I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 50

Chapter 50

I didn’t have time to dwell on what the Grand Duke had said.

My fever rose again, and my body ended up sprawled helplessly across the bed.

A lot of people came and went while I was sick.

Not only the Vertus knights, but Mister Paul and the other villagers came one after another to visit me.

Apparently, they all stood around anxiously, not knowing what to do, snuck a peek at my face once or twice, fidgeted some more, and only then finally went home.

I caused everyone trouble without meaning to.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was the middle of the night.

No one was around.

I blinked about five times.

Then I thought—

I’m bored.

Of lying in bed.

I had experienced this so many times in my previous life that I was completely sick of it.

I wanted to walk along the edges of the fields.

I wanted to run through the village.

Until my hair flew everywhere.

Until I was panting for breath.

But right now, I couldn’t do anything.

“……”

Helplessness washed over me.

As if rebelling against it, I suddenly rolled over—

and bumped into a small doll.

“Hm? What’s this?”

It was an incredibly cute hippo-shaped bag.

Looks handmade……

Looking more carefully, I realized that the bed and nearby table were covered in all kinds of gifts.

Tiny ribbons.

Animal dolls woven from straw.

Healthy berries.

Bouquets of wildflowers.

Baskets full of assorted breads.

And more and more.

Gifts? Why?

I was touching one of the bread baskets with a puzzled expression when Grand Duke Basil’s face suddenly flashed through my mind.

“From now on, you’re forbidden from purifying pillars.”

My lips stuck out.

What was that all of a sudden?

I still didn’t understand why he had suddenly told me not to purify any more pillars.

Did I seem unreliable because I got sick?

Then there was only one thing to do.

Recover as quickly as possible.

“Ugh. I should drink some water.”

I muttered softly and struggled to sit up.

Then—

a cup of water suddenly appeared in front of me.

“……?”

Huh?

Was I not alone after all?

I turned my head.

Slan was standing there in a slightly awkward pose, holding out the cup.

“Sca—”

The moment our eyes met, the boy stiffened slightly.

“—You scared me!”

“……”

“Slaaan? How long have you been here?”

“……A little while.”

Slan abruptly turned his head and added,

“I-I came to visit you.”

“At this hour……?”

He hadn’t been here this whole time, had he?

Whether I wondered about it or not, Slan pressed the cup firmly into my hands, propped up my pillow to make a backrest, and carefully watched until I drank the water.

“Are you okay?”

“Yup!”

“……That’s why I told you to rest right away yesterday……”

My eyes widened at his quiet mutter.

“Did you know I was sick?”

“I obviously…… didn’t know it would get this bad.”

Only then did I understand.

“……On the way home from the mountain, suddenly……”

“That’s a lie.”

Why His Grace had immediately called my answer a lie.

But I couldn’t blame Slan for that.

He had probably just answered the Grand Duke honestly.

“……Drink this.”

“What is it?”

My eyes widened at the tiny glass vial Slan handed me.

“A healing potion. It works well for colds.”

“Where’d you get it?”

“I just…… made it according to what I read in a book. It’s extremely basic, so it’s nothing special.”

The boy looked away, apparently embarrassed.

“Wow.”

Slosh.

A strangely colored liquid swayed inside.

“You’re seriously smart. How do you make medicine just from reading about it in a book?”

“Well, you just mix things……”

According to Noah, Slan also had a strong understanding of mana and could comprehend complicated magic circles surprisingly well.

For some reason, though, he strongly avoided using mana himself.

Once a magic circle was drawn, you had to pour mana into it to activate it, but apparently he wasn’t good at doing that.

He says it’s because his mana is too weak……

Anyway—

Slan had made medicine for me.

Imagining him sweating in front of a huge cauldron made my chest feel warm.

That’s actually kind of touching. Even though his mental age is way younger than mine!

You little guy!

“Keep it for now. Tomorrow, ask Master or Sir Camilla whether it’s safe before you drink—”

I immediately popped the cork and downed the whole thing.

“Nom!”

“What……!”

Slan’s eyes went huge.

“What are you doing?! Why did you drink it right now?!”

“Huh? Didn’t you give it to me to drink? Mm, this tastes like strawberries!!”

“I put wild strawberry juice in it…… no, that’s not the point.”

Slan let out an incredulous laugh.

“What if it had been poison?”

“Do you want to get rid of me?”

“Are you crazy?!”

Slan blurted it out—

then, for some reason, froze.

I beamed.

“Right? My friend gave it to me, so why wouldn’t I drink it?”

“……That’s not right.”

“What’d you say?”

“……Nothing.”

Swish.

The boy turned away, his dark robe fluttering.

Honestly, I wanted him to stay and play a little longer.

But considering how much time he’d already spent with me, I figured this was probably his limit.

“Bye, Slan. See you tomorrow.”

“? I’m not leaving.”

Scrape.

He dragged over a chair and dropped into it.

I tilted my head.

“Why aren’t you going?”

After hesitating for quite a while, he finally answered.

“……I need to watch the medicine’s effects.”

Seriously.

Such a magic nerd.

Cute.

My eyelids were already getting heavy, so I buried my nose in the blanket.

After thinking for a moment, I suddenly realized something.

“Ah.”

“What?”

“Was that potion just now…… your get-well gift for me?”

“Well…… yes.”

“……”

I wiggled my toes beneath the blanket.

“……Why does everyone give you gifts when you’re sick?”

I glanced at all the presents surrounding me.

“It’s not like being sick is something I did well.”

I knew people brought things when visiting someone who was ill as a courtesy.

But I had never received anything like this before, so it felt strangely awkward.

Then Slan, expressionless as ever, said casually,

“They probably gave them to you because they want you to get better quickly.”

“Ah. So I should hurry and recover so I don’t make everyone worry……”

“That’s not what I mean.”

His blue eyes shone calmly in the moonlight.

“If you’re sick, you’re the one suffering the most.”

“……”

“For the people watching—especially if you’re someone important to them—it hurts to see you like that. So they want you to get better quickly. ……Are you going to sleep?”

“……Yeah!”

I yanked the blanket all the way over my head.

My eyes suddenly felt much hotter……

so clearly I still had a fever.

A few days later—

Haniel made a complete recovery.

Slan’s medicine must have worked!

Yay!

“I’m fine now, right? Right?”

Sitting on a chair, she stared sparklingly at Camilla, who had a hand pressed to her forehead.

Camilla lightly tapped her pale cheek and smiled.

“Mm. Your fever is completely gone.”

After taking Slan’s medicine and resting properly for several days, her body felt light again, as if nothing had happened.

“Hehehe.”

Haniel sprang to her feet.

She hurried over to Basil and swung her arms energetically.

“See~? I told you I’d get better quickly!”

Basil was sitting at his desk, looking over something.

He glanced at the child.

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

“Look!”

“……”

“I can jump now too!”

Hop! Hop! Hop!

Haniel repeatedly bounced in place.

“Hey, stop jumping. You’re rattling your brain.”

“Tada! I can roll around toooo!”

Roll, roll, roll—

She rolled across the thick carpet.

Basil sighed.

“Hey! Stop rolling too. If you get nauseous again, who do you think is going to cry blood?”

“And I can hoe like this……!”

“Hey.”

The moment she whipped out a toy hoe—

Basil shot to his feet and snatched it away by reflex.

“Why are you making such a huge commotion?”

In the end, he picked the child up, returned to his chair, and sat her in his lap.

Haniel climbed onto his thigh and whispered into his ear with a more excited expression than ever.

“So please take me to the Mad Dragon’s pillar……! Pleeease?”

“……”

Yeah.

He knew she was going to say that.

Basil moved Haniel onto the desk so she was facing him directly.

“Hani.”

“Yes!”

“You seem to have forgotten that I told you you’re forbidden from approaching the pillars from now on.”

Her long eyelashes fluttered.

“Stop worrying about the pillars.”

“You mean keep worrying about them, right?”

“Nope. Actually, our territory has a special law banning children under ten from approaching pillars.”

“We don’t even have laws here……”

“I passed it just now.”

“You don’t know how to pass laws……”

“You think you’re the only one who grows? I grow too.”

Haniel shouted in disbelief.

“That makes no sense!”

“It does here.”

“But!”

“……”

“If I don’t purify it, how are you going to fix the Veil River?”

“……”

“We have to catch fish! And if more people move here, we’ll need to stockpile even more food!”

Basil stared at the child with hard eyes.

“I’m telling you that’s not something you need to worry about anymore.”

“Why?”

Haniel pressed her lips together.

“Because I got sick…… I’m useless now?”

“……”

“And now……”

Her voice faltered.

“You don’t want to keep me anymore?”

To Be Continued…