I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The next day.

“Hah. This is ridiculous.”

Felix reached a clear conclusion.

“Our North has been completely conquered by that little brat.”

First, there was Camilla, once known as the Knight of Ice.

“Gasp, that looks delicious. Grandma! Can I eat it?”

“Grand……ma?”

“Ah, sorry, Butler. Old habit from when I first met you……”

“You little thing. I’d give you my liver and gallbladder if you asked.”

Then there was the stubborn Sir Luden, who never listened to anyone.

“Baby, if there’s anything you need procured, just send me a note—no, a sketchbook page.”

“Okay!”

They were all wrapped around that tiny silver-haired brat’s finger.

Actually, Felix had no room to criticize anyone.

Even Aisha from his own team had already fallen for her.

“Ah, so soft. I think I’m going insane. You’re like a newborn baby monster…… When were you born? Six days ago?”

“H-hello, Lady Aisha…… For reference, humans can’t walk around six days after they’re born……”

“Is that so? My brain is a little clean. Anyway, just call me Big Sis Shasha. Ah, so smooth. So soft. So cute.”

“Hehe……”

It was ridiculous.

Even Noah—whom Felix had trusted—had betrayed him.

“……”

<…….>

“……”

<…….>

“……Um, how old are you, big brother? Want to be friends?”

<Approved.>

She had even managed to wrap a sly mage of age [BEEP—] around her finger by pretending they were close in age.

What a terrifying brat.

“And even His Grace……!”

“Open up, Hippo.”

“I’m not Hippo, I’m Ha—aaah. Huh?”

“Tasty, right? This is meat pie.”

“Yes! Yeeeees!”

“Open again.”

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

“Well?”

“It’s soft! And the juices go pop in my mouth!”

“You understand the finer things in life.”

Barley farming by day.

Child-rearing by night.

“Hah…… They’ve all definitely been bewitched.”

Felix clenched his teeth.

“At least I need to keep my head straight. Discipline around here has completely gone to hell.”

He walked through the village.

It was a little noisy, with repairs happening everywhere.

On his way home for the first time in a while, he lightly kicked at the ground.

“Does she think Vertus is some easy place to take over? Besides, training comes before farming—”

Sparkle, sparkle.

“……right?”

He felt someone staring at him.

Up ahead.

Behind a half-collapsed signboard, a pair of huge eyes peeked out.

Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle!

“Um……”

Haniel cautiously stepped out.

Apparently, she had been somewhere since early morning, because her shoes and clothes were covered in dirt.

Her hair was loosely tied too.

“I really wanted to meet you!”

She scampered over and looked up at him.

“I’m Haniel! I-I want to be friends with you!”

Felix was momentarily thrown off by the direct attack.

“……Huh?”

“I’m six years old!”

One pale little palm opened wide, with one thumb sticking out proudly.

Tiny.

Pathetically tiny.

W-what is this all of a sudden?

He hadn’t expected her to approach him this directly.

Felix took a small step back.

Still flustered, he looked the child over carefully.

Now that he got a closer look……

……She is kind of cute.

Friendly too.

Felix scratched at his brown hair.

The child stepped even closer, waving both arms.

“I really, really wanted to meet you! I’ve heard sooo much about you!”

“Y-you have?”

“They said you’re an amaaaazing knight! And that your achievements are incredible!”

“Ahem! Well, I have accomplished quite a few things.”

What was this……?

The corners of Felix’s mouth twitched.

He’d thought she was just some immature brat, but apparently she wasn’t bad at all.

She had a good eye for people.

Felix cleared his throat loudly.

“Ahem. So what achievements did you hear about? The Southern Sea Toad Subjugation? The Western Grand Canyon Battle? Or maybe that cave incident? Ah, it must be that one……”

“Huh?”

Haniel blinked for a moment.

“Anyway, even your name is really, really cool!”

“I am pretty cool.”

Felix opened the bread pouch he was holding.

“Want…… some?”

“Gasp!”

Haniel’s face lit up instantly.

“Yeeeees! Haaap!”

She jumped up to bite the bread.

Felix held back a laugh.

His Grace seemed to tease her by calling her a hippo……

For such a huge open mouth, the little bite mark she left in the bread was ridiculously tiny.

“Did you even eat any of that? Here.”

Felix handed her a whole piece of bread.

“Wow! Thank you! Please take good care of me from now on!”

“……Ahem, ahem! Yeah. Sure……”

She was polite too……

She’s really not bad at all.

Felix simply plopped down onto the dirt.

Then he spun Haniel around and sat her on his lap.

“You’re a girl, you know.”

Swish-swish-swish-swish.

“How can you walk around with your hair looking like a bird’s nest? Hm?”

“Wow……”

In an instant, her hair was tied into two cute pigtails.

Felix suddenly remembered his younger sisters back in his hometown.

They had all been killed by monsters long ago.

“Ahem! What’s your dream?”

“I don’t have one!”

“Sure! It’s fine not to have one!”

“Ah! I do have a wish.”

“What is it?”

“C-could you…… give me a shoulder ride just once?”

A shoulder ride?

“Of course.”

Haniel’s view suddenly rose high into the air.

Hehe. It feels like I’m sitting on a pile of bread.

“I feel like I own the whole world, Sir Brad!!”

“Hehehe. You can call me Uncle—huh?”

Felix slowly lifted his head.

Haniel’s innocent eyes stared back down at him.

“I’m not Brad.”

“Huh?”

An icy silence.

“Then who are you?”

“I’m Felix. Twenty-two.”

“……”

Haniel calmly climbed down from Felix’s shoulders.

Then shouted—

“I-I’m so sorryyyyy! I-I mistook you for someone else! I-I heard Sir Brad had brown hair!”

“……?”

“I’m really sorry!”

Just then, Basil came wandering toward them from the distance with a shovel over his shoulder.

Haniel hurried over and threw herself around his waist.

“Your Graaaace……! Waaah.”

“What? Who crumpled your face like that?”

“I almost befriended the wrong person!”

Felix blinked blankly.

The two of them simply walked away.

What……? Did I just get rejected?

The lingering sensation of that cute little thing remained on his hands.

Soft.

Squishy……

He could never go back to not knowing it.

“Where are you going, baby……”

Come back……

“Brad’s at the gate.”

BOOOOM!

“Ah…… that’s hilarious.”

“Waaah.”

I had committed a terrible offense against Sir Felix.

Why had I automatically assumed he was Sir Brad?

Brown hair is super common if you think about it!

“What do I do……”

“You did great. Eat your soup.”

Grand Duke Basil was simply delighted that he’d missed such an entertaining scene.

“But…… why is Sir Brad at the gate?”

I asked while eating soup.

We were having a late lunch together after finishing the morning farm work.

“Ah. He’s installing a messenger bird.”

“A messenger bird?”

Here, a messenger bird referred to a small sparrow-shaped magical device.

They were a little expensive, so villages usually kept one as a shared communication tool.

“There’s already one in the village, so we decided to move the one from the manor over there.”

“Oh?”

“From now on, if someone wants to enter the North, they’ll be able to contact us directly from the gate. Then we can go meet them.”

“That sounds like a good idea!”

We still didn’t have enough people to permanently station soldiers at the gate.

“And……”

Basil paused.

“There’s someone we need to meet there too.”

“Meet someone?”

Who?

I tilted my head.

“Something like that. More importantly, brat.”

“Yes!”

“Now that…… we’ve got a few more people living in the territory……”

The Grand Duke awkwardly gathered his words.

Why did he suddenly look so serious?

I swallowed nervously.