I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“Doesn’t it feel…… a little warm?”

The knights spoke with bewildered expressions.

Duke Rowain immediately fixed his gaze on Brad’s back at the front of the group.

“……”

At some point, Brad had discarded his cloak entirely and was wearing nothing but a thin shirt.

The duke looked up.

The dark clouds had completely vanished.

A brilliant sun shone down over them.

“W-when did……?”

“My goodness. Y-Your Grace! Over there…… there are fields!”

Someone shouted.

“Fields……! Farmers……!”

“They’re…… cultivating the land……!”

The knights began murmuring.

From here onward → The Heart of the North♡ Bethel Village♡

The moment they passed the sign marking the beginning of Bethel Village, the weather became mild as if by magic.

Even the contamination lurking throughout the surrounding land had quieted.

What greeted them was an ordinary, peaceful village scene that could have existed anywhere—

except that such a thing had never existed in the North.

“Hey! Tie those straw bundles tighter!”

“His Grace said we’re cultivating beyond the flag next year, right? We’ll leave this section fallow.”

“Anyone want freshly baked barley bread~?”

“Give it to Haniel! The bread bag she carries around is completely empty!”

“Good heavens. What a tragedy.”

“Should we try making beer from the barley?”

Warm sunlight.

A gentle climate.

Harvested fields.

And the bright faces of farmers tanned dark from their work.

Oh, God.

The duke swallowed a dizzy breath.

“God’s hand has finally reached the North.”

It looked almost like some hidden paradise cherished by the divine.

He tightened his grip on the reins.

It really might exist……

The treatment……!

They passed through the village and arrived at a small two-story manor.

“I greet Your Grace the Duke. My apologies for making you travel so far.”

A woman with her hair elegantly twisted up greeted them with perfect posture.

Judging by the sword at her waist, she appeared to be a knight.

“My name is Camilla, lieutenant to His Grace the Grand Duke. We’ll escort you from here. This way, please.”

“I-is His Grace the Grand Duke not here?”

Duke Rowain asked urgently.

“He’ll be here shortly. He is currently handling something extremely important and urgent.”

Important and urgent?

Don’t tell me……

he’s meeting another lord about the treatment?

“……Understood.”

Duke Rowain bit down on his lip.

A short while later, the Grand Duke entered the reception room.

Step. Step.

Duke Rowain swallowed.

Somehow, compared to before……

Had he gotten bigger?

More solidly built?

Had he taken up some new kind of training in the North?

There was a languid ease about Basil that was difficult to describe, and the pressure radiating from him weighed heavily on the duke.

“I greet Your Grace the Grand Duke.”

“Welcome, Duke.”

Basil’s voice was flat.

“You could’ve elegantly scribbled a few words in reply, yet you came charging all the way here instead. Ah, is that noble etiquette?”

Basil sneered.

Duke Rowain looked at him, then bowed his head.

“If you wish to rebuke my discourtesy, I will accept it.”

Basil let out a short laugh.

“No fun hitting you.”

It was a level of courtesy Basil rarely received from other nobles, who tended to look down on him—if only subtly—for his mercenary origins.

The two sat across from one another in the reception room.

“So…… what do you want? I’d prefer it if we finished within thirty minutes.”

Thirty minutes?

Apparently, the Grand Duke was extremely busy ruling the North.

Duke Rowain nodded.

“Then I’ll ask directly, Your Grace. Was the content of your letter true? Do you truly possess a soil treatment for this crop disease……?”

“Yeah.”

A chill ran through him.

Duke Rowain gripped his knees tightly to keep from showing his agitation.

“Would you be willing to sell that treatment to me?”

“……”

“Of course! I understand you must be displeased because of Count Ledermeck. There is no excuse for what he did. I have already punished him appropriately…… so I ask that you consider this favorably.”

“Hmm……”

Basil rested his chin in one palm.

“Then…… should I?”

“Y-yes…… what?!”

“I’ll hand it over. Not the treatment itself—the manufacturing method.”

T-this easily?

And not merely the finished product, but the formula itself?

“We’re too small-scale to supply the finished treatment, as you can see.”

“……”

“Supplying enough for all the soil in the East was impossible from the start.”

“Th-that is true……”

“So I’m giving up the opportunity to tack on processing fees, shipping fees, miscellaneous fees, and every other fee imaginable. Be grateful.”

His low voice vibrated through the room.

It was impossible to tell whether he was joking.

“Then shall we begin the negotiation?”

Basil placed several things on the table.

One scroll.

Two folders.

And……

one small pouch.

“As I said in advance, what I’m selling is the treatment formula and its main ingredient.”

“……!”

“And this document contains verification of the treatment’s effectiveness.”

He slid one of the folders forward.

The duke grabbed it and began reading almost frantically.

Th-this is……!

It was a report detailing the treatment’s results under various environmental conditions.

The data was extremely thorough.

Enough to convince him that the treatment truly worked.

His gaze shifted toward the scroll.

That must be the formula!

He wanted it immediately.

He wanted to sign the trade agreement right now!

“Buying?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Then.”

Basil picked up a pen and scribbled something onto a sheet of paper.

He slid it over.

The duke’s eyes widened enormously when he saw the amount.

“Well?”

“This price is……!”

T-ten million gold?

For the formula alone……

That was half a year’s budget for the duchy.

Of course, Rowain was an enormously wealthy territory.

But even so—

Isn’t this far too expensive?!

It wasn’t even the finished medicine……

just the recipe!

And the main ingredient costs separately, not to mention the cost of every other secondary ingredient!

The base potion, for example.

Even the glass bottles needed to contain the treatment!

Duke Rowain gathered himself.

……Should he lowball him?

No. That might backfire even worse with Basil Vertus.

……Better to take the straightforward approach first.

“My sincerest apologies, Your Grace.”

He bowed his head.

“To speak frankly, I cannot purchase a recipe alone at this price.”

Duke Rowain was very experienced with negotiations like this.

First, I need to buy time to bargain.

This was where his years of experience should shine.

“Of course, the results report is excellent enough that I have no reason to doubt the treatment’s effects…… but laboratory results may differ from results obtained when applied to actual land. Therefore……”

He spoke as politely as possible.

“Would it be acceptable for me to purchase a sample first, verify its effectiveness, and then send a formal purchase request?”

“……”

“I would need approximately four days to test the sample. If its effectiveness is confirmed, we could renegotiate the price afterward. In exchange, we will cover all distribution-related fees, and during negotiations for the main ingredient’s supply price, we can structure the terms more favorably toward the North……”

His words flowed smoothly without giving anyone an opening to interrupt.

Clearly, he had done this kind of negotiation many times.

Did he oil his tongue or something?

Basil was searching for a chance to cut in when—

“Yaaaaaawn.”

Creeeak.

The door opened.

The duke’s speech stopped dead.

“……?”

A tiny child came toddling inside while rubbing her eyes.

Messy silver hair.

Slippers on the wrong feet.

Pajamas covered in little yellow chicks.

The child padded over and struggled up onto the seat beside Grand Duke Basil.

Then she buried her face directly into his lap.

“I woke up, but…… hng, nobody was there……”

“Oh dear.”

Basil stroked Haniel’s hair.

“To think they left you alone during your nap. I’ll have to punish the maids.”

“Hmmm.”

Rub, rub.

The child rubbed her cheek against his thigh like a sleepy kitten.

Basil chuckled and gently soothed her.

“……?”

Duke Rowain’s eyes widened.

Who was that child?

No—

more importantly……

who was that affectionate man?

Where had the cold, intimidating Grand Duke gone?

The expression on Basil’s face as he looked at the child had softened to an astonishing degree.

“Y-Your Grace? That child is……”

“Ah. My brat.”

“You mean…… your daughter?”

Basil chuckled.

“Cute, isn’t she?”

To Be Continued…