Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 43

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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 43
I wanted to rush over and discuss the next plan with Basili. But first…….
“One more Butter Bread, please!!”
Today I’m going to indulge!
“Of course, of course~ Our precious one would like another Butter Bread, if you please~!”
“Isn’t he being a bit too indulgent today?”
“Ha ha ha! I’ve been running all through the Town Square anyway, so let the bread have its fun too, Your Highness~”
“But if his stomach starts hurting at dawn, who has to suffer for it…….”
Basili frowned slightly but didn’t stop him, merely adding that he should prepare some soup so I’d eat more gently.
People flushed with ale danced near the central bonfire.
“Hey! Keep a close eye on those sparks! If they spread to our grain stores, we’ll be sucking our thumbs all winter!”
“Of course, of course!”
“Goodness, the storehouse is such a distance away!”

“Anyone want to dance with me!!”
“Count me in!”
The humble yet lively atmosphere had reached its peak.
‘Dad must be in a good mood right now too, right?’
His Divine Power Contamination had improved, after all!
Haniel decided to reward herself by allowing her thoughts of Dad to wander freely, just for today.
It was a joyful Harvest Festival evening!
Ch. 9 The Circumstances of a Child Who Resolved to Run Away
Perhaps it was because he had been raised since childhood as God’s sword and shield.
Dantalion was a man of few expressions.
He scarcely understood the very notion of emotional turbulence.
What moved him were only duties—law and doctrine, divine will and faith.
Ironically, people loved him for it.
His beautiful countenance, his unbending character, his overwhelming Divine Power.
Yet that affection was akin to loving a work of art—gazing upon something miraculous, regarding a mythical being beyond reach.
Well…… it didn’t matter.
Dantalion simply fulfilled his duty. Sharing emotions with another held no interest for him.
After learning that expressions like smiles or frowns could serve as a social language, he had deliberately practiced them.
He had confirmed that people found reassurance in the image of a caring yet powerful Holy Knight, and their faith in God grew more steadfast.
All things according to God’s will.
Dantalion had never once strayed from the orbit of his life as arranged by the Divine.
……At least, not in that first life, which he no longer remembered.
“…….”
He reached out his hand.
He slowly rifled through the pile of clothes layered neatly.
One piece, then another.
Each time he pulled out a scrap of rainbow-colored fabric, laughter kindled in his violet eyes.
“Found it.”
At last, a round silver crown peeked out.
His beautiful eyes curved into crescents. His lips drew upward in a gentle arc.
“There you are, my little princess!”
“Aaack!”
With a deliberate cry, he hoisted the child up into the air.
“You were hiding so tight!”
Haniel, who had been covering her mouth with her small hands, burst into clear laughter.
Dantalion wore a somewhat mischievous expression as he tickled the child.
“Why do you love hiding so much, my little princess? Hmm?”
“Hehe hehehe! That tickles! I surrender, I surrender! Haniel surrenders!”
Haniel laughed until she trembled. Dantalion carefully stored away each note of that laughter as he drew the child into his arms.
“So you’ll go on a picnic with Dad now, won’t you?”
“Hmm…… I’m not sure.”
Haniel rolled her eyes playfully.
“There’s no help for it! If Dad wants to, then maybe just for today……!”
“Ha ha, what an honor.”
Today was the day Dantalion had returned home after several months away.
For some reason, the child always hid like this whenever he came back.
“Dad! Hurry, hurry!”
Dantalion lifted the child from his arms and watched Haniel bounce with excitement, the Rabbit Bag now bulging full and strapped across her small back.
‘How adorable.’
He followed slowly behind her.
They made their way toward the Small Forest attached to the Duke’s Residence.
It was their first picnic in some time.
Of course, he would need to venture out again before sunset.
In this life, drawing on knowledge gained from his previous one, he had to gather rare medicinal herbs found only in the Ancient Monster Habitat.
They might prove to be the Elixir of Life that could heal the child.
“Miss Haniel visits the Library most frequently!”
“Her memory seems to be remarkably sharp…….”
“The previous Duke has been teaching her theology of late.”
Even away from the residence, he received regular reports about the child.
He had personally selected all the servants who cared for her.
Drawing on information verified through dozens of regressions, he had chosen those he could trust completely with her care.
Of course, Haniel’s own judgment mattered most.
“Haniel, want to share a secret with Dad?”
Before the Blue Lake. Their space alone.
Dantalion gathered her flowing silver hair tenderly and bound it as he whispered.
“Huh? Yes!!!”
“This is a secret, but Dad and Uncle Mark had a disagreement recently. Things didn’t go as planned, and we were both upset.”
Haniel’s expression immediately grew grave.
“Dad…… you should stay on good terms with your friends. Did you have a reconciliation embrace?”
Dantalion laughed softly.
“Yes. We made up. But you mustn’t tell anyone else, understand?”
“Why? Are you embarrassed that a grown-up fought with his friend?”
“Yes.”
“Okay! It’ll be a secret!”
“By the way…… what about our daughter?”
“Me?”
“Have you ever felt sad when playing with the maids and handmaidens?”
“Hmm…….”
“Since it’s a secret, tell only Dad.”
As if thinking seriously, little wrinkles gathered at Haniel’s chin like a walnut.
Soon her brow sagged downward.
“Sniff. Sorry, Dad……. Haniel’s never felt sad.”
“Really?”
“Because everyone is so kind, and I can eat Butter Bread whenever I want, and the Library is fun, and I love books!”
Fortunately, the child seemed to be thriving at the residence.
He knew Julios was there, so it should be fine, but he couldn’t rest easy without hearing it from Haniel herself.
Then Haniel suddenly jumped to her feet.
“Oh, that’s right! You know what, you know what! Actually, a few days ago I secretly planted Clover seeds in the Backyard!”
“You did?”
“Yes! Dad, you can’t tell anyone else, okay? Because most Clover has three leaves, but sometimes you find four-leaf ones! They say if you find a four-leaf one, good luck comes!”
Her plump cheeks were so endearing that Dantalion gently pressed his lips to them.
“If you find a four-leaf one, shall we make it a bookmark for our princess?”
“No! I’m going to give it to Dad!”
Haniel beamed.
“Because I want so much good fortune to come to Dad! I want your work to go well too! And…… and so…… um.”
Haniel hesitated slightly.
“I want Dad to visit Haniel more often!!”
…….
Dantalion was at a loss for words.
‘Now that I think about it…… it’s been far too long since I’ve seen the child.’
With each regression, a certain truth weighs upon him.
The world is vast. Information is infinite.
No matter how many times he regresses, he cannot uncover everything or gather all the knowledge in the world.
The phrase “physical limitation” always renders him helpless.
This child dies at sixteen.
He knew all too well how fleeting that time is…… which is why he always searched with all his strength for a way to save her. But….
It seemed he had neglected the child after all.
“I’m sorry, little one. Father’s been so busy, hasn’t he?”
“No! Father’s incredibly cool and super strong—that’s why, silly!”
“……Shall we spend tomorrow together, our little princess?”
“……!!”
Her pink eyes widened in an instant.
“Really? Really really?”
“Yes. And show Father where you planted that clover.”
“Okay! Okay! I’ll show you everything! You see, there’s this place, and—”
Chatter and chatter.
As Dantalion listened to the child’s delighted voice, his gaze drifted—and that’s when he saw it.
In the distance, the Adjutant was rushing toward him with an urgent expression.
‘We found it.’
“……!”
Reading his lips, the blood drained from Dantalion’s entire body.
The Ancient Monster Habitat—something he had failed to discover in his previous life.
The medicinal herbs that grew there might be the Elixir of Life that could fill Haniel’s empty Core. His heart quickened with urgency.
After a brief time had passed,
Dantalion emerged from the lake, the sleeping child already cradled in his arms.
He handed the child to the servants and made his preparations to leave.
The excited light in her eyes as she anticipated playing with him weighed on his heart, but there was no choice.
“Are you truly leaving now?”
“There is no time.”
“When she wakes……she will be melancholy for days. And you yourself need more rest, my lord.”
“……Tell her I’m sorry.”
Dantalion’s fists clenched. Of anyone, he was the last to wish to leave the child’s side.
It was then that a maidservant stepped forward.
“Begging your pardon, my lord. The young miss seemed to wish to go out—would it not be acceptable for her to visit the Klein Shopping District with us?”
In that instant, Dantalion’s expression transformed.
“Absolutely not. The child cannot go out.”
“……!”
An aura of such dread emanated from him that no one would have believed him a Holy Knight.
“It is impossible to permit.”
At the cutting chill in his tone, the maidservant clamped her mouth shut.
The first loop.
He remembered Haniel suffering a terrible injury when she went to the shopping district. And in the thirteenth, twentieth, and fifty-second loops as well.
Whenever his heart weakened and he allowed her to venture out at her pleas, the child met with calamity.
He could not bear to experience that again.
Dantalion walked on, his white cloak billowing behind him.
As time passed like a dream, he felt emotion slip away once more.
When was the last time he had offered prayer to God?
The Prayer Pendant—he had destroyed it with his own hands when the child died for the fourth time. What was he, who had forsaken the divine, truly anymore?
Could he still be called a Holy Knight serving the Goddess?
Was he becoming a monster instead?
‘If only I can save Haniel alone.’
In truth, it would not matter if he became a monster.
The wind blew.
Suddenly he thought that if the child could be made well, they should travel together. To the east, to the west, to the south, or perhaps to some distant foreign land.
Casting aside all obligation and responsibility, far, far away.
The world was too vast, and it had broken him—but the world seen through her eyes would be vast and, at last, meaningful.
‘If only she could be well.’
If she could stop dying.
‘Let’s travel together, little one.’
My precious little princess.
This time, Father will surely save you.
I will never let you die alone again……
“Gasp……!”
A sharp pain seized his chest.
Dantalion’s eyes snapped open, his hands still gripping his clothes.

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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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