Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 47

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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 47
* * *
This can’t be happening.
“Bring more water!”
This can’t be happening!!
“Be careful not to inhale the smoke!!”
“Water! We need more water!!”
“The wind is shifting direction!!!”
“Where’s the Water Wheel?!”
“Don’t stand in the path of the sparks!!! Clear away all the straw!!”
I stood frozen, staring at the grain storehouse burning bright red.
“Little one, get yourself home at once!”
“Y-Your Highness!”
Basil the Grand Duke roared the words and charged straight into the heart of the inferno.
People screamed in panic, scattering in every direction.
I gazed numbly at the blazing flames, heat washing across my face in a terrible wave.
‘This can’t be real.’
Black smoke spread ruthlessly across the clear blue autumn sky. The sight was horribly wrong.
Yes—this doesn’t feel like reality.
The grain storehouse that…….
Our harvest that…….
‘No. No, this can’t be.’
My feet moved forward before I could think. Then.
Someone seized my hand firmly.
“You can’t go any closer.”
It was Slaan.
She was studying me intently, her eyes trembling.
“Slaan…… What do we do…….”
My whole body was shaking.
Seeing me like that, Slaan’s jaw clenched.
“There you are!”
At the same moment, Camilla appeared and pushed both Slaan and me from behind.
“The smoke is shifting—we can’t stay here. Inside, now!”
“B-But—!”
I grabbed desperately at Camilla’s sleeve.
Then, from far across the flames, Basil the Grand Duke shouted hoarsely.
“Camilla, get the children out of here! Now!”
“Yes.”
Camilla didn’t hesitate.
She scooped both Slaan and me up at once and moved swiftly away.
I bit my lip hard, watching the terrible fire beyond her shoulder.
They said it was a tiny, careless mistake.
The resident inspecting the grain storehouse had stepped away for just a moment when someone spoke to him.
And on that day, the window happened to be open for ventilation.
And through that window, the wind happened to blow, toppling a Lamp—
And that Lamp happened to fall into a place piled high with hay and straw bundles…….
And so the entire wooden storehouse caught fire.
“Miss Camilla…….”
I climbed into the nearest cottage and pressed myself against the window. Slaan still hadn’t let go of my hand, holding it tight.
I was so startled and terrified that I didn’t even register Slaan holding my hand for the first time.
My entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
On the dry wind, the blazing inferno showed no sign of being contained.
The villagers ran about in desperation, their bodies smeared with soot.
Someone brought a Water Wheel and began spraying water. Noah arrived shortly after and quickly drew a Magic Circle, pouring her power into it; the volume of water sprayed from the Wheel increased.
“What are we going to do…….”
That storehouse contains seventy percent of the North’s harvest from last autumn.
In other words, more than half our grain for winter is stored there.
And that is…….
“Northern Barley!!!!!!”
“Nooooooo!”
It was the first harvest of our North.
That precious crop……
was now scattering as black ash on the wind.
Camilla bit her lip in silence.
“They say accidents happen in an instant.”
She pulled Slaan and me close, holding us tight.
“……This, too, was one of the lessons we needed to learn.”
I’d been careless.
Autumn was dry with strong winds, and Bedel was mostly wooden buildings with haystacks and bundled straw everywhere—I should have been more vigilant about fire.
In the joy of the harvest, we’d all grown a little complacent.
I buried my face in Camilla’s arms.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Fire! Our grain storehouse is on fire!
I couldn’t bear to hear the townspeople’s cries any longer.
I hid my tears against Camilla’s chest.
I wished those sounds were all just a dream.
A moment later.
The townspeople gathered in front of the storehouse, where the flames had been extinguished.
“Ah……”
“What…… what is this……”
Everyone’s faces were blank with shock.
“It’s ruined…… a whole year’s harvest…… lost like this.”
“Sob……”
Once the fire was out, reality seemed to come crashing down on them all at once.
I picked my way through the crowd.
Ahead, in front of the storehouse, I saw a man standing rigid as though nailed in place.
His fine black hair was disheveled, his neat clothes were in tatters, and his rigid profile showed no emotion whatsoever.
“Your Highness……”
“Don’t come near me—the ash will dirty you.”
The Archduke waved his hand dismissively.
But I ran straight to him and grabbed his hand.
“Haniel, it’s filthy……”
“Your Highness!!”
I threw my head back to look at him.
“We can plant again!”
“Winter’s coming soon—there’s no point,”
He turned his head and looked at me.
When his eyes fell on my face, he suddenly lowered himself to meet my gaze.
“Have you been crying? Are you hurt?”
“That’s not what matters……!”
I pressed my lips together firmly.
The fire was a terrible thing.
Losing all the crops we’d worked so hard to harvest was even worse.
But.
‘Crying won’t solve anything!’
After crying so much, my face felt hot, but I had to do something.
Besides, those who’d suffered more than me were the Archduke, who’d worked the fields with his own hands, and the townspeople.
I had to be strong.
‘Actually, the Northern Barley we planted in spring thrived, so we didn’t really count on an autumn harvest anyway.’
But what was done was done.
“There’s something perfect to plant right now!”
I clenched my fists and cried out.
“Winter Rye!!”
* * *
Rye.
A steel of a crop that thrives even in the harshest cold.
Of course, the North of old couldn’t even grow Rye like that.
After all, for crops to grow, they need a certain level of warmth, and the North had always been plagued by brutal freezes.
But now?
‘It’s possible!’
Of course, the North had earned considerable wealth, so technically we could have purchased grain from outside.
But the problem was… with the Great Famine Year now upon us, the prices of grain and all foodstuffs had become prohibitively expensive.
On top of that, the wealthy nobility had already swept up every last scrap of grain in sight.
In other words, even with money, there were limits to what we could actually acquire.
Most importantly, this was the most effective way to comfort the despairing residents.
‘They need to feel like they’re overcoming the crisis, not just passively enduring it!’
Even I could feel my spirits lifting at the mere thought that there was something I could do right now.
I composed my thoughts carefully.
‘The stores we still have should last us through March or April.’
Here’s the plan.
Before October ends, we plant rye seeds.
They’ll take root before the first frost, sprouting into small shoots.
Those shoots will survive the winter buried beneath the snow.
And come next spring.
Since spring arrives earlier in the North anyway… by February or March, the rye should surge with growth.
We ought to be able to harvest by April or May at the latest.
‘So we’d have new grain by April, which means we can make it through winter on what stores remain, though it’ll be tight!’
That is, assuming no more new residents arrive.
“Wait.”
At that moment, the Grand Duke, who’d been listening to my plan, spoke up.
“I received a letter saying eleven people intend to relocate here.”
“Pardon?”
“This morning. They’ll cross the border next week, once they’ve finished preparing their move.”
Basil exhaled a short sigh.
We’d already returned to the Manor.
“Hmm…”
Eleven people.
That would make things very tight indeed.
“In any case, planting rye is a sound idea.”
He ran a hand through his damp hair absently as he murmured this.
“We have oxen too. If we clear the wasteland quickly and sow the seeds… the timing should work out.”
“Where can we obtain rye seeds, Your Grace?” Camilla asked.
The stewardess posed the question.
I shot my hand up enthusiastically.
“I have an idea! What if we send a letter to Duke Lowen?”
“To Duke Lowen?”
“The new residents who arrived a few days ago mentioned it! The Central Temple was keeping preservation seeds in storage, and they’re about to distribute some to the East for relief!”
“Ah, yes—providing aid to the East while taking moral responsibility for allowing the crop disease to spread.”
“Exactly!”
Surely the rye seeds were among them.
Couldn’t we purchase a portion?
“Camilla.”
“Yes. I’ll send the letter at once.”
I watched Camilla hurry out of the reception room, my mind churning.
‘Still… the food for winter will be terribly tight.’
What if more than these eleven newcomers arrived?
Could we hold out until the rye harvest?
What could we do?
Hmm.
Hmm…
Then, all at once, a bright idea flashed in my head.
‘Wait?’
There was an easy solution I’d overlooked.
Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner?
“Your Highness!”
“What is it?”
I rushed over eagerly.
With sparkling eyes, I shyly grasped the hem of the Grand Duke’s sleeve.
“Do you happen to… enjoy fishing?”
The Grand Duke—the North’s future fisherman—looked down at me with an uneasy expression.

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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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