In the noisy station plaza, Jude Heartfilia's upright figure stood out at a glance.
He spotted Layla immediately as she stepped out through the train doors.
Her pace was light, and the gloom she'd worn when leaving was gone—something seemed to have lit up her eyes and brows from within.
Only then did the tight knot in Jude's chest loosen a little.
So Layla didn't lie to me, he reassured himself. Even with only eleven keys, she really did have a way.
Jude was just about to step forward to greet her—when his smile froze the moment he saw the boy walking right behind her.
On the return carriage ride, the atmosphere was… strange.
Jude didn't speak. His eyes followed the scenery flashing past the window, but his peripheral vision never left the two people chatting easily inside the carriage.
Layla was animatedly telling Shane all sorts of amusing tidbits about the capital. The boy listened quietly, nodding now and then.
That harmonious picture made Jude inexplicably irritated.
Why… was she being so gentle with that brat?
Only after they returned to the Heartfilia estate did Jude finally find a chance to lightly catch Layla by the arm in the entry hall.
"Layla," he said in a low voice, glancing toward Shane, who was casually looking over the decor. "I'm glad things are resolved, but… why did you bring him back here?"
He shouldn't have brought it up.
The instant he did, Layla's soft gaze sharpened. Her brows lifted, and a dangerous edge entered her expression.
Without a word, she grabbed Jude and marched him straight up to Shane.
The sudden move caught Jude off guard—and it made Shane pull his attention back from the room, looking at them with mild confusion.
"Shane helped me in the capital more than I can ever repay," Layla said firmly. "By every standard of decency, you owe him a proper apology for how rude you were before."
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Jude's face. He muttered, "But before… didn't we alrea—"
"That was me apologizing on your behalf," Layla cut in. "It's not the same."
She smiled—radiant, sweet, and utterly terrifying—and mouthed two silent words at him:
Apologize.
Under his wife's overwhelming stare, Jude's throat bobbed. Reluctantly, he turned to Shane.
"…Sorry. And thank you for helping my wife."
The words were dry and hollow, devoid of feeling.
"Jude?" Layla's voice dropped, carrying a clear warning.
Jude panicked. All the dignity of a business titan evaporated instantly.
Almost on reflex, he bent forward at a full forty-five degrees, voice suddenly loud and emphatic:
"I'm sorry! Trying to use force to pressure you into handing over the key was wrong! I shouldn't have even thought of it!"
But to Jude's surprise, Shane stepped half a pace aside, dodging the solemn bow.
"I'll accept the thanks," Shane said, looking at him, "but the apology really isn't necessary. Because—"
He paused, then admitted calmly, "When I first approached your estate, I did have another purpose."
"Huh? Wha—" Jude straightened, stunned, and looked blankly at Layla. So my investigation was right… then why did I still have to apologize—?
Layla's expression relaxed completely, as if this was the moment she'd been waiting for.
She slipped her arm around Jude's and gently helped him stand straight again, voice soft. "If we can clear up the misunderstanding, that's wonderful."
Jude felt like the misunderstanding had only gotten bigger, but seeing Layla like that, he didn't dare argue.
Just then, light footsteps pattered down the spiral stairs.
"Mom! You're back!"
Lucy came running down like a happy little bird, lifting her skirt as she went.
She threw herself against Layla and hugged her mother tightly around the waist.
Only then did she lift her small face, looking at Shane with nervousness and bright expectation, her big eyes blinking rapidly.
Shane met her gaze and gave a small nod.
Lucy's face instantly burst into a radiant grin, as if she'd just received the greatest gift in the world.
"Lucy," Jude said a little sourly, "I'm here too, you know."
Completely ignored by his daughter, he watched the scene and felt an inexplicable sting in his chest. I'm your father and I'm standing right here—how are you warmer to an outsider than to me?
"Ah… Dad?" Lucy said, like she'd only just noticed him. "But Dad's at home every day."
Jude choked on the words and couldn't even respond.
Layla watched her daughter's innocent, sweet face and thought of how, under the royal palace, she'd come within a hair's breadth of sacrificing her life to the Eclipse Gate—of never seeing this smile again.
Her emotions surged. She laughed softly, bent down, and lifted Lucy into her arms, holding her close.
The Fairy Tail mage really didn't lie… Lucy thought, burrowing into her mother's warm neck. Mom's smiling so happily! Are mages really that amazing?
She rubbed her cheek against Layla, then seemed to reach a sudden decision and blurted out loudly:
"Mom! I want to learn magic! I want to become a mage!"
Layla didn't look surprised. Her gaze flicked, ever so lightly, toward Shane, then she answered gently:
"Of course. Your mother is a very capable mage too—I'll teach you little by little. But learning magic is hard work. Lucy, can you stick with it?"
"I can! I can stick with it!" Lucy nodded hard, determination written all over her face.
Seeing mother and daughter so happy together, the last of Jude's petty feelings melted into warmth.
Still, he couldn't help asking his wife in a low voice, "Layla… I thought you weren't planning to teach Lucy magic before. Why now…?"
Layla held Lucy, her eyes deep and far away.
"Because Lucy no longer needs to carry the family's mission.
If she wants to play, she can play. If she wants to learn magic, she can learn. I want her to grow up living the life she truly wants—free and unburdened."
As she spoke, Layla suddenly remembered something. She freed one hand and drew out an ornate golden key.
She handed it to Shane. "Virgo—please return it to Duke Everlue. No matter what, please thank him for me!"
Shane accepted it quietly. He didn't like Everlue as a person, but returning it was the right thing to do—though the thought of making a special trip to Shirotsume again did make him feel a little tired.
"Mom, what's that? It's so pretty!" Lucy's attention snapped to the glittering key, eyes sparkling.
Layla smiled patiently and explained, "This is a kind of magic that can help you make lots and lots of friends. Lucy, do you want to learn this?"
"Make lots of friends?" Lucy tilted her head, thought for a second, then nodded hard. "Yes! I want to learn!"
Over the next few days, Shane lived an unusually comfortable life at the Heartfilia estate.
Attendants handled everything—food, clothing, transport—without him having to worry about a thing.
Aside from his daily attempts to unlock the "seal" within the Lancer's Noble Phantasm, he spent most of his time playing with Lucy.
And after Layla realized that although Shane was strong, he lacked a lot of basic magical knowledge, she began calling him into the study whenever she taught Lucy celestial spirit magic—deliberately including him.
Shane benefited a lot, filling in huge gaps in what he understood.
The only thing that made him slightly uncomfortable was the way Jude kept looking at him.
Even though the misunderstanding between them was supposedly resolved—thanks to Layla's "mediation"—Jude's gaze still carried a strange, lingering hostility.
At first Shane didn't get it, until he noticed something:
Whenever he played with Lucy in the garden and made her giggle, Jude's look would become especially intense—full of vigilance, scrutiny, and even a faint trace of…
…jealousy.
So he thinks I'm some punk trying to steal his daughter? Shane stared at the sky, speechless.
He was innocent on that front, truly. To him, Lucy was just like Levy or Miliana—a cute, well-behaved imouto.
He hadn't lost his mind enough to have those kinds of thoughts about Lucy.
That "under surveillance" routine continued peacefully for a week.
One afternoon, under bright sunlight, Layla was in the library with Lucy, holding the girl's small hand and guiding her to sense the tiny particles of magic flowing through the air.
Shane sat nearby, reading a heavy tome on the magical chronicles of Ishgar. The atmosphere was quiet and serene.
Then someone knocked lightly on the library door.
A maid entered, bowed respectfully to Layla, and reported:
"Madam—Grammi has returned with the Aquarius key."