I Became the Master of the Villain

It was a slightly cloudy afternoon. I had a carriage prepared to go out to the main street.

When I came down to the mansion's entrance, fully dressed and ready, I was greeted by a very familiar face.
A cheerful-looking young man with light brown hair gave me a warm smile and a small bow.
“My lady, have you been well?”

The one accompanying me as my escort today wasn’t Sir Philip, but Sir Hans.
He was the one who had been injured while protecting me from the assassins.
I’d heard he would be returning to duty soon, but I didn’t expect it to be today.

Delighted, I hurried down the stairs.
“Sir, is it really okay for you to be moving around already?”
Sir Hans nodded and replied with a vigorous voice.

“Yes, I’m completely fine now.”
“Really?”
“I was declared fully recovered a week ago. I got so restless lying in bed that I returned to work early.”

Sir Hans grumbled that taking a long rest had made his body itchy with inactivity.
Seeing him so full of energy made me feel relieved.
The carriage rolled smoothly over the paved roads.

Across from me, Sir Hans looked out the window and commented,
“Wow, the streets are in a festive mood.”
At his words, I turned my head and looked outside.

Flags of the Rasione Empire fluttered in the breeze on every street, and the expressions of passersby looked unusually cheerful.
‘The Founding Festival starts tomorrow.’
Boats floated on the Ruben River that cut through the Capital, and flowers and sculptures were displayed all around, creating a festive atmosphere.
The Founding Festival was the grandest event of the entire year.

For the entire week the festival lasted, the Capital would remain noisy and bustling.
Lost in thought, I didn’t realize the carriage had begun to slow down—we had arrived at our destination.
It stopped in front of a boutique in the commercial district.

As I stepped inside, a shop assistant greeted me with a pleasant smile.
I glanced around the store. But the person I had arranged to meet was nowhere in sight.
‘I guess I’ll browse around until he gets here.’

I began leisurely examining the clothes hanging on the display racks.
‘The seam work is neat, and the fabrics are high quality too.’
The interior design was luxurious, and the location was excellent—there were many customers.

However, there was one drawback.
“Ouch!”
“Oh my, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?”

Because the display racks were set too close together, I kept bumping shoulders or getting stepped on by other customers.
It was an obviously inconvenient layout.
Thinking it would be perfect if only that were fixed, I muttered to myself without realizing it.

“If only the display racks were spaced a bit farther apart.”
At that moment, I heard movement nearby.
It was the shop assistant, who spoke with a practiced smile.

“In order to show as many different kinds of products as possible in a limited space, things do get a little tight. But our owner believes it's more important to provide a wide variety of options to our customers…”
“Is that so? I personally think it's more important to create a comfortable shopping space for the customers.”
“Ah… of course, you’re absolutely right. But you’re not the owner, are you, miss?”

Though the assistant kept her smile, there was a sharpness in her tone she couldn’t quite hide.
It seemed she thought I was ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) meddling where I shouldn’t.
‘Well, I guess I can’t blame her.’

I wasn’t the owner of this shop, after all.
I decided not to say anything else and returned to browsing the clothes. But then the assistant scoffed quietly and muttered,
“What a busybody, acting like she owns the place.”

She probably thought I wouldn’t hear, but the distance was close enough that I caught every word.
I halted mid-step and turned my head slightly, tilting it as I looked at her.
“You haven’t heard yet?”

The assistant looked confused.
“Heard what?”
Just as I was about to kindly explain—

The shop door burst open and a middle-aged man entered.
It was my scheduled contact: Baron Gale.
His few remaining strands of hair fluttered as he hurried over.

“Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry for being late.”
“It’s alright. I’ve been looking around the store in the meantime.”
“Oh, is that so! Do you like it?”

“There are a few things that need fixing, but otherwise, I quite like it.”
The assistant, who had been listening to our conversation, looked visibly puzzled.
“Um, Baron? What’s going on…?”

Baron Gale wiped the sweat off his bald head with a handkerchief and said,
“What, you haven’t heard? Starting today, this shop belongs to the young lady.”
“What? Why would you only tell us something so important just now…?”

Baron Gale scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled.
“Ahaha, sorry. My memory’s been terrible lately!”
At those words, the assistant’s face went completely pale.

Smiling sweetly at her, I said,
“Well, in that case, could you adjust the display layout right away?”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

She responded like a soldier, moving so fast her hands and feet were a blur.
Watching her, Sir Hans stared with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.
He asked,

“My lady… when did you buy this store?”
“I didn’t.”
“Then who?”

I explained the full story.
“Whaaat? Sir Kian bought it as a gift for you?!”
Sir Hans jumped in place from the shock.

Then, as if he’d figured something out, he snapped his fingers.
“Sir Kian must’ve learned how to spend money freely from you, my lady.”
“I’ll take that as a joke.”

...Or at least, I tried to.
In truth, my heart gave a guilty pang.
Because whenever I gave gifts to Kian, I never did it in an ordinary way.

I felt an immense pang of conscience.
‘Oh no… I think Kian picked up the wrong spending habits from me.’
***

The morning of the festival dawned bright and cloudless.
The Capital was packed and overflowing with excitement, thanks to the crowds that had poured in from all over.
During the festival, the Imperial Palace opened select areas to the public.

Naturally, there were more people entering and exiting the palace than usual, and security was doubled.
The Imperial Magic Division had also been mobilized.
‘I wanted to see the festival with Kian… but at least he said he’s free in the evening.’

Kian was currently assigned to palace guard duty in rotating shifts, and his shift would end after sunset.
‘It’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped…’
Fortunately, I had another friend to spend time with.

Dressed in a shirt and trousers, her long black hair tied up high in a single ponytail, the beauty stood out even from afar.
“Anna! Have you been waiting long?”
At my call, Anna, who had been waiting in front of the clock tower in the central plaza, gave me a soft smile.

“Not at all, my lady. I just arrived.”
I quickly approached her.
“What should we check out first?”

“Hmm… how about filling our stomachs to start with?”
Eating is the true joy of any festival.
I readily agreed to her suggestion.

Colorful tents lined the central plaza—street vendors operating under special permits during the festival period.
The air was filled with sizzling sounds and the mouthwatering aroma of oil, triggering a ravenous hunger.
“Try this king-sized grilled octopus skewer! Tender and chewy with just the right flavor!”

The skewers browning on the griddle looked incredibly appetizing.
A few moments later, each of us was holding a hefty grilled octopus skewer. Anna took a big bite.
She spoke with genuine admiration.

“This is delicious.”
“There are tons of other great things too. Let’s try everything one by one.”
“Will that be alright?”

Sensing what she was worried about, I grinned and replied,
“Someone once said: If you enjoy your food, the calories don’t count.”
We decided to forget about calories for now and tackled every stall like a food tour challenge.

As we ate our fill and wandered through the festival, Anna was captivated by everything—this was her first time experiencing the Founding Festival.
“What is that?” she asked.
She was looking curiously at a mechanical entertainment device.

Several burly men had rolled up their sleeves and were crowding in front of it.
The vendor’s loud voice rang out as he advertised.
“Come on, all you strong folks! You’ll regret walking past this!”

The device he proudly introduced was a punching machine.
When you slammed a hammer down on a weighted plate, the counterweight moved according to the force and displayed a score.
“That looks fun.”

“Want to give it a try?”
“I shall.”
Anna nodded without hesitation and stepped into the line.

She was the only woman among a group of obviously strong men.
But then, a group of men suddenly cut in front of her.
Anna spoke up.

“Please wait your turn.”
“Oh? You gonna give it a shot too, missy?”
“Yes, I am.”

One of the men gave her a slow up-and-down look and whistled. He smirked.
“Well now, what if you get hurt? A pretty lady like you should just stand over there and watch us.”
“Yeah, yeah. What strength could a woman possibly have?”

“She probably can’t even lift that hammer.”
His buddies chuckled and snickered in agreement.
At their blatant condescension, a slight furrow appeared between Anna’s delicate brows.

Soon, it was her turn.
“Thanks for the warning, but it was unnecessary.”
She answered curtly and stepped forward.

She grabbed the hammer.
And in the next moment—
KA-THOOM!

A thunderous bang rang out.
The metal weight soared into the air, and gasps erupted from the crowd.
“Whoa! What score is that…?”

“Isn’t that machine broken?”
“No way…”
The vendor rubbed his eyes in disbelief and stammered,

“H-Highest score!”
A wave of admiration rippled through the spectators.
Even I, the one who knew the heroine’s true strength, was shocked to see it up close.

“Ahem…”
The men who had mocked her cleared their throats awkwardly, now visibly embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Anna looked refreshingly satisfied, as if it had only been a light warm-up.

“I feel so much better after swinging that. It’s been a while.”
At those words, the men’s faces twisted.
They looked at each other and whispered.

“Did you hear that?”
“She said it’s been a ‘while’ since she swung like that…”
“I think we messed with the wrong person…”

Apparently, they now mistook her for a mercenary or a hidden expert.
‘Hold on, this might be useful…’
A good idea suddenly came to mind.

As I passed by the men, I casually murmured,
“See? She’s still got it. You wouldn’t believe how many people have had their heads smashed by her hammer.”