I bet most players like this would still steal from the blacksmith with little remorse. But yeah, a lot of games are very black and white, they rarely allow you to be a smart villain who is in it for self-interest. The worst is when it’s a party-based game and you want to roleplay that you’re on the good side because of self-interest (but will betray your allies once you’re done with them), but your party members take everything you say at face value, even if their characterization/backstory implies that they’re the smart kind of villain, too.