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

What comes after Lady's perplexing disclosure is an eventual breakdown that nonplusses Fallon even more.

She suddenly began shedding tears as she continued to struggle to haul him back up. Now, his attention was torn between her emotional outburst and the detrimental height that he was about to fall from. It wasn't long before he zeroed in on her, though. As he looks straight into her eyes, he feels like melting down and caving in at last.

Fallon never encountered such sincerity before – the kind that wordlessly speaks volumes about one's thoughts about the other. Lady's act of concern, persistence, and desperation just seems so genuine that it has made him realize his true importance and value. 

Not as a Mireille, but as Fallon. 

"Stop staring and do something, you dummy!" 

Her call for action gets him snapping out of his daze. Then, as if her strong drive has rolled off to him like a wave, he finally finds the will and strength to save himself despite his worries and fears. He needs to get back up there before the edge of the cliff collapses once more.   

"Yes! That's it! Don't look down!" she went on to encourage him as soon as she saw him reach out his hand and hold onto hers.

"You… You have some explaining to do once this is over," he muttered through gritted teeth and with a shaky breath, bemusing her.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean when you said you're supposed to die?"

"O-Oh."

Lady didn't utter a thing after that. Fallon let her be, focusing on returning to safety first.

That's until he saw a huge pair of arms encircle her tiny waist and lift her off of the ground all of the sudden. Both of them were completely thrown off guard by this. She blinked in puzzlement when she realized that she was no longer standing on her feet. Paling, she then slowly turned her head around to see who was carrying her – only to come face-to-face with their kidnapper. 

At that very moment, she expected the worst.

"Take your hands off of me, you jerk! He will fall!"

Contrary to Lady's expectation, though, he also reached down to Fallon and grabbed him.

With that, he carried the two of them away from the edge of the cliff, resolving their life-and-death situation in a matter of seconds and with so much ease at that. They trashed about and tried to break free from his hold, still fearing that he's going to capture them. But to their surprise and confusion, he eventually let go of them once they reached a safe spot. 

Even then, Lady and Fallon are quick to draw back and put their distance, still on guard.

"Relax, children. I won't do anything…" he then told them, confounding them once again.

"What the little lady said earlier was right. If I continue at this rate, it's only bound to fail."

"Oh, so you'll just do it some other time…?" he scoffed, shooting him a sharp, skeptic look. 

"You could've let me fall back there and spared only her. Since you're a pro and everything, I'm sure you could've thought of other ways to accomplish your mission in spite of what she said. So, really, what's with this sudden change of heart-"

"Stop that, Fallon! This man literally saved you...!" she cut him off, choosing to believe what she just saw.

"I know that's not enough for us to trust him. But we should at least be a little thankful."

"Thankful?! That's naïve, Lady! He's the reason why we're here, to begin with! He chased us all the way to this cliff, and if anything, he still had a dirty trick up his sleeves!"

"Well, why don't we find out about that?" 

With unjudging eyes, Lady looks up at him. She regards him contemplatively for a moment. Fallon clicks his tongue at this, refusing to see him in a different light unlike her. Whether he saved him or not, he's not just about to forget everything else that he did to them.

"Mister… You don't really want to kill Fallon, do you…?" she questioned him all of the sudden, taking both of them aback. 

"He's right. You could've just let him fall. But other than that, you didn't kill him when you still had the chance. You could've done other things, too. I'm getting the feeling that you're just being forced to do this."

"It's dangerous to talk too much, little lady…" he answered before letting out a sigh.

"At times, even a fool appears wise if they keep their lips sealed. I take that you know a lot about what's happening, which makes me a bit curious about you. But if it'd been any other assassin, you'd be shot in the head right away – for knowing too much, that is."

"Does that mean you're unlike any other assassin, then?"

"Still a bad guy, though."

"Really? I don't think so."

"You're being naïve, kid."

"Yeah, I know. I don't need to be told twice."

"Then, don't trust others too much. You said it yourself. Saving you back there should not be enough."

"I'm not trusting you, though. To me, you're still a creep who just happens to look pretty. But I'm choosing to believe in you – just as I believe that there's more than one side to everybody. It's up to you if you still want to go on with being a baddie. But if you swear to stop here, I swear I'll show you something cool. No good act is unrewarded, after all. What you do to us will come back to you."

The man seems to be at a loss then, not sure how to react.

Fallon stares at her through the corners of his eyes, looking somewhat in awe again. It's just that Lady keeps saying the most unexpected things at the most unexpected times to the most unexpected people, and it's seeing the most unexpected outcomes too.

Going by the man's silence, he already knows that she's just made a difference.

"Say, mister, how about we start again…?" Lady then began again, smiling.

"I'm Lady, and this is my cousin, Fallon. What's your name?"

---   

The cops finally came moments later.

At first, there was this helicopter that appeared out of nowhere. Inside was the search party who managed to spot the children near the edge of the cliff. The others arrived soon after. With that, the kidnapper was arrested and taken away at once.

"It's Xavier," was what he said his name was.

All in all, Lady was able to get them out of any more trouble by choosing to 'believe' in Xavier, which Fallon thought was something that only worked out in fiction and stuff.

They have no idea about who he really is, but they seem to have made quite an impact on his life. It showed when he took off his mask and gave them one dazzling smile as he introduced himself to them – he must admit that it left quite an impact on them, too.

That being said, they believe that this will not be the last time they'll see him. In fact, they are just probably getting started.

"Son! Oh, thank goodness!"

Fallon was pulled in a bone-crushing embrace as soon as he reunited with Calixtus. He was waiting with the other police officers at the side of the road the whole time. There are also Maximilian and Benedict who have just gotten back after going with a different search party to another location that they suspected they were in.

Fallon was astonished when he noticed how Maximilian brighten up for the tiniest bit when Lady was brought to him and Benedict by one of the cops who found them.

It's not that he didn't expect he'd be relieved to see his daughter safe and sound. It was just the idea of him showing something as genuine as that regardless of how subtle it was. It's quite rare to see him that open with his emotions, he thought.

"Lady," Maximilian breathed out upon seeing Lady.

She stood there before him with a perplexed expression. While she was anticipating that many people would come, she didn't think that he would actually go there as well. It's hard to believe that he's truly concerned, though. That's not really like him. For all she knows, he's just there to scold her for calling him a 'blockhead' earlier over the phone.

"Daddy," Lady called out nonetheless, walking closer and closer to Maximilian. 

Right then, he could see her tiny little feet picking up pace. It gave him the impression that she was going to leap at him and tackle him into a hug. Considering what she'd just been through, it's understandable, especially since she's only but a mere child. So, he bent down a little and spread his arms for a bit, waiting for her to reach him. 

"I'm so happy to see you!" Lady cried out then, already running at this point.

And finally, she pounces.

But it was not at Maximilian. It was at Benedict who was behind him that entire time.

"Oh, my dearest granddaughter! I'm so happy to see you, too!" he shouted in glee as he caught her and pulled her in an embrace while he could only watch them with a look of shock and incredulity.

Fallon saw it all with his own eyes, and at that moment, he tried his hardest to hold back his laughter at the sight of Maximilian's priceless reaction.