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

For a few seconds, Lady just incredulously stares at Fallon who then suddenly smirks. 

"Why, you little…!" she bolted out, vexed. 

"Don't say such misleading things so casually! Others might misunderstand! Also, you know well that I'm a romantic at heart! You can't just spout out such lines and expect me to not read too much into it!"

"Since when did I know that you're a whatever-that-thing-is at heart…?" he snorted. 

"Do you know what that means? I bet you can't even spell it."

She feels like doing some good slapping again right then. He has really made a habit out of teasing her. This is probably the true reason why he wants to share a table with her every lunchtime. 

"Seriously, Fallon, at least make an attempt to spend time with others."

"It's not like you're making one yourself, Lady. You're not one to talk."

"I am!"

"With who?" 

"Belle!"

"That kid, huh? Right, the Daenerys is indeed a good choice. In fact, their main family is pretty close to ours. She came from a branch family, though, so you must have not known."

She lifts a brow at that. 

It seems that he's not interested in anyone unless their family is of status and prominence. He even talks about the most popular girl in school right now as if she's the one who's auditioning for a part on her list of friends. There's this indifferent look on his face as he tells her more things about this classmate of theirs, giving her the impression that her charms have no effect on him at all. 

"Hey, what gets you spacing out now? Were you even listening to me-" 

"You know what? Sometimes, I think you're actually Father Emperor's son."

This time, it was Fallon who made an incredulous face while Lady made a flat and straight one.

Before he could say something again, though, they suddenly heard a racket from a nearby table. They turned to take a look – only to find that the ones who're making a ruckus are their classmates. More specifically, it's the CHEEKY Trio and their unicorn-haired boss. There's also someone else there, but as a crowd starts to gather around, it becomes a little hard to see who it is. 

"You're not fit to be our leader! All you do is get in our way! From now on, I'll be replacing you!" Chester announced.

"Are you kidding me?! Just because I defended Belle?! You were harassing her! That was so uncool, you know!" Hartigan exclaimed indignantly.

"What?! Belle?! She's there, too?!" Lady blurted out, taken aback.

"Harassing?! We just invited her for lunch!" Erwin explained.

"Yeah! But she kept refusing! So, we joined her at her table instead!" Kyle seconded. 

"Morons. You technically forced her," Fallon commented dryly. 

Boys are really going crazy over Belle. It's just as what Lady expected from a future side villainess. But putting that aside, Hartigan appears to be in a pinch. The CHEEKY Trio has just started a rebellion. Chester must not be the replacement, however – if that happens, there's no longer anyone who'll keep this bunch of circus monkeys under control. 

While there is Fallon who looks entertained by their stupidity, Lady is a bit concerned.

'If Hearty's not the leader, the CHEEKY Trio will run amok…' she grimaced.

'Come to think of it, those three used to be scared of Fallon, didn't they? On the second day, though, they suddenly became fearless. I thought it's because I hurt Hearty. But maybe I misunderstood? They might be acting like this because they've broken free of his influence and decided to stand for themselves – or something like that.' 

It still doesn't completely make sense. For now, however, she'll just see how this will go. 

"We challenge you to a dodgeball game, Hartigan! If you win, we'll surrender! Otherwise, you'll give up your position as our leader and let us date Belle! How about that?!" Chester proposed, surprising the crowd. 

"Huh?! Are you nuts or what?!" scoffed Hartigan.

"Same thought, Hearty. Same," Lady mumbled with an unamused face.

"What? Scared of losing~?" mocked Erwin.

"Coward! Coward! Coward!" Kyle chanted repeatedly.

"God, I'm surrounded by idiots," deadpanned Fallon.

Now, she's starting to really pity Hartigan. She remembered him saying that he's just defending Belle who's now looking unsettled. That makes Lady question if he's actually one of her admirers – or maybe even a close friend. 

Whatever their relationship is, she can't stand to watch this any longer.

"Okay, then. If that's what it takes to make you guys shut up, I'll accept the challenge," Hartigan finally agreed. 

"Great! Now, who'll be on your team? It's three against three!" Chester declared.

And it was then that he realized he'd been tricked. It showed through his mocking smirk alone.

"Oh, wait. Don't tell me…" Chester added with a snicker when Hartigan still didn't respond. 

"You actually don't have anyone to join you? Then again, you don't have other friends!"

With that, the CHEEKY Trio bursts out laughing. Hartigan blushes in mortification. Belle walks up to him and says something along the line, 'You don't have to force yourself,' to comfort him. Upon catching sight of that, Lady perks up and comes up with an idea. She then hurriedly turns back to Fallon and says, "Hey, let's join Hearty's team!"

"What?!" was his immediate reply. 

"Those two seem kinda close! I mean, he won't defend her and go against his own friends for no reason, right? If I help them out, I might be able to become friends with her!" she ecstatically explained.

"Do you really want to team up with that unicorn? If anything, he deserves this, you know."

"Please, Fallon! Please!" 

"Don't give me that!"

"I promise I'll share my cookies with you! Half of them, I swear! Also, don't you want me to make friends? This is my chance! So, please help me out!"

Sighing, he eventually gives in. There's no use. She's the type who doesn't stop unless she gets what she wants. Sometimes, it's better to relent than to fight back.

With that settled, Lady bolts right up with a squeal and starts to drag Fallon all the way there. 

"Hey, let us in…!" she announced as soon as they reached their classmates.

"You're playing fudgeball, right? We'll be in Hearty's team!"

"Huhhhh?!!!" all four of the boys shouted in sync.

"There's no way! Get lost!"

"Are you even his friend?!"

"You're a nuisance! And it's dodgeball, not fudgeball!"

"Shut your traps, you freaks…" her cousin taunted, giving the CHEEKY Trio a death glare.  

"She said she wanted to join Hearty's team – not yours. You're the ones who said he didn't have any friends, right? So, why expect one to come and join him? Get those dumb heads of yours working already. You're attending school for a reason." 

The three of them shuddered in fear, then. 

Maybe Lady guessed wrong. They're still somewhat afraid of Fallon after all.

"You guys…" Hartigan breathed out, kind of astonished.

"You don't have to repeat that I don't have friends, you know." 

"We'll be in your team if you want…" Lady offered with a reassuring smile.

"Oh, but don't misunderstand, okay? I still have no crush on you. I just hate their guts, and I want to do this for her."

"E-Eh…?" Belle blurted out, looking pleasantly surprised. 

"For me?" 

Her eyes widened then gleamed when Lady gave her a huge, bright grin – it's practically shining. Belle had never seen one that's as brilliant as hers. Even Hartigan seemed inevitably drawn to it. 

'You're just so dense, Lady…" Fallon silently thought to himself.

'Even if you don't go all through this trouble, you'll still make friends with that smile.' 

---

'Greetings, peasants! How do you do~? It's a brand new day. Here's your beloved little lady who's about to walk the path of a future star athlete! This shall be the second part of my grand elementary school debut! It's finally my time to shine~!'

It's not like the game has already started, though. 

But Lady is pretty confident. She'll definitely make both Fallon and Hartigan drop their jaws with her skills and prowess. 

They all make their way to the schoolyard after their last class dismisses. With a stick, they mark a line to separate the two teams. Everyone takes their designated place right after. 

Belle stands in the middle with a calm, refreshing smile.

'Woah! So powerful! Since she's the wager in this game, that look only riles the CHEEKY Trio up!

Even the audience is on fire. Apparently, their other classmates have come to watch the match. There are also some from other sections. That commotion back at the cafeteria must have helped advertise the match. 

"Alright, everyone. I shall be the referee. This will be a fair game, okay?"

Belle doesn't seem to be worried about the outcome of the match. Lady wonders if she has a backup plan – or maybe, she just has faith that their team will win.

"First, we need to decide the teams' names. Otherwise, it'll be difficult to tell who is who," she told the players.

"A team name? Hmmm... How about Lovely Children? Or maybe something elegant like Golden Strikers or Romantic Warriors?" she suggested to her groupmates. 

Fallon makes a show of being disappointed. Offended, Lady scowls. 

In the end, Hartigan is the one who decides.