#57 The Phantom Dauphin – Wildflowers of Sarnos

Many noble families own ‘territories’ affiliated with their family, increasing their wealth and power by developing those territories.

However, that does not mean that all territories in the world are the result of a particular family developing them from beginning to end.

The city called Levroucq was the same.

This city, bisected by a colossal river, was ancient. Its history, easily a thousand years deep.

Levruk had existed even before the Virka Kingdom. It had passed through countless rulers’ hands, each shaping its development in their own image.

Some tried to turn it into a vast breadbasket, leveraging the abundant water. Others, a fortress against invaders. Still others, a hub of commerce.

Perhaps it was the accumulation of so many trials and errors over so much time.

When the Sarnos family seized control, Levruk was a goddamn mess. A total hodgepodge.

The location was prime. Resources plentiful. Population, sizable.

But where the hell do you even start to fix this?

The first Count Sarnos, more warrior than administrator, opted for the status quo instead of a sweeping overhaul. This policy persisted, generation after generation, down to the current Count.

A chaotic administrative system where nobody knew for sure how many people even lived in the city, let alone the exact figure. Not even an approximate count.

A maze-like layout where roads marked on the map simply didn’t exist, and non-existent spaces flourished.

Wealthy b*stards exploiting the people, teetering between legal and illegal, with officials either turning a blind eye or actively collaborating.

And a ruler who couldn’t be bothered to solve the problems, content as long as the taxes kept rolling in. A policy of pure neglect.

If cities could be divided into “good” and “shitty,” Levruk undeniably belonged in the latter category.

And shitty cities attract the scum that suits them.

“Hey, old man. You deaf or somethin’? How hard is it to understand ‘protection money’? Huh?”

The thug, a face like thunder, glared menacingly. The middle-aged man, his skin a web of wrinkles, shrunk back and stammered.

“Y-yes, I understand. I understand, but business has been so bad lately. I don’t have any spare money. I’m already bled dry by regular taxes. If I pay protection money on top of that, I won’t even be able to feed my family…!”

“Haha.”

The thug laughed.

He clapped the man on the shoulder, hard enough to make him wince, adopting a falsely friendly tone.

“Yeah, maybe. I ain’t heartless.”

“S-so…?”

“So, borrow it.”

“Huh?”

Pointing to the other shops nearby, the thug said to the bewildered man:

“Borrow it from the other shops around here. You all work in the same area, you gotta know each other’s faces, right?”

The man’s face flushed crimson, then purple, then a sickly grey. The other merchants, watching the scene unfold with mounting anxiety, were speechless.

Only the thug and his crew were laughing.

“Aigo, Hyung-nim. You’re being too lenient!”

“Still, these guys have had it too easy. How the hell can you run a business without paying protection money?”

“Should’ve moved here sooner instead of struggling uselessly somewhere else! Hahaha!”

“Hey, hey, everyone shut up. I’m talking here.”

“Yes, Boss!”

The thug silenced his underlings in an instant, secretly smirking to himself.

‘This is a complete free ride, isn’t it?’

Originally, he and his gang operated in a territory in the eastern kingdom.

The lord there was so incompetent and had no interest in managing the territory, so they could ‘work’ easily. But one day, starting from some territory called Etched or Chepet or whatever, those red dogs started running wild, and their numbers and scope of activity gradually increased until they reached the territory they were in.

The thug, who had once made a living as a mercenary, had some confidence in his skills, but even he couldn’t win against the violence of numbers.

Pushed and pushed from east to west, the thug eventually came to the territory of the Sarnos County. At first, he was devastated.

He couldn’t even hold out in Redbell’s territory, which was considered weaker than the other two families in terms of military strength, so how much worse would it be in Sarnos County, which was supposedly the strongest in the kingdom?

But this was a misjudgment.

Levruk’s military strength was indeed strong, but its powerful soldiers only actively worked in the upper-class areas where lords, nobles, and the wealthy resided, and rarely set foot in the middle-class areas where ordinary commoners lived, or the lower-class areas where the poor lived.

It was all show and no substance.

‘To think there isn’t a partner already established in this prime area. Luck like this is unheard of.’

He was in a giddy mood, imagining the fun he was going to have, when it happened.

“You there, stop.”

The voice, filled with firmness and strictness, immediately drew the attention of everyone around.

The thug, also puzzled, turned his head and soon confirmed the other party’s appearance.

‘A guard?’

The first thing that caught his eye was the contrast between silver and black.

The leather, made by soaking monster skin in special oil, had a strange luster, and the metal protecting the core parts, such as the chest and shoulders, shone silver under the sun.

The overall design, which emphasized practicality, was far from the extravagance of a typical knight, but the only exception was the center of the chest, where the unique emblem symbolizing the Sarnos family was intricately engraved.

The spear in her hand was also not a crude one, just a blade attached to the end of a long wooden stick, but a proper weapon made of metal from the shaft to the blade.

The face, hidden by the visor, was not visible, but the curves of the armor and the hair that couldn’t fit completely inside the helmet revealed that the guard was female.

The thug momentarily contorted his face, but soon regained his composure after confirming that the female soldier was alone.

“What is it, Officer Guard?”

“Threatening merchants and demanding unfair money. An open and shut case of being caught in the act. Come with me quietly.”

“Threatening? You must have seen something wrong. I never threatened anyone. Isn’t that right, shopkeeper?”

With a slick face, the thug gave a subtle wink to the elderly man.

An unspoken pressure to stay quiet if he feared the consequences.

But, the man in his twilight years, as if his eyes had gone crazy, suddenly screamed like he was having a fit.

“No! These thug b*stards are demanding money by force!! They even threatened to make me borrow from other merchants if I didn’t have it!!”

“That’s right!! I clearly saw them threatening him with my own two eyes!”

“Guardsman! Take those guys away!!”

“Hey, you little shits…!”

The thug was dumbfounded.

Right now, he had ten guys in his crew with him.

Originally, you didn’t need this many people for collection work, but since it was the first job, he deliberately brought all his subordinates along to pressure the target.

In comparison, the other side was just one man.

Logically, with this much of a difference in numbers, it’s obvious who would win, right? Then shouldn’t they just shut their mouths, reading the room?

‘Could it be that Sarnos’ guardsmen are so strong that they ignore a ten-to-one difference in numbers?’

The former mercenary thug dismissed that possibility that momentarily flashed through his mind as nonsense.

Judging by how fancy the armor looked, it seemed like Sarnos invested a lot in its soldiers compared to other regions, but even so, a guardsman is a guardsman.

If their background was outstanding, they would have become knights, and if they had outstanding talent, they would have blossomed as adventurers or mercenaries.

Guardsmen with their meager salaries and all they do is take care of the city’s petty chores are nothing more than guys who are mediocre at everything and can’t do anything properly choosing that job.

The guardsman said in a nonchalant tone.

“I’ve also secured testimonies. Well, even if there weren’t any testimonies, I would have taken you anyway. What are you going to do? If you come along quietly, I won’t use force.”

The thug gritted his teeth.

It’s not like he’s afraid of just one soldier.

But he’s afraid of the Count’s family that’s behind that soldier.

But he can’t run away either.

If he did, his prestige would be smashed into the ground among his subordinates and the merchants.

After all, this industry is a place where you’re finished if you’re looked down on.

*Shing!*

“You guys get ready too. Before other guardsmen come, let’s finish this quickly.”

As the thug pulled out a short sword, his subordinates also each grabbed daggers or wooden clubs and prepared for battle.

– *Bwaaack!*

Exactly one second later, the thug, struck in the neck by a spear shaft, collapsed straight to the ground.

His subordinates weren’t horrified by the sudden situation.

Before they could even be horrified, before they could even figure out what happened, they too were rolling on the ground just like their boss.

The merchants, who had been holding their breath watching, burst into cheers all at once.

“Yes!”

“Serves them right! You b*stards!”

“I knew it! What nerve do you have, talking about protection money?”

The guard approached the fallen thugs and snatched the leather pouches from their waists.

The ‘protection money’ the elderly man and other merchants had paid before being harassed.

“Alright, everyone! Here, take this back! But if you fight over who gets more, I’ll arrest you for that too, so keep it orderly!”

At the guard’s words, several merchants rushed forward, their faces brightening.

As they divided the money in the pouches, the elderly man who had suffered the most at the hands of the thugs approached the guard and repeatedly bowed his head.

“Thank you, thank you so much! Every time, every time, how can I ever repay you…!”

The guard waved his hand.

“I just did what I was supposed to. No need for thanks. I’m sorry it took so long.”

“Oh, ‘just what you were supposed to?’ Guards who come all the way out here are only Dahlia and the 8th squad.”

“……”

The guard, Dahlia, was silent beneath her helmet.

It was fortunate her expression was hidden by the face guard.

The thugs were down, and they suddenly felt relaxed, so the merchants began chattering amongst themselves.

“Lately, though, these drifters have really been increasing. The locals here were beaten badly by Dahlia and don’t even come near this place anymore. They must be outsiders.”

“Hey, isn’t the Redbell area cracking down on criminals in a big way these days? Maybe these guys couldn’t take it and got pushed out?”

“Cracking down, how?”

“Something about dogs chasing after the criminals?”

“Hahaha! What’s that?”

“Come on, guys, do you believe those stories? It’s just rumors, for sure.”

“Rumors or not, it’s interesting, isn’t it? They must be cute to watch. Don’t we have anything like that?”

“There’s no way they’d do here what they started in Redbell. Everyone knows how much the higher-ups hate them over there.”

“Yeah, yeah, we don’t need anything else, we have Dahlia.”

Dahlia smiled wryly at the merchants’ words.

She knew they didn’t mean any harm, but still, she didn’t like being equated to a dog.

Clang!

Dahlia manipulated the spear she held, and its length instantly tripled.

She strung the thugs and their lackeys onto that pole like laundry, then lifted it with one hand and slung it over her shoulder.

It was the most efficient way to haul a double-digit number of criminals alone.

The merchants, slightly terrified, asked,

“We-we see it all the time, but it’s still amazing… Aren’t you heavy?”

“This much is nothing. Well then, I’m off.”

*

On the way back from throwing the criminals in jail.

Dahlia’s second-in-command rushed up to her, looking frantic.

“Aish, Captain! You went out alone again? At least take some of the guys with you!!”

“It’s fine. Everyone’s got a big enough area to cover because of me, I gotta handle this kind of thing myself.”

“How is that your fault? It’s those other squads who only like the upper-class districts and the areas around them, wouldn’t go anywhere else if you paid ’em! What kinda honey did they hide there, those b*stards.”

“Keep your voice down. Someone will hear.”

“Let them hear! More importantly, you seriously gotta be careful. Everyone knows you’re good, Captain, but the atmosphere’s been pretty turbulent lately.”

“If it’s about criminals flooding in from the Redbell District, I know.”

“That too, but also, you know, that Belmore Barony next door? Apparently, they got robbed by some thief.”

“Not a gang of thieves, but *a* thief?”

“Yeah, just one guy. Some nutcase broke into the Baron’s mansion, cleaned out the vault, then kidnapped Baron Belmore and hung him up with rope in the middle of the street. They even set up some big sign next to him, with all the Baron’s wrongdoings written all over it. And the funniest part is, he gave all the stolen money back to the victims.”

Dahlia frowned.

“That’s just irresponsible. There’s no way the Baron will leave those victims alone after giving them back the money.”

“Well, apparently the sign also said, 「If you accrue sin again, next time I’ll leave the heavy body and just take the head」. The Baron’s so scared, he hasn’t even dared to touch the victims.”

“……”

“Well, Baron Belmore being trash is no secret, so some people are even calling him a Robin Hood or something, and saying it’s cathartic… N-not that I said that, it’s just what I heard!”

The second-in-command cleared his throat and avoided her gaze, then spoke to Dahlia again.

“Anyway, with a dangerous guy like that operating nearby, you gotta be extra careful. You know our entire squad’s done for if something happens to you, right?”

The second-in-command continued his nagging for a few more times before leaving, and Dahlia, left alone, quietly lifted her visor.

With a deep distrust clouding her green eyes, she muttered.

“A thief is a thief, no matter how you slice it.”

He committed such atrocities against a noble, he’ll get caught soon anyway, but if he makes it here alive, *she’ll* be the one to throw him in jail.

Dahlia, leader of the 8th squad of the Levbruk Guard, made that vow.