The Backwater Villainess's Runaway Ruse
A backwater villainess in a shithole manor. That's the term for a young lady who swings her power around and commits all sorts of evil deeds.
Personally, I kinda like that character type, and I think there's a decent demand for it... but.
'Fuck this shit.'
Becoming the villainess myself is a whole different story.
When the carriage arrived at the baron's manor—what I could call my home—everyone avoided me like the plague.
"Ah, miss. Your expression doesn't look good. Is there something else bothering you...?"
"Nothing, so shut up."
"Understood!"
Even the maid who looked older than me was trembling like a leaf, which left me feeling all mixed up inside.
It was like being hated for no reason—or more accurately, feared.
'...Let's think about the strategy.' Pushing aside my throbbing headache, I reviewed the info I'd gotten from the Association in my head.
The dungeon I'd entered this time was a C-rank one: Green Devil's Lair.
The name sounded grandiose, but the only monsters that appeared were goblins—and even those were sick, elderly ones crawling out.
So why was it rated C-rank instead of F? The answer lay in the dungeon's special gimmick.
'The cultists perform a forbidden ritual every day, right?'
Among the dungeon's world inhabitants—the ones commonly called NPCs—there were cultists worshiping an evil god hiding out.
On the first day, there were only a thousand pathetic goblins. But on the second, the cultists sacrificed 900 goblins to create 100 healthy ones.
On the third day, they sacrificed 90 to make 10 elite goblins, and on the final fourth day, 9 to summon the strongest goblin lord.
'What a needlessly complicated setup.'
Of course, the so-called strongest goblin lord was just a C-rank boss monster. It wasn't truly the strongest—just the king of goblins.
One might think you could just wipe out all the goblins before the cultists start their sacrifice ritual, but that wasn't easy either.
"Butler. Has the goblin lair subjugation permit come through yet?"
"Yes, miss. It seems the lord has no intention of dealing with them."
In this world's setting, my biological father, Howard Baron, hadn't authorized the goblin lair subjugation.
He wasn't a goblin lover, of course—it was an efficiency issue.
A thousand old, sickly goblins? Leave them be, and they'd spread disease among themselves and all die off.
Too weak to hunt, they'd starve continuously, and the valley around the goblin lair was poisoned, leaving them without hope. That's why the baron wasn't moving.
"Request subjugation permission from the baron again."
"Miss, if I may overstep, the baron has already taken measures for the goblin lair. It'll be resolved in about two weeks, so please don't worry."
The butler's words were reasonable enough. In reality, the goblins would all die in four days, not two weeks.
"I didn't ask for your opinion. Request the subjugation permit."
"...Understood."
But unfortunately, those goblins were all going to be used in the sacrifice ritual.
And then the goblin lord would show up and wreak havoc. 'It's not unbeatable, but no need to take the risk.'
A mid-tier guild like Dan-gun's raid team could surely handle a C-rank boss.
A couple might die or get injured, but they'd take it down eventually.
Still, there was no reason to stubbornly take the hard path when an easy one existed.
"You're dismissed, butler. No other business."
"Understood. Dinner will be served soon, so please let us prepare your meal."
"I'll skip dinner today."
"...The baron will worry, but understood. If you need anything, ring for me."
The old butler of the baron's house passed the message to a passing maid and left the room.
Having gotten a rough sense of the dungeon's atmosphere, it was time to start the Strategy.
Time was limited. At the very least, the goblins had to be wiped out before the fourth day.
"But what the hell is Dan-gun Guild thinking?"
Yet in this urgent situation, Dan-gun Guild was dragging their feet on the Strategy.
The raid members, who had possessed the territory's knight order, had gone straight to the lord and argued that subjugating the goblin lair wasn't necessary.
The guild that was supposed to clear the dungeon was actively getting in the way. 'No idea where Hyeji sunbae is, so what now?'
To top it off, I had no clue what role Kim Hyeji had gotten or where she even was.
Still, I wasn't too worried. 'If push comes to shove, I can just loop.'
Did I get hired at the Association with overwhelming power or genius IQ? Hell no.
My strength was the infinite opportunities from looping. Forgetting that and getting cocky would dull even that edge.
"I need to meet the raid team."
That didn't mean I'd slack off this run.
What was a regressor's weapon? Information, plain and simple.
First, I needed to figure out the raid team's intentions.
"You called, miss?"
"I need to meet the territory's knight order. Guide me."
I rang the handbell on the bedside table to summon the butler and left the room.
"So, Sion, it's all a misunderstanding, okay?"
"Misunderstanding?"
"Catching a thousand goblins? That'd take forever. We're just cutting corners a bit."
Kim Minho, the raid leader I met in person, spouted a bunch of excuses.
Sickly goblins or not, a thousand was a burden; it was efficient processing; maybe eyeing extra rewards.
Stuff like that.
"You know damn well that's bullshit, right?"
"... "
Of course, it was unbelievable nonsense.
Goblins too weak to move and ones bursting with energy jumping everywhere—both were easy prey for Dan-gun Guild.
Efficient processing? Dragging it out to the next day just wasted time for other dungeons.
For Dan-gun, clearing fast without wasting time was the real gain. In short, utter crap.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but follow the standard procedure."
"Haha, Sion. You haven't been in the workforce long, so you might not get it, but this happens sometimes."
Raid Leader Kim Minho tried to persuade me with ridiculous drivel, but...
"Yeah, since I'm new, all I know is to follow the manual. Just so you know, everything you're doing is being recorded and sent to the Association."
It didn't faze me one bit, since I had backup.
The recording device turned into a drone upon entering the dungeon and started filming stealthily on autopilot.
Probably one each filming me, Hyeji sunbae, and Dan-gun. It was running right now.
In other words, as long as I had justification, whatever Kim Minho did, I had nothing to fear.
"Unnecessary actions during a Strategy are grounds for disciplinary action."
"Ha... Fine, we'll handle it ourselves, so butt out."
"Pardon?"
Was he insane?
Even major guilds hesitated to outright defy Association orders, yet this mid-tier raid leader punk was pushing it?
"We'll do it our way."
"No, injuries could happen, that's so irresponsible..."
"Got a meeting with the team, can't talk more. Bye."
With that, I was kicked out of the room.
Staring blankly at the closed door, I recalled what Hyeji sunbae had said during newbie training.
'If a guild acts like they have no consequences, it's one of two things.'
'What?'
'Either they're too dumb to think ahead, or they don't need to.'
Hyeji sunbae had said Kim Minho was greedy but not an idiot—at least not the kind who couldn't handle fallout.
'Then why?'
He wasn't crazy enough to delay without reason.
Pondering it, one possibility emerged.
'This bastard's planning a big score and bolt overseas?'
During an Association rank review loop, I'd taken a three-week break.
Having looped hundreds of times in instant dungeons, I'd killed time at home watching news for a breather and future intel.
One story stuck: a raid leader who botched a Strategy, killed two team members, and fled to Southeast Asia.
'What if that fleeing leader was Kim Minho?'
Rare case, apparently.
Long-time hunter with mediocre skills and piled-up disciplines—perfect for one last easy Strategy then dip to goblin-poor Southeast Asia.
Countries there treat even B-ranks like kings. If Kim Minho was scheming a big payout then bail, it explained pushing early entry.
Probably got intel that clearing after goblin lord spawns with specific conditions gave extra rewards.
And didn't want the Association knowing, so tried shaking them off.
"Fucking lunatic."
That method probably wasn't legit.
If it were above-board, he'd report it officially.
Since he didn't, it was shady. But I wasn't letting it slide.
Regardless, if shit hit the fan, it'd splash on me too.
Didn't wanna write a report on my first goddamn day.
"Let's see who wins."
Kim Minho sucking honey in Cambodia for retirement?
I'll personally block that.
To explain my assigned role in a bit more detail: not just a noble lady, but a villainous one.
A delinquent, vicious young miss, not your typical lady.
I knew from the early dungeon entry. Servants fled in terror at the sight of me.
So, what made a naughty villainess like this?
"Miss, the baron is worried since you're skipping meals and sent food separately."
"Put it on the table."
"And your birthday's soon; he asked what gift you'd like."
"Tell him I'll think about it."
The condition was a doting father.
From living in the dungeon, I'd learned my role's father, Howard Baron, adored his daughter.
He never scolded her mistakes, always covering for her since childhood.
Rumor had it he praised her for assaulting a maid as a "noble exemplar"—total shit family education.
'Modern or fantasy, kids mirror their parents.'
Anyway, in this situation, the only card villainess Jeong Sion had was her daddy-obsessed father.
But begging daddy normally for goblin smackdown would've gotten permission already.
Unfortunately, Howard Baron separated public and private firmly, so standard methods wouldn't cut it.
And the one non-standard method coming to mind was singular.
"Put the letter casually on the desk... and mess up the room a bit."
I wrote a letter with paper and pen from the butler, tossed it visibly on the desk, and trashed the room moderately.
A few teardrop-like water droplets, and prep done.
With the scene set, I quietly slipped out of the manor.
The next day, Howard Baron's manor turned into pandemonium.
Reason: one. The family's precious daughter had vanished.
"What do you mean?! My child disappeared alone?!"
For Viscount Howard, who'd lost his wife and lived for his daughter's whims, it was a bolt from the blue.
"Baron... It seems she slipped out the window late at night."
"What were the guards doing?!"
"It was exactly shift change..."
"Goddamn it!"
Was it his wayward daughter's overstep, or some nefarious plot?
As the baron imagined the worst, a soldier brought news to the office.
"Baron! A letter was found in the miss's room!!"
"What?! Read it now!!"
They'd found the letter on her room's table.
Everyone held their breath reading the simple contents.
-I can't stand the sight of those goblin fuckers.
-If you won't handle it, I'll go kill them myself.
"That crazy...!"
"Assemble the knight order and head to the goblin lair NOW!!!"
Those two lines were enough to flip the doting father's switch.