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

One morning, an elderly woman enters the flower shop just as Weiss is about to leave for class, which is a bit of a problem since Catalina isn't there yet. 

He'd been planning on putting up the closed sign until she got there because he's going to be tardy otherwise. Yet, he'd only stepped out from behind the counter when the old lady came in. He opened his mouth to tell her they're closing, but before he could do so, she sighed loudly and sat down in one of the chairs next to the entrance.

"I'm not used to walking so much anymore. I would've gone to any other store, but this one has the nicest flowers," she told him. 

"Oh," he responded, eloquence galore as always, and hovered awkwardly near the counter.

Of course, this flower shop is the best in town. Their plants came from the Saoirse family's massive plantation, after all – this store being just one of its smaller branches. It's mainly built to serve as their temporary hideout since it's close to the academy, though. 

In any case, he wonders if he should wait for Catalina to arrive or if he should close up anyway and make the elderly woman's long journey fruitless. 'I can't do that!' Weiss thought almost immediately. Doing that would destroy his conscience. He wouldn't be able to see a senior citizen without remembering the incident.

Putting on his best 'I'm-Not-Worried-About-Anything-At-All' smile, he discreetly shrugs his schoolbag off of his shoulders and approaches the old lady before asking, "How may I help you, Ma'am?"

"My granddaughter just had a baby…" she said, her voice rising in pitch from what he assumed was excitement. 

"It's a girl."

"I see. Congratulations…" he beamed at her. 

"What would you like me to do for you?"

"I want a fresh flower bracelet for the baby – a small one, of course. Also, a bouquet for my granddaughter. I don't know what would look nice, though."

"I don't think you should give a baby a bracelet." 

It wasn't Weiss who said that. The voice came from behind him. He almost jumped in surprise when he turned around and found Lady standing there.

"The baby might be allergic to flowers. She's a newborn. It's not safe right now, Granny."

"Oh, you're right!" 

The elderly woman appears like she's just considered the idea that flowers aren't a practical present for an infant. 'Indeed. Who gives a baby a flower?' Weiss asked himself. While he's lost in his thoughts, Lady volunteered to assist the old lady. 

"I'll help you pick something for your granddaughter…" she assured her as she helped her out of the chair so she could walk around and pick out flowers she wanted in the bouquet.

"Don't you have to go to class? You're gonna be late," she then asked him softly when the customer was far enough to not hear. 

Weiss gave Lady an incredulous look.

He wants to say that she's going to be late as well if she stays here any longer. She must've noticed that he's off to school because he's already wearing his uniform. He still hasn't removed his wig and contact lenses, though – he's actually planning to do it once he's in the car.

Weiss couldn't just voice out all of those, however. Lady mustn't know. 

"Mom's not here yet…" he said instead. 

"I couldn't just close up. That customer said she walked all the way here."

"Oh…" she blurted out, humming thoughtfully before snapping her fingers. 

"I know! I'll just keep her busy until your Mom gets here! I can't actually make the bouquet, but I can help her pick up stuff and distract her a bit!"

"W-What? You're asking me to just leave you here?"

"Yeah? I mean, I'm not going to steal anything if that's what you're worried about-"

"Don't you have to go to school too? I-I mean, we're wearing the same thing. I'm sure you are! Also, there's no way for you to prove you're not stealing."

On second thought, Weiss shouldn't have said the last one. That's so dumb of him. It almost sounds like he's suspecting Lady to be a thief. 

"Mom will kill me if I burden you, okay?" he then quickly added, hoping she won't think about his claim too much. 

"Of course, she won't! I'm here! I'm friends with her! You can call her now if you want!" she huffed and pouted, punching him playfully in the arm with strength he didn't see coming – because, despite the fact that it's very clearly meant to be light, it still hurt a bit. 

He narrows his eyes at her. Then, the alarm he set on his cellphone buzzes, reminding him he has only a few minutes left to get to class. He instantly puts aside his reservations and calls his mother.

Lady sticks her tongue out at him when he's told that he can leave the shop to her until Catalina gets there. Weiss thought that this can't be right, though.

"Mom, you do know that we're in the same class, right? She'll be late!" he half-whispered, half-shrieked.

"Why's she offering to stay behind, then?" she asked, puzzled.

"I have no idea. I don't even know why she's here. I'm really starting to be convinced that she knows who I am-"

"That place is just a few meters away from school, darling. She must've only dropped by to reserve another bouquet for her grandparents. Stop worrying too much. What did I say about getting wrinkles?"

"Okay. Fine. So, what now?" 

"It's your choice if you want to go ahead. I'm only saying that she can stay so that she won't get to see you transform into her classmate. You still need time to take off your disguise, don't you?"

Catalina has a point there. Lady already has an idea that they go to the same school. Weiss can't disclose any more detail.

In the end, he decided to entrust the flower shop to her and go 'transform' in the car. Instead of driving away right after doing so, though, he waited for his mother to arrive and relieve his classmate from her task. Only when she headed off to school did he also take his leave. 

This way, Weiss can just be late together with Lady. 

---

"I'm sorry I'm late. May I go now?"

"What?" 

Ms. Mirabella looks comically confused. Right then, Lady feels some momentary cognitive dissonance.

The thing is, her homeroom teacher has found her sprinting down the hallway – of all people, she just really has to be the one who sees her. The bell already rang fifteen minutes ago. So, her class adviser definitely knows that she's running like a maniac because she's late. 

"Am I not being punished?"

"Punished?" 

Ms. Mirabella laughed out loud, hearty and boisterous. It's almost musical, Lady thought, but with less melody and more bass – if that makes any sense. 

"You're not being punished at all!" she clarified.

"What's this about, then?" she asked, confused.

"Well, you see, I've read your reading assignment, Ms. Mireille. The one I assigned a week ago on one of Shakespeare's sonnets."

"O-Oh, ummm… Was it that bad?" 

"No, no. On the contrary, it's splendid work! I assign this to students every year, and they always talk about how love is full of lies, blah, blah, blah. You, however, did not. In fact, you didn't talk about love at all!"

"And that's a good thing?" 

There's that cognitive dissonance again. 

She wonders if this is how Fallon feels whenever he says she's being stupid. In any case, Lady has to take this seriously – writing is her passion, after all. Ms. Mirabella is singling her work out and commenting on it for a reason.

"Not necessarily. But the way you focused on the flaws of man rather than going for the obvious by stating that there's a flaw in love… That's amazing, my dear! I especially loved this part…" Ms. Mirabella said before pulling out a clear folder which Lady assumed has all of their works. 

"'Shakespeare asked, 'But wherefore says she not she is unjust? And wherefore say not I that I am old?' Well, I have to tell you, Shakespeare, the truth is we all lie. Lying is part of the nature of human beings. We can never be entirely truthful or trustworthy. Sometimes, we cannot trust others, and sometimes, we cannot trust ourselves.'"

"Oh, yeah. I remember writing that."

In fact, Lady remembers it all too well. She'd written it somewhere around midnight the week before – she couldn't sleep after the conversation she had with Fallon. In addition to that, Weiss's subsequent disappearance had been weighing heavily on her mind.

When she'd read the sonnet hours earlier, she'd felt like she'd been slapped in the face. In front of her lays fourteen lines detailing the way two lovers lie to each other just to make themselves feel better. She had felt quite wretched after that. That's because it's almost the same thing she'd been doing to everyone since she reincarnated in that world.

To Maximilian. To Belle and Hartigan. And now, to Weiss. 

When sleep gives no solace, Lady always turns to writing it all down.