It was already evening. Lucy slung her small shoulder bag over herself and silently walked along the path beneath the setting sun.
She kept her head lowered, walking down the lonely road step by unhurried step.
She was not in a very good mood.
Just now, in the study, she had confronted her own father—Lord Jude Heartfilia, the man who, for his own selfish interests and those so-called family interests, had wanted to marry her off to a man she had never even met—and completely fallen out with him. It would be extremely difficult to repair their relationship.
If...
She had secretly run away from home before, but this time, she was leaving openly, abandoning her family. Even she had no idea when she would return.
Because there was nothing left in this house for her to feel attached to...
What she wanted had never been money, pretty clothes, or some so-called prestigious marriage arranged for her by someone else. All she wanted was a place where she could make use of her abilities, where her existence as Lucy would be acknowledged, and where she could be treated as both a companion and family.
And she had already found such a place—a place where she could realize her worth in life and no longer be an unnecessary puppet or "tool." She was preparing to return there.
"See?"
?(ψ｀▽′)?
"Isn't she right over there? I told you she'd definitely be fine, but you insisted on dragging me here to look for her. Honestly..."
(′~`●)
Just then, a familiar voice, carrying a hint of complaint, came from the distance.
"!!"
Lucy could not help but freeze.
Then, as she had been silently dwelling on her thoughts, she instinctively stopped, raised her head in astonishment, narrowed her eyes, and shaded them with one