TSOJI CH 01

CHAPTER 01

I Wanted to Be a Villain (1)

I am Elsie Bloomhire.

Of all things, I got reincarnated as Extra No. 3 — a background character who mistakenly thinks she can become the world’s greatest villain, only to be crushed by the original heroine.

And then, out of nowhere—

“I’ll be blunt. Elsie Bloomhire, I want you to teach my younger sister Lynette magic.”
“…What?”

A job offer came to me one day. To become the magic tutor of the story’s heroine, Lynette.

“What? You want me to personally teach the heroine who’s going to ruin me?”

Why me? Are you crazy?

And the man making this offer was none other than—

“I heard you saved my sister’s life.”

Eclipse d’Ledaire.

The heroine’s older brother, and the final villain of the story.

The problem? I had tried to scam him before and nearly got caught.

Wait. Hold on. What did he just say? I saved someone’s life?

No way… don’t tell me—

My eyes went wide, my jaw dropped, and I quickly covered my mouth in shock.

The girl I had saved… was actually the heroine, Lynette.

I had saved the little sister of the man I had planned to scam.

“How can coincidences line up this perfectly?”

I remembered the night I had stepped in to help a woman who was being threatened by thugs. That was the night I had secretly snuck into Eclipse’s office, without even realizing I had been reincarnated into this book.

* * *

A few days earlier, before the “Ledaire Household Job Offer Incident.”

At that time, I was just a penniless commoner, living day by day with no home, no money, and nothing to my name.

“Oh no… not a single thing sold today.”

That’s right. I was a poor witch whose business always failed.

“Am I really going to go hungry again tonight?”

I looked at the items displayed on my little stall and tears welled in my eyes.

I picked up my most expensive item, holding it carefully in both hands.

Inside the glass bottle, purple powder sparkled under the sunlight.

“My poor babies… because of your useless mother, you can’t even shine the way you should. I’m sorry.”

You’re not worthless. You’re wonderful magical tools.

It’s only because I’m such a failure that you’re suffering like this.

If only I were a little more talented… if only I were a little better, I wouldn’t have let you go through this.

“Someday, someone will recognize your true value. I believe that. So please, just let one of you get sold… at least enough so I can eat.”

If even one of them sold, I’d be fine for a while.

But they were so expensive that no one ever bought them.

“I still need to eat to survive, you know.”

Just as I was having this heart-to-heart with my unsold magical tools—

“Hey, stop wasting time. Let’s just go work under that boss I told you about. He’s planning a big job soon.”
“What? Are you crazy? What if we get caught?”
“Then we die, obviously.”
“…You’re insane.”

I overheard nearby merchants talking.

It didn’t sound like idle chatter at all—this was serious, life-or-death stuff.

But let’s be honest. Secretly listening to other people’s conversations is always the most entertaining.

I pretended to tidy up my stall while eavesdropping.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better than living like this? Imagine if we grab just one piece of gold jewelry. We’d eat well for a year!”
“…A year?”

A whole year?

That number made my ears perk up like a rabbit’s.

“This time, they’re planning to rob some baron’s mansion. You know, that arrogant upstart who’s filthy rich but has a terrible personality. They say his guards are surprisingly lax.”
“…Really?”
“If you’re interested, meet me at the spot tonight. Honestly, stealing is better than starving here on the streets. People can call us villains all they want—at least we’ll survive.”

The two men soon left.

I silently wished them good luck—because honestly, I figured they wouldn’t last long.

And I was right.

The men who always hung around my street, Wendelton 7th Avenue, vanished.

A day, two days, three, four… by the fifth day, I assumed they must be dead.

Until they showed up smiling in front of me.

“What? They survived?”

I greeted them with a mix of surprise and relief.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I hadn’t seen you in days and thought something might have happened.”
“Ah, right. I suppose we’ve never skipped our stalls for this long before.”
“Exactly. But… you seem so happy. Did something good happen?”

One of them grinned and whispered—

“Actually, we came into some money. Recently, me and this guy, well, we… visited a rich man’s house, and they had all these expensive—”
“Hey, shut it.”
“Ahem. Anyway, it’s nothing. Haha.”

I watched their retreating backs and thought to myself:

“Villains, huh… maybe I should try that too.”

If they could succeed in one heist, maybe I could get my own shop, maybe even a little house.

I was quickly swept up by the glitter of ambition.

“Alright. If I’m going to do this, I’ll aim high—I’ll become the greatest villain in the world!”

No hesitation at all.

That night, I locked myself in and started planning.

“To be the world’s greatest villain, first I need money.”

And for money, I needed a reliable source.

“Of course—the Ledaire Dukedom is the perfect target.”

Too bold? Nonsense. It was a strategic choice. Big score, and then disappear.

“I’ll use magic to brainwash the duke and make him buy my items for ridiculous prices.”

I could just steal things like those other guys, but that was too risky and too limited.

So I came up with a better plan: make it look like a fair deal while actually scamming him. Once I had enough money, I’d flee the country.

“The price… hmm, about twenty times higher should do.”

If I was going to scam, I might as well overcharge properly.

I spent days refining my plan, even cutting into my sleep.

And finally, on the night of the heist—

“Yaaawn.”

After so many sleepless nights, I couldn’t stop yawning.

My eyes grew damp, and I rubbed them, but the sleepiness wouldn’t go away.

“Focus, focus.”

As midnight drew closer, my vision blurred.

I slapped my cheeks to stay awake.

“The plan hasn’t even started yet. I have to endure.”

According to my plan, the night sky should be dim, with only pale moonlight shining.

But my target—the duke’s office—was too bright.

“Does that man never sleep?”

I crouched on the rooftop, burying my face in my knees, muttering.

“At this rate, I’ll fall asleep first…”

Yes. Right now, I was on the roof of the Ledaire estate.

From here, I had a perfect view into the duke’s office.

When I saw it, I gasped.

“Don’t tell me… is he really going to stay awake all night?”

To me, who had always lived by “sleep at night, wake at dawn,” it was unimaginable.

“Maybe he sleeps in the day? Or maybe he’s just one of those people who don’t need sleep… wait, could he be taking stimulants?”

I made every possible guess while watching him.

Though I couldn’t see details from this distance, I got a good sense of the office’s layout.

Then, something silver caught my eye.

“Whoa, what’s that?”

It was a candleholder—holding five candles at once. Made of silver.

“A candlestick that fancy?”

The five bright flames lit up the office so well that even from here I could see inside.

Lighting so many candles at once… that’s real noble luxury.

“Wow… so wasteful. If I were that rich, I’d probably be the Archmage by now.”

If I had been born into nobility, maybe I’d already be famous.

Even being born into a wealthy merchant family would’ve been enough.

“So please, Duke… help me get rich, okay?”

I pulled out a small bottle filled with glowing purple powder—

My most expensive creation, Dreaming Butterfly Dust.