Jude Heartfilia

Jude Heartfilia (ジュード・ハートフィリア Jūdo Hātofiria) was the husband of Layla Heartfilia, the father of Lucy Heartfilia, and the former owner of the Heartfilia Konzern.

Appearance
Jude was a relatively tall middle-aged man with black eyes and slicked back blond hair and a matching, extremely trim mustache, and a rather firm, square jaw. The man's hair was kept extremely neat and trim, and he had a penchant for wearing rather expensive tailored suits. However, after the his konzern was bought out, his appearance became extremely ragged and disheveled: his hair grew long and wavy, ultimately reaching past his shoulders; his mustache became slightly longer and faded into a long, scraggly and unkempt beard. His clothing, on top of all this, became patchy and worn, and he wore a simple hooded traveling cloak that he used to hide his appearance.

Personality
Originally a cold-hearted man, Jude neglected his daughter and put all his time and effort into his company, which resulted in Lucy running away from home. According to Lucy, her dad never cared for her. However his attitude towards his daughter seemed to change once he lost his fortune, and he appeared to become more kind to his daughter. On an unrelated note, Jude's monetary sense is extremely poor, as he believed he needed 100,000 to get from Magnolia Town to Acalypha when it was possible to get there on foot.

History
Years ago, Jude met Layla Heartfilia at the Love & Lucky Merchant's Guild. The letter "K" had fallen off of the sign, which had left an impression on the two parents-to-be, deciding that if they had a daughter, her name would be Lucy. Once Lucy was born, Jude and Layla left the guild and he established his own business, the Heartfilia Konzern.

When Lucy was in her younger years, Layla died and Jude became cold and neglected his daughter, so much that Lucy felt it necessary that she run away. A year after his daughter left, he hired Phantom Lord to find Lucy and bring her home for an arranged marriage, which ultimately sparked the war between the Fairy Tail and the Phantom Lord.

Phantom Lord arc
Jude is revealed to be responsible for requesting a job from the Phantom Lord Guild to find his missing daughter, Lucy. Jose Porla, Phantom Lord's Guild Master, planned to use Jude's job request to cut Fairy Tail's ever-increasing power short by kidnapping Lucy.

After the defeat of the Phantom Lord Guild, he is visited by Lucy, where he tells her that he wants her to marry Duke Sawarr Junelle to merge the Heartfilia's wealth with that of the Junelle's, although Lucy only met Sawarr as a child. Lucy rejects his command and states that she can make her own decisions and live her own life, and she will not forgive him if he attacks Fairy Tail again before destroying her fanciful clothes in an effort to prove that she has cut all ties with him. When Lucy runs off with her friends, Jude sadly looks out the window of his study at his smiling daughter.

Battle of Fairy Tail arc
Jude appears as a spectator at the Fantasia Parade, where he watches Lucy perform.

Oración Seis arc
Lucy later finds her father as a disheveled, bearded man with a tattered sheet of cloth to conceal himself; he explains to her that the Heartfilia Konzern is no more and that he has lost everything that was once in his name.

Saying that he's going to start all over again and work in a Merchant's Guild in Acalypha, Jude begs Lucy for 100,000 Jewels, to which she replies that she doesn't have that sort of money. Feeling rejected, Jude throws a tantrum, but Lucy yells for him to go away, which he does rather angrily.

The next day, Lucy tries to rescue her father after hearing that the guild he was trying to get into was taken over by Naked Mummy. After defeating the bandits, she finds out that her father hadn't even arrived at the guild because he walked all the way from Magnolia to Acalypha.

Jude then realizes that Lucy came because she was worried for him. He thanks her but then she walks away, stating that she still hasn't forgiven him. He stops her by saying that the guild they're at was the one where he first met her mother and reveals that the name "Lucy" came from the guild's name, Love & Lucky which, at that time, was missing the letter "K" from the sign, thus causing it to read "Lucy". After, the rest of Team Natsu finds Lucy and takes her with them, Jude is left alone, thinking to Layla that he was a fool all this time.

X791 arc
Some months before Lucy's return, an archaeologist named Jean-Luc Neville places a hand to the Infinity Clock in Jude's possession. Jean-Luc wraps the hand in a Magic Cloth, as its high levels of Magic are easily trackable. Jude then promises Jean-Luc that he will seal away the hand in another place before bidding him farewell.

One month before Lucy's return to Magnolia, Jude passes away and Lucy is told this heartbreaking news by a woman at the Love & Lucky guild. Later, it is revealed that Jude sent birthday presents to Lucy every year, even after she disappeared, and also wrote letters, hoping that she'd read them one day. He expressed his desire to see her again and called her his pride, finishing off the last letter by telling her that he had always loved her.

Trivia

 * Jude's name is derived from the song, "Hey Jude" by the Beatles.

Quotes

 * (To Lucy Heartfilia) "You are mine and Layla's pride. All I want is that you live strong down whatever path you believe in. I hope I can see you again soon. Lucy... I've always... loved you."

Battles & Events

 * Lucy Heartfilia's Resolution