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

This can be quite a problem.

No matter how harsh or insensitive it may have sounded, Maximilian was saying the truth. Lady is getting chubbier and chubbier by the day.

And she does not want to. 

After all, as the almighty villainess of the story, she must always stay in her top form so as to appear fabulous yet formidable. She has to be an exquisite-looking maiden who is like a lovely little flower that is of slender figure and elegant curves – or so how she described the main antagonist, at least. 

This whole thing about physical features may not be guaranteed to have an important role to play in the progression of the plot, yet based on how Lady imagined the characters to look like, this was the perfect way to present herself.

"I must work out from now on! I have to remain in shape! I'm a righteous evil flower, after all!" she declared with finality, steeling her resolve. 

"You're a what now?" her father chimed in, bemused by what she was suddenly spouting out.

"Do not fret! I got this! Thanks to you, I have been reminded of what I ought to do! I was able to find a solution to the problem before it was too late!"

"Just why must you always speak nonsense to me, child?" 

"Now then, please excuse me! I shall begin planning my diet regime!"

"Huh? Where are you going?"

Ignoring his silent plea for an explanation, Lady went ahead and rushed out of the dining hall. With that, Maximilian was left behind, stupefied – time and again.

The butler approached him, getting a bit concerned as he kept still and quiet for some time. But he regretted doing so right after he realized that he was actually in a foul mood.   

"That girl…" muttered Maximilian with a long, heavy sigh, tired and exasperated.

"I just can't seem to guess what's going on in that mind of hers." 

---  

"If you don't mind me asking, Young Miss, what do you mean by planning a diet regime?"

Sylvia could not help but ask that to Lady even with the chance that the answer would be just as ambiguous as the one given to Maximilian earlier.

She heard their exchange back at the dining hall moments ago – along with the butler and some maids. Before she retires for the night, she decides that she should try to get her to explain properly. Since she was also ordered by her father to deliver a certain message to her, she thought that this would be a perfect opportunity. 

Lady was already in her nightdress when Sylvia entered her bedroom.

She found her doing something at her study table – homework, perhaps. There are pens, crayons and papers scattered all over the desk, turning it into one messy workspace. Still, it was good to see that she was such a responsible and diligent student despite everything else that she learned about her personality today. 

"Can it be that Sylvia doesn't know what a diet regime is?" 

"Of course, I do, Young Miss. I'm just asking what it's for."

"Oh, it's for 'Operation: Becoming a Righteous Evil Flower' – just one of its many steps~ I must do this to prepare for the future and carry out my duty." 

"Umm… Perhaps, you're trying to imitate someone you saw on TV?"

"Hmm? No, I don't."

"Maybe it's some sort of game at school?"

"The only game I ever played there is something I never wanna play again."

"You're probably into theatre acts?"

"Not at all."

"What is this operation thingy really all about, then? I just don't get it, Young Miss."

"You see, I'll be working out from now on so that I can be the glamorous skinny bitch that I'm meant to be!"

And Sylvia froze.

First day in her job – and she already experienced many unexpected things. But this one has definitely stolen the whole show. Her shock and disbelief were so tremendous that her head became slow on the uptake. Then, all of the sudden, the words turned into one jumbled mess. It was almost as if her brain was refusing to process what her ears just heard.

And before she knew it, she was already blurting out, "Oh, so the Young Miss wanna be a skinny witch, huh?" 

Lady turned and faced Sylvia, then – 

Only to find her looking somewhat dead. This goes beyond expressionless. She can see in her dim, leaden eyes that she is having some kind of mid-life crisis. 

"Anyway, I'll be heading out now. I just came to tell you that the President want you to get up early tomorrow. You're going somewhere with him. So, please, go to bed and take a rest now…" she told her for the last time before finally taking her leave.

"Good night, Young Miss."

"Yeah. Night, night…" she said a little hesitantly, blinking in puzzlement.

"What's with her out of nowhere? She looked like she forgot to pay her bills."

Lady tried to figure out what caused Sylvia to act kind of weird.

But in the end, she just shrugged it off and went back to what she was working on. It did not help that she was told to wake up early tomorrow – and on a weekend at that. She was planning to start her work-out session in the morning. Now, though, she doubts that she will even have enough time.

Depending on where Maximilian is going to take her, dressing up can be quite a hassle. Lady has never enjoyed that exhausting part of the day – even with all fancy clothes and expensive accessories that either he or Penelope bought for her. 

Fortunately, she was almost finished with her work by the time she was informed.

"And done! Voila! I now have a routine!" she enthused as she lifted the paper and beamed at it. 

Apparently, what Sylvia thought was homework was actually Lady's workout plan all along. 

---

Said workout plan has ended up to be more challenging than expected. 

It was not because the exercises were too difficult to pull off. Running up and down the stairs cannot be that hard, for sure. Rather, it was because one certain obstacle has suddenly shown up as soon as the next day arrived – and that obstacle has turned out to be none other than temptation itself.

At one point that morning, Lady finds herself wearing a party dress at some garden party with lots of party food.

And there are sweets. Many sweets.

'Why the heck did he take me here?! Is he messing with me?! He told me that I was gaining weight, then he'd bring me somewhere with tons of sugar and carbs?!'

Maximilian must have learned about her workout plan. So, as a way to punish Lady for last night, he decided to tempt her with all these delicious snacks.

Going all through this trouble is overboard, though. He could not have possibly arranged a whole party at someone else's place just for that. Maybe she was only reading too much into this. Still, it would not hurt for him to explain what exactly they were doing there.

'So, yeah. We're at some sort of event. That much is obvious…' she thought to herself as she looked around the venue of the party which was, to her delight, at this luxurious flower garden.  

'Since I kinda stayed up for a bit longer, and it was still too early when we went out, I was dozing off during the entire ride on the way here. That's why I failed to ask Father what this was all about. Only when we arrived did I think of doing so. But it was already too late. He's always busy in parties like this.'

Maximilian had left her for a moment to socialize. Lady was supposed to be stuck at their table right now – doing nothing, just waiting. 

But as soon as she realized that this was the first time she had ever been in a garden party, she could no longer find it in herself to just sit still. So, she went out there and explored the place. That was how she ended up in front all these kinds of treats. Apart from their presence, she also had to appreciate the overall setting.

The exquisite table setting pulls off a recreated look with all the soft pastel shades that beautifully tie everything together. There are these country-style table scapes that have a lot of textures with all the garlands and jars of flowers that are placed sporadically thorough out the food and plates.

What's more, there's a shaded area for people who don't like being in the sun for too long. The parasols did the job, and the stylish sail shades add a bit of a beachy vibe to it. Since the party must continue seamlessly into the evening, plenty of outdoor lighting is prepared as well – a blending of different types, from tea lights to lanterns for a really beautiful luminous effect. 

'It looks so wonderful! Like something out of a fairytale!' was Lady's impression on all of those.