Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 33

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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 33
* * *
“Pick me!”
I thrust my hand up eagerly.
“All right, all right, our little one comes first—here you go!”
Warm, fresh bread from the new oven!
Nestled right into my palm!
“Wow… wow-wow-wow-wow-wow!”
I bit into it at once. Phew—hot, but…
“It’s del-del-delicious!”
The taste was maddening!
Soft, fragrant, wonderfully chewy!
Basilii and I each took a barley loaf and left the communal bakehouse.
He carried an enormous scythe across his back—he’d just swept through the Wheat Field with crazed fervor.
“I imagine our children are selling well right now?”
“They should be. But… is that price fair?”
Basilii spoke with deliberate skepticism.
“Of course it is! We can’t charge ordinary people high prices for wheat and barley.”
“Hmm.”
“Besides, our barley alone can’t meet everyone’s needs anyway… and raising food prices at a time like this would be cruel.”
I gazed down at the bread I was eating.
In the Slums, I’d struggled mightily just to get my hands on a single loaf.
Honestly, since I came to the Cline Duchy, I hadn’t known hunger.
In my past life, I’d learned that the Empire faced a Food Crisis around this time, but I never felt its weight—the ducal mansion overflowed with abundance and fine things.
Suffering always seeks out the darkest, loneliest places first. So if catastrophe struck, it would be children like me, living in the Slums, who would starve.
‘The truth is, each Territory has stockpiles now, and the Imperial Family keeps reserves too. So a true Great Famine hasn’t actually come.’
In other words, what dominates people right now is fear of a Food Crisis that might never arrive.
And paradoxically, that fear would make our Northern crops shine all the brighter.
‘There’s no way crops from land this size could feed the entire Empire anyway.’
So…
“What we need this time isn’t profit—it’s reputation. ‘Northern produce you can trust and eat!’ That’s what we’re after!”
“Hm… but what’s the benefit?”
A puzzled voice came from beside me. Aisha had arrived without my noticing.
“The population grows!”
And if more people come, we have more laborers!
‘Soon we’ll open the river, and we’ll need fishermen!’
I laughed—a gleeful sound. Basilii ruffled my hair affectionately.
“You… you seem smarter than before, somehow.”
“I know…”
“Tsk. What am I supposed to do with you, really?”
Just then, Aisha, who’d been following our conversation intently, furrowed her brow. “Wait, wait. So… we’re not going to make proper money this year? Good grief! I was planning to buy a common-sense encyclopedia!”
“Aisha. Restrain yourself.”
Basilii spoke plainly.
“And money… we’ll earn it another way.”
He gazed ahead with something like a sly smile. I bit down on my bread and chewed thoughtfully.
“The best income comes from squeezing it out of those who already have plenty.”
“Aaoooow… Your Highness…”
Far off, a count was whimpering like a pitiful puppy.
Redermic had been kneeling before the ducal mansion all day, wailing.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! Please, I beg you! Just a single grain of barley! Please!”
“You’ve had remarkable diet success, Count. My congratulations.”
“Your Highness!”
“Ah, have you come to collect a debt? I did turn quite a lot of your Territory’s land into wasteland.”
“That’s… that’s not it…!”
“Just wait a moment. My subordinates will be here soon with money purses.”
“No, no, please! I was wrong! A debt? That’s not why I’ve come!”
“Then what is it, Count?”
“Please—please sell me uncontaminated Seeds! If this continues, I’ll have nothing to plant next year! We’re facing total ruin!”
If the harvest fails, the problem extends far beyond a Food Crisis.

This wasn’t a simple famine.
‘Land contamination. The crops tainted by it.’
Which meant, in effect, that they couldn’t secure seeds to plant next year.
Of course, planting healthy seeds in contaminated soil would be useless, so developing a Land Purification Remedy had to come first, but…….
The count’s troubles seemed to go beyond that.
“I, I actually disobeyed orders from Rowen, the Duke, and secretly expanded the duchy’s territory…….”
“…….”
“I, I used up all the preserved barley and wheat seeds…… and the budget too—I was supposed to spend it elsewhere, but I used it for farmland expansion…… I never thought it would come to this…….”
“…….”
“The Duke will kill me! Really! My, my uncle is terrifying!!”
Oh dear…… how pitiful.
I watched the sniffling count.
Sighing deeply, I chewed my bread and thought.
‘So what can I squeeze out of this now?’
Hmm…….
I leaned in close to Basilii and whispered softly.
“Say, I’ve been wanting to raise something lately…….”
“……?”
“Chicks and calves…….”
* * *
The Duke of the East, Rowen, pressed his hands to his face.
“What is to be done about this?”
An unprecedented Great Famine.
The deep furrows between the Duke’s brows had only deepened.
“This year’s yield hasn’t even reached ten percent. And what we did harvest is in terrible condition.”
His advisor spoke.
“Even if we get through this year by releasing our food reserves…… the real problem is next year. We’re uncertain whether we can secure seeds for planting next year…….”
“Ah, this is grave indeed.”
The characteristic of the Grain Disease that had spread this season:
The ripened grains turned black and died as though contaminated, rendering any seeds obtained from them completely unable to sprout.
“So this is what it means to have the seed run dry…….”
The Duke exhaled a heavy sigh.
“We need healthy, uncontaminated seeds.”
“But…… Your Grace, what territory would possess such a thing? Everyone is struggling now.”
Suddenly, something flashed through his mind.
“Ah, Count Redermic! That fellow must have seeds!”
“Your Grace?”
“I entrusted him with managing my preserved seeds this year! And I even instructed him not to recklessly expand farmland since his soil is weak—send word to him at once!”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
The Duke placed a hand over his heart.
Right—people aren’t meant to perish.
“I gave him a generous budget this year to purchase plenty of Magical Tools for seed preservation. Unless that scoundrel has a talent for embezzlement, we should be able to sort this out!”
And moments later.
“He sowed it all, Your Grace…….”
“What?”
“He sowed it all and…… it failed spectacularly…….”
The true crisis had arrived. Unfortunately, his nephew proved to have quite the talent for embezzlement and dereliction of duty.
The Duke cried out in desperation.
“Has the Imperial Family sent word?! Is the new Land Purification Remedy ready yet?! No, first—send inquiries to nearby territories about their seed situation…….”
“Your Grace!”
“What is it?”
“Th, there’s healthy barley in the market!”
“What did you say?”
“Barley from the North has appeared!”
“Then what exactly are you trying to tell me?!”
Just then, another attendant rushed in urgently.
“Your Grace! A, a letter has arrived!”
“If it’s not urgent, set it aside…….”
“It’s from the North! Fr, from Grand Duke Bertus himself……!”
“……!”
The duke’s eyes widened as far as they could go.
Wait.
Barley from the North?
And on top of that—he sent me a letter at exactly the right moment?
He unfolded the letter with trembling hands. The handwriting was hasty, scrawled carelessly—nothing like the measured script of a nobleman.
He speaks directly to the point.
There’s an undeniable force in these words.
He swallowed hard.
What price are you asking?
Write your figure in the reply and send it back.
So he really is trying to sell me barley?
No—the trade item is this.
The duke bit his lip and turned to the next page.
A cure for the Land Contamination in the East—
……
An actual cure.
What?
The duke shot to his feet and bolted toward the North Gate.

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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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