I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Your daughter is very polite. And she has quite a loud voice.”

“She’s not my daughter.”

Flip, flip.

Basil was left speechless.

That damn advertisement……

More importantly, why hadn’t she gone home?

Why was she still here?

The child peeked up again, showing only her eyes as she checked Basil’s reaction.

Seeing him standing there without moving, she seemed to grow anxious and started fumbling.

“Next, next!”

She hurriedly tried to flip through the sketchbook—

when suddenly her silver head wobbled and disappeared backward.

“Ah!”

Grab!

“You little—! Do you want to get yourself hurt?!”

Basil barked fiercely.

It took him less than two seconds to wrench the window open and catch the falling child.

Haniel blinked while dangling in midair.

She stared at his wide red eyes, then twisted around and looked behind herself.

The wooden box she had been standing on had collapsed.

But I put plenty of straw underneath, so I would’ve been fine even if I fell.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

For some reason, Basil’s heartbeat sounded incredibly loud.

“……”

Haniel stared blankly at the man holding her.

His arms were large and solid.

And unbelievably warm.

Almost like Dad’s—

“Thank you!”

Haniel quickly hopped back down to the floor.

Basil let out a long sigh.

“Hah. Seriously…… So why are you here?”

“Ah! I came to apply for my welcome kit!”

Slap!

She thrust the flyer toward him.

Basil narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t remember…… ever welcoming you.”

“You did! You said I could live here until the day after tomorrow. That means I’m a resident for two nights and three days. So you gave me a short-term welcome, right?”

“……”

Was that really what he had said?

For some reason, it was difficult to argue.

“So, so! I was hoping you could lend me just a little something……! Your time, Your Grace!”

Basil stared at Haniel.

Somehow……

she looked even dirtier than before.

There was soil smeared all over her cheeks.

A hoe……? Is that a hoe?

The object sticking out of the bag on her back definitely looked like one.

He couldn’t make sense of any of this.

“Hey, Hippo.”

“I’m not Hippo, I’m Haniel.”

“Where’s Camilla?”

“Butler Camilla? She went home for a little while because she said she’d bring me warm bread and soup! Sounds yummy, right?”

“……”

So much for the Knight of Ice.

Apparently, she had melted long ago and changed careers into the Knight of Plain Water.

Basil gave up thinking about it.

He crooked a finger at Haniel.

“Come here.”

The child trotted over and, like a puppy offering a paw, slapped her little palm into his hand.

Basil carelessly placed the string of a sack into it.

“This is the welcome—and goodbye—kit I can give you.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll give you a sack of southern sugar and one of spices. Go sell them. If you take them to a nearby territory, you’ll make decent money. Everyone around here goes crazy for southern goods.”

“Hmm.”

“That should be enough, right? So go already.”

“Your Grace? Y-you can’t just—!”

Luden sounded horrified, but Basil ignored him.

“Goodbye, brat.”

“No! Not goodbye! I can’t sell these!”

“Why not? You said there’s some man you came here with.”

Basil added, recalling something Haniel had mentioned in passing.

Looks like she has a perfectly healthy father too.

The drawing he had seen in the sketchbook came to mind.

“That’s not it. This is……”

Haniel’s eyes rolled to the side and locked onto Luden.

Slowly, she looked him over from head to toe, then fixed her gaze on something.

Luden followed her eyes and found a piece of straw stuck to the hem of his trousers.

Just ordinary straw.

Yet for some reason, his shoulders flinched.

Just as Haniel was about to say something—

Luden suddenly snatched the sack string right out of her hand.

“Your Grace! No! Just look at her. She seems like some kid who grew up rolling around in a slum. Just send her away! Why do you need to go this far for her?”

The angry knight’s voice filled the warehouse.

“It’s obvious she came here to beg on purpose. You remember those people, don’t you? We saved them, and they sucked us dry before robbing the safe and running off…… At least those bastards chopped firewood a few times. What use could a brat like this possibly be to the territory?”

“Hey.”

“No, actually, kids these days are even craftier, so she’s definitely plotting something like—”

“Luden.”

At that moment—

the knight’s mouth snapped shut at Basil’s quiet voice.

As though the relaxed atmosphere from a moment earlier had been a lie, the air immediately pulled taut.

“That’s enough.”

Tap.

A large hand settled on Luden’s shoulder.

“You know that, right?”

The pressure was overwhelming.

The sinister aura Basil had been keeping carefully restrained beneath his casual tone and posture suddenly poured toward Luden.

Basil stared at the trembling knight for a moment, then withdrew his presence.

Afterward, he casually brushed off Luden’s shoulder as though nothing had happened.

“Hey. You having a rough time lately?”

“……”

“I know the trip south was hard, but why are you being this stingy over sending a kid off with a few sacks?”

“……I’m…… sorry.”

“I’ll handle things here. Go get some rest.”

Luden hesitated, then eventually bowed before leaving the warehouse with his subordinates.

What am I supposed to do with that guy?

Basil rubbed the back of his head.

And what am I supposed to do with this one?

He sensed the little brat standing behind him.

She was unusually quiet.

Was she going to cry?

Or was she already crying?

This is exhausting in more ways than one.

A huge adult had pointed at her and shouted.

And she had probably felt wronged at being treated like some troublesome bad child who did nothing but cause problems……

Basil turned around sharply.

“Um. Sorry. I’ll apologize on his—”

And froze.

“Hm?”

The child was smiling brightly.

“What for?”

“……”

A strange feeling swept through him.

“That…… what my subordinate just said was a bit too much.”

“Ah!”

Haniel smiled sweetly.

“It’s okay! He can get angry!”

She answered as though it were nothing.

Then, apparently realizing something, her expression suddenly changed, and she frantically waved both arms.

“But, but! I didn’t come here just to take advantage of you! Really! I’ve never targeted the safe either. Well, bread—I am targeting the bread a little, but I plan to receive that as fair compensation for my hard work……!”

What is this kid?

“Anyway, I’m not a burden anymore, so don’t worry!”

She said it as though she had once been treated as a burden.

Or perhaps as though she herself believed she had been one.

For some reason, Basil’s mood soured.

He dropped heavily onto a nearby crate and let out a long sigh.

“So.”

“Hm?”

“What are you going to do with the hour of this mister’s time?”

Haniel blinked her enormous eyes.

“You asked for it. One hour.”

“Ah, right!”

Haniel immediately ran over.

“You’re really going to listen to me?”

“You said you’re going to be a resident for two nights and three days, didn’t you?”

“……!”

“Then I should do what a resident asks.”

Even while knowing something was going very wrong, Basil found himself saying it anyway.

“This mister isn’t the kind of man who says two different things with one mouth. I’m a pretty decent lord, you know.”

“Wooooow! Then, then!”

The child jumped up and down with a huge smile.

Basil stared at her.

I really don’t like this.

Children were troublesome.

And among them, children who smiled a lot were even more troublesome.

Kids like that usually carried something enormous inside them.

This is going to be exhausting.

At this point, he might as well play along until the day after tomorrow and then send her away.

What could a six-year-old possibly ask for?

Eat bread together?

Tour the village?

Something like—

“Would you like to go draw blood from the Mad Dragon’s corpse with me?”

“Sorry, but our territory is closed.”

What the hell is wrong with this brat?!

What exactly is she carrying inside her?!