Why Did I Reincarnate as the Heroine When I Wanted to Be a Villainess?

Chapter 34: The Birth of a Fashion Disaster (and a Business)

Kael had seen that expression before.

It always meant the same thing.

Problems.

Large ones.

The girl who had asked the question shifted nervously.

"Where did you buy that?"

Seraphina tilted her head slightly.

Then smiled.

Not her villainess smile.

Not her chaotic smile.

Something sharper.

More... calculated.

"I didn’t buy it."

The girl blinked.

"You didn’t?"

"No."

Seraphina placed a hand on the coat.

"I improved it."

That sentence changed the air.

Kael immediately felt it.

A shift.

Small.

But dangerous.

The girl hesitated.

"You... improved it?"

More people were looking now.

Not staring yet.

But interested.

Seraphina nodded.

"Yes."

Then, without hesitation:

"The original design was incomplete."

Silence.

The stall couple froze behind them.

Kael slowly closed his eyes.

He already knew where this was going.

The girl looked down at her own clothes unconsciously.

Then back at Seraphina.

"Can... can you do that to other clothes?"

A pause.

That was the moment.

The fork in reality.

Kael saw it clearly.

One answer would end the situation.

The other would create a nightmare.

Seraphina chose the nightmare.

"Yes."

Instantly.

Too confidently.

The crowd shifted.

Interest spread like a ripple.

Kael stepped forward quickly.

"Aina—"

"Yes?"

"Don’t."

"I haven’t done anything yet."

"That is what I’m preventing."

Too late.

Another person spoke.

"How much?"

Seraphina blinked.

Then looked at Kael.

Then back at the crowd.

"How much what?"

"To improve clothes."

Kael’s soul left his body briefly.

Then returned.

Unfortunately.

Seraphina crossed her arms.

"I don’t take money."

Kael froze.

That was worse.

The crowd leaned in.

"But."

She lifted one finger.

"I do accept collaboration."

The word meant nothing.

And everything.

The stall owner behind them slowly stepped forward.

"You mean... working together?"

Seraphina nodded.

"Yes."

Kael immediately stepped between them.

"No."

Seraphina looked at him.

"I didn’t finish."

That was never good.

"I accept collaboration."

Pause.

"Where I decide what is wrong with your clothes."

Kael stared.

"You are inventing a job."

"I am innovating."

"You are terrifying."

"That too."

The girl in front of them suddenly brightened.

"So you’re like a designer?"

Seraphina paused.

The word landed.

Designer.

It felt familiar.

Comforting.

Correct.

She smiled slightly.

"I suppose."

That was it.

The moment the world tilted.

Because now people had a label.

And labels spread fast.

A second girl stepped forward.

"Can you look at my dress?"

Then another.

"Mine too!"

The stall couple looked at each other.

Slowly.

Horrified.

Their empty stall was becoming—

A crowd.

Kael stepped back slightly.

"This is how it starts."

Seraphina didn’t hear him.

Or didn’t care.

She was already inspecting the first dress.

Circling.

Studying.

Thinking.

Then—

"Tch."

The girl flinched.

"Too stiff."

The girl blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"The design is afraid of movement."

Kael pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Design is not alive."

"It is if it’s bad enough."

That made no sense.

Which meant people were impressed.

Another girl stepped forward eagerly.

"Can you fix mine too?"

Seraphina pointed.

"You."

"Yes!"

"Stand still."

The girl obeyed instantly.

Too instantly.

Kael noticed.

So did everyone else.

Seraphina examined the outfit.

Then slowly nodded.

"This could work."

The girl gasped.

"Really?"

"If you fix the sleeve ratio."

"Ratio?"

Kael whispered.

"What is happening."

Nobody answered him.

Seraphina suddenly grabbed a piece of cloth from the stall.

And began altering.

Not permanently.

Not recklessly.

Carefully.

Precisely.

For the first time—

She wasn’t destroying.

She was creating.

Kael watched silently.

This was the problem.

Whenever Seraphina found something she was good at—

The world started reacting.

Too strongly.

The girl looked at herself after the adjustment.

Then froze.

Then smiled.

"It looks... better."

Seraphina nodded once.

"Obviously."

Another person stepped forward.

Then another.

And another.

The stall was no longer a stall.

It was becoming something else entirely.

Kael stepped back fully now.

"This is going to become a business."

Seraphina didn’t look up.

"Obviously."

"You don’t even know how business works."

"I will learn."

That sentence should have been reassuring.

It wasn’t.

Because Seraphina learning things usually meant:

Chaos.

At the edge of the crowd—

A man watched. frёeωebɳovel.com

Dusty cloak.

Calm eyes.

He observed silently.

Then turned slightly.

And walked away.

Without a word.

Without expression.

Kael noticed him leaving.

Something in his instincts tightened.

Not danger.

Not yet.

Something worse.

Interest.

Meanwhile—

Seraphina was now surrounded.

Completely.

"Can you check mine next?"

"Me too!"

"I was here first!"

"No I was!"

Kael muttered quietly.

"Aina."

"Busy."

"You are starting something that will destroy our finances in a completely different way."

Seraphina didn’t even hesitate.

"Good."

Kael stared.

"...Good?"

"Yes."

She finally looked up.

And smiled.

Not chaotic.

Not arrogant.

Not playful.

Focused.

"I was getting bored of losing money randomly."

A pause.

"This way, I can control it."

Kael slowly lowered his head.

Defeated.

"That is not how money works."

"It will be."

And somewhere in the distance—

Something unseen watched them.

Not the traveler.

Something else.

Patient.

Still.

Waiting for the idea to grow.

And now—

It already had.

Kael had officially lost control of reality.

Not metaphorically.

Not emotionally.

Literally.

Because what started as "fixing a few outfits" had now become a crowd forming a circle around Seraphina like she was some kind of festival attraction.

Which, unfortunately, she was enjoying.

"Next."

Seraphina pointed without even looking.

A girl stepped forward immediately.

Too immediately.

Kael leaned slightly toward her.

"Aina."

"Hmm?"

"You realize this is spiraling."

"It’s not spiraling."

"It is rotating rapidly into disaster."

"It’s organized growth."

"That is not—"

He stopped.

Because Seraphina had already started adjusting another dress.

The fabric shifted under her fingers.

Small changes.

Precise cuts.

A slight fold here.

A correction there.

Nothing destructive.

Nothing random.

For once... intentional.

Kael noticed that.

And it made him more uneasy.

Because Seraphina at her best was not safe.

She was efficient.

And efficiency multiplied problems faster than chaos ever did.

The girl in front gasped.

"It actually fits better..."

Seraphina nodded.

"Obviously."

Another person pushed forward.

Then another.

The crowd tightened.

Excitement spread.

Kael exhaled slowly.

"This is how cults start."

"No it’s not."

"Yes it is."

"I am not accepting worship."

"No one said worship."

"...Yet."

Kael closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again, the stall had completely changed shape.

What was once a quiet clothing stall had turned into a chaotic ring of people waiting their turn.

The husband stood frozen near the edge.

The wife, however—

Was watching Seraphina like she had just discovered gold hidden inside cloth.

"This... is unbelievable."

She whispered it like she didn’t fully believe it herself.

Kael heard her.

Unfortunately.

Because that meant this was now also her problem.

Seraphina finally stepped back.

Stretching her fingers.

Like she had just finished something simple.

"How many more?"

A girl raised her hand immediately.

"Me!"

"Me too!"

"I was here first!"

"No you weren’t!"

Kael raised a hand.

"Enough."

Silence.

Not because he was powerful.

But because his tone finally carried something Seraphina’s chaos lacked.

Control.

He pointed.

"One more hour."

"That’s not enough time."

"It is enough time to stop us from becoming criminals in three kingdoms."

Seraphina tilted her head.

"Criminals?"

Kael looked at her.

"You are creating a parallel economy without permission."

"Oh."

A pause.

"That sounds advanced."

"It is illegal."

"Oh."

Another pause.

"...I like it."

Kael sighed so deeply it sounded like his soul was leaving his body again.

The crowd, however, didn’t care about legality.

They cared about results.

A merchant stepped forward cautiously.

"Miss... will you be here tomorrow?"

That question changed the atmosphere again.

Seraphina paused.

Looked at Kael.

Kael already knew what was coming.

"We’re leaving tomorrow."

The merchant frowned.

"Oh..."

Disappointment spread instantly.

Seraphina looked at it.

That reaction.

People actually wanting her work.

It should have felt normal.

But it didn’t.

It felt...

Strangely satisfying.

She crossed her arms.

Then said casually:

"I didn’t say I won’t come back."

Kael turned sharply.

"Aina."

"What."

"That is a promise you cannot afford to make."

"I didn’t promise anything."

"You implied it."

"I implied potential."

"That is worse."

The merchant immediately brightened.

"Then you will return?"

Seraphina hesitated for half a second.

Just one.

Then:

"Maybe."

That single word caused more excitement than a royal announcement. freewёbnoνel.com

Kael stared at her.

"You just created demand."

"I know."

"You just created expectations."

"I know."

"You just created responsibility."

"I know."

"...Do you understand what that means?"

Seraphina looked at him.

And smiled.

Not villainous.

Not playful.

Not chaotic.

Confident.

"Yes."

Kael froze.

That answer was worse than confusion.

Because it meant she knew.

And did it anyway.

The crowd slowly began dispersing as evening deepened.

People still talking.

Still excited.

Still adjusting their clothes.

Still looking at Seraphina like she had changed something in their day permanently.

Kael finally pulled her slightly away from the stall.

"Aina."

"Hmm?"

"This is dangerous."

"For who?"

"...For everyone."

Seraphina glanced back at the stall.

At the sketches.

At the cloth.

At the woman who had unknowingly triggered all of this.

Then she said softly:

"I used to think talent was something you either used... or lost."

Kael didn’t interrupt.

For once.

She continued walking slowly.

"But maybe it just waits."

A pause.

Then she shrugged again.

"Either way, we need money."

Kael exhaled.

"Of course that’s your conclusion."

They left the stall behind.

But not the consequences.

Because even as they walked away—

People were still talking.

Spreading.

Sharing.

A rumor was already forming.

Not about a fighter.

Not about a noble.

Not about a villainess.

But about a girl who could "fix clothes with a look."

And somewhere far away—

A carriage moved again.

No emblem.

No flag.

Same direction.

Always the same direction.

Closing in.

Quietly.

Patiently.

And watching the rumor grow.