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 - The Secret of the Moonlight Grass — Growing Closeness and the Account of Forbidden Arts
The spring sun had begun to gently warm the stone paving of the herb garden.
The herb garden behind Glendower Academy of Magic was one of the few places where regular students and auditors took their practical lessons together. Lucy Webster shook her shoulder-length black hair and scowled at the wind that carried the mingled scents of the herbs.
(This awful time of day again.)
The fourth week of April. The herbology practicum was conducted in pairs. There was no chance anyone would partner with Lucy, an auditor. Normally she'd be lumped in with whoever was left over, or worse, made to work alone.
But then—
"Lucy! Let's do it together!"
A bright voice sliced through the air of the herb garden.
Lucy turned to see a red-haired girl waving at her. Chise. The auditor who lived in the room next to hers, all the way from Japan. She was small, with fiery red hair cropped at the shoulder, and her white skin seemed almost translucent in the spring light.
Lucy found herself at a loss for how to respond.
(She wants to pair with me?)
The stares around them stung. The regular students kept glancing their way. Was it mockery at two auditors pairing up, or curiosity toward Chise—the "Sleigh Beggy"? Either way, it didn't feel good.
"...I don't mind, I suppose."
Lucy answered brusquely. The words came out fast.
Chise's face lit up.
"Yay! Then let's use that worktable over there!"
Chise pointed to a stone worktable on the east side of the garden. Lucy nodded without a word.
The herbs for today's lesson were laid out on the table, sorted by type. Moonlight grass leaves, sage, lavender, and a blue flower Lucy had never seen before. Absently, she brushed her bangs from her eyes with her fingers.
"First, we're supposed to pick just three moonlight grass leaves. Lucy, which ones do you think are best?"
Chise tilted her head and asked.
"...The one in the middle, the one with the strongest silver. And the two on the left. The ones with cleaner veins are better for compounding."
Lucy read the flow of magical energy through the leaves with her sensing ability. The veins of moonlight grass shine silver at night. To her, the flow of magic looked like a map.
Chise's eyes went wide.
"Wow! Lucy, what is it you can see in the leaves?"
"...Something like the flow of magic."
"That's so incredibly handy! I can't make heads or tails of it, so maybe I'll just leave everything to you."
Chise laughed innocently.
Lucy felt a strange tickle deep in her chest.
(Leave everything to me, she says.)
She hadn't known that being relied on like that could feel so warm.
The practicum began.
Chise was deft. Her hands moved without hesitation as she sorted the herbs. Her fingertips touched each leaf gently. She laid out three moonlight grass leaves, silver side up, in a neat row.
Lucy, on the other hand—
"...Um, next, two sprigs of sage."
Her nerves made her fumble the order.
(Wait, that's wrong. I was supposed to crush the lavender first.)
Lucy hurriedly reached for the mortar. But her hands were shaking, and she couldn't get a proper grip.
Clatter.
With a small sound, the mortar bounced on the tabletop.
"Ah, sorry—are you okay?"
Chise peered at her with concern.
"...Sorry. I'm clumsy."
Lucy hung her head. Her bangs fell over her eyes.
(Why am I so nervous?)
She should be happy to be paired with Chise.
Chise giggled softly.
"You're funny, Lucy. Even when you mess up, you really try to fix it. That's admirable."
"...What?"
"I mean, earlier you picked out my share of the herbs first, didn't you? You're actually really kind, Lucy."
Lucy felt her face flush hot.
(Kind, she says.)
No one had ever said that to her before.
"...Ah, no—it's nothing."
Her old habit slipped out.
Chise hadn't laughed at her mistake. That made her happy. She couldn't hide the pounding in her chest.
After the practicum, as Lucy cleaned up the pot that had emitted smoke of a strange color, she found herself recalling Chise's smile over and over.
(You're actually really kind, Lucy.)
Those words formed a small, warm lump in the center of her chest.
Lunchtime.
The academy's dining hall had long wooden tables lined up against stone walls. The ceiling was high, and voices echoed well. Today's menu was bean soup, hard bread, and thin slices of roast beef.
Lucy carried her tray toward a seat in the corner.
(Alone again today.)
The moment she thought it—
"Lucy! There's a seat here!"
Chise's voice again.
She was waving from a seat near the middle of the hall.
Lucy looked around.
(If I sit there, I'll stand out.)
An auditor, sitting right in the middle of the hall? The regular students' stares were already stabbing toward her.
"...Um, I'm fine in the corner."
"Come on, let's eat together. It's more fun with two than one."
Chise was beaming.
Lucy gave in.
"...Fine."
She set her tray across from Chise.
The instant she did, she heard it.
"Hey, isn't that the Webster family survivor?"
"She's with the Sleigh Beggy. How shameless."
"She'd be better off not associating with anyone."
The voices were deliberately loud enough to be heard.
Lucy's hand, spooning up her soup, stopped.
(This again.)
Eight years ago, nearly the entire Webster family—every last relative—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.
Everyone in the village knew.
Lucy had been shuttled from relative to relative. Wherever she went, she was treated like a plague carrier. Cursed, they said. Her family must have done something to deserve being killed.
(That's not true. We didn't do anything.)
She wanted to say it. But she couldn't.
Lucy spoke quickly, brusquely.
"...Don't worry about it. It's always like this."
Chise blinked.
"Lucy, you can hear those people?"
"...Of course I can hear them. My ears aren't plugged."
"I see. Then should I tell them for you? 'Instead of badmouthing people, how about you drink your own soup?'"
Chise said it with a perfectly serious face.
Lucy nearly burst out laughing.
"...Don't. If you do that, we'll stand out even more."
"Aww, but I hate staying quiet while you're feeling bad, Lucy."
Chise took a sip of soup and smiled.
"Anyway, I want to hear more about you. What kind of home did you grow up in? What's your favorite food?"
Lucy's hands stopped tearing her bread.
(You want to hear about me?)
No one had ever said that to her.
"...My house is just an ordinary stone building. I live there with my brother. My favorite food is lamb stew."
"Lamb stew! I love it too! The inn in the village makes a really delicious one."
"...The Goat and Moon?"
"Yes, yes! You know it too, Lucy!"
Chise leaned forward happily.
Lucy felt her heart lighten, just a little.
"...When I was small, I was passed from relative to relative. I never had a place to belong."
The words came out so smoothly it surprised even her.
Chise listened quietly.
"...I didn't have a place to belong either."
Chise murmured softly.
Lucy looked up.
Chise's big eyes were slightly clouded.
"When I was in Japan, I was always alone. My family, my school—no one needed me."
"...Chise."
"But then I came here, and I met you, Lucy. So right now, I'm a little bit happy."
Chise smiled shyly.
Lucy felt something tighten deep in her chest.
(This girl is like me.)
No place to belong. Never needed.
And yet, she could still smile.
Lucy wanted to gently take Chise's hand.
(But I can't.)
She was bad at showing her feelings.
"...Your soup will get cold."
Lucy spoke brusquely again.
Chise giggled and began to eat.
After school.
Lucy was heading for the great library, the Tower of Silence.
An old stone tower housing eighty thousand volumes. A library specializing in magical texts. Auditors needed permission to enter. Lucy had received special permission from Headmistress Hester under the pretext of researching her sensing ability.
Inside the tower it was cool, smelling of old paper and ink.
As Lucy headed for her usual seat—
"...Huh, Lucy?"
A small voice.
Lucy looked and saw Chise at a reading desk in the back, several old books spread open before her.
"...Chise. What are you doing?"
Lucy sat down beside her.
Chise pointed at a page.
"I'm researching my power. I was hoping I might find something about the Sleigh Beggy."
Lucy's heart jumped.
(The Sleigh Beggy.)
The peculiar power Chise possessed. She generated and absorbed vast amounts of magical energy. Simply by being alive, she produced magic. That was precisely why she was targeted.
"...Isn't that dangerous?"
Lucy started to say more, then stopped.
(I want to warn her.)
But the words beyond that wouldn't come.
Chise said happily,
"You know, Mr. Finn is looking into ways to help me handle my power better. So I want to be useful too, even a little."
Lucy's chest gave a small pang.
Finn.
The misshapen mage with goat horns. The man who lived at the Earnsworth family's annex.
"...Mr. Finn, is it."
"Yes. Mr. Finn is really kind, and he listens to me a lot."
Chise's face was faintly flushed.
Lucy felt her own heart stir uneasily.
(Kind? That man?)
Her sensing ability had picked up the thick, clinging stench of death pooled at the bottom of that man's magic.
"...Are you seeing him today too?"
"Yes! Tonight, in the garden. He said we'd tend the moonlight grass together."
Chise smiled innocently.
Lucy swallowed her words.
(I want to say it. Stay away from Finn.)
But seeing Chise's happy face, she couldn't.
Night.
Lucy stood by the window of her room in Slate House.
From the window she could see the academy's night garden, Lunaria. A courtyard where moonlight grass shone silver. It was open at night as well.
Lucy looked down at the garden through a gap in the curtains.
(...There they are.)
Two figures among the clusters of moonlight grass.
Chise and Finn.
Finn had his long silver hair tied back in a single tail. Bathed in the night light, it glowed pale blue. From the top of his head grew a pair of gently curving goat horns, one on each side. His jade-green eyes were always smiling serenely.
Chise and Finn were holding hands.
Tending the moonlight grass together.
Lucy's chest ached.
(They're holding hands.)
Jealousy.
Lucy was bewildered by her own feelings.
(Why does it hurt so much?)
That was when it happened.
Her sensing ability kicked into full force.
Finn's magic rose to the surface, illuminated by the silver light of the moonlight grass.
(That smell...)
The thick, clinging stench of death.
Lucy read the flow of Finn's magic like a map.
(This is... the residue of a soul-resurrection spell?)
Finn's magic was slowly drawing Chise's magic up and out of her.
As if transferring water from one vessel to another.
A cold chill ran down Lucy's whole body.
(He's draining Chise's magic.)
Before she knew it, Lucy was flying out of her room.
She ran down the dormitory corridor.
(I have to stop it.)
She raced down the stairs and headed for the garden.
But.
At the garden entrance, Lucy stopped dead.
Chise was smiling.
In the silver light of the moonlight grass, Chise was looking up at Finn, laughing happily.
Lucy stood rooted to the spot.
(...I can't cut in.)
She couldn't shatter that smile.
Lucy bit her lip.
(Frustrating.)
She wanted to protect Chise, but she couldn't do a thing.
The next day.
Lucy was in the academy's archive room.
Deep beneath the Tower of Silence, underground. Ordinary students needed permission to enter. Lucy had gotten in with Hester's authorization.
The smell of mold and old parchment. In the dim room, old documents were piled in heaps.
Lucy stood before a locked cabinet containing texts on forbidden magic.
(Soul resurrection.)
The residue of Finn's magic that her sensing ability had picked up last night.
She would confirm it.
Lucy gently touched her finger to the keyhole.
Her sensing ability read the magical mechanism inside the
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