The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 70: Phantom Thief Dauphin (14). A Convenient Excuse

“Effective immediately, the City Guard will withdraw from the Dauphin operation.”

The announcement from Commander Bover left the squad captains of Lebruk stunned.

“Withdraw? Are you saying we’re not to pursue Dauphin anymore?”

“But it’s been the guard holding him off this whole time!”

The commanders’ protests made Bover frown in irritation.

He’d been in a foul mood ever since arriving in Lebruk.

Being dragged all the way here to cover for some incompetent company commander, instead of issuing orders from the comfort of the capital, had already soured his mood.

So he didn’t bother sugarcoating it.

“This comes from the Knight Commander of the Sarnos Order himself. He said you’d just get in the way, so step aside. Do I really need to explain further?”

“...”

Silence fell over the captains.

The Knight Commander was the highest authority of the knight order.

The Guard Commander was the equivalent for the city guard.

In theory, they stood on equal ground.

But in practice, the knight order—made up mostly of nobles—stood far above the guard, which was composed primarily of commoners.

Bover clearly didn’t like being sidelined any more than they did.

But a direct order from the Knight Commander himself? That left him no room to maneuver.

As everyone fell quiet, one person raised a hand.

Dahlia.

Bover acknowledged her.

“What is it?”

“If the knights intend to cover the entire city alone, they’re going to be short on manpower.”

“The thief’s ‘targets’ number fewer than fifty, yes? We’ve brought a hundred knights. Two guards per target, twenty-four hours a day. That’s more than enough.”

“It’s not.”

“...What?”

“I mean a single knight isn’t enough to stop him. And with that arrangement, the gaps between the guards will be too wide. If Dauphin slips through the net, it’ll take too long for reinforcements to arrive. You can’t just camp next to the targets. You need constant patrols and surveillance to catch him before he gets close.”

“Hold it. Hold it right there.”

Bover raised a hand, clearly annoyed.

“Do you even know what it takes to be promoted from squire to full knight in the Sarnos Order?”

“I don’t know the details.”

“There are plenty of requirements, but the most important one is this—producing aura. That means every one of these knights is a certified fourth-rank combatant.”

Fourth-rank fighters were rare.

Even among the lords of major territories, having just one such warrior as a trump card was considered impressive.

Even the Adventurers’ Guild, which operated across the kingdom and scoured the land for talent, only had around fifty true fourth-rank fighters.

So the fact that the Sarnos Order had fielded a hundred of them—even if they were only part of the full order—proved that they were the strongest armed force in the kingdom.

“And you’re saying these elite warriors are going to lose to some thief? That they won’t even be able to hold out until backup arrives?”

“Dauphin excels at ambush and deception. If he catches someone off guard and strikes first, even a skilled knight might not get the chance to use half their strength before they’re overwhelmed.”

Dahlia kept her tone calm and logical.

But logic doesn’t always persuade.

And Bover, unsurprisingly, waved her off like she was a fly.

“Enough. The decision’s made. Any further protest will be considered insubordination and dealt with accordingly.”

Clearly, he had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Dahlia sighed inwardly.

Maybe she was overthinking it.

Surely the Sarnos Knights—the most powerful force in Birka—wouldn’t be defeated that easily.

***

At that very moment, within the Sarnos Knight Order—

"Honestly, is this really something worth sending all of us in force for?"

"City guards being useless isn’t anything new. If you think of it as a day trip instead of regular training, it’s not all bad, is it?"

"Tch. I was hoping we’d finally get a proper fight. Just one thief? If it were a full-fledged band of a few hundred, now that would’ve been exciting."

Though they were knights who had grown stronger by the day under the Count’s patronage, they rarely had opportunities to wield that power.

War? While Sarnos was in fierce competition with Redvell, even so, it wasn't reckless enough to send knights off to start an armed conflict out of nowhere—at least, not unless things went truly south.

Maintaining law and order? That kind of dirty work was for the city guard. The knight order didn’t lower itself for such menial tasks. Why use a sword fit to slay bulls to kill a chicken?

If it were a large-scale bandit group, perhaps they’d consider it. But even bandits, driven by their survival instincts, didn’t dare approach the Count’s domain. There were plenty of easier pickings elsewhere in the lawless Birka Kingdom.

Bodyguard duty? The Count of Sarnos was the most powerful man in the kingdom and a fourth-rank knight himself. Few would dare target him, and even if there were assassination attempts, they certainly wouldn't require the full force of a hundred knights. It wasn’t a matter of importance—it was overkill.

So among the Sarnos knights, there were more than a few who secretly longed for a grand battle or a chance to achieve real military merit.

The Count of Sarnos was generous with his rewards, so they had no complaints about their treatment. But that didn’t ease the burning blood and hunger for glory boiling in their veins.

Which was why this assignment, frankly, felt incredibly dull to many of them.

How could they be excited about marching in as a force of a hundred just to catch one thief?

"Still, they say he’s got some skill. Maybe it'll at least be fun to fight him?"

"‘Some skill’ only goes so far. If he's been going toe-to-toe with a mere city guard captain, then we already know where the ceiling is."

"Yeah, fair enough."

Of course, these were still the finest of the fine, personally handpicked by the Count.

Their lack of enthusiasm didn’t mean they were neglecting their duty. They carried out their assignment with extreme precision.

With elite knights assigned to personally guard the targets day and night, the nobles marked by Dauphin expressed nothing but satisfaction.

"Truly, it’s reassuring to have a knight by my side! Until now, I’ve barely slept a wink each night!"

"Haha, worry not. As long as I’m here, not even a rat will dare approach you."

"Well, I’m glad, of course, but... isn't this inconvenient for you? If he gets scared off and never shows, how are you supposed to catch him?"

"Oh dear, that is quite the loophole, isn’t it!"

"Ahahaha!"

The knights, the nobles, the commoners—everyone was convinced of the Sarnos Order’s inevitable victory.

If a lowly city guard could fend off Dauphin, surely properly trained knights wouldn’t fail.

“...This is weird. Why does it feel like the next stage is actually easier? Why’d they bench the competent guard unit? Is this some elaborate trap I haven’t figured out yet?”

[So? Are you giving up?]

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"As if! Not when my pride as a phantom thief is on the line! If they want to challenge me like this, I have no choice but to respond with something even bigger and bolder!"

Three days later.

Six of the remaining targets were kidnapped by Dauphin and displayed in a human pyramid. The knights guarding them were found unconscious, collapsed in alleyways, discovered by random passersby.

The city was thrown into an uproar.

People have expectations.

If you buy cheap food from a shabby store and it tastes bad, you might shrug it off.

But if you pay a premium at a high-class restaurant and the food is terrible, you’ll be outraged.

The current state of the Sarnos Knight Order was exactly like that.

The kingdom’s most powerful military force.

All fourth-rank or above.

The pride of House Sarnos.

All the grand titles and dazzling credentials had raised expectations sky-high. Everyone thought they were about to witness something extraordinary.

But the results they delivered? Pathetically underwhelming.

As if the six-person takedown was just the opening act, Dauphin began attacking again at almost daily intervals—and succeeding.

The first incident? They could excuse that as overconfidence.

The second? Maybe they hadn’t adjusted yet.

But by the third time Dauphin made fools of them, the knights had run out of excuses.

Or rather, even if they had excuses, no one was willing to listen.

"The guard might’ve fumbled, but at least they fought back. These guys are just getting stomped."

"They went on about how they were sent in because the guards were useless, but it turns out they’re the ones who can’t do shit."

"They smashed a guard commander’s face in under the guise of ‘discipline,’ but they don’t take any consequences when they screw up? Unbelievable."

No one said these things directly in front of the knights.

But from the subtle stares and hushed whispers drifting from across the street, it was clear the knights knew exactly what people were thinking.

"You fucking idiots...!!"

The Knight Commander was furious.

It was anger directed at Dauphin, who had seized this moment to run wild.

But more than that, it was rage aimed at his own men for performing so disgracefully.

He hadn’t expected them to do anything ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ amazing.

Just report when Dauphin appeared. Hold out until he arrived.

Was that so fucking hard?

The excuses were endless.

A hand suddenly reached out of the water and dragged me in.

I thought it was a wall, but someone jumped out of it.

I slashed at him, but it was just a dummy.

"Things that even a city guard captain could manage, my highly trained soldiers couldn’t pull off."

The Knight Commander groaned in frustration.

The vice-commander spoke up.

"Regarding that, sir... There is something suspicious I’ve come across."

"Suspicious?"

"Yes. The captain of the 8th squad—the one who supposedly fought Dauphin to a standstill before we arrived—is apparently the daughter of the ‘Traitor of Arc.’"

The Traitor of Arc.

The Knight Commander’s eyes lit up coldly at that name.

"Is that true? That man’s daughter... is working here? As a guard?"

"Yes, sir. There was a royal decree at the time—if he took his own life peacefully, his followers and family would be pardoned. Thanks to that, she avoided execution and seems to have eventually settled here."

"And the guard accepted the blood of a man who pointed his sword at the nobility? Did she hide her identity?"

"No, sir. She confessed it herself upon enlistment. Because of that, many of the older nobles have always viewed her with suspicion."

"Of course they have. The real question is how she’s still allowed to wear that uniform. Who the hell approved it?"

"Ah, well... according to the records, the Count himself happened to be passing through Lebruk at the time and said, ‘Sounds fun,’ and gave his approval...."

"...Hmm. Ah. Ahem. As expected of the Count. Such generous foresight."

The Knight Commander backpedaled instantly, pretending he hadn’t just called his liege a fool, and the vice-commander politely ignored it.

"Then—is the Count taking a personal interest in this soldier?"

"No, sir. That doesn’t seem to be the case. At the time, people suspected it might be so, but years passed without any further mention. It seems he just forgot about her."

Knowing how spontaneous and whimsical Count Sarnos could be, it was very possible he simply lost interest.

Understanding the full picture, the Knight Commander smirked.

"It is convenient, isn’t it? The daughter of a rebel who spouted nonsense about the people’s rights and turned her blade on the nobility... now working as a city guard. And the thief who causes chaos in the name of the commoners, too."

"If Dauphin was an associate of the Arc Rebellion... it would make perfect sense for him to support her from the shadows. Letting her rack up all the glory."

"Terrifying, isn’t it? A city guard who should be protecting order and a criminal who threatens the people’s safety... actually in cahoots."

There was no proof. Not even a shred.

But neither man cared.

To preserve the reputation of the great Sarnos Knight Order—even if it meant framing a mere guard for treason—Dahlia had to be the traitor.

"We should inform the Count. If he doesn’t specifically ask us to spare her, then it’s time to take ‘appropriate measures.’"

Authority gained through violence becomes meaningless the moment people stop fearing it.

And if preserving that authority meant sacrificing the innocence of a single city guard?

Then so be it.