts in the Ancient Zhi Forest, a time when he frequently studied the habits of those little creatures—a truly nostalgic and heartwarming memory.

Regrettably, the mushroom beasts would certainly not thank him, for if asked, they would surely recount how their entire families had been captured by an evil wizard to construct a grand tower.

What was most infuriating was that someone had even declared: “In our Ancient Zhi Forest, we have no shortage of magical beasts. If you won’t work, plenty of other magical beasts will! Will you add bricks and tiles to the great tower project, or become the cabbage in my bowl tomorrow? Choose wisely!”

Stepping into the library, Rhine was immediately invigorated by the pervasive scent of old books.

As a bibliophile himself, he was utterly dumbfounded by the sheer volume of books filling the Duke’s mansion.

‘This area, nearly a hundred meters in circumference… all bookshelves? All… private collections?!’

‘The first floor is overflowing, and there’s even a second!’

‘Damn these wicked noble classes! This collection alone is enough to establish a major public library!’

In this era of underdeveloped technology, the number of books in one’s possession directly reflected their wealth. With most poetry collections being handwritten manuscripts, ink-printed books were primarily issued directly by the Church or the Imperial government, making their value even more extraordinary.

‘Let me see, where is that little ‘Miss’?’

“Are you looking for me?”

A slender hand, ghost-like in its swiftness, settled upon Rhine’s shoulder.

‘What the hell!’

Rhine swiftly sidestepped and retreated several paces.

‘What kind of demonic movement was that, making absolutely no sound?!’

“The new servant certainly lacks manners, doesn’t he? I’m curious, what exactly is ‘Miss’?”

A hint of mischief played on Audrey’s lips as she smiled.

The girl’s long, gray hair cascaded to her waist. Brown-framed glasses, typically worn by mature women, rested upon her delicate, petite ears, lending her an air of impish mischief.

Setting aside the various unsettling rumors surrounding her, her beauty alone, blessed by the heavens, was enough to make her the unanimous dream lover of all noble scions, and more than sufficient to become a socialite for the Norman Empire.

“Uh, that’s a term of endearment. Apparently, in a country across the ocean called ‘Atlantic,’ women are often addressed as ‘Miss’ this and ‘Miss’ that. For closer acquaintances, there’s even ‘Little Miss.’ It’s quite vivid and imaginative…”

“Do you truly believe I’d fall for that?”

Audrey carefully tucked the weighty Compendium of Natural History under her arm, then rolled up her sleeves and, with a subtle sway of her slender waist, advanced towards Rhine.

Against the backdrop of her tender, dewy skin, though her figure was still in a somewhat nascent stage of development, one could already glimpse the extraordinary, graceful silhouette she was destined to become.

“What are you trying to do? Let me warn you, you won’t win against me. I don’t hold back in a fight; the last person who tried already has three-foot-high grass on their grave!”

“Who said I wanted to fight you?”

An expression of disdain flickered across her fair, pretty face.

“I merely wish to understand what kind of new invasive species you are. Invasive species are quite dreadful; those cursed crayfish ruined all the seedlings in my field!”

As she spoke, she clenched her small fists, a clear look of indignation on her face.

“In all my life, I’ve never encountered a boy who looks so much like a girl. From a biological perspective, this is caused by an excess of estrogen. I’m incredibly curious about what’s going on down there.”

Her sparkling, innocent eyes blinked twice, the words “I’m very curious” clearly etched across the girl’s face.

Rhine immediately sensed the atmosphere hurtling in an ominous direction.

“This is slander! My appearance isn’t something I can control! What kind of idiot would inject themselves with estrogen?!”

“Oh? So you know what hormones are? That only makes you more suspicious.”

Audrey, a playful smirk on her face, advanced step by step towards the inexplicably flustered Rhine, who retreated continuously until, without realizing it, his back pressed against a bookshelf.

With a resounding thump, the girl, who stood half a head taller than him, pinned his right side against the wall with her left hand. Her lapis lazuli eyes burned into the flustered, feminine-looking young boy, who was overwhelmed by social anxiety.

“Wait, wait, wait, wh-what are you going to do? I’m warning you, this counts as sexual harassment under the Holy Church’s laws!”

Audrey let out a small huff and amusingly pursed her lips.

“This is my home; I can do as I please. Isn’t it perfectly normal for a noble to lay hands on a lowly servant? You’re just a pathetic little lamb, and you won’t escape my grasp.”

‘So you only learn the bad unspoken rules, huh? Today, I’ll teach you a lesson about the true power of an adult!’

‘Do you think I’d just submit to you? You’re being quite ungrateful.’

Immediately thereafter, Rhine felt the girl, still maintaining her wall-pin pose, playfully lift her fair, shapely leg and press it against his lower body.

“Why no reaction? Could it be that you’re actually a girl disguised as a boy? What kind of person did that overly-anxious brother send this time?”

‘Rhine.exe has stopped working.’

‘This is beyond endurance! I must deliver a decisive blow to discipline this impertinent, detestable young lady!’

‘The Duke’s family has already given their word: as long as I can set Audrey’s twisted personality straight, even if I have to hold her down and spank her until she cries buckets, they’ll still thank me!’

[Soul Seizure]

“Hmm?” A look of confused bewilderment crossed her face.

[Ding, Rhine used the wicked Soul-Reaping Magic on Audrey. It was entirely inconsequential.]

‘What’s going on? This little girl’s mental power is stronger than a Three-Ring Mage?!’

“What did you just do?”

“I didn’t do a thing.”

“Liar. Tch, if gentle persuasion won’t work, then force it is.”

No sooner had she spoken than the Compendium of Natural History was tossed onto the top of a bookshelf behind them. Before Rhine could even react, he felt a sudden dizzying disorientation.

[Ding, Audrey used the physical skill ‘Over-the-Shoulder Throw’ on Rhine. It was remarkably effective.]

She gazed down at Rhine, who lay sprawled on the library’s woolen carpet, staring at the ceiling in existential doubt, then reached out with a smirk, turning her head slightly to remove her glasses.

“Oh my, you’re blushing! Let me see.”

“What are you—”

“Let me see if your development is normal, alright~”

“Don’t do that!”

Her expression then naturally shifted, becoming utterly ruthless.

In Rhine’s eyes, the voracious she-wolf finally bared all her fangs.

“Be a good boy, let me see!”

“No!”

Then, Audrey pounced upon the innocent little lamb like a hungry wolf, her shapely bottom pressing fully against Rhine’s chest, creating a ripple of movement. Her fair, rosy arms pinned down the boy’s slender legs, and her slender, pale fingers, not entirely clean, unfastened his servant’s trousers. The lace trim of her white gauze dress, imbued with her girlish scent, enveloped his vision.

“Hah-hah, so this is what it looks like! It’s not quite like in the anatomy books! It’s not grotesque at all; rather, it’s quite white and rather cute.”

Excitedly, she pulled a measuring tape from beneath her skirt and began to measure.

“In its retracted state, it’s slightly longer than the average… not a mutant, but its appearance could certainly be called a rare species. The secrets of human development remain a mystery even now.”

“Will it grow larger if I prod it? Will it squirt milk if I pump it? Where are the two passages located? None of this is written in books, so I’ll just have to inconvenience myself by operating manually. How tiresome for me.”

In this deplorable position, Rhine’s last line of defense was cruelly cast aside by the beautiful girl.

“In summary, little brother Rhine, thank you for your outstanding contribution to the study of novel human structures. Do not struggle, do not move. Spread your legs, do not resist. Looking won’t make you lose a piece of flesh.”

‘…’

‘Pink panties.’

‘This is the most humiliating dark history for the great Mr. Green, bar none!’

He indignantly bit his handkerchief, seething.

“Young Master Chris! Something has happened!”

“What is it? Is it Audrey again?”

As the eldest brother among the children in the mansion and the current Duke’s only son, Chris, over eighteen, was gradually taking charge of various administrative affairs of the ducal estate.

However, what worried him most was his sister Audrey’s eccentric personality.

‘What would become of her when it was time for her to marry…’

‘The Duke’s eldest daughter marrying out would certainly be a grand affair. Not wanting to send her to the wicked royal family, they could only condescend to a count’s or marquess’s household.’

‘But after marriage, as the Duke’s eldest daughter, her family status certainly couldn’t be lower than her husband’s. He could already imagine how this adorable little devil would turn another family’s world upside down, leaving the husband to tremblingly hand him a letter of annulment, stating he ‘could not afford to support her.”

The visiting head maid nodded awkwardly.

“You could say so. Didn’t you arrange for that boy Rhine to be Young Lady Audrey’s dedicated male servant yesterday? He… he has locked himself in his room all afternoon today and won’t come out, no matter how much we knock. The maids are all worried something might have happened to him.”

“Damn it, I was negligent!”

Chris slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

“Quick, take me to his room!”

That troublesome feline, Audrey, never considered anyone else’s feelings when she acted. If anything truly unfortunate befell the boy named Rhine, it would not only be a great dereliction of his duty but would also cause his sister even more severe mental distress.

‘I hope nothing has happened.’