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Chapter 01
“Get out of my house! You are no longer my daughter.”
“Father!”
Crunching on potato chips, I eagerly flipped the page.
At last, the villainess who had relentlessly tormented the heroine was being kicked out of her home.
Lady Adelheid Seaton, daughter of a count.
She had spread nasty rumors about the heroine, Sabrina, and openly humiliated her at balls, committing all sorts of misdeeds.
At first glance, it might seem like the typical downfall of a villainess.
But the reason Adelheid bullied the heroine was because of her beloved parents and fiancé.
In truth, Adelheid didn’t have any particular feelings toward the heroine.
She had simply harassed her because her parents and fiancé—who were at odds with the heroine’s family—egged her on.
Naturally, the winners were our main couple.
If things had gone wrong, the anger might have extended to her parents and fiancé, who had instigated her actions.
But they managed to wrap things up by breaking off the engagement and cutting ties with Adelheid.
In other words, she was discarded to save themselves.
It was a bit pitiful, but considering everything Adelheid had done, it still felt satisfying.
I continued reading through the cathartic scenes.
Even with the dignity of a count’s family, you’d think they’d at least give her some money, but her father, Count Seaton, showed no such mercy.
Watching Adelheid’s end—reduced to begging on the streets, starving—was incredibly satisfying.
“Now this is what I call real payback!”
Satisfied, I closed the book.
There was still a lot left, but I decided to save it for tomorrow.
“Yaaawn.”
It was late at night, and a yawn slipped out naturally.
Fortunately, tomorrow was my one day off of the week.
Normally, I’d have to sleep early to open the restaurant, but the night before my day off allowed me this small luxury.
On other days? No chance.
Running a fusion Korean restaurant takes an incredible amount of work.
Why fusion Korean cuisine, you ask?
Because choosing just one specialty was too hard for someone like me, who could cook so many different dishes.
So I chose fusion Korean cuisine, where I could make all kinds of food.
And it turned out to be the perfect choice—customers flooded in every day. Even when nearby restaurants were empty, I was constantly busy.
But tonight, I just wanted to rest without thinking about anything.
I set the book down on the bed and drifted into a deep sleep.
And when I opened my eyes…
“Get out of my house! You are no longer my daughter.”
A rough-looking foreign man was shouting angrily at me.
“Huh…?”
My mouth fell open.
The man’s face twisted even more fiercely.
“Still can’t grasp the situation, Adelheid?”
At this point, there was no way I wouldn’t understand.
I had become the villainess from the novel overflowing with dramatic justice.
And not just any moment—I had taken over her body right after her crushing defeat and expulsion from her family.
I mean, shouldn’t I at least possess her before she commits all those evil deeds and get a chance to change things?!
* * *
How to survive as a villainess.
First rule: Even if you’re kicked out of your family because of what your previous self did, you must find a way to survive.
As usual, I set up my stall and started heating a portable brazier. Soon, snot-nosed kids gathered around.
I placed a blackened ladle over the flame and poured in sugar. It quickly melted into a golden syrup, and the sweet smell filled the air.
With a now well-practiced vendor’s voice, I called out loudly:
“Cheap, cheap! Just 50 penta each! If you break it into a star shape, you get one more for free!”
That’s right.
I was making a living by selling dalgona candy.
I had worried about not having baking soda, but thankfully, this world had both baking soda and baking powder.
No wonder the food here tasted so good.
I was confident I could cook just as well, but opening a restaurant required money—a lot of it.
So I planned to save up through selling dalgona and eventually open one.
Of course, for now, just getting by each day made that goal feel far away.
“Heidi, I did it!”
A boy jumped up, cheering.
Smiling, I handed him another dalgona.
Other children looked at him with envy.
Some of them were truly valuable customers.
“Heidi, I want another one!”
“Me too!”
…Just like these kids.
In truth, the nearby merchants couldn’t understand my business strategy at all.
The base price was already cheap, and giving another one for free if they perfectly broke out the star shape?
Wasn’t that a losing deal?
But no matter how advanced this world’s technology was, it couldn’t match modern marketing tricks.
In reality, only that one boy could ever successfully break out the star shape.
“Heidi, another one!”
The rest rushed in like moths to a flame, handing over their precious coins.
As the sun began to set, I packed up.
Since my inn was in a narrow alley, it was better to return a bit early.
“Still, this isn’t bad…”
I jingled my coins.
Selling to kids was more profitable than expected. Maybe I could even start saving soon.
But happiness didn’t last long.
As I hummed and pulled my small cart home—
Someone suddenly grabbed me with great force.
“Mmph—!”
I tried to scream, but my mouth was quickly covered, and I was shoved into a dark leather sack.
Second rule for surviving as a villainess: Find a way to breathe inside a tightly sealed leather sack.
Thankfully, I found a small tear and pressed my nose against it.
“A kidnapping…?”
Who would do this?
I had just been kicked out of my family.
My engagement had been broken off.
Who would be stupid enough to kidnap a disgraced count’s daughter with no connections left?
If they didn’t know who I was and just thought I was a candy seller…
That made even less sense.
After several hours—
I was thrown onto a hard floor after a long ride in a rattling carriage.
Muffled voices came from outside.
“…inside…”
“What? At once—”
I tried to listen, but couldn’t make out the conversation.
After a while—
Someone grabbed me with rough hands and pulled me out of the sack.
It had gotten dark, so quite some time must have passed.
I quickly looked around, only to meet the eyes of a man staring down at me.
The kidnappers stepped back, so this man must be the one who ordered it.
“Lady Adelheid Seaton.”
My blood ran cold.
I raised my eyes and looked straight at him.
“So you even investigated me.”
“It wasn’t that difficult.”
“….”
I had nothing to say.
I hadn’t made any effort to hide my identity.
I didn’t leave the capital, and even the name I used—Heidi—was just a nickname for Adelheid.
“So? If you’re planning to use me to demand a ransom, you’ve got it completely wrong. My dear parents wouldn’t spend a single coin on me.”
“Ransom?”
The man smirked.
“Do you really think that’s all I want?”
“…Isn’t it?”
I thought he was an idiot who didn’t know my parents were the ones who cast me out, but apparently not.
Then…
“You’re planning to sell me off somewhere.”
“…Ha.”
He let out an exasperated sigh.
“Listen carefully, my lady. I don’t do such things. The reason I brought you here is…”
I frowned.
“Brought me”? Wasn’t that twisting the situation quite a bit?
Let’s call it what it is—kidnapping.
“I want you to become my chef.”
“…What?”
My jaw dropped.
What kind of lunatic kidnaps someone instead of politely recruiting them as a chef?
