Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 37

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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 37
“Say… isn’t it getting rather warm?”
The knights exchanged bewildered glances as they spoke.
The Duke’s gaze locked onto Brad’s broad back, where he rode at the head of their column.
……
Somewhere along the way, Brad had shed his cloak entirely, now wearing only a thin shirt.
The Duke looked up, and the heavy clouds had vanished entirely—the sky lay clear before them.
A brilliant sun hung overhead, gazing down upon them.
“When on earth did this happen?”
“Good heavens. Your— Your Excellency! There… there! Fields!”
Someone cried out.
“Fields…! Farmers…!”
“Crops…!”
The knights rumbled with excitement.
From here →
The heart of the Northern Region
♡Bedel Village♡
The moment they passed the signpost marking Bedel Village’s entrance, the weather transformed as if by enchantment. The corruption that had lurked everywhere lay quiet now.
What greeted them was the sight of something found anywhere else…
Yet absent from the North until now: a scene of peaceful, thriving settlement.
“Hey! Bind those bundles tighter!”
“You said next year we’d cultivate beyond the flag, yes? This section stays fallow for now.”
“Fresh barley bread for sale~”
“Give some to Haniel! That bread sack he carries around is completely empty!”
“What a tragedy.”
“Should we try brewing ale from the barley?”
Warm sunshine. Pleasant weather.
Fields stripped of their harvest, and farmers darkened by the sun, their faces alight.
O heavens.
The Duke swallowed hard, his breath catching in his throat.
“God’s hand has truly touched the North.”
It looked like some paradise that the divine had carefully hidden away.
He gripped the reins tightly.
‘It might truly exist…’
The cure…!
After passing through the village, they arrived at a small two-story manor.
“Your Grace, we are honored by your presence. We beg your pardon for bringing you such a distance.”
A woman with hair elegantly pinned greeted them with an upright bearing. The sword at her hip marked her as a knight.
“I am Camilla, adjutant to the Grand Duke. We shall attend to you from here. Please, this way.”
“The Grand Duke himself—is he not here?”
Duke Rowan asked urgently.
“He shall arrive shortly. He is currently attending to matters of considerable importance.”
Matters of considerable importance?
Surely he wasn’t holding audience with another lord regarding the cure…?
“……Very well.”
Duke Rowan bit his lip.
Moments later, the Grand Duke entered the reception room.
Footfall, footfall.
Duke Rowan swallowed.
‘There’s something different about him now…’
His frame seemed larger, more solidly built than before.
Was he undertaking some new regimen in the North?
An indescribable languor hung about him, from which emanated a pressure that weighed upon the Duke.
“Your Grace, we are honored to meet you.”
“Welcome, Duke.”
A voice without inflection flowed forth.
“I expected you’d be content with scrawling a few elegant lines, yet here you rush like a man possessed. Is this the courtesy of nobility?”
Basilii spoke with mockery.
Duke Rowan regarded him, then bowed his head respectfully.
“If you rebuke my rudeness, I shall accept it humbly.”
Basilii let out a short laugh.
“No weight to it at all.”
There was a courtesy in him that you’d never see in the other nobles who habitually looked down on him for his mercenary origins.
The two men sat facing each other in the reception room.
“So then…… your business? I’d prefer to wrap this up within thirty minutes, if possible.”
Thirty minutes?
Basilii certainly seemed to be a busy man, one who held sway over the entire Northern Region.
Duke Rowan nodded.
“Then I shall ask directly, Your Highness. Is the content of your letter truthful? Do you truly possess the Land Cure for this Crop Disease……?”
“I do.”
A chill ran down his spine.
Duke Rowan clenched his fists to keep himself from showing any sign of agitation.
“Would you be willing to sell it to me?”
……
“Of course! I understand your displeasure over the matter with Count Ledermic. That’s beyond reproach. I have already imposed proper punishment on him, so I ask that you view this favorably.”
Hmm……
Basilii rested his chin in his palm.
“Then…… perhaps I shall.”
“Yes…… yes?!”
“I’ll sell you the Manufacturing Formula, not the cure itself.”
So easily? And not just the cure, but the formula itself?
“Providing finished products is impossible for us, as you can see—we’re too small an operation.”
……
“Supplying enough cure to blanket the entire Eastern Region was never feasible in the first place.”
“No, I suppose not……”
“So I’m giving up the chance to profit by tacking on processing fees, logistics costs, and all manner of other surcharges. Be grateful.”
A low murmur rippled through the air—whether in jest or earnest, impossible to tell.
“Now then, shall we set up a negotiation table.”
Basilii produced something from the table.
One scroll, two document folders, and a small pouch.
“As I said beforehand, what I’m selling is the Manufacturing Formula for the cure and its primary ingredients.”
……!
“For reference, this document folder contains the Results Report confirming the cure’s efficacy.”
He slid one of the folders across.
The duke took the papers with trembling hands and began to read.
‘This, this is……!’
It was a results report from experiments conducted across various conditions. So detailed was it that he could now be certain of the cure’s effectiveness.
Then his gaze shifted to the scroll.
‘That must be the Manufacturing Formula for this cure!’
He wanted it immediately.
He wanted to sign a contract right then and there!
“Will you buy it?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“Then.”
Basilii picked up a pen and scribbled something on the paper.
“This is the amount I’m thinking.”
The paper slid toward him.
When the duke saw the figure, his eyes widened enormously.
“This price is……!”
“What of it?”
Ten…… ten million Gold?
The Manufacturing Formula alone was worth half a year’s entire budget for the duchy.
Of course, the duchy was an exceptionally wealthy domain, but still.
‘Isn’t this far too expensive?!’
It wasn’t even the finished product…… just the formula!
‘And the cost of the primary ingredients is separate, not to mention the other materials I’ll need to procure!’
Base potions, for instance, or even just the cost of vials to hold the cure itself!
Duke Rowan collected himself.
……Should he try to negotiate it down?
‘No, no. That might actually backfire with Basilii Bertus.’
……Let’s go with an honest approach for now.
“I apologize deeply, Your Highness.”
He bowed his head low.
“To speak frankly, I cannot purchase a mere recipe—not even a finished product—at such a price.”
Duke Rowan was well accustomed to negotiations of this sort.
‘I need to buy myself time to haggle over the terms.’
This was precisely the moment to display his seasoned expertise.
“Of course, the Results Report is exceptionally thorough, and there is no reason to doubt the efficacy of the Land Cure itself. However, the results observed in a laboratory setting may well differ from those obtained when applied to actual soil conditions in the field. Thus…….”
He spoke with utmost courtesy.
“Would it be acceptable to purchase a sample first, and then, once the efficacy is confirmed, to submit a formal transaction request?”
“…….”
The sample verification period would be approximately four days, and if the efficacy is confirmed, we could revisit the price at that time. In exchange, the Northern Region would absorb all distribution-related fees, and we could renegotiate the raw material supply costs in a manner more favorable to the north…….”
The words flowed without pause, leaving no opening for interruption. Clearly, this was far from his first such negotiation.
‘His tongue moves like silk.’
Just as Basilii was seeking an opening to counter,
“Yaaaawn.”
The door creaked open.
The duke’s words cut off sharply.
“……?”
A small child shuffled in, rubbing his eyes with both fists.
Silver hair, tousled and wild.
Slippers on the wrong feet.
Pajamas printed with yellow chicks.
The child toddled over and climbed awkwardly into the seat beside the Grand Duke, then buried his head against the man’s knee.
“I woke up, and… sniffle… nobody was there…….”
“There, now.”
Basilii stroked Haniel’s hair gently.
“Letting you nap alone—I’ll have to discipline the servants for that.”
“Mmmph.”
The child nuzzled against his thigh like a drowsy kitten, cheek pressed soft, and the Grand Duke chuckled warmly, settling a tender hand on the small frame.
“……?”
Rowan’s eyes widened.
What was that child?
No—more than that.
That affectionate man……who in blazes was he?
The Grand Duke who had radiated cold authority moments before was nowhere to be found. The expression on the man’s face as he looked at the child had softened to something almost shockingly tender.
“……Forgive me, Your Highness? That child is…….”
“Ah. My little one.”
“Your daughter……is what you mean to say?”
Basilii smiled faintly.
“Isn’t he adorable?”

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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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