Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12
“What about the money left over from buying those cheap things?”
I gathered air in my palm and swallowed it with a soft gulp.
“Gulp?”
At that moment, the hand gripping the sword hilt went slack.
Watching him like that—practically a confession—I broke into a grin.
‘When I explored the Village this morning, there were hardly any residents. So the quantity of supplies needed wouldn’t have been that much.’
Which meant if he’d actually tried to embezzle, he’d more likely have schemed with something like a Crystal Portal Pass—worth about half a year’s budget for a modest territory—rather than pocket change from ‘item costs.’
‘The money he smuggled out was probably for…’
Yeah, I can guess roughly.
Or rather, I’d say it wasn’t quite embezzlement.
‘I can’t let this chance slip away! Luden!’
I threw my arms around his in a fierce embrace.
“What are you—”
“……”
“If you make an alliance with me, then I’ll keep your secret safely, and I think I can help you handle those things you’ve been secretly bringing in…”
The eyes behind his spectacles trembled violently.
“Be on my side!”
He was already halfway there, at least.
Still, keep dangling!
“Come ooooon, Luden!”
* * *
After that, everything moved at lightning speed.
“All I want is simple! Just give me a ride on horseback to the Northern Mountains! And send a letter by carrier pigeon!”
“Look, I’m not just going to—”
Of course, he seemed a bit wounded by the idea of making an alliance with a child like me…
“…So, should I go?”
“I’m not just going to—”
“To the Grand Duke? Right now I’m taking one step… and the next… Hiyah—”
“Wait! Our alliance pact was so loud I didn’t hear what you said!”
Of course, in a somewhat coercive manner,
‘Hmm?’
Or rather, in a cooperative way, we settled it peacefully!
I shook Luden’s hand vigorously as he seemed to have lost all will to resist, sealing our alliance.
And so we arrived at the Northern Mountains.
The Outpost, just below the middle slope where Black Dragon’s corpse lay.
“You’re really telling me the thing you lost is near this Outpost?”
“Yes! Camilla brought me here this morning! She said it’s a great viewpoint for Northern scenery!”
“…Was she trying to scare you away? Anyway, find it quickly! Once the sun sets completely, monsters could appear.”
“Yes!”
I vaguely dodged the question while watching for a chance to slip away from Luden.
When he stepped away briefly to inspect the monster traps,
I managed to approach where Black Dragon lay!
More precisely, I approached the pillars that wrapped around Black Dragon’s corpse, but even that was enough to see the silhouette of the massive fallen dragon laid bare in the distance.
My first impression of Black Dragon was…
“So black! So huge! So ominous!”
The corpse itself was an eerie mass emanating an overwhelming sense of dread.
Perhaps that was why.
The white pillars encasing everything around it looked all the more beautiful and majestic.
“Wow…”
I hopped closer, bouncing with each step.
“Father’s handiwork!”
Six Sealing Pillars wrapping around the massive corpse.
From each pillar stretched long chains far thicker than my torso.
The six chains extending from each pillar wound tightly around Black Dragon’s corpse by section, containing the Miasma pouring forth from it within the pillars.
‘In other words, if I destroy one pillar? One-sixth of Black Dragon’s magical power would come spilling out.’
For the past five hundred years, the Northern Region had existed under Black Dragon’s influence.
During that time, Black Dragon dispersed its enormous magical power through the land itself, displaying its dominion, or so the records say.
‘The book called it the “Dragon Vein.”‘
In other words, beneath the earth of this Northern Region flowed a dedicated channel of Black Dragon’s power, like a spider’s web woven densely throughout.
Through it, he warmed the entire Northern Region, bred monster armies to his heart’s content, occasionally spawned offspring, and all the while dispersed curses and toxins.
Then came the moment before death at the hands of Basil.
Screeeech! I curse you, human!
The dragon, utterly maddened, unleashed its venom across the entire Northern Region through the Dragon Vein.
‘That’s the true nature of the contamination that lingers throughout the North even now.’
And the Black Dragon itself transformed into a miasma-emanating entity of pure pollution.
In other words, it cast a curse upon this land as if to say, “If I must die, then all of you shall perish with me.”
It was nothing short of catastrophe.
What stopped it was Father’s pillar.
‘In truth, purifying contamination is normally the duty of a high priestess rather than a holy knight…….’
For reasons unknown, the Temple and the Imperial Court refused to dispatch any priestesses.
So Father, who happened to be nearby, had no choice but to act. Pressed for time, he chose Sealing over proper Purification.
‘Honestly, the fact that he sealed this alone in a single night is truly remarkable.’
It must have been all the more difficult because his Holy Power was tainted…….
My brows drooped with displeasure.
‘And then the Emperor immediately promoted the mercenary Basil to Grand Duke of the North……and promptly dispatched him to Bertus, a city choked with contamination.’
It was nothing but a scheme to isolate Basil.
And so as not to earn the label of heartlessness from the common people, they sent only a single apprentice priestess.
‘Just enough support to survive a few years at minimum—purifying only Bedel Village and a few trade routes.’
“Sigh!”
Adults truly are something.
From that point on, a long winter descended upon Bertus.
It was inevitable—the Black Dragon’s burning magical power that had flowed through the Dragon Vein was now completely sealed away.
In any case, that’s all I know from my past lives!
‘I don’t remember all ninety-nine lives, but I do remember crucial information like this!’
It’s the result of piecing together what I’ve read in books, heard from Father’s stories, and learned from the household servants and Grandfather’s tales.
“Still, what a blessing~”
I set down my bag, which was stuffed full of bread, beneath a tree and rolled up my sleeves.
“After all, I’m a child who can earn Holy Power~”
[Haniel’s Sticker Book (Children’s Edition)]
Holy Power Stickers in storage: 16
Time to purify!
Purify the corpse, eliminate the miasma, and draw out the burning magical power steadily!
‘But……will I have enough Holy Power?’
I craned my neck to look up at the colossal corpse above me.
Before I came here, I had harbored an ambitious goal—to purify the entire Black Dragon corpse.
Then I would extract blood from the body or carve it up piece by piece and scatter it throughout the North so the heat-infused magical power would spread across the entire region.
“But…….”
It seems unlikely.
Gazing at the massive corpse that my eyes couldn’t even fully take in, I looked down at my own hands.
Small, insignificant hands.
Hands that could do nothing.
“No.”
The question isn’t whether I can—it’s that I must.
To save Father!
‘I promised myself that I’d earn lots of Holy Power while living here!’
I exhaled sharply with resolve and moved forward with purpose.
“I’ll be helpful too!”
Throughout ninety-nine lives, the Haniel who tormented Father was incompetent and wicked.
Such a Haniel is no longer needed.
In this life, I will not become a burden to anyone, nor an obstacle.
I’ve resolved to become capable—someone who can accomplish difficult things on their own!
“Alright then.”
If I can’t purify everything at once, I’ll do it step by step.
The Black Dragon’s magical power, divided into six by the six pillars.
Perhaps this is a stroke of fortune.
‘With just one pillar’s worth, I think I can manage it with my own strength!’
Let’s start with the first pillar!
I moved forward briskly, stretching out my hand toward empty air.
Pop!
White letters burst forth at once.
* * *
Basil lifted his head.
“Camilla.”
“Yes?”
“Something seems…….”
He furrowed his brow.
“Isn’t it unnaturally quiet?”
“This place has always been unnaturally quiet, sir.”
Camilla regarded the Grand Duke with an unconcerned gaze.
Basil, who had been speaking of Luden, tapped the table with his forefinger—tap, tap.
That suspicious warehouse and Luden within it.
The southern goods he’d been procuring.
The warehouse…… Luden…… provisions…… bread…….
That child.
“That child.”
Basil sprang to his feet.
“What is that child doing right now?”
His bloodshot crimson eyes flew wide open.
* * *
[If you’d like to use multiple stickers at once, try the [Synthesis] function!]
“Hmm?”
There’s a function like this?
When I answered with enthusiasm, a brilliant light flashed and a huge thumbs-up sticker fell with a soft tap.
[Condensed Divine Holy Power Sticker (x16)]
– Large. Adorable. Medium size.
– Easy to apply, but impact that commands attention!
– Press firmly around the edges so it doesn’t peel. (Sticker design is random!)
“Incredible!”
I took one breath, then pressed the magnificent sticker against my belly—click.
Since it was a little large, it wouldn’t quite fit on the back of my hand or my forehead.
Whoooooosh—!
‘Wow.’
Because it was a sticker condensing sixteen layers into one, clean Holy Power flooded through my body all at once, far more intense than before.
Yet the Holy Power couldn’t settle anywhere in my body and was forced outward.
Pop!
[Haniel with Holy Power Flowing Gently (x16)]
– Holy Power flows around your body for a set duration (15:00)
– The halo effect makes you seem somehow slightly more omnipotent
– Purification strength can be adjusted
– Contamination, stand aside!
[Bonus] Cuteness increases by 20% due to sticker effect (children only)
I blinked blankly.
‘This is actually working!’
When I was kidnapped by a new monster at the Northern Region checkpoint.
I’d escaped by pressing a Holy Power Sticker onto my forehead.
“Save me! Please save me!”
“Shrieeeeeek—!”
That was something I’d done unconsciously back then…… and it gave me an understanding.
When I press a Holy Power Sticker on myself, I can wear Holy Power like a cloak, at least for a time!
‘And if I can wear it around my body…….’
– Purification strength can be adjusted
‘I can use “Purification” through Holy Power exactly as I will it! Just like the Priestess Order!’
Of course, there’s a time limit.
But fifteen minutes is more than enough.
“Excellent!”
All I have to do now is approach the pillar and channel Holy Power into it—and I’m done!
I stepped forward with the vigor of a hero making a comeback…… huh?
“Hmm?”
Was it just my imagination?
Why do my feet feel so heavy all of a sudden?
‘Oh no. Has Luden already caught on?’
This can’t be happening!
“L-Luden? Please put me down.”
My body rose slowly into the air. I flailed my arms and legs uselessly.
“I’m rather busy at the moment, and Luden—”
I couldn’t help myself any longer and whipped my head back.
And there they were—those crimson eyes.
The sharp gaze softened into something round.
“That’s not it, is it?”
His low, quiet voice made the hair on my neck stand on end.
“I… I wouldn’t know, would I?”
“When children go quiet, they’re up to no good one hundred percent of the time.”
“Well, unfortunately, I’ve never raised a child before, so…”
“Yeah. I didn’t know that either.”
My body floated weightless. I landed with a soft thump against his thick forearm.
“Just learned it today.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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