I Became the Villain’s Daughter — Chapter 94
“Why do you keep staring at me?”
“…Hey…”
I frowned.
Sure, it wasn’t like he was stealing—he paid for what he bought. But the fact that he kept cutting in line and buying everything I pointed to didn’t exactly leave a good impression. I was just about to tell him off when—
“You’re buying everything, so there’s nothing left for the other customer!”
Smack!
The sound was like two stones colliding. The man standing in front of me clutched his head, eyes welling up with tears. The newcomer, who had suddenly appeared, held his fist threateningly in the air after striking him.
The first man wore a half-mask shaped like a butterfly, while the newcomer’s mask was a full antique porcelain one that covered his entire face. Both had their heads wrapped in cloth, though.
“Ow! Ow! Don’t pinch me! It hurts!!”
The butterfly mask man yelled, flailing. The antique mask man ignored him and bowed politely to me.
“I apologize, miss. My companion here lacks manners…”
“Oh, n-no…”
His polite tone made my anger fizzle away. But the butterfly mask man clearly didn’t feel the same.
“I said don’t pinch me! What’s wrong with buying something when I’ve got money?”
That made the antique mask man visibly furious—even though I couldn’t see his face, I could feel it.
“I told you not to be greedy! It’s been so long since we came out—do you really have to behave like this?”
“Oh, come on! You’re always nagging me!”
“Ugh…”
The shopkeeper, who had been watching helplessly, stepped in nervously.
“Um… are you not going to buy these…?”
He was holding the neatly packed box like it was his last hope.
“……”
The antique mask man seemed to realize the situation and sighed.
“…Fine. Just this once.”
“Y-yes! I’ll buy them all!”
“But!”
The antique mask man pointed straight at me. I blinked in confusion.
“Give this young lady something too. She couldn’t buy anything because you took it all.”
“No way! These are mine!”
The butterfly mask man hugged his boxes tightly and shook his head like a stubborn child.
Haa…
I sighed. The air under my hood suddenly felt stuffy. Without thinking, I pushed it back. It was getting warm anyway, and no one here knew who I was.
But the moment I lowered my hood, both masked figures flinched.
“…A-are you… one of us?”
“…?”
I tilted my head. I was wearing a sky-blue wig, a blue half-mask, and fake elf ears. The butterfly mask man whispered in a low voice—unfortunately for him, I had sharp hearing.
“…Oh, never mind.”
After looking me over again, he muttered in disappointment,
“What the—don’t confuse me like that!”
Then he raised his voice at me again. The antique mask man beside him immediately scolded him.
“Ashil. How many times have I told you not to be rude to people?”
“But, Verde…”
“Enough. Apologize.”
“……”
The butterfly mask man—Ashil—looked deflated and muttered an apology.
“…Sorry.”
I stared at the two curiously. They were… interesting.
Just then, Rubiana, Eladin, Lartz, and the escort knights came running toward me after finishing their dart game.
“Lady Laila! Look how many we won!”
Rubiana’s arms were full of plush toys—clearly prizes from the game. They were cheap compared to what she usually owned, but judging by her beaming smile, she was overjoyed to have won them herself.
“…Hm?”
But as she approached, she seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere between us. She glanced between me and the two masked strangers.
“Did something happen?”
“No, nothing serious…”
After a brief pause, I turned to Ashil.
“If you don’t mind, would you sell me the glass bracelet and the silver one you bought earlier? I’ll pay you properly.”
“These ones?”
Ashil, now calmer, pulled out the two items I mentioned.
“Yes, those. How much—”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. They’re not worth much anyway.”
He turned his head away, almost sulking.
I blinked, surprised.
The items weren’t expensive, sure—but one was silver, and the other was crafted with colored glass, which wasn’t exactly easy to make. They were worth more than he let on. I felt guilty just taking them.
“No, I insist. I’ll pay for them.”
“I said it’s fine.”
We went back and forth for a bit, but in the end, I couldn’t win. He absolutely refused the money, so I reluctantly accepted both bracelets.
“…Thank you.”
No matter what I said, he clearly wouldn’t take the payment. I smiled and handed the bracelets to Rubiana and Eladin.
“I’ll buy something else for you later, Lartz.”
“I’d prefer that. That bacon skewer stall looks quite good.”
Lartz glanced at the bracelets but seemed more interested in food. Rubiana, on the other hand, was delighted, and Eladin looked equally pleased.
“Wow, they’re so pretty! Thank you, Lady Laila!”
“I’ll treasure it.”
But as Rubiana put hers on, she hesitated and glanced at me.
“Um, didn’t that person buy these first? You didn’t have to—”
“Don’t worry about it. I wanted to give them to you.”
The answer came not from me, but from Ashil himself. His tone was casual—far too informal for someone addressing a princess—but strangely, it didn’t sound disrespectful coming from him.
“Thank you,” Rubiana and Eladin both said politely.
I smiled to myself. Even though they were royalty—a princess and a prince—they never hesitated to show gratitude. They really were well-raised children.
Then Rubiana turned back to Ashil.
“Um, are you perhaps visitors from outside the capital?”
Ashil crossed his arms and said nothing, so the antique mask man—Verde—answered instead.
“Yes, how did you know?”
“I just had a feeling. It’s not much, but as thanks for the bracelets…”
Rubiana gestured to the knights behind her.
“Would you like to join us? My escort knights know the city inside and out.”
The royal guards she referred to weren’t just any knights—they were part of the royal palace guard, responsible for both royal protection and city security.
Ashil looked like he was trying not to look interested, but it was obvious he was. His crossed arms slowly dropped.
“Lady Rubiana?”
I whispered, surprised by her offer. She whispered back,
“We’re supposed to be kind to outsiders. That’s the festival’s rule.”
Born and raised in Siwin Kingdom, Rubiana took the Spring Festival traditions very seriously. And since she believed in fairies, she likely thought that being kind to strangers might bring her a chance to meet one.
I couldn’t bring myself to stop her.
When I looked over at Eladin and Lartz, they nodded approvingly. I shrugged.
Verde seemed to share our thoughts. He nodded at me and said,
“Then, we’ll be in your care.”
And just like that, our group gained two new members.
Rubiana truly had endless energy. She dashed from one attraction to another, dragging us along until even the healthy knights were gasping for breath.
“Let’s go there next!”
“Now over here!”
“This place looks fun too!”
If anyone had seen her, they might have thought she was possessed by the ghost of someone who never got to play enough in their past life.
Even Eladin and Lartz, her usual playmates, were exhausted. Only one person could keep up with her—
“This is fun!”
—Ashil.
His bright blue eyes sparkled like liquid ink as he ran around with her. Their latest stop was a ball pit—filled to the brim with colorful plastic balls. Most of the visitors were under ten years old, since the balls didn’t hurt when thrown.
And of course, Rubiana and Ashil dove right in.
No matter their actual age, the two of them looked like carefree children, throwing balls at each other and laughing uncontrollably.
Verde turned to us and sighed apologetically.
“I’m sorry again. My companion really doesn’t know how to act his age…”
“…It’s fine,” I said with a smile.
Eladin and Lartz, being older, were too embarrassed to join in and just sat watching from the chairs nearby.
‘Still… it does look fun.’
Rubiana and Ashil seemed to drop every bit of pretense, playing and laughing as if they’d been friends for years. By the time they came out, it had started to look that way.
“That was amazing, Ashil!”
“The best, Ruby!!”
The two of them raised their thumbs at each other with huge grins.
“……”
Verde could only shake his head in embarrassment.
Eladin and Lartz looked slightly regretful for not joining in.
We spent the rest of the day exploring every corner of the capital’s festival.
By the time I looked up again, the sky had deepened into night.
The moon was nearing fullness, round and bright, while the Milky Way spilled across the heavens like a silver river. The festival lights shimmered, rising as though to touch the stars.
It was beautiful—but it was time to go.
“I think we should head back now.”
“Already?”
Rubiana was the first to pout.
“……”
Ashil didn’t say anything, but his silence said enough—he didn’t want the night to end either.
