The Ancient Magus' Bride: Shadow Bride, Moonlit Promise
She has no magic. No family. No place to belong. But when the "beloved child of night" arrives at Glendower College, Lucy Webster's cursed gift—her strange, unwanted perception—may be the only thing standing between Chise and the darkness closing in around her.
Lucy Webster has spent eight years surviving. Surviving the massacre that took her family. Surviving the whispers that call her cursed. Surviving as an auditor at a college of magic where she's tolerated at best—and hated at worst. With
The Ancient Magus' Bride: Shadow Bride, Moonlit Promise - Whispers of the Moonlight Grass — The Girl Who Reads the Map of Magic
Beyond the window, the air was still sharp and cold despite it being spring. Lucy Webster stood at the window of her room in Slate House, gazing outside. The stone dormitory, over a century old, smelled of mold and aged wood no matter where you walked. She was used to it by now. She'd had no choice but to get used to it.
Glendower College of Magic. A school for training mages, located two kilometers northeast of the village of Earnsworth in the English countryside. About a hundred and eighty students were enrolled. Of those, roughly sixty were auditors like Lucy—not formal students. They hadn't passed the entrance examinations; they were, in essence, guests.
Lucy tucked a strand of her shoulder-length, gently waving black hair behind her ear. Her bangs always seemed about to fall into her eyes, and she found herself brushing them aside without thinking. Her deep brown eyes reflected the college tower rising beyond the window, and the forest of Earnsworth spreading out behind it.
The tip of the tower pierced the overcast sky. That forest was thick with oaks over three hundred years old, and at night it transformed into a magical labyrinth. Once you wandered in, you couldn't find your way out for hours. Last year, a first-year who hadn't known any better went for an evening stroll and ended up circling the woods until dawn.
Lucy absently rolled up her uniform sleeve. The college-issued white blouse, black vest, navy skirt. On cold days she wore her mother's gray cardigan—the only thing she had left of her. Today, she thought she'd be fine without it.
A small silver earring glinted on her left ear. A hand-me-down from her brother, Seth. Her fingertips were always stained with faint green from herb juices. No matter how much she washed, the stains never quite came out.
The new term was about to begin. The first week of April. Several potted moonflowers lined the windowsill, their silvery leaves seeming to glow faintly even under the gray sky.
Lucy reached a finger toward one of the pots. She stopped just short of touching the leaf's surface.
(...Better not. Not yet.)
Right now, she couldn't afford to be seen.
Lucy stepped away from the window. The room was quiet, broken only by the occasional sound of footsteps passing in the corridor.
Whenever she was here, the same thought came to her. She had no place to belong.
The formal students thought of auditors as outsiders who paid to sit in on lectures. And honestly, that was exactly what they were. Auditors needed permission for everything—to use the library, to join practical sessions. Even the dormitories were separate from the formal students'.
Slate House. Two stories, twenty-four single rooms. Lucy's room was on the second floor, north side. From her window, she could see the college tower.
That, at least, was a small comfort.
Lucy sat at her desk and pulled a notebook from the drawer. Nothing was written on the cover. Inside, the pages were crammed with notes on magic.
"Even an auditor can do something."
She said it to convince herself as she flipped through the pages. Things she'd learned in lectures, things she'd looked up in the library, things she'd tried on her own. All of it was here.
This is my weapon.
The only path I have to becoming a mage.
...Or so I keep telling myself.
The distant murmur of the dining hall drifted in. It was almost lunchtime. Lucy closed her notebook and let out a small sigh.
She didn't want to go to the dining hall.
But if she didn't, she'd be even hungrier later.
Lucy reluctantly rose to her feet.
—The dining hall was on the ground floor of the dormitory. Long wooden tables lined the stone walls. The ceiling was high, and voices echoed easily. As she stood in the serving line, Lucy gripped her tray with both hands.
Today's menu was mutton stew, hard bread, and a thin soup.
As Lucy waited in line, voices came from behind her.
"Hey, look. That's the Webster survivor, isn't she?"
"She's barely got any magic, and she's still an auditor? How does she even manage?"
"Her whole family got killed because they must've done something. They say it's a curse."
"Better not get involved. Who knows what could happen."
They were speaking loudly on purpose, making sure she heard. Lucy didn't turn around. If she turned around, she'd lose.
Her grip on the tray tightened. Her fingertips went white.
(That's wrong. My family didn't do anything.)
She wanted to say it. But she couldn't.
Eight years ago. The Webster family—almost every last one of them—had been murdered by someone. The only survivors were Lucy, who had been eight at the time, and her older brother, Seth.
The culprit had never been found.
But the villagers all knew. The Websters had been a line of mages for generations. Yet Lucy had almost no talent for magic. She had only one thing.
Perception. That was all.
Her power to cast spells and her knowledge of magical theory were both below average. All she had was the ability to "sense" magical power.
That was why, at the college, she was called "the half-baked one."
Lucy took the mutton stew from the serving woman. Steam rose against her face.
"...Thank you."
She murmured her thanks and looked for an empty seat.
The far end, against the wall. Her usual spot.
Lucy set down her tray and sat quietly. At the surrounding tables, the formal students chatted happily.
(Must be nice. Having friends.)
She scooped up some mutton stew with her spoon. It tasted all right.
Lucy ate alone in silence.
When she left the dining hall, she passed a group of what looked like first-years in the corridor. None of them seemed comfortable in their uniforms yet.
"Hey, did you hear? A mage related to the Earnsworth family is coming to the college."
"What, that Earnsworth family?"
"Yeah, yeah. The prestigious house that manages the wards all around this area."
"What's the mage like? Is he really something?"
"Apparently he's got goat horns. An inhuman mage, they say."
Lucy's feet stopped dead.
(Goat horns...)
"I heard his name's Finn Earnsworth."
The moment she heard that name, something cold ran down Lucy's spine.
A creeping sensation.
Something crawling up from the nape of her neck to the small of her back.
Lucy hugged her arms tight around herself.
(What... is this...)
Her perception was reacting on its own. Stirring restlessly, for no reason at all.
Why would just hearing the name of a man she'd never met do this?
Lucy stood frozen, watching the first-years walk away.
A small unease kindled in her chest.
(Finn Earnsworth...)
She repeated the name in her mind.
A creeping chill.
Again, her spine went cold.
—That afternoon, Lucy was summoned to the headmistress's office.
The headmistress's office was on the third floor of the main building. She knocked on the heavy wooden door, and a calm voice answered from within: "Come in."
She opened the door to find an elderly woman seated behind a desk at the far end of the room.
Hester Vine, headmistress of Glendower College of Magic. A mage in her sixties. Her white hair was gathered at the back of her head, and she wore a deep green robe. Her posture was straight and dignified, betraying none of her age.
"You've come. Lucy."
Hester smiled gently.
"Yes. You called for me?"
Lucy's voice came out small with nervousness. She could count on one hand the times she'd spoken alone with the headmistress since enrolling.
"No need to be so stiff. Sit."
At Hester's urging, Lucy perched on the edge of the chair before the desk.
"Starting this term, you'll have a roommate."
Lucy's eyes went wide.
"A roommate, ma'am?"
"Yes. A new auditor will be moving into the room next to yours. A girl from Japan named Chise."
From Japan.
"That girl—she possesses a special power."
Hester's voice dropped slightly.
"The Slay Vega. The beloved child of night. ...Have you heard of it?"
Lucy's heart gave a sharp leap.
(The beloved child of night...)
A being whispered about among mages. A living reservoir of magical power, extraordinarily gifted at producing and absorbing it.
Those who possessed that power drew the magic of everything around them just by existing—and sometimes enchanted demons and spirits alike.
And their bodies, unable to withstand such immense magical force, often gave out young.
"...I know of it."
Lucy answered in a hoarse voice.
"I want to entrust that girl to you."
"...What?"
"It's your perception I need."
Hester looked straight into Lucy's eyes.
"Chise is a very precious child. But because of her power, many will target her. Both inside the college and out."
Lucy swallowed hard.
"What could I possibly do? I can barely use magic as it is..."
"You can sense. More keenly than anyone—the presence of magic, the presence of danger. That is a power magic cannot replace."
Lucy had no reply to Hester's words.
Perception.
The one power she had—the one they'd mocked her for, calling her half-baked.
And now it was needed.
"But is the beloved child of night really that dangerous? She herself..."
"Yes. That's exactly why I want you beside her, to feel it with your own skin."
Hester paused there.
"Feel it for yourself. What kind of girl she is. What kind of power she holds. And what kind of danger is closing in."
Lucy lowered her eyes.
(Can I really do this?)
She was bad at talking to people as it was. She couldn't even make friends properly.
"...I understand."
Lucy gave a small nod.
When she left the headmistress's office, Lucy trudged along the path back to the dormitory.
Her head was a mess.
The beloved child of night. Chise. Perception.
And that name she'd heard earlier. Finn Earnsworth.
(Why did just hearing that name feel so wrong?)
Her perception had never reacted for no reason before.
Lucy stopped and looked up at the sky.
Beyond the clouds, a faint hint of sunlight showed through.
(...No use thinking about it, I suppose.)
Lucy started walking again.
—Back at the dormitory, Lucy reached a finger toward the moonflower pot on her windowsill.
This time, without hesitation, she touched the leaf.
In that instant—
The veins of magical light flowing through the leaf surfaced in a mesh-like pattern.
A pale silver glow. From the tip of the leaf to its base, magic flowed like water.
Lucy closed her eyes and felt the current.
(Beautiful...)
The first time she'd experienced this sensation was at twelve.
The night garden, Lunaria.
In the courtyard where moonflowers bloomed in profusion, Lucy had "seen" the flow of magic for the first time.
No—"felt" was closer than "seen."
The light of magic flowing through the leaf veins rose in her mind like a map.
Since then, Lucy had been able to sense the quality of others' magic—and its danger—through her skin.
But she'd never told anyone about this power.
If she did, they'd only find her more unsettling.
She'd go from "half-baked" to "monster."
Lucy let go of the moonflower.
The threads of light faded away.
Just then, a voice came from the next room.
"Argh, seriously! Why does this thing keep exploding?!"
Lucy found herself straining to listen.
"Senpai, the pot! The pot just flew across the room!"
"I know! I can see that!"
Apparently someone had blown up a pot in an herbology practical.
Lucy let out a small giggle.
(Ah, right. I did that too, once.)
In her first year, she'd mismeasured the herbs and left soot on the practical room ceiling.
The instructor had scolded her something fierce.
Lucy blushed to herself.
(Stop, stop. I don't want to remember that.)
She shook her head vigorously, driving out the unpleasant memory.
The noisy voices continued from the next room.
Lucy sat on the windowsill and listened vaguely to the sounds.
—Evening.
Lucy steeled herself and stood before the door next to her own.
According to what the headmistress had told her, the girl named Chise should already be in the adjoining room.
Her hand trembled as she raised it to knock.
"H-hello. I'm Lucy Webster. P-pleased to meet you..."
She pract
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