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

Of course, Lady couldn't just straight up say it to Fallon. 

She couldn't tell him that she's the maker of this world - that he's one of the characters she wrote in a story for fun, and that he'll die because she thinks it'll be convenient for the plot. There's no way she'd say those out loud. Besides, doing so would only make her look like crazy. Like some wacko with a god complex. Even if she does confess it, she highly doubts he will believe it. 

Even then, Lady can't help but feel guilty. Fallon didn't do anything wrong.

He doesn't deserve to die at such an early age.

'To be fair, I didn't actually write how he died. I just wrote, 'Calixtus had a son who deceased,' or something along that line. I didn't even give him a name then! He was only mentioned from time to time. Just how cruel was I…?!' she grimaced, taking a moment to think over what she just remembered and let them all settle in.

'I most certainly have a reason why I have to let him die in the book, though. It's for the progression of the plot. Does that make me a murderer, then? Is the reason that it's for the greater good fair? But he's been kind to me. He was worried about me getting stung by the bees. I also don't think I can just let him perish like that.'

While Lady is absorbed in all these thoughts, Fallon just stares and keeps quiet.

He can tell that she's greatly bothered about something – burdened even. Her expression goes from confused to enlightened to distraught. Watching her is making him all the more curious. But at that moment, he chose to focus on resting first. Looking further into this would have to come later. 

"Listen up, twerp…" Fallon began again, expression turning grimly serious. 

"If you don't want to tell me, fine. Just make sure that you and that creep back there are not really related. Otherwise, there'll be hell to pay."

"I-I promise w-we're not…" Lady stuttered, a bit intimidated.

"I was apologizing because… b-b-because I'd been too slow."

"For once, you said something right, fat legs."

"I said they're not fat! How 'bout you, scaredy-cat? You're acting all tough when it's obvious that you're about to faint back there!"

"I admit I was petrified. Anyone would be in this situation."

She could not retort to that. He was right. They would be afraid – it's definitely normal.   

However, she's concerned about him more than she is about herself. 

"Anyway, fat legs-"

"Stop calling me that!" 

"Fine. Okay. Let's stop fighting. We have a more important matter to discuss here."

"You're the one who started it. Hmph!"

"Anyway, I think we have to split up." 

Lady stilled at that. Fallon's proposal had been sudden.

But rather than that, she's more surprised at the familiarity of this scene - of his plan. It's like she already knows where this will go, and it's giving her bad vibes. Splitting up itself doesn't seem like a good idea. If anything, it's a red flag. 

"What do you mean we're splitting up?" she asked nonetheless.

"We don't have much time. Entering the hotel will not guarantee both of our safety. I just had a glimpse. There's nobody around that area. We still have to go through the hallway, and as you already saw, we're up against someone as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog," he explained in a haste, looking over his shoulder every now and then.

"Oh, I see! Got it! You'll go in first, and I'll distract that Sonic bad guy!"

"No, wait! You got it wrong! I'll be the bait, and you'll go ahead of me!"

"Y-Y-You can't! I'll just-"

"What did I tell you about you being slow? You can't last long with him. Earlier, you already got caught. I will create a diversion while you call for rescue. Besides, he'll most likely come after me. I'm the one he wants."

"If you're just trying to act cool here, then stop it! I'm not impressed!"

"Well, I'm not trying to, idiot!"

They are running out of time. They can see they thought the same in each other's eyes.

While Lady is more worried about his safety, he is more worried about them failing with this plan he has come up with. Fallon knows that it's very risky to be left alone there.

But they don't have much of a choice. Either they get caught together or one of them has to do a sacrifice while the other tries hard to make that sacrifice worth it. 

"I'm counting on you, Lady…" he continued, locking eye contact with her.

"You have to get help from Dad or Uncle Max - anyone. Do it as quick as you can."

"It's too dangerous, Fallon. Don't do it…" she practically begged, catching him off guard.

"I can take your place. I promise I'll run faster this time-"

"No time. He's here."

He took one last look from behind the bush and found that their pursuer was coming. Seeing that he was already a few steps away from where they were hiding, he immediately grabbed her wrist and helped her get up to her feet. He then went on to push her towards the entrance to the hotel without giving her another chance to protest.

"Now, go!" Fallon ordered before rushing in the opposite direction.

With the plan already set into motion, Lady could only comply at that point.

---   

Lady could feel tears blurring her vision as she ran down the corridor - all the way back to where Maximilian and the others were.       

She couldn't help but keep blaming herself. She knows how frightened Fallon is, and she knows what will happen moments from now. Yet, she still ended up following the plot – following what he said, which she knew he did not mean at all.

'If something really happens to him, I will not be able to forgive myself.'

She makes her way back to the event hall as fast as possible. Even when she starts running out of breath, she has not stopped even just for a second. Someone's life relies on her, after all. She can't afford to rest.

'If I had known that I'd be transmigrated into this world, I wouldn't have had let any of my characters get hurt - much less die. Then again, they're real humans now. Whether they'll be good or bad to me, none of them deserves death,' she kept telling herself as she made haste to get some help.

Eventually, Lady reached the event hall.

She tried to slam the doors open as hard as she could, hoping that she could draw attention to herself right after she entered. But then, as usual, expectations were far from reality for a six-year-old. She ended up forcing her way in after she realized that it was not easy to push the door open, especially with her small body and the amount of strength she had left.

"Holy poop! Being six sucks," she huffed in frustration while she continued to push and pant.

As if that's not enough, Lady also had to be greeted by a huge, bustling crowd right after. She arrived just in time for the peak of tonight's occasion – the family's traditional toast. With how festive they all are, looking for Maximilian and Calixtus from up the staircase is already making her head spin.

The whole place is just too noisy and too packed. She can't spot them no matter how much she tried. On the other hand, if she went through them one by one, it would take too much time. 

That leaves her no option.

"DADDYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

Lady called out so loud that it only took a matter of seconds before everyone in that place was looking at her. She could hear gasps of surprise from around her – must be because of how unsightly she looked at that moment, especially with her ruffled dress and messy hair. But that's the least of her concerns. She hastily searched around and soon found Maximilian hurriedly making his way to her.

Finally, he did something right.

"Lady, what do you think you're doing…?" he muttered through gritted teeth, displeased with how she just barged right in and called for him like an elephant blowing its trumpet.

"You're embarrassing me in front of all these people-"

"Fallon's in trouble, Daddy…!" she cut him off, showing him a pleading look.

"There's this bad guy chasing after him right now! He wanted to kidnap him! Help him, please!"

"What?"

Maximilian was completely thrown off guard. His eyes went as wide as saucers, his mouth slightly gaping. It wasn't long before Calixtus caught on to that and went up the staircase to join him and Lady.

"What did you just say? Where's my son?" he inquired frantically, bending down at her level to get a closer look at her.

"He's at the-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Mireille, you've got to see this!"

Right when she was about to tell them where Fallon was, some of the hotel's security staff appeared out of nowhere. One of them is holding a tablet that displays some sort of camera footage. If they didn't announce what it was, she wouldn't know what it was for. 

"Your son, Sir! He's at the rooftop with a suspicious man!" 

At that, Lady froze.