I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 36

Chapter 36

“Ah, sorry.”

I apologized immediately.

Come to think of it, Slan really hated it when people touched him first.

So yes, this was one hundred percent my fault.

Still……

I hadn’t expected him to be that guarded.

I thought we’d gotten a little closer.

Apparently not.

My shoulders drooped.

For just a moment, Slan’s hand seemed to pause and hover awkwardly in the air, but I couldn’t be sure.

……Hng.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face because I had no idea what expression he was making.

It can’t be helped.

I was thinking I’d just go to the square by myself when—

Creeeak.

The cottage door opened.

Bright sunlight poured inside like a wave.

I stared blankly at the boy standing with the dazzling light behind him.

“……Aren’t you coming?”

“Huh?”

Slan turned his head slightly, looking awkward.

“You said…… you wanted a scarf.”

His unusual dark silver-gray hair caught the sunlight and gleamed.

At some point, he had picked up my bag and coat in one hand.

“If you’re not going, then I’ll just……”

“I-I’m going! I’m going!!”

I hurried after him.

He really is a strange kid.

When I think we’re getting closer, he pushes me away.

And when I think he’s pushing me away, somehow he comes closer again.

I stared at the back of the boy walking slightly ahead of me.

Is it because he’s nine?

He was still a child, so maybe his moods just went back and forth.

That’s right! He’s a kid!

If you really think about it, I’d regressed tons of times and had even lived to sixteen on plenty of occasions—

even if I couldn’t remember most of them……

So technically, my mental age was older than Slan’s!

Once I thought of it that way, my heart became infinitely generous.

I glanced sideways at his profile.

His firmly closed lips.

Dark brows.

And those mysterious blue eyes.

He looks like a cat.

Just then, Slan, who had been thinking deeply about something, suddenly turned toward me.

“……But are all the scarves red?”

Oh-ho.

He might actually be a little cute.

Good.

I firmly resolved that one day—

after getting Slan’s permission—

I would pat his head.

The square was packed with people.

Haniel’s eyes widened.

Apparently, word had already spread, because villagers were lined up in front of the table Helen had set up.

Slan muttered,

“Looks like we won’t get a scarf. The line is already this long……”

“Don’t worry! That’s why I stationed someone here in advance!”

Haniel puffed out her chest.

“A waiting-line mercenary!”

Then she dashed forward.

Among the tightly packed line of villagers, one man stood an entire head taller than everyone else.

He lazily turned his head.

“Oh. You’re here.”

“Your Grace! Have you been holding our place properly?”

“You can see for yourself.”

Basil casually jerked his chin.

“Second in line.”

First place belonged to Helen’s boyfriend, Paul, so apparently even Basil hadn’t been able to beat him.

“Woooow……!”

Haniel looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

“You didn’t kick everyone in the butt to get second place, right?”

“……”

Flinch.

But Basil concealed the twitch in his eyes by abruptly lifting Haniel into his arms.

“Ahem. How dare you insult the Grand Duke’s diligence and integrity?”

He planted Haniel directly into the spot where he had been standing and stretched her cheeks wide.

“Now go bury yourself in a big fat scarf.”

“Mmmmph…… Ow.”

Haniel cupped both hands around her mouth like a trumpet.

Basil immediately leaned his ear toward her.

“Duke Rowain should’ve met Count Ledermeck by now, right?”

“Probably.”

“……!”

“At this point, I imagine he’s sweating bullets all by himself. Should be about time.”

“You’ll negotiate the treatment deal properly, right?”

“Of course.”

Arrogance settled over Basil’s face.

He lightly patted Haniel’s cheek.

“Just make a nice long list of everything you want, baby hippo.”

Their autumn harvest—

wasn’t over yet.

Meanwhile, at the northern gate—

Duke Rowain’s eyes widened when he saw a carriage slowly rattling toward them from the distance.

“Th-that is……!!!”

The carriage stopped.

“Y-you…… you!”

“U-u-u-uncle? No, Y-Your Grace!”

Count Ledermeck jumped as if he had seen a ghost.

“Why in the world are you coming out of the northern territory? Wait. You……!”

“……!”

“I heard you used up all the preserved seed and handled both farmland and funds however you pleased!”

He was doomed.

When had he found out?

I was going to refill the seed stores before Uncle could question me!

Of course, the amount he had secured was nowhere near enough.

But what mattered was being able to say that the preserved seed still existed.

Any missing amount could have been blamed on servants stealing it or poor management.

But now everything was ruined.

“And what the hell were you doing here on top of all that?!”

“I-I was—!”

Count Ledermeck’s face went pale.

Why was Duke Rowain standing in front of the northern gate?!

Forget everything else.

First, make an excuse.

“U-uncle! Calm down! I may have caused a few problems, but look! I secured uncontaminated seed!”

He thrust out the trade agreement.

“What?”

Duke Rowain skimmed it.

“You agreed to exchange uncontaminated barley seed for livestock from the East, lumber, and various other goods?”

Everything listed in the exchange consisted of top-quality livestock, famous even throughout the East for their excellent bloodlines.

There was even specially processed livestock feed prepared by hired mages……!

“I-I know! It’s an insane price! But what else could I do? I had to calm the residents! If they discovered we had absolutely no preserved seed left, there would’ve been outrage…… We just need to survive this year, don’t we?!”

“And who used up all the seed in the first place?!”

“T-that’s why I fixed it like this! Stop looking only at what I did wrong and look at what I did right too!! Now all we need to do is wait for the imperial family’s soil treatment to—”

“That treatment is right now—! ……Wait.”

Duke Rowain’s eyes suddenly widened.

He had spotted something strange in the exchange terms.

“……What is this? ‘Cancellation of compensation debt’?”

His thoughts slowly connected.

“Don’t tell me…… you went to Grand Duke Vertus and demanded compensation from him……? From the man who kept our East from becoming a monster den?”

Only then did Count Ledermeck realize what he had just admitted.

“I-I-I mean…… no, everyone else did it too……!”

“You incompetent fool!!!”

“I wouldn’t have done it if the North were still completely barren!”

The count, who had been mumbling, suddenly raised his voice.

“What did you say?”

“But the North changed! I took a quick look, and it seemed like they could at least cultivate a few kitchen gardens…… so I figured they could afford to repay that much compensation……!!”

“You insane disgrace of a nephew!!!!!!!”

A thunderous roar exploded.

Brad, who had been watching nearby, raised an eyebrow.

He had thought the neatly dressed, gray-haired old gentleman was mild-mannered.

Apparently, there was quite a tiger hidden inside him.

“How many times have I told you never to commit such shameless, ungrateful acts while wearing the skin of a human being?!”

No.

That wasn’t even the biggest problem.

There might be a treatment in the North capable of saving the East.

What if the Grand Duke held a grudge against the East and refused to sell it?

“What are you going to do about this?! Huh?!”

Of all times, you had to offend the Grand Duke during the most important negotiation imaginable!

By now, Duke Rowain had completely forgotten that he had originally doubted whether the treatment was genuine.

Thinking about it properly—

if the treatment was fake, the worst thing he would lose was money.

But if it’s real……

Then he would become the incompetent lord who threw away the one opportunity to save the East.

Because of this bastard!

“You fool!!!! Not only did you secretly misuse preserved seed and funds, you even dared to do something like this!”

The duke’s mustache trembled violently.

“Now I see. So you’re the rat eating away at this family’s grain. Guards!”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Aware of Brad watching him, Duke Rowain shouted loudly,

“I hereby confiscate eighty percent of the land assigned to House Ledermeck and place it directly under Rowain administration!”

“Uncle!!”

“Furthermore, Count Ledermeck has failed in his duties and responsibilities and created serious—serious!—conflict with neighboring territories! Until further notice, he will remain confined to his estate!”

Count Ledermeck’s face turned blue.

The duke snatched the trade agreement away too.

“Hand over the seed while you’re at it! You won’t have much land left to plant it on anyway!”

“U-uncle! Uncle!!!!”

“It’s Your Grace! Drag him away immediately!”

Count Ledermeck was hauled into a carriage by the duke’s aides and carried away.

Duke Rowain pressed a hand to his forehead.

His insides were burning with impatience.

I’m doomed.

He hadn’t felt this nervous even when courting his wife, who had once been considered one of the greatest beauties in the Empire.

Quickly……

He was going insane from wanting to meet the Grand Duke as soon as possible.

Chapter 8 — We’re Rich!

That afternoon—

Duke Rowain finally crossed the northern gate.

He would have preferred teleportation, but unfortunately, mages capable of Ninth-Circle teleportation existed only in imperial legends.

So instead, he loaded himself down with acceleration magic tools.

The Fog Zone, marking the beginning of Vertus territory, greeted him.

How in the world did they farm in weather this cold?

He tightened his coat as he pushed through the pale mist.

What exactly happened in the North last spring?

He couldn’t understand it at all.

Once they passed through the Fog Zone, his view finally cleared.

They rode along a rough road that had yet to be fully repaired.

“The snow is coming down heavily. Wasn’t the Great Forest somewhere to the left from here?”

“And to the right…… I think I can see something like a lake.”

The knights whispered among themselves through the swirling snow.

Apparently, it was their first time entering the northern territory too, and everything fascinated them.

Did something really change here? I can’t tell at all.

Duke Rowain tilted his head as he looked across land where black contamination still hovered like a heat haze.

“Do not leave the road. The surrounding land has not been fully purified, so monsters may appear.”

Sure enough, Brad, riding ahead, warned them bluntly.

They continued for some time.

Then one of the men riding at the front whispered,

“It looks like we need to cross the river. The bridge is broken, but this part is frozen over…… We should probably be able to cross!”

They crossed the river and continued riding for quite a while.

……Did Count Ledermeck even look at the North properly?

The condition of the territory hardly seemed different at all.

It wasn’t merely poor.

It was awful.

Duke Rowain frowned and wiped the moisture running down his chin.

After riding for so long, his entire body ached and he was exhausted.

……Hm?

Wait.

What did I just wipe away?

……Sweat?

To Be Continued…