I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The bread I had been chewing slipped from my hand.

“……Huh? Why would I?”

Without batting an eye, Grand Duke Basil picked up the fallen bread, tossed it toward Sir Felix, and handed me a fresh piece.

“It sounds ridiculous even coming from me, but…… sometimes having a plausible identity makes a useful shield.”

“Ah……”

“My title might be little more than an empty shell, but if I hold onto it properly, it could still be useful.”

“……”

“And even if, by bad luck, people find out you have divine power, if I say you belong to my fa—my household, even the Temple won’t be able to take you away however they please.”

Did he almost say family just now?

No way.

Anyway, after hearing his explanation, I understood.

I let out a relieved breath.

That scared me. For a second, I thought he was actually asking us to become family……

The Grand Duke stared at me.

For someone who was usually bored by everything, there seemed to be something almost like nervousness on his face for the first time.

No way. His Grace, nervous?

I must have imagined it…… right?

“Of course, the choice is yours. But I figured it’d be more comfortable for you to stay with someone who already knows about your divine power.”

“Hmm…… yes…… I understand what you mean.”

So basically—

His Grace needs my divine power, and I need His Grace’s protection.

He was suggesting we agree on a suitable public identity.

“But……”

Calling him Dad was still a little……

I slowly clenched my fist.

Hani only has one dad……

Even if I had decided not to see him anymore in this life.

Still……

Still.

Thinking about Dad’s kind and gentle face made my heart sink a little.

Then Basil poked my cheek.

“This cheek’s puffed up again.”

“I-it’s not puffed—”

“I’m obviously not telling you to change anything right this second. I just mean…… hmm.”

He struggled to choose his words.

“……Let’s define our relationship so we look close to outsiders. Publicly.”

“Ah……!”

So that was what he meant!

I nodded repeatedly.

For some reason, I immediately felt much more comfortable.

I went back to nibbling on my bread, my cheeks moving as I thought.

That should be okay, right?

Just looking close in public.

It’s not like we’re actually becoming family……

Family was good.

But it was heavy.

Dad must have found me very heavy.

I never wanted to become that kind of burden to someone ever again.

“The child keeps getting sick. Oh God, what is happening……?”

I remembered Grandfather wiping away tears whenever he saw me ill.

Because of me?

No……

“My poor Dante must be suffering so much…… That boy truly has it hard……”

Because he felt sorry for Dad, who was suffering because of me.

Of course he did.

Back then, Dad had been desperately searching for medicine to cure me.

Actually…… I wanted to spend more time playing with Dad.

But whenever he returned injured, the words disappeared from my mouth.

And the maids had made sure to correct those selfish feelings too.

“Lady Haniel, family members must never become burdens to each other. You understand, don’t you?”

“When Lord Dante returns, you should smile. He’s your father, and he worked hard for your sake.”

“Shall we sit a little straighter? If you make another mistake with the dining order, Lord Dante will be very sad……”

“Our Dante…… how much he must……”

I shook my head hard to push the memories away.

So I shouldn’t get too close!

I was someone who would eventually leave anyway.

His Grace probably wouldn’t, but if he became heartbroken like Dad when I died……

and tried to sacrifice something because of me……

I don’t think I could bear it.

I clenched my fist.

So this much would be……

the absolute limit.

Pretending to be family in public.

We probably won’t even meet outsiders right away anyway.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine!”

“……What will? The soup?”

“Yes! I ate all of it with the bread!”

“Good job.”

“Hehe……”

The night grew deeper.

And my assumption that we wouldn’t be meeting outsiders anytime soon—

soon came crashing down.

Dantelion shifted slightly as a child came running toward him.

“Daddy!”

Thump!

Even so, the little child still collided with his leg.

“Waaah! I’m sorry!”

“……”

“Ah, sweetheart, you need to be careful. Commander, are you alr—Commander?”

Dantelion’s lieutenant, Marc, checked on the child and then turned toward him.

Marc flinched.

Why is his expression so cold?

Anyone would think he’d just encountered a heretic……

He’s been even more on edge lately.

Marc scratched the back of his head.

Then Dantelion lowered himself.

“You need to be careful.”

At some point, a picture-perfect smile appeared on his face as he dusted off the child’s clothes.

It was a false smile.

But even that was enough to completely change his atmosphere.

The child stared at the beautiful holy knight as if enchanted.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Wow…… No! Th-thank you! Daddyyyy! I fell down! But, um, the angel saved me!”

The child dashed away and clung to a man browsing goods at a nearby stall.

“Hm? Oh my, you should’ve been more careful!”

Dantelion watched the affectionate father and daughter walk away for a moment.

By then, his face had already returned to its dreadful blankness.

He lightly brushed the part of his clothes the child had touched.

Then he turned away without hesitation.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

When had it started?

Whenever Dantelion saw young children, an indescribable sense of rejection rose inside him.

“Shouldn’t you produce an heir?”

Was it because of those words from his father?

Yulios—

the retired Holy Knight Commander praised as the Sage of the Empire.

Dantelion respected him.

And yet, for some reason, those words alone had never sat well with him.

Even though he knew producing an heir was part of a holy knight’s duty to God.

In fact, several years ago, Dantelion had married a noble lady for the sake of producing an heir.

But no child had been born.

Eventually, once the contracted period ended, the lady left for another country.

Publicly, their divorce had been concluded without incident.

Perhaps failing to fulfill my duty as a holy knight back then still weighs on me.

As though repenting, he tightly gripped the cross-shaped pendant.

The strange discomfort remained.

But he had no time to dwell on it.

There was work he had to do as one who served God.

He entered an old stone building.

“Wow…… It’s been quite a while since I last came here.”

Marc spoke.

It was a single-story structure built in an ancient architectural style.

The interior carried an oddly chilling atmosphere.

Clank. Clank.

Silver boots descended the old staircase without hesitation.

The aged stone walls were stained with marks that looked like dried black blood.

P-please let me out…… please……!

It almost sounded as though faint sobbing drifted from somewhere.

Then Dantelion asked Marc,

“Any new reports from the East?”

“The East? Ah.”

Only then did Marc seem to remember why they had come here.

“No. It’s quiet for now. But…… since it’s a newly developed strain, we still don’t know how it’ll affect crops.”

“……”

“Honestly, it’s absurd even thinking about it again. Of all things, they created a new infectious disease in District Z……”

That was right.

Not long ago, the Holy Knight Order had searched District Z.

A large number of strange plants and drugs had been discovered in the village chief’s house.

After an investigation—

it was revealed that the village chief and the viscount in charge of District Z had been developing a highly contagious strain.

A deadly poison—

one that caused crops to rot.

The problem was the poison’s whereabouts.

After a relentless pursuit, imperial knights eventually captured the village chief in the East.

But—

“They both died……”

The moment they were caught, both men took their own lives.

“So the poison the village chief possessed was never recovered.”

“Yes…… It seems he released it somewhere, but……”

No one knew where.

Or how much had been used.

Worse still, he had been captured in the East—

the Empire’s greatest agricultural region.

“We need to resolve this before sowing season. If the soil itself becomes contaminated…… the Empire could face an uncontrollable food crisis.”

Marc muttered anxiously.

“Still, the imperial family and the magitech researchers said they developed a new fertilizer and soil treatment…… so it should be fine, right?”

“It should.”

Dantelion answered briefly and turned his gaze ahead.

They had reached the lowest level of the building.

Please! Please spare me!

The screams were much clearer now.

I-I-I really didn’t do anything!

Dantelion continued walking.

Of course, this District Z case could have simply been transferred entirely to the imperial knights.

But Holy Knight Dantelion had refused to withdraw from the investigation.

The reason was……

The magic used to create the deadly poison—

Bang!

“—I-I’m not a heretic!”

……was forbidden heretical magic outlawed by the Temple.

And so, Dantelion had been tracking everyone connected to District Z.

“Sob…… please, let me out……”

When the door opened, he saw the tear-streaked face of a woman.

She was the dead viscount’s wife.

“Madam.”

Clank.

His heavy footsteps echoed.

The emotionless voice of the holy knight reverberated through the underground chamber.

“Do you know anything about the forbidden magic your husband used?”

Creeeak—bang!

The door shut.

A short while later—

Marc stepped out of the interrogation room and muttered,

“Why was she so terrified? I thought we treated her politely and even furnished the room like a luxury guest suite……”

Ultimately, the viscount’s wife was innocent.

They had confirmed it using sacred artifacts brought from the Temple that could detect lies.

“Anyone would think we locked her in an underground dungeon and tortured her. Seriously, what century does she think this is? Right?”

Holy knights had originally descended from inquisitors.

These days, the Empire no longer carried out excessive heresy interrogations or persecutions like in the past.

Even so, punishment for those who violated the Taboos still remained under the jurisdiction of holy knights.

Perhaps because of several infamous cases recorded in history—

being labeled a heretic who violated Temple doctrine still inspired terror in ordinary people.

And if someone was brought all the way to an old heresy interrogation facility that was rarely used anymore, panic was understandable.

“What do we do now? At this point, we’ve investigated everyone around the village chief and the viscount.”

“……”

“We still need more information about the crop disease in the East, and we need to find out if there are other accomplices, but both of them are dead……”

Marc ruffled his hair wildly.

“There’s no one left to interrogate, is there?”

“There is.”

Marc’s eyes widened at the dry reply.

“The letter we sent to the North. Was there still no response?”

“……Ah!”

In truth, there was one more suspect connected to the case.

Someone who had disappeared that day.

The undertaker—

Paul.

And……

one young child.

Dantelion’s eyes gleamed coldly.