The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 58: Phantom Thief Dauphin (2). The Calling Card

—Hey, did you hear? He showed up in the Pavello Barony too!

—Showed up? Who?

—The thief! You know, the thief! Apparently the baron’s sons had some disgusting scandals with women in the territory. Every single one of them was kidnapped and put on display in the town square! Their assets were completely wiped out too!

—That’s insane! They must’ve had tight security—how did he pull it off?

—Hey, did you hear? Afrim Trading Company got cleaned out!

—That vicious bastard? They called it a trading company, but it was basically a bandit gang!

—Haha! Even if they were half-bandits, they were no match for a real thief, huh?

—Still, that guy must be out of his mind. Doesn’t he fear retaliation?

—I heard Baron Tosrof used to treat his serfs like dirt, but lately he’s been treating them well.

—What, what brought that on?

—He’s saying stuff like, “I realized serfs are precious people too,” but come on—nobody believes that. Everyone says he’s behaving because of that thief.

—I always figured a thief was a thief, but seeing how much they’re changing things... maybe that “heroic thief” title isn’t just nonsense.

—Hah! That thief bastard’s got me living in fear these days!

—Are we even sure it’s just one guy? You’re telling me a single thief is running circles around the entire kingdom?

—Now that you mention it... maybe it’s a large group using one figurehead as a front.

—It’s odd that they’re only operating in Sarnos territory too. What if it’s a group dispatched from elsewhere on purpose?

—Where will they strike next? I hope they come here soon!

—Don’t worry! If they’re following the pattern, then Lebruk is up next!

—Please, let them wipe out all the rotten nobles!

—Oh, Dauphin! Dauphin! Please come save us!

***

The Sarnos Guard is divided into squads, companies, and battalions.

Smaller territories directly under the count’s rule are typically assigned a squad of 10 to 20 guards, with the squad leader acting as the commanding officer.

Sarnos organizes these territories into regional clusters, and the squad leaders report to a regional company commander.

There is only one battalion commander in all of House Sarnos, overseeing every guard under the count’s command.

Most guard companies are responsible not only for the estate housing their main base but also for squads stationed in nearby towns.

However, the Lebruk company is a rare exception. It oversees nothing outside the city—its sole duty is to protect Lebruk.

Because the city is massive and densely populated, command issued a special order not to burden it with other responsibilities, funneling a generous number of troops into it.

And right now—

At the company headquarters in central Lebruk, a strange tension filled the air.

“I trust you’re all aware of the notorious thief causing such a stir lately.”

At the company commander’s words, the expressions of the squad leaders around the table shifted dramatically.

If those gazes had been filled with duty or righteous determination to capture a criminal, Dahlia might’ve felt a little more at ease.

But unfortunately, what flickered in their eyes was something else entirely.

They looked more like men who had stumbled upon an overstuffed wallet lying on the ground.

Urgency to snatch it up, wariness that someone else might get it first, barely hidden greed.

Not at all the kind of emotions that suited city guards—but the company commander seemed delighted by it.

“Thief Dauphin. This arrogant bastard doesn’t even bother hiding his trail. Starting with Baron Varmore’s territory, he’s been systematically hitting estates one by one. Assuming he doesn’t suddenly change his pattern, upper command predicts that he’ll begin operations here in Lebruk within the next few days. You know what that means, don’t you?”

One of the squad leaders answered with a smirk.

“It means a fattened pig is walking straight into the hunting grounds, completely unaware.”

“Exactly!”

Thud!

The commander slammed his fist on the table in excitement.

“Among the territories Dauphin has already struck, many belonged to other companies. But those worthless fools couldn’t even catch one thief—they embarrassed themselves. If we catch him here, the Lebruk company will be hailed as the best in the region! The count himself will surely reward us handsomely!”

Uooooohhh!

A raucous cheer erupted from the squad leaders.

Even as they shouted, they threw glances at one another—each worried that someone else’s squad might snatch the golden prize first.

Dahlia fought back a sigh and raised her hand.

The commander, who had been grinning ear to ear, stiffened slightly when he saw who it was, but he nodded anyway.

“What is it, Captain of Squad 8?”

“Catching the thief is important, of course. But I’d like to caution everyone against overconfidence.”

The charged air turned cold, like someone had dumped a bucket of water over the room.

The commander clearly didn’t like what he was hearing, but Dahlia pressed on. She believed it had to be said.

“We don’t know this man’s identity, his true abilities, or whether he has a faction backing him. More importantly, he has a clear track record. Not only guards from independent baronies, but even guards belonging to noble houses like ours have failed to stop him. If we approach this assuming it’ll be easy—”

“Alright, enough.”

The commander cut her off with an irritated wave.

“So what you’re saying is, don’t be careless. Did that really need to be such a long speech?”

Because if I just said “don’t be careless,” no one would actually listen—that’s why.

Dahlia said nothing, but the thought echoed in her head. He clearly wasn’t interested in hearing it anyway.

“Of course we shouldn’t be careless. I get what you’re trying to say. But right now, we’re all fired up about catching a dangerous criminal. Did you really have to be the one to throw cold water on that? Everyone here knows not to let their guard down. They’re not fools.”

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

“...My apologies.”

“Tch. Anyway, all of you—keep your guards tight. Increase night patrols, and assign dedicated guards to buildings housing key figures. I’m trusting you to do this right.”

The strategy meeting continued after that, but Dahlia wasn’t given another chance to speak.

Enduring the sidelong smirks from the other squad leaders, she remained silently in her seat.

***

The soldiers of Squad 8 blinked in disbelief.

The new patrol district assignments handed down from above were that absurd.

There were ten squads total in the Lebruk Company.

Nine of them were assigned to the upper-class district, which took up about a quarter of the city.

And the remaining three-quarters?

All handed to just one squad—Dahlia’s Squad 8.

Three times the territory with one-ninth the manpower. It was a deployment so irrational, they had to question whether they were reading it right.

“...Sorry. I tried to change it somehow, but I failed.”

Dahlia couldn’t hide her guilt in front of her subordinates.

They had always patrolled the less popular areas of Lebruk, maintaining order where few others went, but that had been under the condition that they could manage their core zone first and only cover additional areas when time allowed.

If time or manpower was tight, they could scale back those patrols.

But this time, nearly 70 to 80 percent of Lebruk had officially been designated as Squad 8’s sole responsibility.

It was no longer “go if you can.” Now it was “you must patrol”—and the area they had to cover had massively increased.

To manage such a wide zone with just their squad, every soldier would have to work every single day from morning till late at night—with no days off.

And it wasn’t for a set period, either. The orders were simply, “until Dauphin is caught”—with no telling when that would be.

Dahlia had protested to the company commander.

The answer she received was so brazen it left her stunned.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“This is a matter of honor for Lebruk—and for House Sarnos as a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ whole. As a soldier serving the count, shouldn’t a little self-sacrifice be expected of you?”

The commander insisted the new arrangement was to ensure Dauphin’s capture, but anyone could see it was retaliatory.

Dahlia could endure mockery or reprimand aimed at her personally—but the thought that her own actions had dragged her subordinates into this mess made the guilt hard to swallow.

Seeing her head bowed, the soldiers of Squad 8 exchanged glances.

Her lieutenant spoke first.

“Please lift your head, Captain. This isn’t your fault—there’s nothing to apologize for.”

The others chimed in:

“Nothing’s really changed. We were the only ones who gave a damn about those areas anyway.”

“Actually, I think this is better. Before, helping out in other districts felt like we were doing their jobs. At least now we’re just doing our own.”

“I mean, wasn’t it always cramped and annoying trying to patrol those narrow upper-class roads with fancy carriages squeezing through? Running through open space suits me better.”

“Yeah, Captain! That bastard commander’s the one at fault! Why’re you apologizing?”

“Hey, can we talk shit about the commander here at HQ?”

“Come on, people talk crap about counts when they’re not around. What’s a company commander compared to that?”

“Honestly, that guy only puts on airs in front of us. He bows and scrapes to the knights from the main house and even their squires.”

“What about the battalion commander? He’s the top of the guard, right? Is he on par with a knight commander?”

“Come on, get real. Nobles only let in elite knights. Our guard lets in any mutt off the street. He’s probably on par with a basic knight, if that.”

What started as an effort to cheer up Dahlia had, at some point, turned into a debate on the difference in prestige between the guards and the knights.

The lieutenant let out a heavy sigh.

“...Can’t you morons stick to a topic for more than two minutes?”

“Haha.”

They were an unruly bunch with no discipline, but their carefree banter somehow brought a smile back to Dahlia’s face.

Scratching the back of his head, the lieutenant added:

“But seriously, is this Dauphin guy even coming? If it were me, I wouldn’t set foot in a place crawling with guards. Hell, if he did show up and saw how bad it was, wouldn’t he just bail?”

“Who knows? Maybe.”

He wasn’t the type to fight fair.

If the situation turned against him, it wouldn’t be surprising at all for a thief like that to simply run away.

That was what Dahlia thought—until her assumption was shattered just one day later.

Thief Dauphin didn’t run.

He didn’t hide, either.

In fact, he went even further than he had in any previous territory—drawing attention to himself in broad daylight.

On the wall of a large merchant building in the upper district, he left a bold message:

“To a not-so-dearly beloved corrupt merchant,

Henri Montborque, resident merchant of the Montborque Trading House.

I am aware that you have taken advantage of illiterate farmers—purchasing the grain they bled and sweated to harvest at insultingly low prices.

Your warehouse is overflowing with sacks of grain, yet those same farmers go to bed hungry. Tell me, is that not an injustice?

It is not too late. Apologize and pay the fair price to those you cheated.

If, by the time the sun and moon have swapped places twice, you have not heeded this warning, I will personally return the grain to its rightful owners—interest included.

I hope you make the wise choice.

—Phantom Thief Dauphin”

There was no mistaking it.

It was a declaration of war.