The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

Dahlia thought.

Stay calm. You have to stay calm.

The man in front of her was a civilian she, as a guardswoman, was supposed to protect. He was also someone who had helped her in a tight spot.

Even if his words were a bit extreme, even if his ideas sounded a little dangerous, that alone wasn’t reason enough to raise her voice or lash out.

“In my opinion,” the man continued, “humility and respect stem from fear. The moment a person sees another as powerless—when they believe that person can’t harm them—they’re capable of doing horrifying things without a second thought. On the flip side, if they feel fear, they’ll become humble. So, I propose this law: ‘No punishment for smashing the skull of a rude bastard with an axe!’ Well? Wouldn’t that be a great law to teach people mutual respect?”

Her father, whom she respected dearly, had once told her the same thing.

Because of her unique constitution, if she ever lost control of her emotions and lashed out, things could end very badly. That’s why she had to learn patience and composure.

Compared to the endless swearing, backbiting, and subtle ostracizing she’d experienced within the guard, this kind of conversation was nothing.

Really, there was no need to take it seriously.

She could just laugh it off and let it pass...

“Proper procedures and fairness can be such a pain. People in power twist the rules to escape responsibility, and victims can only watch with blood in their eyes. So, just smash the bad guys! If the ending makes everyone cheer and clap, who cares if we skipped a few steps?”

“You have got to be kidding me!!”

Dahlia snapped.

This time, she really snapped.

“What was that?! Execute anyone who makes someone cry? What, are we turning the entire city into a ghost town? Must be nice for knights! No need for swords—just carry around garlic or onions and rub them in someone’s eyes for an instant kill!”

“Oh-ho, an excellent point. We’ll definitely need a safeguard against fake tears.”

“That’s not the point, idiot! I’m ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) being sarcastic!!”

“Hmmm...” The man stroked his chin and then asked again.

“But anyone can point out a flaw. If we can’t punish evildoers with immediate death, then how exactly should we punish them?”

“Obviously, we should follow the law and due process—”

“And what kind of law would that be, exactly?”

The man leaned forward, eyes flashing.

“I told you, it’s a game of lawmaking. Let’s assume the kingdom’s laws don’t exist, that the city’s rules are gone—there’s no established system. If you had to create your own laws to punish and protect people, what would they be?”

“That’s...”

Dahlia found herself at a loss for words.

Create a legal system from scratch? That wasn’t something an ordinary person could just discuss on a whim.

How was she supposed to answer something like that out of the blue?

“You can’t answer, right? Then wouldn’t it be better to just execute all the bad guys?”

Gone was the calm, gentlemanly demeanor. Now the man grinned smugly, as if he’d already won.

If she were being asked to create a “perfect law,” one so flawless that no one could argue against it, Dahlia probably wouldn’t have been able to utter a single word for the rest of her life.

But at the very least, she could come up with something to refute his reckless logic. No—she had to.

“If you execute everyone who’s done wrong, then a thief and a murderer end up with the same punishment. Punishment should fit the severity of the crime—it needs to be scaled accordingly.”

“Hmmm. So, cut off the hand of a thief, slice the tongue of a liar, and kill the killer? Something like that?”

“That’s too narrow and way too extreme. Why are you so obsessed with spilling blood?”

“Well, if the punishments are too lenient, people won’t take them seriously. Shouldn’t punishments be severe enough to scare people into behaving?”

“Well, um...”

Dahlia paused, thinking hard.

Her father had been a knight, but calling him that was being generous. In truth, he lived more like a skilled vagrant.

Growing up under such a man, Dahlia hadn’t received any formal education. Her knowledge and manners were lacking.

But she had experience.

She’d traveled with her father and seen what kinds of injustices people cried about. She’d lived as a guard and seen how flawed laws could torment the innocent.

Drawing from that experience, Dahlia thought.

Yes, harsher punishments could deter criminals.

In that sense, what the man said wasn’t entirely wrong.

But the side effects were just as serious.

“I don’t know if this counts as law, but I’ve seen lands ruled by both gentle lords and strict ones.”

“Really? Gentle lords exist in the Kingdom of Birka?”

“...Yes, they do! Maybe one in a hundred! And that’s not the point—just let me finish!!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After clearing her throat, Dahlia continued.

“The gentle lords gave even wrongdoers a second chance. The strict ones handed out harsh sentences without mercy. You’d think the strict ones would keep crime in check better, but from what I saw—it was the opposite. Because even small crimes meant certain death, the criminals had nothing to lose. They went completely off the rails.”

“Hmm. So, your point is what, exactly? That you need to give them a way out?”

“And that sometimes the verdict is wrong. I saw a man get his hand cut off for theft, only for it to be revealed later he wasn’t the real thief. But his hand was already gone. That’s why I think making every punishment harsh is dangerous. Innocent people could get hurt.”

The man looked thoughtful for a moment, and Dahlia swallowed hard, tense.

And then, he nodded.

“You make a valid point.”

“R-Really?”

Dahlia’s face visibly brightened.

When she thought about it, all she’d done was get a positive reaction from the man—but for some reason, it made her genuinely happy.

But only for a moment.

“But still, I think committing a crime is obviously bad, but aiding it or silently condoning it is just as wrong. So shouldn’t everyone involved be punished too? If the actual culprit is executed, then the accomplices should at least lose a limb or two.”

“Don’t say stupid shit!”

As the man once again started spouting something infuriating, Dahlia lunged forward with a growl.

“You think if you do that, people will actively try to stop crimes? It’s the opposite! They’ll be too scared of getting punished too, so they’ll just keep quiet and cover it up! It’ll just make catching criminals harder!”

“Is that so? Then how about this?”

Even after that, the man kept throwing out hypothetical scenarios and trying to get Dahlia to agree, while she continued to refute him.

It wasn’t easy, of course.

The man knew far more than she did, and at times he pointed out contradictions and weaknesses in things she had always taken for granted.

Faced with his rhetoric, Dahlia often found herself backed into a corner or barely managing to hold her ground—but whenever she managed to punch through his logic and assert her point, she felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

It didn’t matter what the kingdom’s law said, or what Lebruk’s policies required.

In this conversation of hypothetical problems with the man, only Dahlia’s own will, beliefs, and conscience mattered.

Dahlia suddenly recalled how the man had called this a “game.”

She had to admit—he was right.

Being able to declare what she believed was right, with confidence—that alone was something joyful.

“Haaah...”

After talking passionately for quite some time, Dahlia leaned back in her chair and let out a deep sigh.

Her pleasant holiday was already coming to an end, and the time for her to return was drawing close.

Which meant she couldn’t help but feel a little bitter.

“You don’t look too happy. Is something bothering you?”

At the man’s question, Dahlia hesitated to answer.

Normally, she would’ve brushed it off with a casual “no problem.”

But having just let out something she’d kept buried deep in her chest for so long, Dahlia wanted to savor that catharsis just a little more.

“I’ll admit it. Yeah, it was fun. But what’s the point? No matter what we say here, it has nothing to do with reality.”

Her judgment, her verdicts, her thoughts on right and wrong—none of it meant anything in the real world.

No matter how hard Dahlia thought it through or how desperately she tried to reach an answer, it would have no influence at all on the conclusions and rulings handed down by the city’s upper class.

Maybe if it’s just a game, being fun is enough.

But even knowing that, Dahlia—ever sincere—couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

And then the man replied.

“Just because it’s a game doesn’t mean it’s useless. Sure, maybe you can’t apply it to the real world right now—but one day, when you face something like this again, can’t it at least help guide your judgment?”

“What good is a standard I can’t even use?”

“At the very least, you’ll be able to say, ‘If it were me, I would’ve done this.’ It’s better to reach a clear conclusion like that than just be left with vague, murky feelings.”

“Reaching a conclusion, huh...”

Dahlia closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

And then she gave the man a polite bow.

“...Thank you for today. I’ll be going now.”

“Your tone’s changed back? Personally, I rather liked how you were speaking earlier.”

“I make a point of separating business and personal matters.”

In other words, from now on, it was back to “business.”

“I won’t ask for your name. And everything you said today—I’ll pretend I never heard it.”

That was Dahlia’s own way of showing kindness, and also her way of deceiving herself.

Even if this man really was the one she suspected—at least for today, she wouldn’t arrest him.

“That’s nice. Then I won’t ask your name either, next time. There’s a certain charm in that, isn’t there?”

And with that, the man lightly crossed the line Dahlia had drawn and kissed the back of her hand.

Dahlia’s breath caught in her throat.

“Next time...?”

“Oh dear, surely you’re not thinking of ending things with just this one conversation as thanks for my help? I’ll be expecting you to humor me a few more times. Hahaha! This is why one must never accept kindness too casually!”

At his teasing words, Dahlia’s fingertips trembled slightly.

“...Well, I do owe you, after all. A few more times—I can manage that much.”

She knew full well it was just an obvious excuse, but still, she pretended not to notice.

“Then until next time, earnest young lady whose name I do not know.”

“Until we meet again, mysterious jester whose true identity eludes me.”