Duke Everlue had decided it was time he find a wife.

Many fortunate confluences of fate had led him to come to this conclusion. He was firmly settled within his business and politics; Shirotsume Town was meekly under his control, and his politician friends were happily ensconced in all available offices. His home was finely appointed with all modern amenities a man of his means could desire, supplanted by magical spells and artifacts that were both helpful and occasionally illegal—not that this bothered him. He was a man that sought only the best, evidenced by his lovely collection of books and his villainous ways of acquiring new collectibles. Duke Everlue, rotund and typically belabored by moist perspiration brought on by flustered exertions, was above all things, a collector. He enjoyed nothing more than collecting the finest things the continent had to offer. And so, he had set his beady eye on the next acquisition: Lucy Heartfilia.

A finer wife could not be found; he had decided upon meeting the girl. She had been merely sixteen at the time, fresh and blooming with beauty and vigor. Lucy evinced delicate manners, refined tastes, a discerning palate and, excitingly, inviolable and enviable connections to the greatest merchant empire he had yet to see: Heartfilia Enterprises. The girl's father was a veritable genius, rising through his business associates to shine like a star. Jude Heartfilia had easily swept the market with one hand while delving his other hand into politics, an ambitious leaning Everlue greatly admired. The daughter of Jude Heartfilia would be the perfect match for Duke Everlue in terms of future endeavors. Allied with the Heartfilias, Duke Everlue would ascend even higher, perhaps onto the throne itself one day. He sweat with excitement.

Augmenting the girl's potential due to her father was her physical looks. The Duke's watery eyes had not missed noting the delicate structure of her finely boned cheeks and pert nose, nor the luminous sheen of her honey eyes with a curved sweep of thick lashes. The pink petals of her lips contrasted with the richness of her thick blonde hair, cascading in a silken fall around thin shoulders, until the ends brushed the bottom of her generous breasts. Duke Everlue began to mop at his forehead as he thought of her body as he remembered it from the night he had first met the girl: encased in a formal pink dress, accentuated at the neckline by scalloped white lace. Her slim arms had been politely ticked at her lower back, bringing her trim waist into focus. The Duke dabbed hurriedly at his chin before a droplet of sweat could mar his crisp linen jacket.

Yes, Lucy Heartfilia was the most suitable choice for the position of Duchess Everlue.

Duke Everlue reminded himself of these things, steeling his convictions and imagining the bright future in which he would eventually control Heartfilia Enterprises as well as all of Fiore, while he also had the pleasure of heaving his impressive mass over such a petite beauty as Lucy Heartfilia and doing what he willed. As he waited outside of Jude Heartfilia's stately home office, he enumerated these things over and over again, even as nerves dampened his neck.

Finally, a servant admitted him into Jude Heartfilia's office, where the man himself stood solidly with his back to the door. Jude Heartfilia's shoulders were tense beneath a midnight suit, his hands clasped tightly behind his back as he surveyed the expansive Konzern lands splayed outside his windows.

"Mr. Heartfilia, I have come to request the hand of your daughter in marriage," Duke Everlue blurted before his nerves could overtake him. He had awaited this moment for months, carefully cultivating how he would approach the man before him in a way that could only bring success.

Jude Heartfilia did not even turn around to look at the rapidly dampening noble behind him. "She ran away several months ago," he answered instead.

The Duke stared in disbelief. Lucy, gone?

"As soon as I retrieve her, she is to be married to the prince of a nearby kingdom. While your offer is expected and appreciated, I decline on her behalf."

The Duke, now a sodden mess of anxiety and once-crisp linen, was gently escorted from the office as his mouth worked to form a rebuttal. Jude Heartfilia heard the door close softly behind the simpering noble and the servant. He turned to his desk and once more picked up the final offer of Phantom Lord's mission details. With an authoritative scribble, he signed the contract, the paper gleaming brightly before disappearing to the office of the Phantom Lord master.

Jude looked at his desk. The edge of a different missive caught his attention, leading him to free it from its wax seal. He read it quickly, the edge of his mouth curling slightly. Why not? A competition would surely spur a much faster mission. He signed this contract as well, agreeing to pay a different guild for the safe retrieval of his daughter. Whichever guild succeeded would receive payment. He nearly smirked, but kept himself contained. Weren't Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail rival guilds? Either way, his objective would be achieved. He looked back out the window to where wizards under his employ were casting wards over the property to prevent any other escapes his daughter might attempt once she was returned.

Soon. One way or another, he would have his wayward daughter back within his control, soon.