Raising the Grand Duke of the North as a Farmer Behind Dad’s Back - Chapter 65

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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 65
Lost in thought, I walked alongside Felix until we found ourselves near the Communal Oven.
“Whew, that smell is incredible. Must be time for the bread to come out.”
The sweet, toasted aroma hung thick in the alley.
Being morning, the place was crowded with people coming and going.
“Coming through! Bread’s ready!”
The village Baker pulled plump, puffy loaves from the hot oven with a series of soft thumps.
Steam rose in gentle wisps from the round barley bread.
This was how our village’s Communal Oven operated.
1. Bring grain flour
2. Request bread types and quantities (basic flatbread and fermented bread made with yeast alternated in rotation)
3. Pay the Baker a fee (goods acceptable) and collect your bread
4. Eat!
Originally, everyone baked their own bread, but now the Baker, who had a talent for it, handled all the baking himself.
Of course, nobles and wealthy commoners kept private ovens in their homes.
Those fitted with Magic Tools were expensive, but convenient—nearly every noble household had one.
Yet maintaining such ovens cost considerably, so for most people, using the Communal Oven remained the more practical choice.
“Say, Baker! Those rose beautifully today!”
“The yeast gets better every day! Now hold on—follow the order, will you? And don’t turn that flour bowl upside down!”
“What’s wrong with turning it upside down?”
“Haven’t you heard the old saying—leave a grain bowl turned over and you’ll starve your whole life?”
“Oh, right…….”
“Now then, in order… Oh! Haniel’s here!”
The Baker, his beard thick and bushy, broke into a broad smile at the sight of me.
“Hello!”
I hopped down from Felix’s shoulder and pulled a sack of grain from my hippo-skin bag.
Then I poured it into a bowl set aside for that purpose.
“Please make my bread too!”
“Of course, of course! For our Haniel…….”
Thump-thump.
What number would I be?
‘Hmph, but there’s already such a long line.’
Just as disappointment began to creep in—
“First! The reason is the Baker’s whim~”
The Baker slid my bowl all the way to the front.
“Yay!”
I wrote on the order slip: [Medium bread 5 pieces – Haniel] and slipped it underneath the bowl.
I’d share them with Uncle Felix and the household servants.
“Now, make sure you don’t count the wrapped loaves wrong when you take them!”
The Baker shouted as he wrapped the fresh bread in paper.
Just then, a familiar voice reached my ears from beside me.
“I’m here to pick up bread.”
“Silan!”
I spun around with delight. Silan blinked quietly at me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Same as you—I came for bread! When did you arrive……? Hmm?”
I studied Silan for a moment, then tilted my head in confusion.
“Silan.”
“Yes, Marquise.”
“Why are you wearing your hood so far down today?”
Silan usually preferred a dark navy Mage Robe.
But today the hood was pulled down deep. He did wear it often, but today felt unusually excessive.
Silan fastened the buttons carefully, speaking in a low voice.
“……Lately, a bit.”
“……?”
“I’ve felt strange gazes on me.”
“Hmm?”
That was when it happened.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAGH!”
A piercing scream echoed from far away.
“What, what the—?!”
People’s heads snapped upward all at once.
“That’s a scream!”
“Wait, did it come from the Chicken Coop?!”
“Damn it.”
In that moment, Felix cursed roughly under his breath and stamped the ground.
“Touching animals—that’s crossing the line!!!”
“What on earth is happening?!”
“Come on, let’s go check it out!”
The adults ran off in a flurry.
I bit my lip hard.
‘So the liar’s finally made a move?’
But what could they be doing?
Something feels very wrong.
“Me too!”
Just as I was about to dash forward, a small hand suddenly snatched mine.
“Wait a moment, please!”
It was Silan.
He gripped my hand tightly, heedless of the bread bag that dropped from his grasp.
“You don’t know what’s over there—! You’ve been reckless since the fire, always—”
“But, but there are chickens in there!!”
Reading the urgency in my face, Silan exhaled a long sigh.
Then he took the lead and began to run, while I followed, my hand still held, watching his small shoulders ahead of me.
‘Silan…….’
Why does he keep holding on like this?
Didn’t he hate touching me?
‘Could it be he’s worried I’ll get hurt?’
A strange flutter was rising from my toes when—
“Ahhhhh!”
“Who—who on earth did this?!”
My mind snapped back at the sound of the adults’ voices.
Near the Chicken Coop.
I raised my head quickly, but Silan blocked my view with his small frame.
“……I think it’s better if you don’t look.”
Silan’s brow furrowed deeply as he murmured. Of course, I couldn’t stay still.
I slipped past the boy trying to stop me and surveyed the scene.
“…….”
Blood scattered all around the Chicken Coop.
Feathers drifting everywhere.
“Who killed all our chickens!”
The Village’s chickens…… all lay dead, brutally slaughtered.
‘……This is really…….’
I pressed my lips together.
‘They’ve crossed every line!!!!’
I scanned the area quickly.
I was looking for the culprit.
That’s when it happened.
“Are you children alright?”
A gentle voice cut through. Silan reflexively pulled me back.
“Rooster?”
“Terrible business. This isn’t something children should be seeing.”
I watched Rooster carefully.
“What brings you here, sir?”
“Ah, I was heading to pick up some bread I’d left, when I suddenly heard the screaming…….”
“…….”
Bread?
My head tilted slightly.
‘There was a line at the Communal Oven earlier…….’
Did Rooster’s name appear on it?
‘……Didn’t it?’
“A Monster! A Monster must have appeared!”
At the same moment, someone among the villagers cried out in terror.
“What? A Monster?! Now that you mention it, there’s this cleanly severed edge here……! It’s not a wild beast’s mark, that much is certain!”
“Sir Felix! What are we to do about this!”
“Well, I’d already come to look around, and the Village Fence is certainly damaged.”
Sir Felix, who had already inspected all the way to the Village Fence, scratched the back of his head.
The villagers’ faces went pale.
“Good heavens!”
“And the Marquis isn’t even here, yet Monsters appear…….”
“What do we do? Is there any way to defend ourselves if a Monster shows up?”
Just as the people were seized by panic.
Sir Felix’s gaze and mine met briefly.
“Me!”
I raised my hand sharply.
I spoke hesitantly, my expression slightly fearful.
“Um, couldn’t we defend ourselves with a Sacred Relic or something? To keep it out of the Village……!”
Sir Felix shook his head.
“I’m sorry, little one, but only the Marquis knows where the Sacred Relic is kept, so that’s not possible.”
“But I——!”
“Now, now, our young friend should head back home.”
Sir Felix laughed heartily and clapped his hands together.
“I’ll patrol the entire perimeter right away!”
……
“No, but your faces all look so grim. Don’t worry! Even if a Monster does appear, I’ll dispatch it without delay!”
“But……!”
“For now, everyone should head back to your homes~”
Then the men of the Village, who had gathered in a circle discussing something, spoke up.
“Sir Felix! We men will patrol the perimeter as well!”
“Ah? Thank you for that~”
After expertly organizing the surroundings, Sir Felix glanced at me before disappearing toward the Stable.
I bit my lips hard.
‘I can’t forgive him!’
My hands trembled.
* * *
“Couldn’t we defend ourselves with a Sacred Relic or something?”
‘She clearly knows something about Sacred Relics.’
The man’s eyes narrowed.
‘Hmm…….’
He could see Felix and the village men disappearing into the distance.
‘Either way, it worked.’
The man smiled coldly.
By now, not only was that knight Felix’s mind devoted entirely to hunting the Monster, but the villagers’ as well.
Of course, it was all orchestrated by the man in secret.
‘I made the right choice pretending it was a Monster.’
Because of that, he’d confirmed that there was a genuine Sacred Relic somewhere in this place.
And that…….
based on the little one’s slip of the tongue, it was very likely in the Marquis Residence.
“But I——!”
He’d caught every word the child let fall.
It was as if…….
“I know where it is!”
that’s what she’d been about to say.
But no one paid heed to the words of a mere six-year-old child.
‘Simple.’
The man waited quietly for his moment.
Given that Monsters were more active at night, Felix and the villagers would all gather in the Village Square and take turns standing watch.
He had decided to strike then.
And so night fell.
In the pitch-black darkness, with even the moon hidden behind clouds.
The man finally moved.
Of course, she’d used her aches as an excuse to skip the night watch.
The Marquis Residence loomed before her, its windows dark.
‘As expected. Quiet.’
No guards on duty, and Felix would certainly have conscripted all the household staff to patrol the Village perimeter.
So the infiltration was simple enough.
‘I need to finish before they return.’
But where would the Sacred Relic be hidden?
Most nobles kept a separate Vault Room somewhere in their estates.
She’d have to find it first.
Then, as she walked the first floor, a small nameplate caught her eye.

“…….”
No. That was foolish.
Better to search the Marquis Residence thoroughly than waste time stumbling about.
‘There had to be an easier way.’
A bitter smile tugged at her lips.
Creak.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside. A round lump beneath the quilts came into view.
Soft, steady breathing.
She approached the sleeping child, each breath deep and even.
“Mmm……?”
At the unfamiliar presence, the child’s eyes opened.

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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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