I Became the Master of the Villain

Before awakening as a mage, he had been nothing but pitiful.

He wasn’t like this when he was my slave… now, he somehow feels mischievous.
“…Stop teasing me already.”
I pouted slightly and grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Through the melody of the violins, Kian’s clear laughter rang out.
“Lady Olivia.”
“Yeah?”

“Your expression right now is extremely cute.”
……
When did this man learn to say things like that?

At first, Kian had always been awkward around me.
I can’t believe the day has come when he treats me this comfortably…
But I didn’t dislike his change.

I actually preferred Kian being at ease with me.
It meant he saw me not as his master but as a person.
It hit me all over again.

That we had broken free from the roles of master and slave.
So now, it was time to begin a new kind of relationship with him.
***

Ever since I proposed a business partnership to Anna, the plan to open the boutique had been progressing smoothly.
First, Anna quit Isabella’s boutique.
During the few months she worked under Isabella, Anna devoted herself to the job, even cutting down on sleep, and her skills improved dramatically.
That’s according to the famously meticulous Isabella herself, so I can trust it.

She already had skill with her hands, and when you add passion on top of that, her abilities were bound to grow.
Of course, if Anna hadn’t had basic skills to begin with, she couldn’t have improved this much in such a short time.
Before she got a job at the textile factory, she had made a living by sewing since she was young.

Which meant she had already mastered tasks like cutting, tailoring, and fitting.
From Isabella, she learned mainly about design.
I slowly looked around the interior of Anna’s boutique, now that the renovations were complete.

“Tomorrow is finally opening day.”
“That’s right.”
Anna’s voice, as she replied, carried a faint unease. I turned my head to look at her profile.

“Are you nervous?”
“A little.”
With opening day drawing near, even Anna seemed to be feeling tense.

No other boutique had ever showcased black dresses before, so it was understandable.
Walking a path no one else had taken requires courage.
But I knew this business would succeed.

Even in the world I originally lived in, the black dress had made its mark on fashion history.
“Don’t worry, Anna. I’m sure it’ll go well.”
At my confident tone, Anna seemed to finally relax a bit. She laughed softly and said,

“I wonder how Lady Olivia can be so sure.”
Well, it’s because it worked in the world I used to live in—so I figure it’ll work here too.
And another reason is…

“I’ve never failed at business before.”
I had already made money several times using information from the original novel.
Knowing the future is like solving a question when you already know the answer.

Isn’t that the privilege of a transmigrator?
I gave Anna a small smile and said,
“If you’re still worried, then just trust me, Anna.”

***
The day of the boutique’s opening.
I headed to Anna’s shop early in the morning.

As soon as I opened the door and entered, I saw Anna.
She was adjusting the position of the accessories and hats on the mannequins, and when she saw me, she brightened.
“Lady Olivia, you’re here.”

Though I’d entrusted all the management of the boutique to Anna, I couldn’t skip out on the first ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ day—not when I was her business partner.
And I was curious about how the customers would respond, too.
“How’s the preparation? Is there anything we missed?”

As I spoke, I glanced around the boutique.
Alongside black dresses based on a simple base design with various variations, fashion accessories like gloves and hats were neatly displayed.
Anna spoke with a hint of nervousness.

“Everything is ready. Now all that’s left is to wait for customers.”
Just as she finished speaking, the boutique door opened and a noblewoman in a fancy hat stepped inside.
Click.

It was our first customer.
Anna greeted her with a smile.
“Welcome, madam.”

While Anna was tending to her, I pretended to be another customer and observed the noblewoman from the side.
I had seen her before at the imperial ball.
I think she was called Countess Morris.

As with most nobles, she wore a richly decorated and voluminous dress.
She swept her dress hem along the floor with a rustling sound as she looked around the shop.
“Is this a newly opened boutique?”

“Yes, it is.”
The Countess walked over to where the dresses were displayed.
She looked over the dresses one by one and soon frowned.

“They’re all black? And the designs are plain.”
But her criticism didn’t stop there.
“You want me to wear mourning clothes to a party? No, even mourning clothes are better than this. How dreadful. So little decoration. So boring.”

What is this woman even saying!
I bristled and glared at the Countess.
But Anna was a professional. Even in the face of such nastiness, she remained calm. She spoke.

“Madam, I understand that these clothes may seem unfamiliar to you. But if you try them on, your opinion might change. You’ll see they’re comfortable, practical, and beautiful all at once.”
“Oh my, do you think such sweet-talking will make me buy one?”
“That’s not what I meant. I was simply—”

The Countess cut her off.
“You’re the woman who used to work at Isabella’s boutique, aren’t you?”
At the mention of Isabella’s name, Anna hesitated.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t go around saying you learned from her. You’re going to ruin her reputation.”
Anna bit her lip tightly, holding back her anger.
She’d once told me she wanted to make this business a success and earn Isabella’s recognition.

Before Anna could get more hurt, I moved to shut the woman up.
But the Countess sneered again.
“Looks like Isabella’s standards have dropped. To take on a disciple like you…”

I couldn’t stand it any longer.
I dropped the act of pretending to be a customer and shot back at the Countess.
“Seems like you’re the one with poor taste, madam.”

“What did you say?”
The Countess turned her head with a snap and shouted.
Wearing a proud expression, she suddenly changed color.

“Lady Olivia?”
Recognizing my face, she spoke with obvious reluctance.
“May I ask what you meant by your earlier comment?”

“Exactly what I said. If you can’t see the value of these dresses, then your sense of fashion is questionable.”
The Countess forced a smile as her expression twitched.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but… in high society, I’m known for having quite the eye for fashion.”

“Really? Then maybe you shouldn’t say that in public anymore.”
“W-what did you say?”
The Countess’s face turned bright red.

She clenched her fan tightly.
“I’ll never come back to this store again.”
Countess Morris turned around and stormed out.

Good. Don’t ever come back, lady.
I swallowed the urge to shout that at her retreating back.
After she left, I approached Anna, who had her head down.

I didn’t know what to say to comfort her.
I studied her face and spoke cautiously.
“Don’t let what she said bother you too much.”

Anna lowered her gaze.
“…Are my dresses really that bad?”
Her confidence had visibly dropped. The Countess’s words had clearly wounded her.

“From what I see, they’re beautiful. That woman just didn’t recognize their value.”
I gently patted Anna’s back.
“Think of it as bad luck. The next customer will be different.”

Anna gave a weak smile.
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Seeing her so downcast made me feel awful.

Maybe it really was too early…
No way, it couldn’t be that black dresses were too ahead of their time.
I shook my head slightly, brushing away those negative thoughts. Then I told myself:

It’s too early to make a conclusion.
***
A few days later, I visited the boutique again.

The shop wasn’t empty, but it wasn’t crowded either.
Could it be that people still weren’t ready to accept black dresses…?
Anna spoke with a gloomy face.

“I’m worried that I might’ve caused trouble for you, Lady Olivia.”
I felt sorry seeing her lose confidence.
“Don’t say that. People just don’t know yet how beautiful your dresses are.”

As I comforted her with a pat on the shoulder—
Click.
The door to the boutique opened.

“Welcome.”
Anna, as if she hadn’t been dejected just moments before, immediately smiled and greeted the customer.
It was a blonde woman.

She was a rather eye-catching customer.
Curiously, she wore black-tinted glasses.
Her eyes were hidden, but her sharp and well-defined features could not be concealed.

Click, click.
Her heels echoed as she walked forward.
“I heard a rumor… They say this place sells black dresses?”

Anna answered in a kind voice.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The blonde woman spoke in a haughty tone.

“Mind if I look around?”
“Of course. Please take your time.”
She carefully examined the black dresses on display.

Anna nervously watched her, then carefully offered,
“If there’s one you like, you’re welcome to try it on.”
“Really?”

She raised her voice slightly in response, then pointed confidently.
“Then this one, and that one, and that one too, please.”
She headed straight to the fitting room. Anna quickly brought over the dresses she had requested.

A short while later—
The blonde woman stepped out in a black dress.
It was a simple mermaid-line dress with not a single ornament, perfectly hugging her slender figure.

The inherent elegance of black only made her beauty stand out even more.
Anna spoke in a voice of genuine admiration.
“It suits you very well.”

“Hmm, just as I expected.”
She raised one corner of her lips in a smirk.
Though her tone was arrogant, the blonde seemed pleased with the dress and purchased every one she had tried on.

After she left, Anna turned to me with a dazed look.
“Lady Olivia, did you hear that?”
“Yes. She said she’d come again, right?”

“So I didn’t mishear…”
I smiled and lightly patted Anna’s shoulder.
“What did I say? Someone was bound to recognize the value of your dresses.”

And I added,
“Just wait a little longer. Your dresses are definitely going to succeed.”
And those words—really did become reality.

Even more than I’d imagined.
***
To cut to the chase, the black dress became a massive hit.

Though it spread slowly, word of mouth about it gradually passed among the noble young ladies.
Then one day, the popular actress Celine Claudel wore a black dress on stage—and the reaction exploded.
When the female lead appeared at a party in the play wearing a black dress, the audience was stunned.

—That dress is so bold!
—Who knew black dresses could be this charming?
—Who designed it?

—The design is so refreshing.
—I’ve never seen a style like that before.
From then on, the dresses sold like hotcakes.

‘So that blonde woman back then was Celine Claudel.’
I recalled the beautiful blonde who had visited the boutique a few days earlier.
Then I looked down and read the report in my hands.

It was a sales graph for the black dresses.
The bar graph showing the sales was shooting straight up.
As expected, I knew Anna would make it.

They say success requires talent, effort, and luck—and now the final piece, luck, had arrived.
‘You could even call it a heroine’s buff from the original novel.’
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.

I jumped out of my chair in the office.
I had to go see Anna’s smiling face right now.
***

The area in front of Anna’s boutique was packed with people.
“Please don’t push, form a line!”
The shop assistant was shouting, dripping with sweat.

“I’ve been trying for days, but it’s always sold out…”
“Don’t they take preorders?”
“If I’d known, I would’ve bought one on the first day.”

The line stretched all the way outside the shop.
It was an unbelievable sight. I stared at the queue, eyes wide.
Then suddenly, I spotted a familiar face among the waiting customers.

When our eyes met, she quickly hid her face behind her fan.
Huh… that woman is…?