Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 6: Greenhouse

"!#%$#$%#$......."

"Mumble, mumble......."

A few knights gathered at the training grounds were expressing their complaints. That too.......

"What are you saying? Speak up. You dumb bastards."

They were speaking in voices so small that even the burly Krum couldn't hear them.

"!@$%#%#@^......."

The words coming out of their mouths were so faint and insignificant that without careful listening, it was impossible to tell whether they were speaking or if it was just the sound of the wind.

So Krum, feeling frustrated, subtly lifted his scabbard.

He knew that the fastest way to deal with disobedience was to knock some sense into their heads.

Seeing the scabbard of the great sword rising toward the sky, the men urgently cried out.

"N-no, Sir Krum, it's not that...... It's just, why in this freezing weather are we going to the Misty Mountains......"

Of course.

It was obvious.

As expected, they seemed to have complaints about the sudden summons from the Northern Grand Duke.

That’s why their lips were pouting like that.

Anyway, upon hearing such an answer, Mangala spoke in a cold tone. With his sharp features, the knight's muttering carried an air of authority.

"Follow orders."

"......Yes."

As expected, a Sword Expert was indeed an Expert.

Knights Victor, Krum, and Mangala showed not a single complaint about this sudden assembly.

Thus, they simply stood in an imposing formation, waiting for their lord.

‘They must be so loyal to have reached such high positions.’

Some knights looked at them with eyes full of admiration.

However,

"......Damn."

When a small grumble escaped from the mouth of Knight Commander Victor, everyone pretended they didn’t hear it, no matter what.

Hoo.

Knight Mangala exhaled, watching the misty breath escape his lips as he surveyed the faces of the knights.

‘It seems everyone has a hunch. That’s why they’re only voicing their complaints in whispers.’

Ever since the last attack on the ducal castle, Knight Commander Victor had never spoken a word about what had happened to the Northern Grand Duke.

As if bound by Johan Kraubitz’s orders, he had kept his lips tightly sealed. However.......

‘We’re not fools.’

That day, quite a few had seen the Northern Grand Duke heading toward the grand hall with several enemy knights trailing behind him.

Moreover....... some servants had been spreading rumors that ‘the grand hall was littered with the corpses of knights,’ making it easy to guess what had happened inside.

On top of that, since that day, the mid-level Expert Victor had been standing straight, serving Johan Kraubitz with perfect discipline.......

‘There’s no doubt.’

That’s how it was.

Thus, the notion that ‘the Grand Duke’s martial prowess is extraordinary’ had begun to be accepted as almost fact.

That’s why those guys earlier had only dared to complain in voices barely louder than a breath.

Everyone had seen that the Northern Grand Duke didn’t have the best personality....... and none of them wanted to meet a sudden and violent end overnight.

By the way,

‘When will our lord, who settled the hierarchy overnight, arrive?’

As Mangala briefly considered whether he should whisper a curse under his breath.......

"Oh, everyone’s here!"

The Northern Grand Duke appeared, dusting off his black fur cloak. And.......

"Let’s go. Mount up."

He took the lead, mounted his horse, and started galloping without another word.

Seeing this, the knights, who were supposed to escort their lord, hurriedly mounted their horses and followed after him.

Clatter! Clatter!

"My lord! Where exactly are we rushing off to so urgently?"

Victor shouted towards Johan, who was already galloping far ahead.

Johan glanced back and called out to the knights.

"You all know we’re heading to the Misty Mountains, right? There’s a dragon living there, you see? So......."

"......What?"

"We’re going to raid its nest."

Clatter. Clatter.

As they watched their lord riding off ahead.......

"......Damn it all."

Mangala muttered under his breath.

Snort!

The horses, having arrived at the entrance of a massive cave, began snorting and stepping backward.

They must have already sensed that something ominous was emanating from within the cave, filling them with fear.

Gulp.

Knight Commander Victor swallowed dryly and asked.

"My lord, is there really...... a dragon inside?"

He hoped there wasn’t.

That’s why he asked.

"Yeah, an Ice Dragon lives here. Be careful. It has a really nasty temper."

Saying so, Johan took the lead, casually walking ahead.......

Some thought about breaking those long legs of his, while others simply stared intently at the back of his shiny head.

"Not coming? You bastards are really dragging your feet. If I catch a cold out here, will you take responsibility?"

Faced with the fierce scolding of their lord, who had dragged them all outside the castle in this freezing weather, everyone swallowed their curses and followed him.

And as they stepped further into the cave.......

Rumble!

A massive sound echoed from deep within,

Whoooosh!

Hot air leaked out.

"That... is that the breath of a sleeping dragon?"

"Yeah, I've heard about it. They say a dragon's breath is that hot."

"Then there's really a dragon there? I thought it was a lie..."

As soon as they realized this, their minds nearly froze.

A dragon!

Just how powerful and terrifying a creature was that?

Realizing that such a mystical being was right ahead of them, even knights couldn't help but tremble in fear. However, soon...

"No, we have the Grand Duke with us, don’t we?"

"If it's someone like the Grand Duke, he must have a plan even for a dragon."

Everyone tried to calm their nerves by recalling the reassuring presence of Johan Kraubitz.

But then,

Rustle.

Crawl!

From behind a solid rock in the distance, a figure was creeping along. A black fur cloak clung to the rock, moving swiftly and cunningly.

"...Your Grace?"

"What are you doing? Do you all want to die? If a dragon notices you, you're dead in one hit. Get down, you idiots! Hide quickly!"

"......"

Swish!

At the dignified command of the Northern Grand Duke, the first to run behind a rock was none other than the knight commander, Victor.

Anyway,

The renowned knights of the Duchy of Axen crawled across the ground for about thirty meters in that manner.

In front of them, steam-laden breaths exhaled, and the ground beneath them trembled with the dragon’s snoring.

It was all going to be a goddamn memory they never wanted to experience again.

And then,

Thud!

Something soft touched the arm of a crawling knight.

‘What is this?’

Krum picked up the strange object that had brushed against his arm.

It was a transparent, soft, and thin material.

Something he had never seen before.

At that moment, Johan Kraubitz’s voice came from a distance.

"Oh! Krum, you did it. Guys..."

"...Yes?"

"Everyone, pick that up. It’s huge, so we need to lift it together."

"What on earth is this...?"

"Ah, that? That’s..."

Grin.

"A shed dragon skin. So hurry up and carry it."

Crawl!

At Johan Kraubitz’s chilling command, the entire knight order hoisted up the dragon's shed skin and crawled out of the cave.

Rustle!

When they finally escaped from that hellish cave...

Gazing at the sweat dripping from their foreheads, every knight inexplicably felt a deep sense of disillusionment with their duty.

"Where is everyone rushing off to in such a hurry? The weather is cold too."

Hans, an old man native to the Duchy of Axen, grabbed a villager and asked.

It was strange to see so many people running off somewhere so urgently.

At that, Jimmy, who was in charge of summer farming in Axen, stopped running and answered.

"Ah, Old Man Hans. I guess you haven’t heard yet. Today, the Grand Duke is going to demonstrate a new farming technique."

"A farming technique?"

"Yes, he said he learned a new farming method from a distant land... Anyway, don't just stand here. Come and see for yourself."

Saying so, Jimmy grabbed Hans by the arm and dragged him along.

With things unfolding this way, Hans simply put on a hat and followed behind Jimmy.

After walking for a while? About ten minutes later, they arrived at a corner of the duchy.

A large crowd from within the duchy had already gathered there.

"Hmm?!"

Hans mixed into the crowd, looking around in confusion.

‘This is barren land. And they plan to farm here? Moreover...’

In the Duchy of Axen, where cold weather persisted all year round, farming was only conducted in the summer.

That’s why they didn’t even call it ‘farming’ but rather ‘summer farming.’

Hmm.

Hans, a man with a particularly skeptical nature, felt his doubts deepening.

‘I did hear that the Grand Duke went to the Misty Mountains a few days ago...’

There had been rumors that he returned carrying a pile of strange junk.

It seemed like that eccentric Grand Duke was up to something with it.

And before Hans could deepen his suspicions any further...

"Wow, so many people have gathered. Alright, alright. Come closer where you can see well."

The ruler of this land, Northern Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz, appeared, offering a rather friendly greeting.

No matter how one looked at it, his demeanor did not suit that of a seventeen-year-old.

Standing at the front, he called for the duchy’s blacksmiths and laborers and immediately began installing something strange on the ground.

"Alright, install that in an arch shape here, and then lay another one over it."

With just a few flicks of the Grand Duke’s fingers, a long arch-shaped structure made of iron rods was quickly constructed on the ground.

"Wow~ whatever that is, it's huge."

"Are they building a house? Didn’t he say this was a farming technique?"

And then, the next moment,

"Now, lay it all over."

As soon as the Grand Duke gave the order, the laborers placed something transparent and enormous over the framework.

What was placed over that structure looked like soft, glass-like material.

"Alright, it's done. Everyone, look here."

"?!?!?!"

"This is..."

Grin.

"A greenhouse."

"A green-what now?"

The Grand Duke then mixed compost and manure into the soil inside that bizarre structure and even summoned a priest to cast a warmth spell on it.

Then, in the middle of this freezing winter, he scattered precious seeds freely.

The farmers of Axen, watching this, felt their stomachs churn.

Sowing seeds in Axen’s winter was practically the same as throwing them away.

And a few days after Johan Kraubitz's eccentric act...

For the first time in history in the Duchy of Axen...

‘Winter farming’ began.