Jude was taken aback. He hadn't expected Lucy to guess that.
"No…"
Lowering his head in shame, he hesitated for a long moment before finally mustering the courage to meet her gaze.
"If possible… could you call me Daddy? Just like you call Layla 'Mommy.'"
Hearing the gentle tone that had never once passed the lips of her strict father, Lucy froze in place. Then, slowly, her eyes began to glisten.
Seeing this, Jude so used to wearing a mask of dignity flushed with embarrassment, waving his hands in a fluster.
"No, don't misunderstand! What I mean is "
"Just live however you want, Lucy. Follow your own will, not the role you think you have to play as the eldest daughter of the Heartfilia family."
"I believe… if Layla were still here, she'd probably tell you the same thing."
But instead of calming Lucy, those words only made her tears spill faster, streaming down her delicate face and dripping onto her tightly clenched hands.
The sheer unreality of it all pressed on her chest until it felt hard to breathe. She squeezed her eyes shut.
She had lost count of how many times she'd dreamed of her father's understanding and support.
And she feared that if she opened her eyes, it would be just another dream an empty room with no one there.
"Don't cry, Lucy. It was all Daddy's fault. I'm sorry… I'm sorry "
Jude, who hadn't seen his daughter cry in years, was completely at a loss. He rushed toward her but froze halfway, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides. All he could do was apologize again and again.
But that sincerity… it felt real.
Lucy peeked through tear-blurred lashes. And when she saw Jude standing there, so close she could almost feel his warmth, the emotions she had held back for so long finally broke free.
"D-Daddy!!"
She flung herself into his arms, sobbing like a child.
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I'm sorry. This will never happen again. Even without the company… I will support you completely "
After a pause, Jude slowly raised his arms and wrapped them gently around her.
His own vision blurred, his eyes stinging.
The breeze drifted in, sunlight spilling across the room, stretching the shadows of father and daughter locked in their embrace.
In that moment, all the regrets Jude carried from the life he saw in that "dream," and all the pain Lucy bore from her return home, melted away.
Outside the study, servants like Stellar, Reborn, and Lisa who had been quietly eavesdropping were all weeping openly.
After a long time, Lucy finally calmed. She wiped her tears, though curiosity still tugged at her heart.
"Um, Dad… why did you suddenly change your mind?"
What she really wanted to ask was, Why are you suddenly acting like a decent human being?
Jude clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked toward the tall French window, gazing out at the vast grounds and open sky beyond.
"Lucy… you're lucky to have a good brother."
After a pause, Jude added in a deep voice,
"Of course… it's my luck as well."
"Brother? Brother Chase?!"
For some reason, the first image that popped into Lucy's mind was of Chase himself.
Jude's lack of denial only confirmed her suspicion.
"But… but how could Chase "
"Even I was given a thorough lesson." Jude shook his head, smiling faintly as he sighed.
"Huh?! Were you, Miss Styler, and the others hurt? Which room in the mansion got destroyed? Or did the entire mountain in the backyard get blown apart?!"
Lucy clutched her cheeks in horror, imagining vivid scenes of Chase, in full demon-king mode, reducing every last Heartfilia asset to rubble.
It wasn't an unreasonable thought after all, if it were for his own sake or for his guildmates, Chase really might do such a thing.
"I see… so that's the image you have of that man."
Jude turned to look at her, and upon realizing she was genuinely panicked, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't worry. We simply sat down and talked for a few minutes, and we got along quite well."
"Oh, and he even said the tea here was delicious."
Hearing this, Lucy lowered her head, embarrassed.
"Aha… ahahaha "
She knew perfectly well about Chase's reckless personality and her father's stubborn pride, so she was certain the matter couldn't possibly have been that simple.
But if her father didn't want to say more, pressing him would do no good. She would just have to wait until she returned to Magnolia to ask Brother Chase directly.
And then… thank him properly.
Boom!!
A sudden explosion from the front yard jolted both Jude and Lucy.
Before they could react, the mansion's guard captain came rushing in, looking flustered, not even sparing a glance at Styler and the others who were loitering near the doorway.
"Mr. Jude, Miss Lucy! There are some wizards outside claiming to be from Fairy Tail, and they're attacking us!"
"A Fairy Tail wizard?"
Lucy glanced toward the yard, catching glimpses of flames and ice clashing, and asked quickly,
"Is it a flaming idiot, a perverted exhibitionist, a super-strong woman, and a cat?!"
"Yes, that's right, Miss… how did you know?" the guard captain asked, clearly bewildered.
"It really is Natsu and the others!"
Lucy's eyes lit up at the confirmation, a mix of shock and warmth flooding her heart. She was about to rush out and stop them when Jude stepped forward.
"They are distinguished guests of the Heartfilia family. Do not obstruct them. Escort them to the reception room and make sure you treat them with the utmost courtesy."
The captain of the guard blinked in confusion. Strange… wasn't Mr. Jude the one who hired Phantom Lord to deal with Fairy Tail?
That was, after all, why he had given the order to stop Natsu and the others.
And given that everyone in the mansion had mysteriously fallen unconscious earlier, caution had seemed necessary.
"Yes! Understood!"
Though doubts lingered in his mind, he obeyed Jude's instructions without hesitation.
Before long, Natsu and the others were being shown respectfully, no less into the grand reception hall of the Heartfilia estate.
Even Erza, normally composed, found herself pausing in awe at the sheer opulence of the place.
When Lucy entered with Jude and exchanged a few words with her guildmates, they quickly realized he wasn't the irredeemable villain they'd feared. Their tense shoulders loosened at once.
And then
Natsu and Gray Gray already stripped down to his underwear wandered about the hall as if it were a marketplace, peering at everything with casual interest.
Happy was far more energetic, gleefully scratching his claws on a marble pillar while loudly marveling at how rich the Heartfilia family must be.
Even Erza…
Even Erza, the picture of discipline, froze for a full minute after learning that the vast land stretching for several kilometers complete with multiple mountains was merely Lucy's backyard.
Her response? A glazed look and the repeated muttering of, "The sky is so blue… the sky is so blue…"
The once-formal reception had devolved into complete chaos.
Lucy could only cover her face with one hand, unable to watch.
Jude, however, simply smiled. He found these children… charming. And he was genuinely glad that Lucy had such friends.
....
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