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

At least, the resplendent view of the garden was worth what Lady went through that morning.

It was such a shame that she could not fully enjoy it, though. Since she swore she would start following her diet starting today, she has to hold back and resist the temptation. 

Nonetheless, she was impressed to see how creatively the desserts and delicacies were served. They have edible blooms that taste as good as they look. There is also what appears like a cocktail game for the adults, which is upped by creating a mix and match garden bar, adding several citrus juices, making simple syrups out of different herbs, and pulling out a variety of clear spirits.

Perhaps, she can try out a small amount. It probably wouldn't affect her workout plan that much. 

"Oh, my! Lady!"

At that, Lady jolted in surprise. She then spun around to find an all-too-familiar face coming her way. For some reason, Belle happens to be there as well. She is wearing a lovely pink dress with a butterfly pattern, which makes her look cuter than usual.   

"It's good to see you here, Lady!" she greeted, greatly thrilled to see her.

"Belle! What a pleasant surprise!" she beamed, just as delighted as her. 

"You look very beautiful in that floral dress~ Purple really is your color~"

"Thanks! You do, too! Pink suits you! Those butterflies also!"

"My, thank you. I'm so glad you came. I saw President Mireille back there, so I thought you're here already."

"Huh? You knew we're coming?"

"Of course, I do. My aunt and uncle are the hosts of this party, after all."

"What?! Your relatives are?!"

"Yes. You didn't know?"

"My father never told me about seeing the Daenerys today. Gosh, he didn't even explain what this was all supposed to be about."

"How unexpected. You really don't have an idea at all?"

"Not a single one. Just what's going on here, anyway?"

Belle looks a little concerned. This must be a bigger deal than Lady thought.

For a moment, she just stares at her in silent contemplation. She appears to be hesitating. That only made her more curious. For all she knew, she was actually attending some sort of satanic gathering without even realizing it. 

"You're supposed to know, Lady. I mean, you've got the right to…" Belle started with a serious face and tone, causing Lady to gulp nervously.

"This whole event was mainly arranged for you to meet your future groom."

And she choked.

The revelation should have taken a little more time to register. But it was just so shocking that the ability of her brain to process things had exceeded her expectations for once – or more like, it forced itself to take it in much faster. Then, thoughts and inquiries came surging through her head right after. One of them was how exactly she could disown that troublesome father of hers.

"What groom?! Who says anything about me wanting a groom?!"

And with that, Lady went on an outburst. Belle, on the other hand, only stays calm.

"I'm just six, for crying out loud! Do they want me to call the FBI on them?!" 

"Calm down, Lady. It's still just a potential marriage partner. Nothing is set in stone yet. Also, it's common for families in high society to arrange this kind of gathering for their children-"

"How is this okay, Belle?! They're gonna marry me off to someone I've never met! What if he turned out to be older than me by fifty years?!"

"T-That's… overboard. He's not that old. Trust me."

"Wait a moment. Do you… know him?"

She tensed up then. No reply came. Her expression said what was needed to be said, however. That gets her eyes squinting in suspicion. 

It would help to take note that Belle had mentioned that this preposterous arrangement was not for certain yet. That was the only reason that Lady could see as for why Maximilian never said anything about it. 

Knowing him, he would have informed her no matter what. He would have reminded her to act prim and proper in the presence of her so-called marriage partner and his family, after all. If she were to show that she was clueless and ignorant, she would have embarrassed him in front of everybody yet again. 

In addition, Lady doesn't recall getting engaged at this age. Based on the story, she's still single and ready to mingle by the time she and Sarah met. 

'So, yeah. No need to worry. This will flop, for sure,' she told herself as she tried to take back her cool and composure.

But then, she noticed that Belle looked kind of ecstatic all of the sudden. It seemed to have something to do with what Lady just asked her. 

"In any case, I won't accept this. Doesn't matter if it's still not final. I just don't like the very idea of meeting up with a complete stranger for the purpose of selling myself off to marriage – at the age of six at that!" she asserted, refusing to take part in this absurdity.

"While I understand why you'd be upset, especially since you're actually unaware this whole time, it probably won't be too bad – to make acquaintances, I mean! I suggest that you don't think about anything else right now. Just focus on learning more about that person. You'll never know," she advised, which earned her suspicion once more.

"You sound pretty optimistic about this whole thing, Belle. I'll have you know that I'm more interested in staying NBSB until twenty than hitting it off with some random guy. Then again, I dream of meeting my first and last true love~!" 

"That's basically what I meant. You'll never know, Lady."

"Hmmm… So, you really did meet this guy already, huh?"

"W-Well, ummm... The truth is-"

Belle abruptly cut herself off upon catching sight of something from a distance – or more like, someone. Intrigued by what stole her attention, Lady turned around to take a look for herself. 

That's when heaven decides to grace her eyes with yet another godly creation. 

Out of nowhere, a boy around the age of ten appeared before them. Though still so young, he's already quite tall – and has such a well-developed profile, too. His short, sleek hair is of plum color, so are his deep-set eyes. His enthralling features are just part of what makes him stand out, though. The way he carries himself with cool confidence is the main deal here. 

"Big brother," Belle blurted out, stunning Lady even more. 

When she noticed her looking her way with an astonished face, she gave her a smile – a knowing one. Even without asking, she could already tell what she wanted to say at that moment. So, she went on to explain, "No, he's not actually my big brother. I just call him that. He's my cousin. Let me introduce him to you."

Him to her, she said. Not to each other. 

That could mean that he already knew who Lady was. It can be that Belle has talked about her to her family from time to time.

"Oh, Ms. Mireille, is it?" he began first, recognizing her right away.

"That's me. Hi. Nice to meet you. Just call me Lady," she greeted casually – perhaps, a little too casually as it earned a funny reaction from him.

"That's quite… refreshing. My name is Julian, by the way. I'm Belle's cousin. It's a pleasure to have you with us today. I'm glad we finally met."

"Finally met?"

So, it's true that Belle talks about her. That makes Lady a little happy. 

She just hopes that it's not completely about the dodgeball match they've had the other day – or how she once slapped one of their classmates across the face. Her reputation in this family would be at rock-bottom, for sure.

"As I was about to tell you earlier, Lady, I know who your potential marriage partner is…" Belle chimed in while looking all smiles and sparkles.

"And that's my cousin, Julian Daenerys, the heir of the Daenerys family."

"Eh…?" Lady blurted out, eyes wide in shock. 

"EHHH?!!!"

"Could it be that you're not aware…?" Julian asked with a baffled look.

"I sincerely apologize I didn't try to meet you first. I got too caught up with the talk I had with President Mireille earlier. I should've gone and greeted you sooner. I beg your pardon."

He seems to be not bothered by the arrangement at all. If anything, he's cool with it. He's even more concerned about how he didn't get to prioritize seeing her. Regardless of the reason they met, she has to admit that he's at least considerate of her - and he's such a gentleman for being so.

"N-No, it's okay. Y-You don't have to be sorry…" Lady stammered out, reassuring Julian.

"I confess that I still can't believe all of this. I was really thrown off guard. Still, you're not at fault here. You have every right to talk with others as long as you want to. Please, don't mind me."

Nevertheless, this can turn out to be quite a tricky situation to get out of.