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

No matter what, Lady will never be Sarah's friend.

She already screwed up their first meeting. If she fails to play her role this time again, she might end up significantly changing the course of the story. She must not let that happen in any circumstances unless she plans to ruin her more-than-half-a-decade-long preparation and keep everyone's happy ending from coming true.     

And so, with those in mind, Lady finally pulls off a domineering stance and eyes Sarah with repulsion.

"Friend…?" she rasped with a scowl, disgust in her tone. 

"Why would I want to be friends with a nobody like you?"

The smile on Sarah's face dropped then. She went still and quiet. Belle and Hartigan also appear to be thrown off guard. They're practically gawking at her right now. 

"I wasn't saying anything because I was too amazed by how incredibly dense and audacious you could get. You're even bold enough to sit next to someone like me, is what I thought. I'll have you know that I hate it when strangers act like they can do everything they want around me. You look ridiculous, to be honest…" Lady sneered mockingly, taking Sarah aback even more. 

"Say, are you that desperate to catch my attention? Or maybe you're just foolish enough to believe that we're at the same level?"

Through the corners of her eyes, she can see that Belle and Hartigan are frozen in place. They can only watch her in confusion and disbelief. Sarah, on the other hand, seems awkwardly tense. She has managed to stay composed, albeit. If the way she scooted back was anything to go by, however, Lady could tell that she was at least intimidated. She feels a bit of pride at that.

"You're right about one thing, though. This place seems like a pretty cool spot. We'll give it to you if you want it. You said you're new here, right? Consider it as my welcome gift to you…" she muttered as she stood up. 

"Commoners like you don't usually get to have something like this, anyway. Enjoy it as much as you can. It can't be found in a place like a slum, after all."

So far, so good.

Lady feels like she's getting the hang of this. Even though the look of hurt on Sarah's expression is making her wince inwardly, she can do nothing but continue.

"By the way, the name's Lady Mireille. I advise that you learn more about who you're dealing with – if you don't want to appear like an imbecile again, that is…" she remarked with derision, giving her one final look before picking up her things and walking away. 

"I hope I won't see your pathetic little face anywhere near me again, Sarah Gracelyn."

Sarah was locked in her spot, completely at a loss. Lady didn't take time to see her befuddled expression as she departed. 

As long as she got the message, then that's all that matters. Not looking back makes a great villain-like exit, anyway. It shows that she stands by everything she said, and it gives her quite a pompous image. 

Lady made sure to keep up the act until she was far enough. It was only until Belle and Hartigan caught up to her did she finally stop in her tracks and turn around.

"Hey, wait up! You're leaving us behind too?!" Hartigan exclaimed incredulously.

"Oh, no, no. My bad. I didn't mean to make you rush," Lady apologized.

"Well, it's our fault for not believing you right away. We didn't expect you're really gonna go," Belle giggled.

"Sorry, guys. I just ruined our lunch, didn't I?"

"No sweat. By the time that girl came, it's already ruined."

"I didn't know you've had that side with you, Lady. How rare of you to behave that way. Is everything okay? You're really being weird today."

"E-Everything's okay! T-There's nothing wrong!"

Hartigan exchanges a frown with Belle. They already had a feeling that Lady would refuse to talk about it. 

It wasn't just like her to be mean to others, after all. There could be many reasons for her words and actions, but there's no denying that they were kind of harsh. Even though they're just listening from the side the whole time, they could feel themselves cringing in every offensive remark that she threw.

Nevertheless, this is Lady they're talking about. She would never try to make enemies or hurt others willingly. For all they knew, she could only be pretending. But that would still bring up the same question, 'Why?'   

Belle is now getting worried. Hartigan is feeling uneasy. 

Despite that, Lady is still not explaining anything to them.

"Yo. Whatcha doin' here?"

Then came Fallon, breaking the silence. Weiss is right behind him.

"Good job letting our secret spot get stolen, by the way," he deadpanned.

"It wasn't stolen. I gave it away," his cousin grumbled.

"Where should we eat now? Should we go back inside?" 

"This field is huge, Fallon. We can still do it here."

"Since you're the one to blame, take responsibility and find us a place."

"I know that, okay? You don't have to boss me around. Geez."

With a groan, Lady began to stomp away and search around. Fallon playfully ruffled her hair before putting an arm over her shoulders.

She shot him an exasperated look but let him walk beside her nonetheless. He smirked smugly. 

"Okay. Now, there's not only her. He's being weird too," Hartigan commented, flabbergasted to find Lady and Fallon acting like there was nothing unusual going on. 

"I thought he'd at least give her an earful for letting someone else take our spot. Did he perhaps see what happened earlier?" Belle wondered out loud.

Both of them look at Weiss then, expecting him to have a word about this as well. But what Hartigan and Belle weren't expecting to find was the solemn, wistful expression on his face. 

"She already told you two, right? Everything's fine. If I were you, I won't think too much about it…" he then spoke up all of the sudden after a brief silence, causing them to perk up slightly in surprise. 

"You might be forgetting, but she's still part of the Mireille family. She has the right to choose the people who get close to her. Based on what I've observed, Ms. Gracelyn was the first to cross the line. As a student, she should already know the basic etiquette in this academy, especially when it comes to treating those of higher status. Lady has no obligation to treat her kindly. But she acted as if she had." 

Without waiting to hear Hartigan's and Belle's response to that, Weiss walked ahead of them and joined Lady and Fallon who seemed to have already found a nice spot. 

---

"So, you already knew everything, huh?"

There had been a good moment of pure awkwardness between Lady and Weiss on their way back to their classroom.

Before they knew it, lunchtime came to an end. The others have parted ways with them minutes ago and are now headed to their respective classrooms. Even though they knew they would end up late with how slow they were walking, they could not care less at all. 

It's been hard to keep themselves from talking about it the while they're having their lunch earlier. Now that they're finally all alone, they're more tempted than ever. They can't wait to bring up the subject any longer. 

"What did Fallon-"

"Fallon told me-"

And they paused.

They talked at the exact same time. Finding the coincidence funny, they could not help but share a laugh.

"You go first," Weiss conceded.

"Oh, no. You first," Lady argued.

"It's okay. I'll do it after you."

"No, really. You can start."

"Women go first, right?"

"Men take the lead, right?"

"Lady."

"Weiss."

They gave each other a scolding look. But it wasn't too long before they gave up the serious act and laughed out loud once more.

At this rate, they're really going to be late.

"Fine. I'll go ahead. This won't be too long, anyway…" Lady giggled.

"I just want you to know that whatever Fallon has told you… Well, it won't change anything between us. I already told you, didn't I? I am Lady, and you are Weiss. Regardless of my past, I'll continue to treat you the same way." 

"You don't have to worry about that, Lady. What I've learned back there doesn't change how I see you. If anything, it helps me understand you better, and I'm grateful that you and Fallon allowed me to…" Weiss replied with a soft, warm smile.

"Also, I'm sorry for pushing you away. I swear I'll never do it again. Hopefully, you'll still let me in. I wish to earn your trust, and if I have to, I'll work hard for it. I promise. But before that, I ask for your consent. Will you let me get closer to you?"

He takes both of her hands in his and gives them a gentle squeeze. She looks at him in awe and wonder, a grin slowly tugging at her lips. Then, in a burst of energy that always gets him endeared, she gladly tells him, "Of course!"

At that moment, Weiss finds himself wondering just how hard he's still going to fall for Lady.