I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The sky was cloudy.

The sun was definitely up, so why did everything still seem so gray?

“Excuse me.”

Dantelion lowered his gaze and placed a hand on the worn doorknob.

Creeeak.

The first thing that reached him was the stale smell of dust.

An empty house?

For some reason……

The place gave off a strange feeling, as though time itself had stopped.

Clank, clank.

A cold metallic sound echoed whenever he moved.

He slowly looked around the interior.

After a moment—

his footsteps came to an abrupt stop.

“……”

In front of him was an old pile of cloth with a noticeable bump in the middle.

Something silver-gray protruded from beneath the edge.

Thread……

No.

Hair?

At that moment, a faint crack appeared in the holy knight’s cold, impassive expression.

Without realizing it, he reached out and lifted the blanket.

Then he let out a short breath.

What came limply into his hand was……

a cloth doll with awkwardly attached arms and legs.

Crookedly drawn eyes, nose, and mouth.

And a tiny thumbs-up sticker attached to its chest……

Why?

Why had he thought there would be a dead child beneath that white cloth?

A child?

That was practically the kind of existence least connected to him.

A familiar headache began to throb.

Dantelion straightened with a low sigh.

His neatly groomed long silver hair fell over his broad shoulders.

“Sir Dantelion!”

At that moment, his lieutenant came running in.

“As you ordered, all of the holy knights have been dispatched throughout District Z. We’ll begin transferring the residents to the Temple shelter shortly!”

“Well done.”

“Yes, sir. But……”

His lieutenant, Marc, glanced cautiously at Dantelion before asking,

“Commander…… why exactly are you here……?”

“……”

“I-I mean, something like slum relief would be more than enough for us to handle on our own……”

Dantelion remained silent for a moment before answering in his carefully controlled voice.

“Of course this is something I should personally oversee.”

That was what he said.

But in truth—

even he did not know.

Why exactly was he here?

He had merely heard his lieutenant report that they were going to District Z, and before he realized it, his body had moved on its own.

And that wasn’t all.

When he came back to his senses, he had been standing in front of this very hut.

……Annoying.

It was the first time he had ever been so unable to control himself.

The only things that had ever moved him were the Temple’s rules and his duties.

As a holy knight, he had always been skilled at discarding anything unnecessary.

Emotions.

Desires.

Relationships.

Affection.

So why today?

Was there something I was trying to find?

But……

What?

An object?

……A person?

“……”

At that moment, the core near his heart gave a powerful pulse.

A stabbing pain shot through his right arm and left eye.

His jaw tightened as he endured it, then slowly released a thin breath.

My divine power……

Why had it become this corrupted?

He had no memory of the moment his divine power had first been tainted.

His only guess was that perhaps the western monster subjugation campaign had gone on for too long.

But unlike other holy knights, purification medicine barely had any effect on him.

So whenever the pain came like a seizure, all he could do was endure it.

Is God…… testing me?

He had been born and raised to serve the Goddess.

Not once had he ever defied that purpose.

If this is a trial, I will accept it willingly.

The moment he grasped his prayer pendant, the disturbance inside him vanished.

His face once again became emotionless and dry.

“Commander!”

At that moment, Marc, who had been checking a messenger bird, urgently called out to him.

“We just received a report from Team Two. They found illegal drugs and traces of suspicious magic in the village chief’s house!”

Dantelion’s gaze instantly turned cold.

“And…… there’s also a report that a cart appears to have escaped through the northern gate—”

So that was it.

He had thought this place had been strangely irritating him from the moment he arrived.

As expected, God must have guided me here.

There were signs of criminal activity.

His straight, elegant hand closed around the hilt of his sword.

“Pursue them.”

His face returned completely to that of a stern and ascetic apostle.

“Effective immediately, seal every entrance and exit to District Z and secure the village chief first. And……”

Without realizing it, Dantelion added,

“Question the villagers as well. Investigate whether anyone among the residents has disappeared.”

“Yes, sir!”

He did not know why those words had slipped out.

But he had a strange intuition.

If someone had escaped from this place—

he felt as though he absolutely must not let them get away.

Dantelion turned sharply and left the hut.

His heart was pounding strangely hard.

Habitually reaching for his prayer pendant, he realized that he was still holding the cloth doll.

“……How careless.”

His empty gaze rested on it.

Normally, he would never have spared an object like this a second glance.

And yet, for some reason, it was difficult to let go.

I suppose I should find its owner.

He tucked the doll into the pocket of his cloak and started walking.

And at that exact moment—

Chap!

The thumbs-up sticker attached to the doll stuck to Dantelion’s body and quietly dissolved into him.

It happened so quickly that he never noticed.

He merely thought……

that breathing suddenly felt a little easier.

Dantelion’s hollow gaze fixed straight ahead.

Unfortunately, his sky was still gray.

“Hyup!”

Crash—! Rumble, rumble, rumble……

The cart rolled down into the ravine and shattered into pieces.

“No, seriously…… I have to throw away my cart too? I could’ve gotten at least five gold for that!”

Mister Paul stared miserably at his corpse cart.

He scratched the back of his head and grumbled about something, but honestly, I could barely hear him.

I was pretending to be fine—

but my heart was still pounding like crazy!

That was way too close……!

A little earlier.

“Is anyone there?”

When Dad had come to the hut—

I had used every bit of strength I had to erase the writing on the floor, then escaped through a small hole behind the house.

“W-why was Dad even there?!”

I rubbed the back of my neck while sprinting madly through the alleys.

“It really is gone……!”

Originally, there had been a tiny mark there.

When I was a baby, it was faint, but as I grew older, it became clearer.

It was the symbol of the direct bloodline of the Klein Ducal House.

In my previous life, the old woman from the slums who had looked after me discovered the mark and sent Dad a letter before she died.

But right now, the bond between Dad and me had been completely severed.

So naturally, the mark had disappeared too.

I have no idea what’s going on……

Anyway, after that—

I ran at full speed until I found Mister Paul……

the undertaker of this district.

“Mister! Please help me get out of here too!”

“Ah! You scared me!”

Because Mister Paul was responsible for disposing of corpses, he was relatively free to enter and leave District Z.

More importantly, according to my memories from my previous life, Mister Paul was supposed to leave District Z and head north today!

“This is yours, right?”

I dramatically held out the northern relocation flyer.

“They give you a house! And land!”

“Uh, yeah, they do, but……”

And that was how I managed to leave District Z hidden inside Mister Paul’s corpse cart.

A little while ago, we had even disposed of the cart to erase all traces of our escape.

We also made sure to throw some of Mister Paul’s belongings and mine into the ravine one by one.

If someone tried to track us, wouldn’t it look like we had fallen down there and died?

“No, but…… do we really have to pretend this hard that we’re dead?”

“You said you don’t want the holy knights who came to the village catching your trail!”

“Well…… yeah. I once ran away from forced labor at the Imperial Palace. If I get caught, I’ll probably go straight to prison.”

“Exactly!”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and insisted there was no such thing as being too careful.

Phew…… That really was like a storm.

My arms and legs trembled as though all the strength had drained from my body.

Still, there was one good thing.

“……Stick tightly to Dad, okay!”

Just before escaping the hut, I had managed to leave behind the divine-power sticker.

I had no idea where that sudden quick thinking had come from, but thank goodness I had done it.

Of course, because of that……

[(Empty) Your sticker book is empty. (Empty)]

“Whiiine……”

I had become a truly penniless little beggar with zero money and zero divine power……!

But that was okay!

As long as Dad can get better, I don’t mind being a little poor!

“Hey…… brat! Hurry up or I’m leaving you behind!”

“N-nooo!”

I jumped onto Mister Paul’s back.

He carefully headed toward the forest, making sure not to leave obvious footprints.

I clung tightly around his neck.

“Tch…… You little fluffball. Do you even know what kind of man you’re following……?”

Mister Paul grumbled.

Do I know what kind of person you are?

Of course I do.

My benefactor!

I had once asked Dad about it in my previous life.

“B-but…… how did you know I was your daughter?”

It was back when the idea that I even had a dad still felt awkward.

Dad didn’t seem annoyed by how I kept fidgeting.

He simply held me tightly in his arms and said,

“I received a letter. A woman named Annie wrote it before she died, and children who escaped from District Z delivered it to me.”

“Whaaat?”

“They said an undertaker named Paul secretly hid them in a corpse cart and helped them escape. Do you know anything about that?”

District Z was an isolated slum.

It was the kind of place where the youngest and weakest dying first was simply part of everyday life.

Living somewhere like that could turn some people into villains who stole other people’s bread.

But……

it could also create people who showed kindness for no reason at all.

And because of Mister Paul’s kindness—

I had been able to meet Dad.

I wonder what happened to Mister Paul after he went north in my previous life.

Was he happy?

I didn’t know, but……

This time, I’ll definitely repay him!

I clung to his back like a schoolbag and lightly rubbed my cheek against him.

“Hey, hey, that tickles, you little rascal.”

Then I quietly turned my head and looked behind us.

“……”

I could see tiny District Z below the hill.

I thought I could faintly hear the rough pounding of horse hooves……

but it was already nothing more than a sound from somewhere far, far away.

Dad’s voice still lingered in my ears.

But I shouldn’t think about him anymore.

I don’t miss Dad.

I saw him way too much in my previous life.

I really, really, really don’t miss him at all.

So……

this is just a goodbye.

Bye, Dad.

In this life, Hani became independent early.

Forget everything and live happily from now on!!

And just like that—

I left the capital.

Then, about three weeks later.

After a long journey filled with all kinds of twists and turns—

“Wooooooow!”

“We’re in the Noooooorth! Yahoooooo!”

The two little dirtballs finally reached the North!

[Errand completed! (Requester: God of Travel)]

[“Yahoo! Go to the North and shout it out!”]

[Reward: 10 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

[Would you like to receive the reward?]