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

"Owieeeeeee!!!" 

It hurts like hell.

Maybe Fallon is right all along. Lady is kind of a clumsy airhead. 

She refused to believe that when they're being chased in the woods before since it's only reasonable for her to stumble and trip with all the bumpy, rocky trails back there. Now that she literally fell on her face when there was not even anything on the way, though, she realized that her tiny, chubby legs were just really not meant for running. 

"Are you alright?!" her friend asked with a concerned look on his face.

He rushed towards her and dropped on one knee to face her directly. When he was met with her tearful expression, he quickly uttered an apology.

"Right, sorry. Of course, you're not."

He took action at once.

Seeing her knee bleeding, he immediately pulled out his handkerchief from his pants pocket. She watched in awestruck silence as he gently wrapped it around her wound. As much as she wanted to thank him at that moment, she found herself at a loss of words after she noticed how determined and focused he appeared to be. His fingers even appear to be quivering slightly. 

When he finished, he found that there was a few fading scars on her other leg, giving him the impression that this was not the first time something like this occurred.

"Say, do you trip frequently?" he inquired, looking back up to her.

"It just started happening a lot recently. I never got to run around too much before. So, maybe, I'm still not used to it?" she answered while rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"You're not used to running? Why?"

"O-Oh, ummm… My f-father! He would s-scold me every time!"

"I see. You should be more careful, then."

"Thank you for your help. You really don't have to do this, though. I also apologize for ruining your hanky. I could've given mine instead."

She saw him somewhat perk up at that. Then, he falls in contemplative silence again. She is starting to observe how often he does that. Somehow, it reminds her of a certain cousin of hers who is fond of thinking too much and mulling over almost everything. 

And so, like with Fallon, Lady just waits. 

"You've got a hanky with you?" he then said out loud at last.

"Of course~! I'm a little lady, 'ya know~?" she cooed haughtily, grinning with her chin and nose up.

"And little ladies carry hankies all the time – is that what you're trying to say?"

"The maids back at my house always tell me to have one with me wherever I go. I didn't want to at first because I knew I'd just lose it. But then, they made dozens of it with their own hands. I didn't want to waste their effort, so I eventually decided to obey them." 

"They guilt-tripped you, huh?"

"What's that?"

"Nothing. That aside, how do you think you can repay me?"

"Eh?! Repay?! But I don't have any money right now!" 

"That's not what I mean. It's alright if it's not with money." 

"What do you want, then?"

"Your hanky."

She blinks, and he smiles.

While she's beginning to like that look on his face, something's different this time. It appears to be more carefree now – more easygoing. But other than that, there's an underlying tone to it that she just can't point out properly. 

"It's like an exchange, Lady. I give you my hanky, and you give me yours…" he explained, trying to enlighten her.

"Deal?"

"Sure! Let's do it…!" she agreed with a nod, seeing no problem with that.

"In exchange for your hanky and as a symbol of our friendship, I shall give you one of my possessions!" 

At that, his smile drops for a bit, his expression turning mildly surprised. But it wasn't long before the corners of his mouth curved up once more. Grinning, he then quietly whispered to himself, "Yeah. That kinda has a nice ring to it."

At that moment, without her realizing it, a meaningful look flashes across his face. 

---

"Hey, friend, I don't mean to sound rude or anything. But are you sure you know the way around here?"

Lady is bamboozled.

It's already been a while since she and her new friend have gone back inside the academy and begun their search for her father and the principal – perhaps, already half an hour or so. But until now, she can't seem to recognize a single thing at their tour. The longer they walk around, the further she feels they're going. They went from hall to hall and room to room. Still, there's nothing. 

Now, Lady is getting a little dubious.

'He told me that he has memorized the way around this school – all the way down to every nook and cranny, even! But why do I feel like we are only getting even more lost? 

For the first several minutes, she has enjoyed taking a stroll alongside him. She even got too caught up in their conversation from time to time. Yet, as soon as she realized that it was already past noon, she was reminded of her main objective. 

"I'm sorry, Lady…" he apologized, looking embarrassed. 

"Maybe I hadn't really memorized this place well enough."

"There's nothing we can do about it, in that case. Don't be sorry…" she reassured him before looking around the lobby where they're currently at and taking a seat on a nearby staircase.

"Come sit here. Let's take a little break for now."

"Are you angry?"

"Huh?! Of course not!"

"Disappointed?"

"Not at all. It's alright. You helped me as much as you could. That's more than enough." 

"But I let you down."

"That's just your assumption! I'm actually having fun being with you!"

He blushes, then. But it goes unnoticed.

Lady has now gone back to peering at the gold medal curiously after having recalled that it was never brought up again. 

He wears it around his neck the whole time. It really appears like a massive deal to her. She waits for him to join her on the stairs before she talks about it again, "You never told me about that gold medal, I guess. Still, congratulations! Whatever it is for, I believe you deserve it." 

"O-Oh, ummm…" he blurted out, blushing again.

"Actually, I joined in a science fair a while ago. The awarding ceremony was held this morning. I won first place and would soon proceed to the international level-"

"Woah! That's amazing! Congrats again!"

"Y-You think so?"

"I know so! That's science, you know! It's like… just as hard as math!"

"Math's not even that hard, though."

"Ugh, geniuses! That's what geniuses always say! I can't believe geniuses surround an idiot like me!"

"Lady's not an idiot!"

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you're not!"

"I can't even go past sixteen plus sixteen!"

"You're just saying that! You're not dumb!" 

He's panting at this point, tired from all that shouting. Even then, he still looks serious. She couldn't help but blink at him in surprise and incredulity, not at all expecting that he'd argue with her for something like that. It's not that she believes that she's really an idiot – just that, compared to him and her cousin, she might as well be one.

"Hmmm… Well, anyway…" Lady continued, changing topics.

"I bet your parents are so proud of you! Invite me when they throw a party, okay~?" 

He froze at the mention of his parents, looking like he had been reminded of something bad. When he cast down his gaze and tried to fake a smile, she knew she was right. Baffled, she dropped the teasing and raised a brow.   

"My parents… They're…" he said then trailed off, still a bit hesitant to confess. 

"I showed them that I've won. But they're too busy at the moment. So, they just nodded at me before sending me away-"

"What?! That's horrible…!" she exclaimed in aghast shock, catching him off guard.

"Where are those people?! Let us give them a piece of our brains!"

"Huh?! No, we can't! And it's supposed to be a piece of our minds-"

"Blast 'em! That's why you were crying, wasn't it?!"

"L-Look, it's okay now. P-Please, forget about that-"

"Here I thought my father was unbeatable! He should be the worst of 'em all, and yet there's-"

"Who's the worst again, Lady?"

It's her turn to freeze right then.

All of the sudden, she heard an all-too-familiar voice speak up from behind them. Even her friend had gone still as soon as he turned around and saw who she believed he saw. She didn't have to do the same to know it was him. From the dark, cold aura that he was giving off alone, she could already tell.

The Ice Emperor has come.

And at the worst time possible. 

"I see that you've been spreading some interesting rumors about me. Could it be that you're the reason why kids are scared of me? Have you been talking behind my back the whole time, Lady?" 

Maximilian smiled his signature tyrant smile. The bad vibes got worse then. Now, all there's left is some foreboding background music to accompany the scene before a homicide takes place. Even then, Lady forced herself to turn around, ignoring the chills and shivers that started running throughout her body.   

"O-Oh, hello there, F-Father."