I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I slapped my cheeks a few times to pull myself together.

I need to get out of here.

If I wanted to avoid running into Dad, I had to go somewhere as far away from the capital as possible.

I recalled my conversation with the god.

[I will seal the bond between you and Dantelion Klein. He will completely forget that you ever existed.]

That was what the god had said.

Dad’s memories had been sealed so thoroughly that he no longer even remembered I had ever been born.

It was, quite literally, the complete erasure of my existence.

But—

[Remember this, child. There is no such thing as perfect concealment in this world. You must avoid meeting him at all costs.]

“……”

[You know now just how obsessive he is when it comes to you. Even the smallest trigger may be enough for him to overcome my power and remember you again.]

“Yes. I’ll never, ever, ever go looking for Dad, and I’ll never meet him! I swear!”

In other words, I had no idea what kind of stimulus my existence might be to Dad.

So I absolutely could not meet him again.

That was fine.

I had already more or less decided where I was going to live!

“Here we go!”

I opened the door to the old shack.

It was the little hut where I had briefly lived with the grandmother who had taken me in.

“Where was it…… Ah, here!”

I found a piece of paper in a small chest—the one I had used to practice writing.

When I unfolded the crumpled sheet and flipped it over, its original purpose was revealed.

— Residents Wanted —
Location: Northern Territory of Grand Duke Vertus
Basic Benefits: Housing provided, land provided, 100% tax exemption for one year after relocation
Eligibility: Anyone

You are solely responsible for your decision to relocate. Please make sure to inspect the territory beforehand.
However, the lord assumes no responsibility for death, loss of limbs, psychological trauma, or other harm caused by reckless preliminary visits.

This was it!

One of those northern relocation flyers that had once circulated throughout the Empire!

If I go there, they’ll give me a house and land.

It was perfect for a six-year-old like me to survive on my own.

I clenched both fists.

“Okay. In this life, I’m going north!”

Without Dad.

All by myself!

I wouldn’t be a burden to anyone anymore, and I wouldn’t make anyone sad.

“I’m going to become independent and live well all by myself!”

At that moment, the white lights around me fluttered upward.

I had exactly two goals.

1. Eat well and live well without Dad finding out!

2. And if possible, secretly help purify Dad’s divine power!

I crouched on the floor and tilted my head.

“Hmm……”

The first one was something I’d have to settle once I reached the North.

“Though I have a feeling meeting the Grand Duke of the North will be the hard part……”

Just thinking about the Grand Duke I had briefly seen in my previous life made my chest tighten.

Grand Duke Basil Vertus.

He was the hero of the Empire who had reclaimed, in a single stroke, the land that had been ruled by a mad dragon for five hundred years.

Basil was, without question, one of the strongest people alive.

He was also the one and only person who could stand on equal footing with Dad.

If Dad, who wielded divine power, was the guardian of light—

then Basil, who swept away everything around him through sheer physical strength, was more like a destroyer who had crawled up from hell.

In other words, aside from being ridiculously strong, he and Dad are totaaaally opposite!

Anyway, Basil had as many nicknames as he had military achievements.

War Demon.

Sword God.

Slaughterer.

King of Butchery……

He m-might be a little scary……

“No! I’m independent now!”

I shook my head furiously.

What was the number-one rule of independence?

Solve your own problems!

So I had no choice but to face him head-on!

1. Eat well and live well without Dad finding out! → Go north, settle down, and become a resident of the territory!

I scribbled it into the dust on the floor and smiled in satisfaction.

The problem was the second goal.

2. Help purify Dad’s divine power! → ……?

How was I supposed to do that?

“I don’t have any purification ability……”

If I stopped Dad from regressing, I could prevent his divine power from becoming more corrupted.

But……

What about the corruption that was already there?

Shouldn’t I do something about that too?

“Cough.”

For some reason…… my chest was starting to feel even tighter.

I shook my head again.

“No. I’m independent now, so I have to solve this myself too. So…… uggghhh, fly! Why have you been buzzing around me this whole time?! When are you going home?!”

I finally snapped at the white light that had been circling around me since earlier.

Seriously, what even was that thing?

I hadn’t included a pet fly in my independence plan!

It was already hard enough feeding myself!

Then—

[ㅇ린@#,ㅊ독…ㄹㅂ#^!$#…@#%다!]

The white fragments suddenly began darting around.

And then—

Huh?

Pababababang!

They exploded right in front of my eyes!

“Waaah! Fly!”

I told you to go home, not blow yourself up!

Then, where the fragments had vanished, bright white letters appeared.

[Frequency recalibration complete. Stabilization complete!]

“Huh?”

Pop!

[Child, congratulations on your first step toward independence!]

What…… was this?

[Children who decide to become independent early deserve special encouragement.]

[A ‘reward’ has arrived for a beginner living independently.]

[Child, would you like to receive the reward?]

“What is th—!”

I flailed my hands in surprise and accidentally pressed [Yesh!] out of [Yes] [Yep Yep :-)] [Yesh!].

The white letters instantly turned red.

[Unable to receive!]
[Unable to receive!]

[To receive the reward, you must first complete an ‘errand.’]

Kyaaaaaah!

The bright red letters were scary!

More importantly…… an errand?!

Wait.

That word sounded familiar……

“N-now that I think about it!”

My eyes widened.

At the same time, the white letters changed again with several little pops.

[Checking errand list……]

[An errand from the God of Fate has arrived!]

[Checking contents……]

Beep— Beep—

The letters flickered.

For some reason, I grew nervous and swallowed hard.

Pop!

[Errand from the God of Fate:

Drink water (0/1)]

“……?”

[“If you eat bread while running, your throat may get blocked and you may meet your fate too soon.”]

……Excuse me?

But the moment I saw the next line, I had no choice but to scamper straight toward the water cup.

[Errand Reward: 1 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Sticker]

YES!!!!!

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

I blew on the rainwater I had saved and drank it while blinking.

The lump of bread that had been stuck somewhere in my chest seemed to slide down.

Right. I can collect divine power!

Now that I thought about it……

Near the end of my conversation with the god—

[Child. It is time for you to return to the mortal realm. Go live your new life.]

“Hnnng.”

[Go. Please. I said go.]

“Hnnnnnnng!”

[What do you want?!]

“You said humans have to take responsibility for what they do. Then gods have to take responsibility too!”

[What?]

“You said my soul was supposed to be born in the divine realm. Then why did you accidentally let me be born as Dad’s daughter?”

I had carefully argued every point with the god.

Maybe because I had spent so much time reading books from my sickbed in my previous life, I was fairly smart for my age.

“When I think about it, isn’t this all because of the god’s negligence? Isn’t this totally something I should, um, sue you for?”

[Ah, this god gives u—…… What exactly do you want?!]

“Help me! Let me purify Dad’s corrupted divine power! Then I’ll do anything you ask!”

The god had sighed over and over again, then said they would find a suitable method.

This must be it!

Gulp, gulp!

An item containing divine power.

Gulp. Pause to breathe. Gulp!

It’s perfect for me. My body doesn’t have a core that can contain divine power.

Gulp, gulp—kah!

“I drank it all!”

[Congratulations! Errand completed!]

[Would you like to receive your reward?]

This time, I answered confidently.

“Yeeeeeeees!”

A bright cluster of light immediately flared in front of me.

Then—

Tap.

A thumbs-up sticker dropped neatly into my cupped palms.

“Wow!”

[Sticker condensed with divine power from the divine realm]

• Its energy is pure.

• Excellent adhesive strength.

• Increases cuteness by approximately 20% when attached.

• Purifies corruption within a certain range.

My eyes grew huge.

Purifies corruption within a certain range.

“This is it!”

Divine power this pure could save Dad from his corruption!

If I slowly collected enough of them, couldn’t I secretly send them to Dad when I got the chance?!

And maybe…… they could help me a lot while living in the North too!

I had heard that even basic farming was difficult in the North because of demonic energy.

Divine power could purify demonic energy too, so maybe I could prove my usefulness to His Grace the Grand Duke!

I wiggled excitedly and stared at the empty air with sparkling eyes.

“More? Aren’t you going to give me another errand?”

Preferably something like eat half a piece of bread!

But no matter how long I waited, no more white letters appeared.

“……Is that it for today?”

Nothing I could do about that.

I tucked the single thumbs-up sticker deep inside my worn bag.

Then I hurried around the hut, packing everything I needed for the journey.

It’s about time I moved!

That was right.

I didn’t actually have time to sit around here.

Because……

Soon, the holy knights are going to storm into District Z.

Just like in my previous life!

If the holy knights catch an orphan like me, I’ll be sent straight to the Temple orphanage!

Then the chances of running into Dad would become waaaay too high.

Of course……

Dad wasn’t supposed to come here today.

Inspecting a remote slum like this wasn’t the job of Dad, a first-class holy knight and Commander of the Holy Knights.

In my previous life, Dad had only come here because he was specifically trying to rescue me.

“Baby.”

I remembered the large, warm hands that had lifted me into his arms.

Without realizing it, I sniffled.

“Ah! No sniffing! Get a grip!”

Anyway, I had to leave District Z right now and head north.

Without getting caught by the holy knights!

Fortunately, I knew exactly where to find someone who could take me all the way to the distant North.

“Okay.”

I adjusted the strap of my bag and put on the most determined expression I could manage.

“Let’s gooo!”

Then I charged straight toward the door of the hut—

Knock, knock.

“……!”

Knock, knock!

“Is anyone there?”

For a moment, it felt as though my breathing had stopped.

Because I knew that voice far too well.

Knock, knock, knock!

“I am Dantelion Klein, a holy knight of the Central Temple. Is anyone inside?”

My face turned completely white.