19 Not Like a Kid

"Wait, what now?"

Lady blinks at Fallon incredulously, totally not expecting that he'd say up straight that Maximilian is a narcissist – and with a deadpan look at that.

But, again, that does make sense. She would not deny that her adoptive father could be quite the egoist on top of being a perfectionist. That is one of the reasons why he could lie about having a child and a lover, after all.

She created Maximilian that way – someone who would and could do anything to get what he wanted.

"It's not entirely Uncle's fault, though. That's just how the Mireille's are raised – how way things are in this family," Fallon confessed, casting down his gaze.

"Does that have something to do about what you said earlier? About needing to lie to please others?" Lady questioned with a bit of hesitance, feeling the need to hear about that topic once again.

"Well, every member is expected to earn people's favors, and considering the amount of pressure that's being put on us, we've got to look pleasant to them no matter what – even if it means we have to lie sometimes."

"Now, that's just not right. Are their favors that important?"

"At our age, maybe not much. But it depends. For me, it gives me a sense of validation. Makes me feel that I deserve being born in this family. That I deserve everything I have now. Everyone else probably thinks that, too."

Now, she is getting more and more curious about who this character really is in this story.

He appears to have a complex design, especially since he is giving her the impression that he is not just any kid. The way he talks is certainly not that of a boy their age. She can sense that he is going through so many things that she might not understand even though she is the one who made this world.

Fallon is an enigma to Lady.

"Anyway, I've got one more thing to say. I bet you're having a hard time so far tonight. Did Uncle Max even introduce you to any of us?" he suddenly asked, making her snap out of her thoughts.

"Ummm… He did introduce me to all of you. But it didn't happen the other way around. Either I was whisked away as soon as I finished my greetings or I was put aside as they started to talk about other stuff," she answered truthfully, having only realized how inconsiderately she was treated now that he brought it up.

"Figures. Just as expected of Uncle."

"Well, he did mention that I should already know all of them. That's probably why he didn't feel the need to have them introduce themselves to me. Apparently, I underwent training for this."

"Did you get to memorize us? Our names, faces, and so on?"

Lady doesn't know if she did get to memorize it since she doesn't have any past memory as the 'Lady' of this story. So, she shook her head at Fallon and gave him a quizzical look, wondering what he was up to by asking that.

"Do you mind to join me on a stroll right now? I'll help you out with that…" Fallon offered, much to Lady's surprise.

"Let me tell you more about the Mireille family."