Nelson looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot. “Almark…,” he muttered. “Morgan’s story was real.”
“Huh?”
“Last night, I went to the garden.”
“You actually did it?”
“Of course I did,” Nelson scoffed. “And it was exactly like Morgan said. I heard a voice at the end of the maze.”
“Really?” Almark asked, his eyes wide.
“Yeah. But when I followed the voice through the maze, all I saw was Lord Boruqe’s statue. There wasn’t anyone else there…” Nelson sounded disheartened. “And because of that, I couldn’t sleep…”
“Oh.” Almark nodded in sympathy. “Must have been scary.”
“Huh?” Nelson raised his eyebrows. “Don’t be ridiculous, Almark.”
“Um?”
“It wasn’t scary! If anything, I’m so curious I can’t stop thinking about it! The voice is real, so why didn’t I see who was there?!”
“Oh, so that’s what’s on your mind.”
“I’m so curious it kept me up all night!”
Nelson shoveled more of his breakfast into his mouth. Clearly, last night’s events hadn’t affected his appetite, so Almark concluded he was probably fine.
“So he actually heard a voice,” Wendy said, wide-eyed.
She happened to be walking to the schoolhouse with Almark when he mentioned what Nelson had told him about the garden earlier that morning.
“At least, that’s what Nelson claims,” said Almark. “Turns out he really heard someone muttering something when the garden was empty.”
“And he heard it from the maze, like Morgan said?”
“Apparently. And when he walked to the end of the maze, he reached Lord Boruqe’s statue.”
“And there was…” Wendy looked at Almark.
“Right.” Almark met her gaze and finished for her. “No one there.”
“Hm…” Wendy hung her head pensively. “It’s all so strange. I’m getting kind of curious…” She glanced at Almark. “I think I’ll go check it out tonight, too.”
“Huh?” Almark was shocked; he hadn’t expected this. “But yesterday you told Nelson it was dangerous.”
“Yeah, I did.” Wendy brought a finger to her lips. “Except if Nelson also heard the voice, it’s not just a rumor anymore. So now I’m curious. Aren’t you, Almark?”
“I mean, I guess a little…” Almark faltered, which made Wendy smile.
“And in case I end up in danger, having a strong boy who’s good at martial arts around me would definitely put me at ease. Right?”
“Martial arts won’t help against ghosts,” Almark argued. “You’ll need magic for that. And this boy is no good when it comes to magic.”
“For now, you mean… But I think that boy will end up becoming a better mage than anyone else here. Also, this curious girl happens to be good at magic,” Wendy said with an impish smile.
And so, that night, after dinner, Almark left the dorm with Nelson and Wendy and walked down the trail leading to the garden. After hearing Morgan and Nelson’s stories, the other students seemed determined not to go anywhere near the garden at night, with Lilty in particular running away whenever the matter was brought up.
Going out with lanterns would draw unwanted attention from teachers, so the three of them went outside in their usual outfits without any lanterns and at slightly different times.
Having a mage around is useful at times like these, Almark thought as Wendy walked beside him, holding up a finger and producing a small flame, which then floated away and lit up the road ahead of them.
“I thought you were gonna use an illumination spell, but you cast a will-o-wisp spell instead. Impressive, Wendy,” Nelson said.
“This way, both of my hands are free,” Wendy explained.
The three of them walked toward the garden, guided by the will-o-wisp’s light. The cool night breeze brushed against them.
“It happened around this time yesterday, right?” Almark asked Nelson.
“Yeah, right after dinner. No doubt about it.”
Soon, they reached a grove of trees, and the earthen trail they walked on gave way to a flagstone path. They were in the garden.
Almark hardly ever came to the garden at night. He’d expected it to be as dark as the woods had been when he was there with Lilty, but it ended up being surprisingly bright. There was nothing obstructing the moonlight, and the garden’s numerous metal lamps contained magic light that kept everything illuminated.
“…It’s very bright,” Almark noted.
“Right?” Nelson said. “Doesn’t feel like a ghost or monster could show up here.”
“I’m not sure about that…,” Wendy said, her expression stiff. “It’s bright for nighttime, but…the brighter the light, the deeper the shadow.”
Even with the lamplight, she kept the will-o-wisp out. Almark, who had been walking next to Nelson, stepped aside for a moment.
“Wendy.” He gestured between himself and Nelson. “Walk between us.”
Wendy nodded and stepped between them. “A dependable man on each arm,” she remarked with a giggle.
“If you insist.” Almark smiled, and Nelson laughed, looking pleased with the compliment.
“The Lord Boruqe statue should be past the maze,” Nelson remarked, pointing straight ahead confidently.
“You’re so brave, Nelson. I can’t believe you walked all the way here on your own,” Wendy said.
Nelson looked bashful and gave a sheepish “I guess.”
Almark wasn’t bothered by Wendy praising Nelson, but for some reason, an obstinate, childish corner of his mind thought, I could’ve done the same thing. I’m not scared at all.
This confused him. He knew how immature it sounded, and so he didn’t dare speak it aloud.
Before long, the group came upon a wall of shrubbery on the left. It was taller than the three of them were, and there was an opening in it leading inside, just wide enough for someone to pass through. This was the entrance to Lord Boruqe’s maze.
“This is the way in… I haven’t heard the voice yet today.” Nelson cocked his head.
“Did you hear it at this time yesterday?” Almark asked.
“Yeah,” Nelson replied instantly. “That’s when I ran straight into the maze. I remember that for sure.”
“Maybe we should wait a while? Or…” Wendy looked at the boys’ faces. “Do we go in immediately?”
“Hmm. I dunno.” Nelson hummed indecisively.
“Huh?” Wendy suddenly said. “Isn’t that…?”
They saw a lamp’s light wavering from the other side of the garden, approaching them.
“Who’s that?” Almark whispered.
“Almark, this way,” Wendy urged, tugging on Almark’s sleeve.
“Huh?”
Nelson was already hiding behind the thicket walls. Suddenly, everything underneath them went dark; Wendy had put out the will-o-wisp. Almark let her pull him away and kneeled under the cover of the thicket.
“Why are we hiding?”
Wendy held a finger to her lips, hushing Almark. Her face was much closer than he realized, which made Almark pause with a start.
The figure approaching them was a young guard. It wasn’t someone Almark knew, but apparently he was on his usual night patrol. The three of them quietly waited for him to walk away. The guard turned a corner, and his heavy footsteps slowly faded into the distance. Only then did Wendy exhale.
“Good,” she muttered, relieved.
“They’ll scold us if they catch us here. Remember how Wollis told us to be careful?” Nelson said as he got up.
“Oh, I see.” Almark nodded and rose to his feet, too. “That’s what he meant.”
“A verbal warning alone is one thing, but they’d call Miss Maya to tell her we snuck out.” Nelson shrugged. “And then we’d get another earful once we got back to the dorms, and then Miss Maya would tell the teachers, and Professor Fia would scold us again the next day in class. So we’d get three sermons for breaking the rules only once.”
“That sounds awful,” Wendy remarked.
“You can say that again.” Nelson looked extremely serious. “It happened to Rado when he went out here at night this one time.”
Rado was a boy in their class.
“A guard caught him, and he thought he was doomed, but thankfully it was Zeid, so he got off easy.”
“Zeid?” Almark’s face lit up upon hearing the name of the one guard he knew. “I know him. But why was Rado better off with Zeid finding him?”
“What do you mean, why?” Nelson said, looking like he didn’t want to explain.
“Well, you see, the thing about Zeid is…,” Wendy began. “He usually lets students off the hook with only a warning. I mean, unless they do something really bad.”
“Zeid just gets it,” Nelson concluded. “Even if he does look intimidating at first.”
“I know what you mean,” Almark said. “Zeid’s really nice.”
“I’m guessing he must have helped you out, Almark,” Wendy said with a smile.
“Yeah, on my first day here. He showed me around.”