The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 60: Phantom Thief Dauphin (4). Cops and Robbers

“To the depraved Baron Kasiba de Mollet, who has drowned in lust.

You have assaulted countless women, leaving scars that will never fade, and silenced those who dared protest with threats and violence. You know your sins.

Before the cock crows thrice, confess your crimes in the plaza and beg forgiveness from your victims.

If you ignore this warning, the Mollet bloodline will end with your generation.

–Phantom Thief Dauphin

“Did you hear? Baron Kasiba got dismissed.”

“Dismissed? From what?”

“Oh, come on, don’t play dumb. They say gut-wrenching sobs echoed from his manor.”

“Well, that’s both terrifying and satisfying. The man couldn’t go a day without thrusting his hips around—living must be hell for him now.”

“To the self-proclaimed knight, Pernus Finn, who cannot control his rage.

Throwing tantrums over bad food, skipping bills, smashing storefronts in a drunken haze, beating up shop owners, cursing out elders for walking too slowly and saying ‘old folks should just die already’—I have more, but space is limited.

I can’t comprehend why you, a man who can’t even wield a proper sword, think you’re a knight just because your father is the head of a knight order. Still, even fools deserve a chance at repentance.

I advise you: before the short hand of the clock circles three times, go beg forgiveness from your victims.

–Phantom Thief Dauphin

“They say that bastard Pernus got executed.”

“What? But there were still two days left until the deadline.”

“Apparently, he got drunk and went looking for his old victims, shouting at them, asking if they ratted him out to the thief. Then—whoosh—some shadow swooped in, snatched him, and the next day they found him... well, like a squid.”

“Squid? What do you mean?”

“Every single long bone in his body had been smashed to bits. Now he flops around like a jellyfish. The fact he’s even still alive is a miracle.”

“To the negligent and corrupt official, Grunia Raperot.

Those who have nothing are enslaved for stealing a single loaf of bread, while those with wealth stab a man dead in the street and claim self-defense.

I won't demand that you apply the law equally to all—but your sheer laziness in even pretending to enforce it can no longer be overlooked.

Before the fields by the city gates bloom yellow, I grant you a chance to right your wrongs.

If a single shard of conscience still exists within your soul, do not turn away.

–Phantom Thief Dauphin

“Grunia resigned from his post and apologized to the people he sentenced.”

“Huh. So it really happened. Then I guess this one ends without bloodshed?”

“Not quite. Turns out his confession about accepting bribes made some folks uncomfortable, and they tried to silence him.”

“Tried, huh? Meaning it didn’t go so well?”

“A new decorative trend’s sweeping the upper districts, I hear. Homeowners being strung up upside down on their façades.”

“Ahh, truly! The fashions of the nobles are far too sophisticated for lowly folk like us to comprehend! Hahaha!”

***

“Are you all complete morons?!”

BANG!

The head of the central guard force slammed his desk and roared.

There had been similar incidents before Dauphin appeared, but the mood now was utterly different.

Back then, the commander was the type to cheerfully say, “Let’s all do our best!”

Now, his eyes brimmed with murderous rage, as though he wanted to kill the incompetent fools in front of him.

None of the squad leaders dared object to the drastic personnel shake-up.

Not because of rank alone, but because—frankly—no excuse could cover up how pathetically the guard force had been performing.

“The entire city is laughing at us! Nobles, officials—they're all calling us pompous leeches who do nothing when it really matters!”

The commander might’ve been in charge of maintaining order across Lebruk, but in this city, there were many above him—socially, economically, politically.

And those people were now terrified that they might be Dauphin’s next target.

That fear turned into pressure, and they bore down on the commander relentlessly.

This wasn’t the time for delusions about glory or fame.

If Dauphin continued to run wild under his watch, he was going to lose his head—literally.

His eyes drifted to the one empty seat in the meeting room.

The seat belonging to the squad leader he’d chased away for being too much of a nag:

Dahlia.

“Bring in Captain Dahlia. The next Dauphin case goes to Squad Eight.”

For the first time, the other squad leaders raised their voices.

“Please wait, Commander. Squad Eight is currently patrolling their assigned sector. If you pull them out, it’ll cause major disruptions.”

“Even if you bring in someone new, it won’t change anything. Wouldn’t it be better to let us—who’ve already faced Dauphin—keep pursuing him?”

“If you didn’t want this, you should’ve done your jobs properly in the first place! If you can’t catch him, shut the hell up!”

Dahlia was well-known within the guard force—as an outsider.

Some disliked her stoic personality, which paid no mind to politics.

Others resented being compared to her work ethic.

Still more gossiped that she was just pretending to be "pure."

The commander hadn’t been all that different from the rest.

But right now, with his own head on the line, personal grudges didn’t matter.

Soon, Dahlia returned from patrol.

The commander addressed her directly.

“Captain Dahlia. Effective immediately, Squad Eight will cease regular patrols and focus solely on capturing Dauphin. The zones your squad covered will be reassigned to others.”

The other squad leaders grimaced, but the commander ignored them.

“If you need support, ask for it. Just catch Dauphin—no matter what it takes.”

“...Understood. We’ll do our best.”

If it were anyone else, the commander might have scoffed, “Don’t give me your best—give me results.”

But this time, he didn’t.

There was no need.

There was a reason why Dahlia, despite being isolated within the force, retained her position as a squad leader:

She was overwhelmingly capable.

***

Dauphin’s next declared target was the tax officer of Lebruk.

Barely into his twenties, the man was a disaster when it came to actual work.

He roamed the city causing endless trouble, yet few dared speak against him.

Why?

Because even as a concubine’s child, he was still one of Count Sarnos’s own.

Normally a smug little tyrant parading about town, today he cowered in his room, shaking like a leaf.

“Damn it, what did I even do wrong...?!”

Getting drunk and maiming a commoner?

Violating the man’s daughter on the spot while she begged for mercy?

Come on—that kind of stuff was common for nobles his age!

He hadn’t hurt another noble, so why should a man of noble blood be this afraid?

Meanwhile, outside the room, the guards of Squad Eight were grumbling to each other.

“Fuck me... Finally get out of patrol duty and this is what we’re stuck with? Guarding this little shit?”

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“If it weren’t an official mission, I’d beat him to a pulp myself.”

Objectively, saying that out loud in the client’s presence was dangerous.

But none of them held back.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Squad Eight was practically a band of rebels within the guard force—people who despised corruption.

And every one of them had balls of steel.

Then, it happened.

—It’s Dauphin!! He’s here—ghurk!!

Booms, shattering glass, people screaming—chaos exploded all at once.

Most thieves prided themselves on stealth.

Not Dauphin.

He never used the same method twice.

Lately, his targets were holed up in buildings reinforced like fortresses.

So more often than not, he just blew through the obstacles with flair.

BOOM!

“Aaargh?!”

An explosion ripped open an entire wall of the tax officer’s room.

The place had no windows, and the hallways were swarming with guards.

But none of that mattered if the thief just punched through the wall.

And through the smoke...

“Greetings, my friends! Just as promised, Dauphin is here!”

He stepped into the room with zero hesitation.

A wine-colored suit from head to toe.

A wide-brimmed, rounded hat atop his head.

A long mantle draped over his right shoulder.

His face was hidden behind thick facial hair, making his age hard to judge, but he looked somewhere in his 30s to 40s.

He smiled deeply, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

The very image of a classic gentleman thief—

Not at all what people imagined when they heard the word “criminal.”

“I extend my polite warnings every time, and yet they go ignored. Clearly, you wished to see me in person! And I—oh so graciously—have obliged! «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Now then, wretched sinner who I’d rather not call ‘dear,’ it’s time to pay your dues!”

“H-Hiiiiieeekk!!”

The tax officer tried to flee, trembling violently.

His bodyguards rushed to intercept.

One was even a fully armored knight, sword glowing faintly with aura.

Dauphin’s response?

Simple.

Whsshk!

Cards flew from his hand like darts, striking their armor—

then glowed yellow and released a fierce electric shock.

The guards crumpled like puppets, twitching helplessly on the floor.

He even aimed precisely—one card for each soldier, multiple for the knight’s joints.

In seconds, every guard was down.

Only the spoiled brat remained.

Dauphin reached for him—

BOOOOM!

A heavy whoosh split the air.

Dauphin stepped back just in time as a spear swept past where he stood.

His mantle and hair whipped violently.

His eyes glinted.

It wasn’t the sheer force of the strike that intrigued him—

but the fact that it had been aimed not to kill, but to restrain.

“A knight...? No... Ahh, one of those guards I’ve seen running through the city.”

The armor lacked the ornamentation of nobility, yet wasn’t common rabble either.

A visored helmet to obscure identity.

A woman, judging by the form.

But her presence... was unlike any of the guards he’d toyed with until now.

“You’ve come to catch me, dear officer. Or should I say... guard?”

“You got it. This little rampage ends here, thief.”

“Oh, do call me a phantom thief if you would! I’m not quite used to the ‘hero of the people’ moniker, but the flair of it does appeal to me!”

“Doesn’t matter what you call yourself—you’re still a criminal!!”

Under the crescent moon—

the chase between the cop and the thief had begun.