I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Not long ago—
the boy had begun having strange dreams.
Sometimes they showed him a future he had never experienced.
Other times, they showed him scenes from a past he could no longer remember.
At first, he wondered in confusion whether he had somehow gained the ability to see the future.
But soon, he realized what those dreams truly were.
They were……
memories of his previous life.
“Someone…… turned back the world’s time.”
There was no other explanation.
Because he clearly remembered—
dying.
He vividly remembered the sensation of his life ending.
It had not been a hallucination.
Nor had it been a delusion.
And so, he decided to leave home and uncover the secret of the world.
He needed to discover who had turned back time—
and why.
He was already accustomed to living on his own.
Now that he also possessed memories from his previous life, traveling was even easier.
It had been about a month since he left home.
I finally found one.
The boy tightened his grip on the Pig-Nose Mushroom.
Something different from the dream.
Why was a mushroom that should not have appeared yet……
already here?
The dream was hazy.
But certain scenes—such as when this mushroom first appeared—were clear.
“Hm? Kid, are you buying that mushroom?”
The stall owner stepped out.
“Excuse me, but where did you purchase these mushrooms?”
“Oh, those? I bought them from the North……”
“Northon?”
“No, Vertus!”
“……”
“Pfft. Hard to believe, right? I don’t believe it either~ How could edible mushrooms come out of Vertus? Haaah, serves me right for making deals while still drunk~”
“……”
“Anyway, they don’t sell well~ They may be good for the body, but they taste awful! And the smell’s too strong to use in cooking.”
The owner complained that they had eventually become dead stock, forcing him and his family to eat them themselves.
“This……”
The boy almost said that if roasted properly, they developed a special flavor.
But he stopped.
That cooking method was not supposed to be known yet.
“……”
More importantly—
they came from the North?
The shopkeeper seemed convinced he had simply misheard because he had been drunk.
I need to check.
It was worth investigating.
“Here! I’m feeling generous! They won’t sell anyway, so take everything that’s left~”
“……Thank you.”
Holding a small pouch, the boy started walking without hesitation.
His fine lips pressed together tightly.
I’ll uncover the secret of this world.
He would find out what was happening.
And……
who the girl from his memories actually was.
For some reason, I feel like she has the answer.
An inexplicable intuition dominated him.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for emotions this intense.
All he remembered was mysterious silver hair—
and the warmth of her hand gripping his.
If she’s the one responsible for this regression.
If she was the one who had ruined everything at the exact moment he was about to achieve his goal—
then……
His blue eyes flashed sharply.
I’ll definitely……
Definitely.
eliminate her.
Then he would uncover the secret behind the world turning backward, accomplish something tremendous, and earn the Emperor’s recognition again.
……That’s the only way I can survive.
His father pretended to cherish him on the surface.
But the boy knew—
the Emperor was prepared to kill him at any time.
The mana inside his core gave a heavy thump.
“Hello. My village burned down in a fire, so I’ve been wandering ever since…… Could you give me a ride part of the way?”
“Oh my. Poor child. Of course.”
And so, the boy hitched a ride north with a traveling theater troupe.
Just as they were passing through Northon Village—
someone stopped him.
“Your Highness……?”
The boy frowned.
The face of the person stopping him was familiar.
Dantelion…… Klein?
Why was the commander of the Second Holy Knight Order here in the North?
He was deeply surprised, but fortunately, the boy rarely showed much on his face.
Ruslan checked his own reflection in Dantelion’s eyes.
Dark ash-gray hair.
Deep blue eyes.
The Fourth Prince was publicly known to have blond hair and lighter blue eyes……
Ruslan slowly lowered the hood of his robe.
Then he put on an innocent expression.
“Who are you?”
The appearance-altering magic circle engraved over the left side of his chest began to glow softly.
“Who are you?”
The prince……
“Um, if there’s nothing else…… my companions are waiting for me, so I should go.”
……wasn’t him?
Tap-tap-tap!
Dantelion silently watched the boy’s back as he hurried away.
“……”
A tendon stood out along his strong neck.
Something……
felt wrong.
His thoughts were sluggish.
The corruption of his divine power was flaring badly.
Most likely, encountering monsters on the way here and being drenched in demonic energy had triggered it.
This is an order from His Holiness the Pope.
An urgent report has arrived that His Highness the Fourth Prince has gone missing.
Accordingly, the Second Holy Knight Order is ordered to assist in the search for His Highness immediately.
A sigh escaped him.
He had followed traces of heresy all the way to the outskirts of the North—
only for an unexpected letter to halt him.
He couldn’t even cross the northern gate.
Additionally, the forbidden magic was confirmed to have originated from an illegal auction. His Holiness will personally oversee the related investigation.
Furthermore, all individuals connected to the District Z crop disease have been confirmed dead—
Dantelion’s fingers twitched.
After more belongings belonging to Paul and the child were discovered near the ravine, the Temple had reached that conclusion.
The District Z crop-disease case is hereby closed.
His fist clenched tightly.
As someone belonging to the Temple, he could not disobey the Pope’s orders.
I must follow the rules.
But—
was he really supposed to withdraw this easily?
“Commander, apparently…… immigrants have entered Vertus?”
He remembered the information they had gathered in Northon Village.
Immigrants……
Ordinary people would rarely think of joining together and entering the northern territory.
Unless—
someone……
was pushing them toward it.
Crumple.
A small scrap of paper crumpled in his hand.
It had belonged to the owner of a tavern in Northon.
“Ah, I forgot to throw that away…… But do you think this is really true?”
It was clearly a promotional flyer written by a child.
It had been carelessly stored and was partially torn.
Dantelion tried not to let his eyes linger on the crooked handwriting.
The reason he regretted the missing portion must simply be because information had been lost.
What exactly is the Grand Duke thinking?
Pulling a ridiculous stunt like this.
Farming?
Impossible.
But what if……
it was true?
What if the Grand Duke has acquired some method?
And what if—
“Paul……?”
—the people who fled District Z had helped him obtain it?
“Hmm, Paul is such a common name that I can’t really say. I haven’t seen any man with a child, though.”
“……”
“Ah! But there was some man who cried his eyes out saying he wanted to find the body of a little kid! Thankfully, it sounded like he’d been mistaken? Something like that.”
Perhaps the Grand Duke……
is sheltering the people who fled District Z.
People who might have been connected to forbidden magic.
“……”
Dantelion knew it was a ridiculous leap.
Perhaps his mind, clouded by divine-power corruption, was making absurd connections.
And yet—
a powerful instinct shook him.
An instinct telling him to enter the North immediately and uncover the truth.
But he needed firmer evidence.
The Temple’s orders meant he could not openly investigate anymore.
For now, I’ll wait for an opportunity.
If the North showed even the slightest suspicious movement……
His gaze turned toward the distant northern lands.
Morning.
Basil opened his eyes.
Even the indoor air had grown fairly chilly with the arrival of September.
“……”
His red eyes—eyes ordinary people often found frightening—slowly shifted.
A foot.
A tiny foot was pressing against his cheekbone.
He pinched the ridiculously small thing between his thumb and forefinger and moved it aside.
“Mmmnyam.”
Haniel rolled onto her back and spread her short arms and legs in every direction.
Even in her sleep, this brat was ambitious.
More importantly……
how the hell had she climbed all the way up beside his head?
Didn’t she fall asleep quietly next to me?
He really needed to bring in a child’s bed or something.
Shrrrk—
He opened the curtains.
Morning sunlight flooded the room so brightly it almost hurt.
Basil pulled his loose robe closed and mentally reviewed the day’s schedule.
Inspect the land southeast of the village
Check the barley
Repair thirty scarecrows
Sharpen sickles
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
Work.
Work.
Labor.
Labor.
Labor……
Now that the barley harvest had begun, he also had to add a sales plan to the list.
Harvesting wasn’t quite as difficult as growing the crops.
All they had to do was cut the barley with sickles, tie the stalks into bundles, dry them thoroughly so they wouldn’t retain moisture, and store them in a warehouse.
Was the warehouse finished?
Recently, Bethel Village’s old storage shed had been expanded and turned into a proper grain warehouse.
They had also built a smaller warehouse on the village outskirts just in case.
But the main one remained inside the village.
It had excellent ventilation and low humidity, making it ideal for storing grain.
Just imagining the storehouse packed full made him feel strangely satisfied.
Next year, I should build an underground storehouse too.
If they wanted to preserve seed grain and other food long-term, a cool underground storage room would be essential.
Which meant next year he would once again have to shovel like a madman—
“……”
Was this really the life of a Grand Duke?
He nearly fell into a moment of existential despair.
Then—
Well. It’s not like I’m some traditional Grand Duke.
He crossed his arms and chuckled.
At least he had something to shovel.
He had first picked up a sword to survive.
Then he became a war mercenary to survive.
People called him a child raised by the battlefield.
But that didn’t mean he was some lunatic who genuinely enjoyed blood and slaughter.
He had always dreamed of an ordinary life.
Working like a normal person.
Eating meals.
Occasionally bloodying the nose of someone he disliked.
Laughing when something was funny.
Crying.
Protecting something unimaginably precious.
That kind of ordinary life.
After becoming Grand Duke of the North, he had somehow moved even farther away from that ordinary existence.
But……
these days, it wasn’t bad.
Ever since that brat appeared, his life had become unexpectedly satisfying.
It almost felt like he was genuinely alive.
More importantly, I think I need to feed this kid more meat……
She had worked hard farming all summer.
He should probably give her something nutritious.
Basil stretched widely like a great beast waking from a long sleep, then wandered back toward the bed.
“This is ridiculous……”
There she was—
sound asleep, having completely taken over his bed.
“She’s the real beast around here.”
He carefully sat beside her and watched.
What an annoying little brat.
Last night, she had been chattering nonstop about selling the barley until she eventually fell asleep in Basil’s arms.
Ever since the first sprouts appeared, the child had been in a constant state of excitement.
And calming her down had become Basil’s job.
“How are you going to repay all this kindness, huh? I gave you a house, land, and now even somewhere to sleep.”
He poked Haniel’s cheek.
The baby fat was soft and squishy.
For no particular reason, he fiddled with her tiny hands and feet too.
“Look at you. Running around the whole village all day, and you’re still this tiny. Have you even grown? Are you a bean? Huh? A little bean? One good gust of wind and you’d blow away.”
“Mmm.”
Flop!
Haniel rolled over and dropped one leg onto Basil’s knee.
“……Look at this little foot. Cute enough to kill someone. If you get any cuter than this, what? You planning to rob me of every possession I own?”
Good.
Morning teasing complete.
Basil finally stopped squishing Haniel’s heel.
He patted the blanket back over her.
“Guess I should get going.”
The weather was clear.
A cool wind swept past with a broad whoooosh, sounding like a giant broom somewhere in the distance.
Basil walked down the path without hesitation.
Soon—
an enormous golden wave filled his entire field of vision.
The rich end of summer.
The beginning of autumn.
“Peaceful.”
It was harvest season in the North.
And outside Vertus territory—
“Wh-what the hell is thiiiiis?!”
Count Ledermeck screamed at the sight of fields blackened with rot.
At last—
the crop disease had reached the East.
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