I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 53

Chapter 53

“Quite noisy. If you were going to call out that loudly, why bother hiding your appearance?”

“Haha, my apologies. Still, this is technically supposed to be a vacation…… More importantly, are you really planning to stay here longer?”

“Yes. I’m waiting for someone.”

“I already thought it was strange when you handed the western expedition over to the First Holy Knight Order…… but you’re not planning to just storm through the northern gate or anything, right?”

“I won’t do anything like that.”

Holy Knight Dantelion answered with something like a sigh.

I took another step backward.

[Remember this, child. There is no such thing as perfect concealment in this world. You must avoid meeting him at all costs.]

[You already know how powerful his fixation on you has become. Even the smallest trigger may allow him to overcome my power and remember you.]

If Dad saw me, the chance the Goddess had given me to save him might end right here.

Dad might eventually die because of me.

My breath caught.

My thoughts were already a mess.

What do I……

What do I do?

What am I supposed to do first?

R-run.

I have to run.

Right.

I need to get away.

Dad must not see me!

And yet……

for some reason, my legs wouldn’t move.

They only trembled uncontrollably.

I couldn’t take even one step.

Why?!

“Little one? Is something wrong?”

The shopkeeper must have found it strange that I was standing there frozen.

“……!”

No.

Please don’t talk to me right now……

And sure enough—

at that exact moment, Dad, who had been standing far away, turned his head toward me as if by fate—

“Haniel?”

Sir Brad suddenly scooped me into his arms.

“—!”

“Baby, what’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you still feeling sick somewhere……?”

I buried my face against his enormous chest.

Only then did the breath I had been holding burst out all at once.

“S-Sir Brad.”

“There, there.”

“P-please, let’s go home……!”

“Hm?”

“Sir Brad Smith.”

A soft, low voice drew closer.

My shoulders jolted.

“……Sir Dante……?”

It was Dad.

“It’s been a while. Two years, perhaps.”

“……What brings you here?”

Sir Brad’s tone immediately became heavily guarded.

I gripped his clothes tightly.

“I heard that several unusual things have recently happened to the pillars in the North.”

“……”

“This is fortunate timing. Please tell His Grace that I would like to meet him. I’m not here as a holy knight, so it can be informal.”

At Dad’s quiet words, Sir Brad let out a short groan before replying,

“Well…… I’ll mention it to His Grace. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“Understood. ……However.”

After a brief silence, Dad continued slowly.

“That child…… who is she?”

My entire body jerked.

Sir Brad gently rubbed my back as if calming me.

“She’s a child from our village. She said she was bored, so I brought her out to see Northon Village.”

“……A child from the village?”

That was when I learned that even a gaze could have physical form.

Dad’s stare felt like a thick rope wrapping tightly around me.

Step.

Dad came closer.

“……Which family does she belong to?”

It was a low, dry voice I had never heard from him before.

“I don’t believe I have any obligation to tell you.”

“Her origin.”

Step.

Dad closed the distance again.

“What is it?”

“I’m also under no obligation to answer—”

“If she migrated here from outside, then perhaps—”

“Sir Dante.”

Step.

“When.”

Step.

“From where……”

Swish!

“Sir Dantelion.”

Sir Brad finally stepped fully in front of me and gripped his weapon.

He spoke almost like a growl.

“What is the meaning of this? If you come any closer, I’ll consider it an act of aggression.”

Dad stopped speaking.

“……Aggression? I had no intention of—”

Only then did he seem to notice that my entire body was trembling like an aspen leaf.

“My apologies.”

Dad stepped back.

Still visibly tense, Sir Brad completely shielded me with his body and turned away.

“Then we’ll be going.”

“……Please wait.”

Dad stopped him again.

“C-Commander…… Why do you keep……”

This time, his presence was noticeably softer than before.

And that gentle voice……

was directed toward me.

“Little one.”

For a moment, I almost cried.

“Little one. My pretty princess.”

Because that voice……

was one I knew far too well.

But now—

it was a voice I could never, ever answer again.

“You dropped this.”

Rustle.

Dad picked up the fallen bag of snacks and held it out toward me.

Of course, I stayed completely still with my face buried in Sir Brad’s chest.

Silence passed.

For some reason, Dad’s voice sounded faintly anxious when he carefully asked,

“……Is the child perhaps unwell?”

“She seems very tired, so we’ll be leaving now.”

Sir Brad accepted the snack bag in my place and started walking.

As he hurried toward the cargo wagon, he whispered to me,

“Hani. Are you really sick somewhere? Hm? Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

Like I had forgotten how to speak, I only shook my head again and again.

Quickly.

Please, quickly……

I wanted to get away from this place.

Neighhh!

The cargo wagon sped away.

We passed straight through the northern gate and returned to Bethel Village.

It had been eight hours since I ran away from home.

Chapter 10 — New Residents of the Veil River Basin

“I mean…… You don’t even particularly like children. Why are you so interested today?”

Marc asked.

“Still, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen silver hair as pretty as yours, Commander.”

“……”

“So what are you going to do? Even if you remove your holy-knight insignia, I doubt they’ll let you into the North. Are you still going to try?”

“……”

“Command—”

Marc swallowed.

“……er?”

Because when Dantelion turned around……

his face was terrifyingly rigid.

An unfamiliar light flashed in his wide-open eyes.

Even the gentle mask he always wore had vanished completely.

This was the first time Marc had ever realized that a holy knight whose emotions barely fluctuated could make an expression like that.

He looked like someone consumed by fury.

At the same time, perhaps by fear.

And in another sense—

like someone who had finally discovered something he had been searching for endlessly.

“……Let’s go.”

His firm throat moved noticeably.

Dantelion swallowed with difficulty before barely moving his lips.

“Pardon? Y-yes……!”

Dantelion walked away in a daze, still staring at the spot where the child had disappeared.

His head throbbed.

Why was Sir Brad taking care of that child?

She was a tiny little girl.

Very, very small.

Fragile-looking.

Of course, perhaps there was nothing strange about it.

Taking a village child out for a brief excursion wasn’t unusual.

“……”

But why?

Why did this feel so strange?

……Because she might be the child who escaped District Z?

But……

that thought hadn’t even crossed his mind at the time.

He had simply wanted to see the child’s face.

If Brad hadn’t stopped him, he certainly would have.

An indescribable—

deeply strange sensation.

He clenched his fist.

Feeling inexplicably suffocated, he roughly undid the button fastened neatly at his throat.

Come to think of it.

He slowly replayed what had just happened.

What the child was holding…… that red bonnet?

She had been clutching it tightly, almost as though trying to hide it.

But he had definitely seen the edge.

That……

hadn’t the yarn looked similar to the scarf he had received?

Of course, that kind of yarn was extremely common throughout the Empire.

He had even seen it in the general store just moments ago.

And yet, for some reason, he couldn’t dismiss it.

The instincts he had sharpened solely to serve God’s will were urging him onward.

As if warning him—

Do not ignore your intuition.

That was when—

“Whew! Finally next week!”

A noisy group of people passed by.

“Now all we have to do is get a wagon and enter the North together!”

“I heard there’s someone guarding the gate these days…… They’re not going to reject us, right?”

“They said it’s fine as long as your identity checks out!”

New residents……

heading to Vertus.

“……”

Dantelion’s gaze slowly turned toward them.

To Be Continued…