Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 28

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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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Episode 28
“Let me see what you’ve got, my little one.”
In the next moment, my body lifted into the air.
Those crimson eyes were unmistakable.
“Good grief.”
Basili held me close, his voice low and measured.
“Your heart’s completely laid bare.”
His tone was his usual one, but for the first time in ages, he looked genuinely angry.
“Who upset my little one?”
……
“Was it you?”
Lister let out a yelp of terror, and the Count’s eyes went wide.
“T-that child, he started—”
“It was you.”
He wrenched the Count’s arm and pinned it without hesitation.
“Aaaghh! When you’re the one who needs my favor, how dare you treat me this way!”
“Treat you?”
Basili kept the Count’s arm bent, his voice lazy and unhurried.
“That’s a Northern-style Farewell Greeting.”
Now that I looked closer, water was dripping steadily from the Count’s hair.
It seemed like something Kamila or the Grand Duke himself had done to him before.
“Ohhhhh! My arm—it’s going to break!”
“Never broken someone’s arm before? This won’t do it.”
“Agh!”
“Besides, Count, I’d suggest you focus on family discipline for a change. That seems a good deal more urgent than making money, if I’m being honest.”
The Grand Duke suddenly released him.
“Now get out. Go send another damages claim if you like. You’re good at that.”
The Count scrambled backward.
“I’ll be taking my leave! Don’t forget the date of settlement!”
The Count bolted for his carriage in a panic.
As Lister was dragged along, he cast a resentful look and called out.
“H-he really is your father?! He isn’t, is he?!”
“Lister.”
……
The Grand Duke gave a cold smile and answered with just the shape of his lips.
I’d been watching the Count, and by the time I turned my head, I couldn’t quite catch what he’d said.
A moment later.
“Are you alright?”
I bowed deeply at the waist in apology.
“I’m terribly sorry for the commotion……”
Far away, the carriage went rumbling down the path.
“What were you even doing loitering there? Don’t tell me you……”
The Grand Duke let out a long sigh.
“Did you hear all of it?”
“Y-yes……. I’m so sorry for that too.”
Rough yet gentle hands brushed the dirt from my clothes.
“……Never mind. It’s nothing important, so forget about it.”
The Grand Duke seemed to want to move past it quickly.
I stared at him for a moment, then stumbled over my words hesitantly.
“Um, thank you for saving me just now.”
……
“I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble.”
“Trouble, nothing.”
The Grand Duke poked my forehead lightly.
“How could a soft little thing like you ever be a bother?”
“Then…… that’s a relief.”
My heart felt peculiar—ticklish and itchy at once, yet somehow uncomfortable too.
What had the Grand Duke said to Lister back then?
Had he given an answer that fit the “external” situation?
……
I don’t understand my own feelings either.
Best to set aside what I don’t know for now.
“But Your Highness!”
I clenched my fist, trying to brighten the mood.
“We’re going to be rich this autumn, I’m sure of it!”
“Is that your way of saying I should pay back the debt?”
“No, no, no!”
Redermic will be back soon enough.
To collect the debt? No.
‘To wring out every last tear and snot!’
According to my memories of my past life, something absolutely astounding is about to unfold from here on.
‘I need to move faster myself!!’
“Well then, shall we head out to work?”
“Oh dear, Your Highness has a delicate constitution—he can’t possibly do farming.”
“Let’s head out!”
“Now she won’t even listen with the back of her ear.”
Fortunately, everything was progressing smoothly.
The people were all enthusiastic, the land was in good condition, and if things continued this way, the autumn harvest would surely be bountiful.
That was when it happened.
Someone came running from the distance.
“Your Highness!”
“…Maybe I should establish a law against calling me urgently like this.”
An ominous premonition descended upon me.
“In the Village Square, the r-residents…”
“What?”
“They’re having a fistfight!”
“…”
“…”
But why?!
* * *
It had started as a minor dispute.
After finishing the arduous land reclamation, just before the real seeding was to begin.
A comment from a certain farmer who saw barley seeds.
“Are we planting barley?”
Then a woman wearing a headscarf spoke up.
“Of course we’re planting barley! I’ve been carefully threshing the stalks and getting all the seeds ready! What’s the problem?”
“Tsk, tsk-tsk-tsk… You don’t know the first thing about farming! Newly reclaimed land still consumes its soil fertility heavily—it’s too soon for crops like barley and wheat that drain so much.”
“What?”
“So here, we should keep the barley seeds stored and plant land reclamation crops first, like turnips or potatoes.”
At that, the woman let out a sharp laugh.
“Storage? Listen to you! Do you know how much it costs to maintain? And to store seeds long-term, we’d have to dig underground and build a storehouse—do we have time and money to spare?”
“Well, that’s—”
“And this is Dragon Vein land! Our starting point is different from other lands!”
“Since when is a Dragon Vein a cure-all? Has anyone here actually farmed on Dragon Vein land before? If so, step forward!”
The square fell silent.
“Didn’t think so? If building an underground storehouse is a burden now, just resell the barley seeds! The planting season’s coming up, so they’ll sell well! With that money, buy turnip seeds and seed potatoes, plant them thick and fast! Plant winter wheat come autumn! That’s what makes sense!”
Right, right!
People flocked to the “plant turnips first” faction.
The woman shook her head as if hearing a dog bark from somewhere.
“Honestly, I hate arguing with you Empire folk who know nothing about farming…”
“What did you say?!”
“If this place has returned to the old Northern climate, winters will be absolutely, terribly cold with fierce winds! Plant wheat in autumn and it’ll get hit by a harsh winter and freeze solid!”
Wheat planted in autumn had to survive the winter. If the winter was too severe, it would naturally freeze to death.
The Northern Territory was Dragon Vein land, but temperatures plummeted in winter.
Because the Dragon Vein didn’t flow with equal strength year-round.
Like the turning of seasons, it burned most intensely through spring and summer, then grew dormant come autumn and winter, its power waning. This was information Basili had learned when he suppressed the Grand Dragon—a fact now widely known throughout the Empire.
“So we should sow barley now, I’m telling you! The Dragon Vein will nurture it abundantly!”
“Hey! Did monsters hold hoes and farm for a living? We’re the first to farm this land—if we fail, what then? We need safe crops! Potatoes! Turnips!”
“Do you see this place as a desert?! Just because we couldn’t eat from it doesn’t mean plants didn’t thrive here! Show some spirit of adventure, you timid fool!”
“What? Timid fool? You wench!”
“What? A woman? You want to taste my Pickaxe?”
“(Stiffens slightly) Anyway, we need to plant turnips and potatoes first!”
“We need to plant them~”
“Are you picking at my words?”
“I want to pick at your words! If we need to buy horses and oxen, we have to plant barley and earn money! Do you know what the potato price was last year?! If potatoes are so good, go look in a mirror! They’re hanging all over your face~”
“Damn it, I can’t stand personal attacks. Come on, let’s settle this!”
“Fine. Grab a Hoe and follow me.”
Thump-thump. Crash-bang-bang-bang-bang!
Haniel arrived late, breaking into a grin.
“Wow, truly a discussion of the highest caliber!”
As for logic, it was a comprehensive chaotic art form infused with an array of techniques—criticism, sarcasm, and profanity.
“Really, there’s never a quiet moment around here…….”
Basili pressed his fingers to his forehead.
So…… what was he supposed to do about this?
His crimson eyes fixed on the dust cloud rising ahead.
‘The tension started with the ditch problem, and now it’s turned into an outright clash…….’
Land with unfamiliar conditions that even seasoned farmers had never seen before.
Perhaps this collision had been inevitable from the start.
“Your Highness!”
“Make a decision!”
The nobleman and farmer of the Northern Territory found himself at another crossroads.
The quarreling people had come running to him, their lord, asking him to decide.
A moment passed.
Basili sat on the Mansion sofa, his arms folded across his chest.
‘Hmm.’
Having spent his entire life as a mercenary, he was essentially no different from a novice farmer. Still, he’d picked up some common knowledge through listening here and there.
For Land Reclamation, one should plant Famine Relief Crops like potatoes and turnips first.
‘Of course, because of the Dragon Vein, this land will differ from other places in many ways.’
So barley should grow well enough here too.
But…….
His real concern lay elsewhere.
It was Redermic, whom he’d just met.
“However, our situation has also become urgent. For this season, I’ve expanded our farmland as I wish to focus more on agriculture.”
‘If the Eastern Territory floods the market with barley this autumn…….’
The price of barley would naturally plummet.
That would be problematic.
Their plan was to harvest barley around early summer, stockpile it for food, and sell some to purchase supplies and materials for preparing the territory for winter.
But what if the harvest fell short of expectations?
What if they couldn’t get a fair price at market?
Winter could become difficult.
Then perhaps it would be better to change course and plant turnips first, then barley on the remaining land…….
All right. He’d decided.
He opened his mouth.

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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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