Lady Misfortune: Daddy, I'll Be A Righteous Villainess!

"SAY WHAT?!"

On second thought, maybe telling Lady is not that easy after all. 

Fallon has gone straight to the point. Fortunately, it's their break by then. Lady has all the time in the world to let it sink in. It'd come out a shock, surely. 

This year, all of them in their circle of friends, including Belle and Hartigan, ended up in the same class. Fallon is not certain if Weiss has pulled some strings there. 

Regardless, it's very much appreciated, especially since he can finally spend more time with Lady again. Today's not a day for play, however. Weiss isn't around at the moment, which he already expected. Their plan is still being set in motion, and half of it not even done yet. For now, though, Fallon has to deal with another situation.

"That scum was doing what to who…?!" Lady hollered in aghast shock.

"ZXMBVDSFASJFKKLBZXSJOPS-"

"Calm down, idiot…" Fallon sighed.

"I can't understand a word you're saying."

"Is all of that true, Fallon…?" Belle chimed, recoiling in disgust.

"Gosh, what a creep."

"That upperclassman's going too far. Talk about obsessive…" Hartigan muttered with a look of repulsion.

"I don't get what's going through his head. Who in their right mind would keep such a secret? The person he's crushing on will certainly not be happy."

Lady and Belle look at him, then. Hartigan looks back at them, confused. 

'I almost forgot! Hearty is one of the male leads! He must be angry!' thought his crush whose face expressed nothing but concern and sympathy. 

'Really now, Hartigan? You've got a secret yourself. It's cute rather than creepy, though,' mused his friend who was smirking at him knowingly. 

He has a vague idea why Lady is staring at him like that. For the previous months, she kept asking him about his relationship with Sarah, and it gave him the impression that she thought he had a crush on her, which he firmly denied more than a couple of times. Belle, on the other hand, is more transparent. He can tell what she is thinking right away.

"Don't you dare, Belle. I'm not a stalker," he whispered sharply as he leaned closer to her.  

"But you did paint a whole portrait of Lady," she mumbled in reply, earning a low shriek from him. 

"This and that are different, okay?! I know I did it without her consent, but I meant well. I'm not a creep! Besides, I'll show it to her one day. So, please." 

"Alright, alright. Just saying. Not like I'm lumping you two together."

Lady gives both of them a puzzled expression while Fallon gives a bored one. Hartigan clears his throat and slowly faces them once more, ignoring how Belle softly chuckles at his awkwardness.

"Ummm… Hearty…" Lady started, making that worried look again.

"It'll be alright. Fallon, Weiss, and I will handle it. Sarah is safe. It's gonna be fine."

"Uhhh…. Okay…?" Hartigan drawled, perplexed.

"It's not that I'm upset or anything. I-I mean, of course, Ms. Gracelyn's situation is concerning. Nobody wants to be stalked. I-It's just that… I'm not particularly-"

"No need to explain yourself, Hearty. I completely understand how hard this is for you."

"Clearly, you don't."  

As the misunderstanding drags on, Belle tries her best to stifle her laughs. This is what Hartigan gets for not confessing. Funnily enough, Lady still thinks that he's really into Sarah but is too shy to admit it.    

"A-Anyway, stay away from that creepy ass stalker – or any of the SES for that matter. I may be in a different club, but I'll help as much as I can. That said, I should be the one telling you that it's gonna be fine," he told her sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Of course. Thank you, Hearty! I'll do that guy a favor by staying away," she replied with a beaming smile.

"A favor?"

"Yeah! It's just that I'm so angry right now that I'll most probably end up kicking him straight to Mars as soon as I see his face! So, if I avoid him, I'm doing him a favor!"

"I-I see. You're that angry, huh?"

"No one should stalk anyone like that! It goes beyond disturbing!" 

At that moment, he wonders if Lady will also find it disturbing if she learns that he made a portrait of her. For nearly half a year now, Hartigan is keeping it in his personal library back at home, away from where everyone can see it. 

He was just so inspired to paint her at the time. While he admits that he constantly finds himself drawing a sketch of her, he never once thinks of it as an object to worship. He calls it art simply because his muse is a masterpiece. Because he could not confess his feelings to her, he would just express them through his works. 

A promise is a promise, though.

Hartigan will show it to Lady one day. Belle can count on that, and hopefully, neither Fallon nor Weiss will be too mad. 

"By the way, Belle, have the SES approached the Broadcasting Club yet?" Fallon inquired, getting back to the main topic.

"Hmmm… At the rate of how the issue is escalating, I think they will come during lunch time," Belle answered thoughtfully. 

"Makes sense. I thought that the news blew up too quickly, so I presumed that they already went to get help from you guys." 

"I heard that the Student Council Vice President had contended with the Assistant Editor-in-Chief earlier this morning. Quite a shame, though. I didn't get to see it. Must've been fun to watch. It seems that Ms. Mirabella and Ms. Verosica got into a heated argument too. Have you already heard of that?"

"You appear to be enjoying this, Belle."

"Well, what can I say~? I'm into juicy stuff. This is the most drama I've seen in a while. It's kind of thrilling, to be honest~!" 

Hours later, that last part has been proven wrong.

---

Belle grimaces.

None of this is thrilling at all. Every other drama would have worked, but this one is too bothersome to be anything thrilling.

"Hold an interview for the SES this instant! You've got to let the SES talk!"

"The school publication won't cooperate with us if we didn't make a public apology! But why would we do that when we didn't even do anything that required a public apology?!"

"We have to resolve this issue once and for all. Else, the hierarchy in this academy will be thrown out of balance."

"Our email and social media accounts are being flooded with hateful messages!"

"Students keep bugging the other members who are not involved in the incident! This is causing all of them a lot of stress!" 

"We will explain our side. Let us borrow the broadcasting room for now." 

Apparently, the executive members of the Student Elite Society have come to the Broadcasting Club to demand an interview, and because the one who should be dealing with this is currently absent, Belle has to take up the role of a leader in the meantime. 

It was then that she knew she was wrong all along. This kind of burdensome confrontation isn't her thing. She would rather gossip all day than get involved in politics.

"Settle down, everyone. I understand you're in a rush right now, but panicking will do nothing good for all of us. So, please be at ease." 

"Ms. Daenerys! I know the SES can depend on you, Ms. Daenerys!"

"Yes, of course. I'll take care of it."

"We owe you one, Ms. Daenerys. The SES will definitely repay your kindness."

"Oh, no need for that. I'm just doing my job as the 'temporary' leader." 

"And a leader you are, Ms. Daenerys! I'm sure the SES will be honored to have someone like you around!"

An annoyed vein pops in Belle's head, then.

While she does aspire to be part of the student council in the near future, she doesn't like how some of their current members would kiss up to others like this. Surely, complimenting her every three seconds is not necessary. She can only guess how desperate they are right now, and because she's a close friend to the people they're up against, she knows they're trying to get to her good side.

'Normally, the SES wouldn't be like this - if only it wasn't for Weiss and Fallon…' she thought to herself as she prepared to gather the other members for a sudden interview with the student council.

'They're powerful enough as it is, considering that they're the highest-ranking student organization in this academy. They're capable of twisting the truth around, especially considering the scope of their influence, and they can even go straight to the school admin.'

But then, as it turned out, it had to be Weiss and Fallon they're up against. Those who knew what's going on behind the scenes would consider them as 'Shadow Kings' of Golden Rose Academy. 

They never get into a serious fight with anyone, but that might be because they would always deal with it in secret. This is the first time they're stepping into the light to face their opponents. They're even making history by facing the entire student council themselves.

'Perhaps, this is going to be thrilling after all.'