"Lucy… and another Lucy?"
Jude had just finished watching the competition when Levy and Lisanna came to find him, saying that Lucy wanted to see him.
When he arrived, he froze.
Two Lucys stood before him.
One smiled gently. The other was crying.
After a moment of stunned silence, realization dawned on him.
"Ah, I see," Jude said, suddenly relieved. "It must be a Celestial Spirit, right? The one that can transform into you."
Future Lucy could no longer hold herself together.
She rushed forward, wrapped her arms around him, and sobbed, "Dad!"
Jude didn't understand what was happening, but he hugged her tightly anyway, patting her back in comfort.
She cried without stopping.
So Lucy explained everything.
By the end, Jude let out a long sigh, his expression heavy with grief, for the fate of this daughter who had suffered so much.
Then his tone hardened.
"You must not get involved in that matter," he said firmly. "Absolutely not."
Lucy stiffened. "Why? Dad, do you know something?"
Thinking of Star Spirit Magic, she pressed urgently, "Did Mom ever talk to you about this?"
"..."
Jude was silent for a long moment.
"I don't understand magic very well," he finally said. "But fourteen years ago, Layla did something… something she called a duty passed down through the Heartfilia family."
"When I asked her what it was, she refused to say more. She said knowing would only put me in danger."
He lowered his gaze.
"But I know it involved the royal family. And after that incident, Layla's health began to deteriorate."
"Eventually," he said quietly, "it led to her death."
Both Lucys went pale.
"Mom…" Lucy whispered.
"She helped the royal family activate the Eclipse Gate?"
Levy murmured in shock, "Lucy-chan's mother suffered because of a magical side effect?"
Mira folded her arms, thinking aloud.
"Or maybe the ritual failed back then, and Layla took the backlash. Now, fourteen years later, the royal family is ready to try again."
Mavis said something, but Jude couldn't hear her.
Rhodes asked in her place, "Can you confirm that the magic was Eclipse?"
Jude shook his head.
"I can't say for certain. But Lucy, whether you're the Lucy of now, or the Lucy of the future,, if the King asks for your help…"
He looked straight at her.
"Do not agree. I don't believe it leads to anything good."
Lucy nodded immediately. "I understand."
Future Lucy, however, spoke softly, her voice trembling.
"But we're already involved. And even if I don't interfere, the gate seems to open anyway."
Mira's eyes sharpened.
"Yukino," she said. "Besides Lucy, Yukino is also a powerful Celestial Spirit Mage."
And beyond that, Princess Hisui herself understood Celestial Spirit Magic.
This was no longer something Lucy alone could avoid.
After a long discussion, Rhode stood.
"I'll go see the Princess."
Mira rose beside him.
"I'll go too."
Rhode met her eyes and didn't argue.
Lucy immediately said, "Then I want to come as well."
"No." Jude shook his head without hesitation. "If anyone goes, it should be me."
He was absolutely unwilling to let Lucy approach the royal palace now.
"If they still remember our past friendship," he continued, "perhaps I can take you to meet the King."
Rhode raised a hand, stopping the others.
"Let's do it this way. Too many people would attract attention."
"The Master and everyone else can provide support from outside."
He thought for a moment, then added calmly:
"If you're worried, have Warren stay near the palace and maintain telepathic contact."
"I'll also leave Warm behind. If anything unexpected happens, Warm can respond immediately, and you can take further action."
Rhode assessed the situation clearly.
At worst, the royal family might refuse to speak, or attempt to detain them for secrecy.
But there would be no immediate threat to life.
"This is the most secure approach," Mavis said, nodding to Makarov.
Makarov stroked his chin for a moment.
"Hmm… let's do it this way. Be careful."
Both Lucys spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping:
"Mr. Rhodes, we're entrusting Dad to your care."
"Don't worry," Rhodes replied with a smile, then paused, feeling something strange.
In most stories, it was the father who entrusted his daughter to the male protagonist.
Why did it feel like Lucy was entrusting her father to him instead?
"Oh, right, do me a favor."
Rhodes suddenly remembered something and pulled Lucy aside, whispering a few words into her ear.
Elfman and Lisanna, naturally, gave Mira and Rhodes a thorough lecture about being extra careful.
The rest of the guild followed suit.
There were even a few hot-blooded individuals who looked ready to storm the royal palace themselves and demand an explanation, but Erza knocked them down with a single punch each.
Before setting off, Rhodes specifically instructed Erza and Laxus to stay behind, look after the two Lucys, and keep an eye on any potential troublemakers.
As Jude watched Rhodes give orders one after another, calmly and decisively, he finally understood who Lucy had meant when she spoke of a reliable senior in the guild.
The owner of the Sun Tavern was deeply confused that evening.
For the past few days, Fairy Tail had practically turned his establishment into a temporary headquarters, rowdy every day, constantly breaking tables, chairs, cups, and dishes.
At first, he'd been worried they were troublemakers.
But fortunately, they always paid in full for any damage, and their daily spending was generous.
Especially Cana, her contribution to the tavern's revenue was remarkable.
Today, however, something felt off.
They arrived later than usual.
They ate and drank far less than normal.
And most unsettling of all, It was quiet.
Unnaturally quiet.
"Did Fairy Tail not do well in today's competition?" the owner wondered.
That didn't make sense. He had watched the broadcast, Fairy Tail took first and second in the naval battle and won every tag-team match.
Still pondering, he suddenly heard a call for wine and hurried to serve it.
Three streets away, at the Moon Café, Warren sat with the three members of the Shadow Gear.
Troy focused entirely on eating.
Levy and Jet were chatting excitedly about the day's matches.
Warren appeared to be joining their conversation, but in reality, he was using Telepathy Magic to stay in contact with Rhodes.
"How is it? Any unusual developments?"
"We've just entered the outer gates of the royal palace. Princess Hisui has agreed to see us. The King seems to be occupied elsewhere and hasn't returned yet."
"Understood."
"Telepathy Magic is holding up well. No one seems to have noticed anything so far."
"Naturally. Hijacking and anti-hijacking techniques are a core discipline in Telepathy Magic."
"Speaking of which, how's that research project you're doing with the Kingdom's scholars going? The portable personal telepathy-exclusive magic crystal, was that the name?"
"That ridiculously long name, I'm impressed you remembered it."
"That's just the provisional research title, it'll be changed later."
"Progress is good. At the latest, it'll be deployable next year. Possibly even before the end of this year."
"Once it's commercialized, we'll make a fortune. I took time off specifically to back you all."
"Thanks for the support," Rhodes chuckled.
"Fairy Tail's great inventor~"
As the conversation continued, Rhodes quietly observed the soldiers escorting them and the guards stationed along the path.
There were no visible tools or magic devices capable of intercepting Telepathy Magic.
It seemed such technology hadn't entered the market yet.
Soon enough, the three arrived before the entrance to the Princess's palace.
...
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