Chapter 71
#Chapter 71: Phantom Thief Dauphin (15) - If You Lay a Hand on My Little Guard
It clearly began as nothing more than a petty contest of pride between the two lords.
If only one side had backed down a little.
Or if the country had been run even a little more properly, and there had been someone to mediate between them, it would have ended easily as a trivial dispute.
But once blood started to flow, it demanded more blood, and as pride, vested interests, grudges, and everything else became tangled together, the two lords began running wild as if they knew nothing of brakes.
Young men were forcibly conscripted, taxes rose sharply under the pretense of war levies, and food supplies worsened to the point that a family could no longer get by without giving up one of its own.
The young men of two neighboring villages had to stand on opposite sides and point spears at people they used to laugh and talk with simply because the lords who ruled their lands were different, and those who protested that there was no reason for them to fight were beaten into silence by the lords' direct troops, or, in the worst cases, killed outright.
In their misery and pain, unable to go on living like this, the people approached 'him' as if grasping at a straw and knelt before him in supplication.
The knight at the lowest rank.
O true knight who fights for the people.
Please save us.
Please stop this pointless, inexplicable fighting.
With dirty clothes on their backs, skeletal bodies, bowed heads, and tears streaming down their faces, the knight could not bear to turn away from them.
Hearing that the people's knight had stepped in to save them, the commoners under the two lords rose up against their rulers one after another, and the two lords, as always, tried to suppress them with violence, only to fail because of the powerful knight.
Of course, the commoners did not come away unscathed either.
No matter how strong the knight's martial prowess was, he was still only one man, and wherever he was absent, the commoners had to shed rivers of blood.
Still, unlike before, the commoners did not go down easily even when they were beaten.
In the past, if one in ten commoners was made an example of, the other nine would bow their heads, but now they chose to fight back instead of submitting.
Because there was a knight.
Because he had shown them that they could stand up to nobles and rulers.
Because they had learned he was not an invincible being they could never defy, but merely a man who possessed power.
The knight spoke to the two lords.
He told them that, because of their tyrannical rule, the commoners were suffering like this.
So please stop fighting and fulfill your duty as lords by caring for your people.
But instead of accepting the knight's advice, the lords chose to bring other noble houses into the conflict, and the commoners, enraged, shouted at the knight.
The knight at the lowest rank.
O knight of the people, who fights alongside us.
Since they rejected the hand we extended to them, the only thing left is to cut off their heads.
We must pay those vile oppressors back with the suffering they inflicted on us.
There are far too many in this wretched country who suffer like us but do not even know how to fight back and can only endure it, so if we make our cause and our accomplishments known to them, we can surely change this country itself.
Rather than spend the rest of my life suffering as I did before, I'd rather risk my life for this great cause.
The knight was flustered.
Only then did he realize what kind of spark his actions had kindled in people's hearts: he had only ever swung his sword to help the weak and save those ignored by others, and he had pointed that sword at the nobles on behalf of the people.
If he had been just a little more ruthless.
Or if he had been the kind of person who could accept small sacrifices for a great dream.
He could have plunged this nation into war in accordance with the will of the commoners he led.
But the knight, who had spent his entire life fighting for the weak, could not choose a path that would send countless people tumbling into pools of blood, even if it was for the right cause.
Nor could he choose to flee with only his daughter and leave behind the people who had trusted him and followed him.
To the knight, who was torn in anguish, a messenger from the old king, who at that time had not yet lost his wits, came and said.
If he would only offer up the knight's head before the fighting grew any larger and more blood was spilled, no responsibility would be asked of those involved. The royal family would guarantee it.
Ignoring his wailing daughter, the knight raised his sword—
***
“─8th Platoon Leader Dahlia. You are under arrest on charges of colluding with the thief Dauphin!”
The Sarnos Knights.
At the declaration shouted by the deputy commander, the inside of the guard post was instantly thrown into turmoil.
"What? Collusion? The 8th Platoon Leader?"
"What nonsense is that?"
BOOM!
When more than ten knights stamped the ground at the same time, a massive impact rang out, instantly silencing the guard post.
At the deafening boom, as if a giant boulder had dropped to the ground, everyone instinctively shrank back.
Dahlia frowned, but kept herself calm and objected.
"Collusion? That's absurd. I've never done anything like that."
"No point denying it. We've already seen through your scheme to leak guard force information to Dauphin and help his crimes, while Dauphin, in return, pretended to go easy on you to raise your standing."
"Then on what basis are you making such a suspicion!"
"There was testimony from inside the guard force."
"Pardon?"
At the deputy commander's gesture, some guards in the corner stepped forward and spoke.
"We saw the 8th Platoon Leader deliberately letting Dauphin go when she had the chance to finish him!"
"We saw Dauphin, who is ruthless with everyone else, loosen up only with the 8th Platoon Leader!"
"After the knights arrived, we even saw the 8th Platoon Leader speaking at night with a man believed to be Dauphin!"
People can go speechless for a moment when they're too stunned.
Instead of Dahlia, who had gone blank for a moment, the 8th Platoon's deputy raised his voice.
"What nonsense!! You guys fawned over the company commander like that, and now you've found a new master or what!?"
Only then could Dahlia realize who those guards were.
Originally, Dahlia had been a fringe presence in the guard force, but after Dauphin appeared and Dahlia began to stand out, many of the guards started treating her favorably as if they had flipped on a dime.
But there were also those who never acknowledged Dahlia to the end and continued to show hostility, and right now they were the ones on the knights' side, spouting forged testimony.
"Don't bother listening to them, Captain!! Anyone can see they're trying to pin the blame on you and make you take the fall because they think it'll stain their own reputation!!"
"As expected of lowborn trash, their speech is filthy."
The deputy commander frowned, and one of the knights stepped forward and reached toward the adjutant.
The moment the knight sneered at the adjutant, who hadn't even realized the attack was coming his way.
Crunch.
“─Don't touch my subordinate.”
Before the knight's hand could reach the adjutant, Dahlia's hand firmly seized his wrist.
The knight flinched and tried to shake Dahlia off, but no matter how violently he struggled, Dahlia didn't budge.
"W-what, whoa!?"
A beat late in noticing the attack, the adjutant yelped and stumbled backward, and the deputy commander's eyebrow twitched.
"Are you saying you're going to disobey orders right now?"
"In the first place, the knights aren't even the guard force's direct superiors, and even if they were, there's no law saying they can use unjust violence on a subordinate."
"What nonsense. I was only trying to punish a dog who didn't know its place for barging in on a superior's words. It's an offense so irreverent that execution would not be strange."
"That...!!"
That isn't proper law.
At the very least, it was far removed from the laws she had discussed with 'him.'
But Dahlia couldn't finish saying it.
Even if Dahlia was steadily building her own justice and code within her heart, in reality such things meant nothing.
The deputy commander said.
"As for whether the suspicion is true or not, we'll know after investigating it in due course. Will you obey quietly, or will you resist to the end? 8th Platoon Leader."
Dahlia hesitated.
Even as stubborn as she was, she knew that the moment she meekly went along here, something very unpleasant awaited her.
But if she refused?
Dahlia looked at the 8th Platoon's comrades for a moment.
They were all gripping their spear shafts tightly, sending Dahlia resolute looks.
As if to say they would fight alongside her if she chose to fight.
And at the same time, Dahlia realized.
Their legs were faintly trembling, cold sweat was slowly beading out, and their breathing was ragged.
Regardless of their will, their bodies were already terrified.
That was only natural.
The 8th Platoon's guards were among the best in the guard force, but very few of them could properly handle mana.
The difference in physical ability between someone who had strengthened their body through proper cultivation and someone who hadn't was roughly the difference between a beast and an ordinary person, and on top of that, their opponents were human weapons in proper armor, skilled in swordsmanship, and able to freely scatter sword aura.
Once a fight broke out, no matter what happened to Dahlia herself, there was no chance the platoon members would be safe.
And that was not the result Dahlia wanted.
With a short sigh, Dahlia let go of the knight's arm.
The knight sprang back and glared at Dahlia, apparently deeply humiliated that his attack had been stopped by a mere guard.
Dahlia turned her head toward the knights' deputy commander.
"I haven't colluded with anyone, but I will comply with the investigation."
"A wise choice."
"However, there is one condition."
"...A condition?"
"Please declare here, in front of everyone in the guard force, that you won't lay a hand on the other members of the guard force. Also, please allow me to meet with one member of the 8th Platoon each day."
The deputy commander's face twisted openly.
"Do you really think that's a reasonable request for a culprit?"
"Didn't you just say earlier, Deputy Commander, that 'whether the suspicion is true or not, we'll know after investigating it in due course'? It seems a little too early to decide I'm the culprit before the investigation is even over. Unless, of course, you're already deciding I'm the culprit and making the result fit."
"You bitch!! Are you trying to toy with me right now!!"
"I had no such intention, but if that is how you feel, I apologize."
Watching the deputy commander's face twist through all kinds of colors, Dahlia suddenly thought.
Since when had she become this eloquent?
The answer was obvious enough that she didn't even need to think about it.
Of course it was the result of talking every day with that sly, snake-like 'him.'
Even in this gloomy situation, when she thought of 'his' face, Dahlia suddenly felt a little better, and she gave a bitter smile.
"You bitch...!"
The deputy commander looked very troubled.
Letting Dahlia's demand go through as it was would wound his pride.
But if he didn't grant it and tried to suppress her by force, the movement Dahlia had just shown against the knight was bothering him.
In the end, he clicked his tongue and spat it out like a bug he'd chewed up.
"Fine! I'll grant that paltry request, so just comply with the investigation quietly already!"
Dahlia held out both hands, and the knights bound them before beginning to lead her away.
The members of the 8th Platoon tried to stop her.
"Captain!"
"I'm fine, so keep coming to visit regularly. I need to see what the outside world is like."
The members looked as if they had plenty to say, but at Dahlia's unexpectedly composed demeanor, they had no choice but to nod.
That afternoon.
A strange rumor began to spread through Revbruk.
"Did you hear? The 8th Platoon Leader of the guard force got dragged in."
"What? Why?"
"Apparently the reason the 8th Platoon Leader had been able to perform so well all this time was because she had actually been in league with Dauphin behind the scenes?"
"Come on, no matter how you look at it, that can't be true."
"Thinking about it, it was a little strange, wasn't it? How could a mere guard have performed that well against Dauphin, whom even the knights couldn't catch? If she had been building her reputation by secretly teaming up with Dauphin and, once the knights showed up, leaking information from inside to sabotage them, it would make perfect sense, wouldn't it?"
"Hmm, hmm."
"Honestly, I'd suspected it from the start. No, if she was really that capable, why hadn't she made a name for herself sooner and only started making waves after Dauphin showed up?"
The rumor was somewhat too biased in favor of the knights and distorted the information related to Dahlia, but as conspiracy theories began to be shouted in unison from various places, people began to regard her with suspicion, more or less.
And hearing this news, one man muttered.
"Well now. Interesting. What an ingenious joke."
Contrary to his words, the corners of the man's mouth were not smiling at all.
The great demon, having confirmed that sight from the shadows, thought.
Ah, I'm pissed.