"Damn you Remy," Patchouli cursed as she walked in the area just outside the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

You've been cooped up in your library for too long. Go take a walk. Don't worry Koakuma can keep an eye on the place while you're away.

That was how Patchouli found herself kicked out of her own library and forced to be out under this blazing sun. If it wasn't for the parasol Remy practically threw at her, her hair would've long since burnt.

One hour. That was how long she had to last, and it had already been fifty minutes so far. Soon this ordeal would end, and she could go back to her library. Cozy and content among her books.

The rustling of leaves alerted Patchouli of something nearby. Normally she would ignore it. Either it would leave her alone or she'd obliterate it with a spell if it tried anything. Her body was feeling particularly good today. Today though, she decided to take a look. If only to have something to entertain herself for the rest of the time she had to spend outside.

She stepped over to a nearby bush, looked over it, and was surprised to find a bed of white hair. Long messy white hair from a corpse wearing nothing but rags. Her hands were worn, her nails long and jagged, her skin covered in scars.

A piteous human. A stray, a very young one at that considering she was even smaller than Remilia and that annoying Fairy that lived in the nearby lake. Another forgotten human that had been spirited away to Gensokyo. This girl, this child, had ended up here because in the end she didn't matter. The world she came from would continue on, with or without her.

Most of these people simply became food for the Youkai. Sustenance and feat to sustain their existence and a treat for those that remembered the taste of human flesh.

Sakuya would be pleased once she found her. A young girl like this would certainly be a good meal for Remy for many days to come.

In the end all Patchy had to do was cast a quick spell to hide the corpse from other Youkai and let Sakuya know where to look. It was unfortunate for the girl that she ended up here, but that was life, and Remy would be happy to have a fresh meal.

Maybe happy enough that she wouldn't force Patchouli to talk a walk for another century or two.

At least that was the plan. But then Patchouli noticed something else about the girl.

Divinity. Two different types that seemed to be clashing with each other and the girl's human body.

Well, there was no way that Patchouli was just going to give her to Remilia now. At least now without doing an autopsy and extracting some of the girl's blood first.

The only issue with that though was that the corpse suddenly began to move. Not a corpse then, still alive, but probably not for long considering her state.

"W-Where, where am I?" She began to grab her own hair. "W-why is my hair white?"

Patchouli cursed. It seemed that the girl had awoken while she was mulling over her own thoughts.

The girl, having awoken and gained her bearings, frantically turned her head around the area. Eventually her eyes settled on Patchouli. "Who are you?"

Ah, so she spoke English. That made communicating with her much simpler. Didn't even have to take the time to cast a proper translation spell.

"Patchouli Knowledge. The Unmoving Great Library." It was rare for Patchouli to announce herself on a first meeting, even with the pseudonym she used to protect against curses that targeted the true name, but this was a rare occasion.

"Library?" The girl looked around in awe as if she finally noticed where she was. "Am I… outside?"

"You're in Gensokyo."

"Gen… sokyo?"

"The Land of Illusions and you were spirited away."

"Spirited away... Am I free?"

"Free from what?" Patchouli asked, now curious.

"From the dark place, from the people in the masks."

"People in masks?"

"The ones that keep stabbing me. Putting stuff in me. My brothers and sisters," the girl replied.

Patchouli raised an eyebrow. Experiments like this likely wouldn't be possible in the outside world, not with Divine blood at least, so this girl would've come from a completely different world altogether. Likewise, the girl's divinity was the result of said experiments that should've left her dead. And not just her, an entire family was subject to this.

It wasn't something that Patchouli hadn't seen before. She was a Witch after all though she preferred to avoid such methods. A Witch that could only advance with something unnecessary and messy as this wasn't much of a Witch at all.

"Is that why you have Divine Blood in you?" Patchouli asked.

"Divine… blood?" The girl looked down at her hands, at the scars that littered her arms. "The mages said they were trying to put Crests in me and my siblings. We were going to be their greatest creations... but I'm the only one left. They all…"

Messy, inefficient, a complete mockery to Magic. If Patchouli ever met these people she'd rend the skin from their flesh and then throw them into the basement for Flan to do as she saw fit.

"Gone," Patchouli finished for the girl. "Can't say you have it much better either. If you've ended up here then it means that you might as well be dead to your old world."

"What?"

"You don't matter. You were forgotten."

"But my mommy and daddy. They cried whenever they saw me. Whenever one of my brothers or sisters…"

"I can't say whether your parents loved you or not, just that your old world found you unimportant enough to not care."

"I'm a failure then," the girl whispered to herself. "I don't matter."

"You might be useful to me," Patchouli informed her. "Your blood makes you an interesting subject."

"So, I'm just another experiment for you?"

"It's better than starving out here being eaten by a Youkai."

"Youkai?"

"Monsters. Legends. Many who see humans as prey. As an outsider you'd have no protection from them."

"It's dangerous outside, isn't it?" the girl asked.

"It is."

The girl sat there, considering her words for some time. "Will you keep me in a dark place?"

"No. You'll be free to walk the gardens and explore the mansion. I'll also make sure you're comfortable and fed."

The girl grabbed her own scars. "Will you… stab me with knives? And put things in my body?"

Patchouli scoffed. "No. A simple blood sample once in a while would do. No self-respecting magician would ever resort to such methods."

"They said they were mages. Great mages."

"They're wrong. It's about time you see how a proper Magician does her work."

The girl's stomach growled. "Will the food be tasty?"

"I can assure you nothing but perfection from our head maid."

"Are you nobility too?"

"The head of the mansion is in a way, and I did live in high society back when I was in the outside world," Patchouli admitted. Fond memories of back when she still lived among humans.

"Will you teach me magic… and how to be noble?"

"That's a big request for a test subject."

"I'm fine with being your test subject. It's just that my mommy and daddy were so sad whenever one of them died. I'm the only one left, I want to live for them."

Patchouli sighed. "You're in Gensokyo, the chances of you finding your way back to your old world on your own is low. You might as well be dead to them."

"I still want to live for them. For myself," The girl lifted her face and allowed the sunlight streaming through the leaves to cover her face. "The outside is so beautiful and the sun… is so warm. Isn't that enough to live?"

Youkai and humans lived for all sorts of reasons. Some inane, some insane, others that Patchouli could respect. A simple reason like that… Well, it wasn't the worst reason in the world.

"Ah, I see you've found a fresh meal for the Mistress. She was wondering what was taking you so long."

Patchy was used to the sudden appearance of the maid, but the girl was much less so and nearly jumped out of her own skin.

Sakuya took a step forward, prepared to grab the girl, only to be stopped by a single hand from Patchouli. "I found this one first. I never gave you permission to take her."

"The Mistress would greatly appreciate-"

"Remy can go out in the sun for all I care. And if she complains then I'm more than willing to settle this with Danmaku." Patchouli smiled. "There's been a spell I've wanted to practice, one that's apparently quite effective against Oni."

"… I'll make sure the Mistress is aware of another guest," Sakuya replied before disappearing just as quickly as she appeared.

"What just… happened?" The girl asked, completely lost.

"You'll get used to it," Patchouli replied. "Now tell me your name."

"My name… is Lysithea."


The look of awe of the girl's face as they stepped into the Voile library was almost pleasant for Patchouli to witness.

"So many books," Lysithea said, her eyes wide. "Are all these yours Miss Knowledge?"

"Yes. Do you like books?" Patchouli asked.

"I do. Sometimes the men in masks would let my parents give me one if I behaved." Lysithea began to run off only to be stopped by a single tug on the arm. "They would let them teach me how to read."

"As long as you treat my books with respect, I'll allow you to read them in your free time."

Now Lysithea turned toward Patchouli in awe. "All these books belong to you?"

"Every single one," Patchouli replied smugly. "And many I penned myself."

"That's so cool."

"I'd imagine so."

"I see you've brought a guest, Lady Patchouli." A red haired black winged woman suddenly flew down and landed in front of them.

"D-demon!" Lysithea squeaked before hiding behind Patchouli.

"I prefer the term Devil," the Devil replied.

"This is Kaokuma, my familiar," Patchouli introduced the Devil before moving to the side so that Lysithea was back out in the open. "This is Lysithea. I need her in good condition for my research."

"Treat her well. Full consent only. Nothing adult rated until she's eighteen. Understood," Kaokuma, the surprisingly well behaved succubus, replied. "Should I give her a tour of the library?"

"Later. She needs to eat first." Patchouli walked forward and the girl was quick to follow. The Magician made sure Lysithea was keeping pace; it would be easy to get lost here if you weren't as familiar with the place as the residents of the Mansion were.

Eventually they arrived at a round wooden table where Sakuya and Patchouli's closest friend were already there and waiting.

"So this is the stray you found during your walk, Patchy," Remy said as she looked at Lysithea like the prey that she was. "It's a shame. Even from here the smell of your blood." The pupils in the vampire's eyes became slits, further emphasizing her monstrous nature. "Ravishing."

Patchouli sighed as Lysithea began to cower once more. She then grabbed a book, walked up to Remilia, and used it to hit the vampire's head. "Don't intimidate my research subject."

"Ow! Fine," Remilia grumbled as she rubbed her head. "Sakuya, please prepare our lunch."

"Already done Milady," Sakuya replied.

Indeed, the table had already been topped with the tower of sandwiches, cakes, and scones that would serve as their lunch. Alongside it were two pots of tea, one of which was Remilia's personal blend.

Lysithea could only stare in awe once more as everyone else took their seat. "All this… I can have some?"

"As much as you want," Remy replied smugly. "We have plenty of spare, even for strays like you."

Lysithea reached and grabbed a cake with her bare hands. She stared at it as she held it in her palm like some object of worship before stuffing the entire thing into her mouth. Her eyes lit up and she began to shudder in pleasure.

Even Patchouli had to admit it was kind of cute.

The girl didn't stop there. Cake after cake soon followed, along with scones piled high with fresh cream and jam. She didn't stop even as Sakuya carried and sat her atop a chair, not until her entire face was covered in splatters of white cream.

"It's so good," Lysithea said with tears in her eyes.

"Of course, it was made by a perfect maid after all," Remy said with pride.

Sakuya's face remained as serene as ever, though Patchy could tell that she was at least somewhat amused by Lysithea's ravenous feasting. "It's almost like watching my Mistress indulging herself in a fresh meal," the maid commented.

"Too bad Patchy took that away from me," Remy commented.

"We can always settle this with Danmaku," Patchouli replied.

"No, it's fine. Another human will show up soon enough."

Lysithea, who had finally finished eating, looked at Remilia with caution. "You eat humans?"

"I'm a vampire. The Scarlet Devil and humans are my prey." Remilia bared her fangs. "And this is my home that you've stepped into."

"But isn't this Miss Knowledge's library?" Lysithea asked.

"Well, yes-"

"Then you don't own this entire mansion, don't you?"

Remilia's mouth hung open as the vampire struggled to find an answer.

"And since I belong to Patchouli," Lysithea continued. "You can't do anything to me."

Patchouli chuckled. She couldn't help it. Neither could Sakuya for that matter.

"Tough words for a human," Remy replied with a confident smile, though she was betrayed by the slight quiver of her wings. "We'll see how long you'll last."

Patchouli let herself a smirk at Remilia's broken Charisma. "Sakuya. Now that she's done eating I'll need you to clean Lysithea up and give her some proper clothes."

"Understood Milady." Sakuya stood up, wiped Lysithea's mouth clean, and then gently grabbed her by the arm. "Come then, we'll make you presentable."

They disappeared in an instant leaving Patchouli alone with her best friend.

"That girl has an interesting future ahead of her," Remy commented.

"Is that your ability or intuition speaking?" Patchouli asked.

"Both."


As always Sakuya had fulfilled her promise and the next time Lysithea was brought in front of Patchouli she was much more presentable. Her bright white hair was now cut neatly to her shoulders, her nails had been cut and manicured, her skin now shining from whatever treatment Sakuya had given her, and she wore a familiar loose-fitting purple and white dress.

"I took the liberty of repurposing one of your old outfits," Sakuya informed her.

Hmph. Remy's idea most likely. "You can take your leave now."

"Of course."

At this point Lysithea had gotten more or less used to Sakuya's disappearing act and barely blinked when it happened this time.

"Come on then." Patchouli gestured toward a seat next to her. "Let me take a good look at you then."

Lysithea nodded and quickly took a seat. She barely flinched as Patchouli cupped her face and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Hmm so your eyes weren't just red from strain," Patchy commented as she turned Lysithea's face. "Though your skin still has too much color for it to be true albinism."

"My hair used to be purple… a lot like yours Miss Knowledge," Lysithea informed her.

"Marie Antoinette syndrome then," Patchouli mulled. "A result of your experimentation I imagine."

Lysithea nodded.

"How old are you?"

"Seven years old."

Four years younger than a certain black-white rat then. And also, much smaller than said rat was who was known for being quite short.

"Small for your age, even by Gensokyan standards," Patchouli commented. "Likely due to malnutrition."

Lysithea seemed to bristle at that. "I'm not small, I'm a big girl."

"You're human. Now that you're being fed you'll grow soon enough." Patchouli let go of Lysithea's face and drew a needle out from her robes. "We'll have that doctor in Eientei give you a proper physical later. Now pull out your sleeve so I can take a blood sample."

"Will it hurt?" Lysithea asked, but still complied and presented her bare arm.

"Briefly." Patchouli grabbed the arm, constricted it with one of the ribbons on her clothes, and then jabbed the vein once it presented itself. Lysithea barely reacted and taking her blood out was much easier than expected.

"That wasn't too bad," Lysithea commented as Patchouli healed the puncture with a quick spell. "The men with the masks made it hurt a lot more."

"Then you'll have much better conditions working with me," Patchouli replied as she tapped the needle and examined the blood inside. Red. Nothing unusual in the pigment, for a human at least. "That's it for now. I'll request for you once I need you again. Until then you're free to wander the Mansion, just don't try to get past the Gatekeeper."

"The lady in green that was sleeping?"

"Yes that one."

"Okay…" Lysithea jumped off her chair and just stood there for a moment, likely overwhelmed by her newfound freedom. Well, freedom in comparison to what she had before. Eventually she wandered off somewhere and Patchouli was free to commit to her research in peace.


"Kaokuma get me all pieces of literature related to the Dragon God," Patchouli commanded excitedly as she rapidly wrote down the results of her experiments with a quill.

It wasn't just divine blood. It was divine dragon blood that had been implanted in Lysithea.

Gensokyo was created due to the power of a Dragon god, so to have this blood in front of her, even tainted and diluted as it was…

Oh this was exciting. An incredible find. A world where physical traces of Divine dragons could be found, that had to be the sort of place Lysithea came from.

Rather than come with any books though, Kaokuma had come with a concerned look on her face. A look that made Patchouli sigh. It meant that something had gone wrong and that she couldn't just ignore it. "What is it?"

"Your… guest is causing a bit of a mess."

"What!?" Patchouli shot up from her seat and immediately regretted it as she was hit with a wave of vertigo. She grabbed a table and steadied herself as her anemia started to act up again. "I left her alone for a moment and she's already causing a mess!?"

"Patchouli… it's been two weeks."

Huh. Well, not the first time she became engrossed in her research over a long period. Still wasn't an excuse for Lysithea's actions though.

"Take me to her now," Patchouli commanded once she recovered. She followed behind Kaokuma as she flew and began to think of a punishment during the flight.

The one condition, The One Condition, Patchouli had left Lysithea so that she had free reign from the library was that she respect the books. Now she was breaking that. Now she was going to be disciplined appropriately.

Patchouli could see the fire smoke before she even caught sight of the girl and quickly prepared her incantation. One heavy rainstorm later the fire had been put out and the books had been spared thanks to the enchantments added to protect them from a certain level of fire and water damage. Lysithea was absolutely drenched and looked very guilty over an open grimoire.

"What did you do?" Patchouli said firmly to the girl. "I thought I told you not to damage the books."

"I'm sorry, Miss Knowledge," Lysithea apologized. "It was an accident."

"What was?"

"The… spell I casted."

Patchouli paused for a brief moment. "Spell? Do you know magic? Who taught you?"

"No one taught me. I just watched the men in the masks… and you."

Patchouli blinked blankly, not quite believing what she was hearing. "You watched me?"

Lysithea nodded. "You looked so cool when you were using magic… I wanted to try it too."

"So, you just picked up a random grimoire and tried casting a spell."

Lysithea shook her head. "I looked at the runes you made in the air. And copied them." She gestured toward the countless hand drawn scribbles scattered on the floor around her. They were soaked but still somewhat legible. "After I remembered them, I wanted to read about them so I knew what they did."

"And that's how you casted a fire spell. By watching, copying one of my runes, and then looking up the function in a book before you casted it?"

Lysithea nodded again.

That was… hard to believe. Yet the proof was there right in front of Patchouli. This child had taught herself how to cast a spell with barely any instruction.

Was it a natural talent or perhaps a budding genius? Were the two "Crests" Lysithea implanted with the reason?

No. The dark bags under Lysithea's eyes, the ink stains all over her clothes, and the myriad of paper cuts on her hands were all evidence of the effort that she had put in.

That sort of commitment to magic was similar to that thieving rat, as much as said rat liked to deny it, though unlike the rat Lysithea seemed much more amenable. More willing to listen and certainly not going to try and steal anything from this library any time soon.

Normally Patchouli wouldn't even consider taking on a student, but all of that in addition to the special properties of the girl's blood actually made the idea seem somewhat appealing. How far would this girl go with what she had?

"Miss Knowledge I'm really sorry," Lysithea bowed down to the ground and trembled. "I didn't mean to hurt the books. Please don't give me back to the men in the masks."

Patchouli looked at the quivering child on the ground and simply shook her head. "If you're going to learn magic, I expect you to do it properly."

Lysithea raised her head and looked at Patchouli in shock. "You'll let me learn?"

"I'll demonstrate to you the proper technique. It's up to you to figure it out. It's what's expected from any self-respecting apprentice."

"I-I'll do it!" Lysithea shouted. "I'll become a proper Witch like you!"

"Hmph. You're a long way off from becoming a Witch. Though you're certainly free to try."


Authors Notes

What started as a random idea in my head quickly turned into another story I couldn't help but be compelled to write… which is par for the course.

Anyway, this crossover is essentially a separate story from Swordmaster of Ordelia and you won't need to read one story to understand the other. However, certain character interactions and smaller events might carry over with minor changes if I find that it can fit in for developing characters, stories, or because it's just funny.

Also had to make some slight edits. According to canon Patchouli was born as a Witch so I had to fix some lines and dialogue to correct that.