Chapter 52: Oh no! Lucy-ojousama brought her boyfriend back...

"This... isn't this my home?"

Sitting on the back of the obsidian bike, her hands resting on Nate's shoulders, Lucy looked at the familiar surroundings with wide eyes.

"You mean the mansion and the feast you promised are at my house? Nate!"

"Just answer me—aren't you staying in a mansion and eating a feast?" Nate laughed heartily.

The magic two-wheeler slowly cruised along the mountain road, entering a small town. Scattered houses and vast fields of farmland and pasture lined the road. Cows, sheep, hunting dogs, and shepherds standing among the grassy fields completed the idyllic, pastoral scene.

"Isn't that Miss Lucy? Hey, Miss Lucy!"

Finally, someone spotted the magic two-wheeler and recognized Lucy, waving enthusiastically. Lucy awkwardly waved back.

As Nate drove the magic two-wheeler through the evening-lit town, he couldn't help but comment, "You're pretty popular here."

"Of course, this is my home!" Lucy retorted, rolling her eyes. "From that mountain at the entrance all the way to the end of this road, it's all my family's land. These are our workers; they've watched me grow up."

Nate was stunned. 'How big is this estate? Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of acres?'

'Damn, this rich girl really had me fooled!'

Suddenly, Lucy gave him a hard smack on the shoulder. Lucy glared at Nate, displeased. "Why did you bring me back home?"

"To meet your dad."

"Huh?"

"I have some business with him. While I'm at it, I'm also giving you a ride home. Now say thank you."

Nate didn't hold anything back, even thinking to himself that maybe he should just marry Lucy. After all, Jude only had one daughter, and after marriage, all this would be his.

"...I don't want to go back! Let me off!"

Lucy clung tightly to Nate's shoulders, tempted to bite the jerk. Once again, he had tricked her!

"Hey, don't be like that. There's a famous saying where I come from: 'Since you're here, might as well stay.'" Nate revved the engine and picked up speed.

Seeing this, Lucy sighed helplessly. 'Forget it.' Since they were already here, she might as well visit her mother's grave.

The sleek obsidian magic two-wheeler zipped through the town and continued along the country road. Soon enough, a luxurious European-style mansion came into view. The mansion had a large front garden, and a fountain stood in front of the main entrance, with a beautifully crafted statue in the center. The statue depicted a figure with outstretched arms, gazing skyward in a graceful dance.

Nate didn't understand the artistic expression, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the statue was gilded in gold!

Nearby, an older maid was sweeping. Hearing the engine's roar, she looked up. Upon seeing who had arrived, her face froze, and she dropped the broom.

"L-Lucy-ojousama!"

Nate parked the bike and turned off the engine. Lucy stepped off the backseat, smiling as she greeted the maid. "Spetto-san."

The maid, Mrs. Spetto, burst into tears and ran to Lucy, overcome with emotion. "Lucy-ojousama, you're safe and sound! I... I was so worried!"

Lucy gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for making you worry."

Nate watched this interaction and thought, 'No airs of a spoiled rich girl—she even has such a good relationship with the maids...'

As he walked over, Lucy turned to introduce Nate. "This is—"

But before she could finish, Mrs. Spetto, after glancing at Nate, froze for two seconds, then suddenly shouted, "Oh no…"

"No!"

"This is wonderful! Lucy-ojousama brought home her boyfriend!"

Her cry alerted the entire front garden. In no time, a crowd of maids, cooks, gardeners, magic tutors, and more gathered, surrounding Lucy and Nate.

"What? Lucy-ojousama is back?"

"And she brought her boyfriend?"

"It's only natural for her to elope once or twice, given her age, right?"

"Lucy-ojousama, the new study materials from the east have arrived."

"Lucy-ojousama, I hope you haven't neglected your magic studies?"

"Ojousama's boyfriend, what's your name?"

Lucy, red-faced and embarrassed, tried to correct them in a small voice, "He's not my boyfriend, he's from my guil—" But remembering that she couldn't reveal her affiliation with Fairy Tail and risk causing them trouble, she hesitated and didn't know how to explain.

Surrounded by the enthusiastic crowd, she stood there awkwardly.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the mansion's study, Jude Heartfilia watched his daughter and Nate through the window. He then turned and issued a command to someone behind him.

Moments later, another maid emerged from the mansion.

"Ojousama, Master requests that you and your boyfriend meet him in his study immediately."

"And I'm not her boyfriend. My name is Nate," Nate corrected her with a smile.

"Of course, Nate-san, Master would also like to see you," the maid responded politely, bowing slightly. "Please, follow me."

Nate glanced at Lucy, gave her a look, and followed the maid into the mansion.

Lucy, a little worried for Nate, glanced up at the study's window and briefly made eye contact with her father, Jude, before he turned away.

Her heart sank. 'Even after all this time, his message is still just: 'I'll be waiting in the study.''

'He hasn't changed at all...' The strained father-daughter relationship weighed on her.

Mrs. Spetto quickly took Lucy's hand, speaking excitedly, "Lucy-ojousama, let's get you into a beautiful new dress."

"...Flowers, please."

"We've been following the fashion recommendations from 'Sorcerer's Weekly' this whole year, buying new dresses every week. I'm sure you'll love them!"

...

While Lucy freshened up and changed, transitioning from "poor Lucy" back into "rich Lucy," Nate followed the maid into the study.

"Master, the guest has arrived."

After bowing, the maid quietly left, closing the door behind her.

Nate confidently observed the wealthy man before him. Jude stood by his desk with his back to Nate, hands clasped behind him. He wore a light brown suit, his golden hair slicked back, exuding the unmistakable aura of someone wealthy.

"You're also from Fairy Tail, aren't you?" Jude suddenly spoke as he turned around.

"'Also'? What do you mean?" Nate was puzzled.

"Recently, Lucy attacked Duke Everlue and stole a book from his mansion." Jude said this calmly, as if it were an insignificant matter. "That's when I knew she had joined Fairy Tail."

Nate raised his eyebrows, impressed. 'No wonder Jude is the head of a massive fortune; his intelligence network is impressive.'

That was Lucy's very first mission, and her father had already found out. 'No, maybe Jude had been tracking her movements since she ran away a year ago.'

"Breaking into a duke's mansion, beating him up, and stealing a book—without me smoothing things over afterward, do you think that kind of offense would be easily forgiven?"

'That makes sense!'

Hearing Jude's explanation, Nate realized he had a point. After all, Duke Everlue was a noble, a real duke of the Kingdom of Fiore. Lucy's mission, by rights, should have resulted in some retaliation. No wonder the client was willing to pay 2 million J for that job—it involved provoking a duke!

"So, what happened to Duke Everlue?" Nate asked curiously.

"He's in prison." Jude spoke as if discussing a trivial matter. "He had a lot of crimes stacked against him; all it took was someone with status to report him."

'Got it. You were the one who took care of him.'

Nate nodded, smiling. "I'm Nate, from Fairy Tail. Nice to meet you, Jude-san."

"Do you want to marry Lucy?"

Jude dropped the question like a bombshell, leaving Nate speechless.

"I'm here to talk about business, not about marriage. But before that…"

Nate stepped forward, pulling out a promissory note from his pocket and handing it to Jude.

"Your daughter owes me 16 million J. Let's settle the bill first."

Jude: "…"

He hadn't seen that coming!