Silky is almost universally loved, but who is she? Let's find out.
As the second part of the second season of Ancient Magus' Bride (Mahoutsukai no Yome) is soon going to be aired, it might be a good idea to look at the first season and remember what we loved about it. And many, many people would say that they loved Silky, the magical housekeeper of Elias and Chise.
Beware some minor spoilers ahead!
Ancient Magus' Bride has a cast of very powerful characters, both in their characterization and in magical ability. It should be easy for them to outshine a simple housekeeper Fae, but for some reason, Silky is everyone's favorite.
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To begin with, Silky is not her name but the type of creature she is. Ancient Magus' Bride has a lot of interesting creatures in it, and Silkies are just domestic Fae, who really like maintaining homes. They usually do it in secret because people cannot see them and should not see the results of their activities, but they belong to a home and help to maintain it to the best of their ability.
The Silky from Ancient Magus' Bride is actually called Silver Lady, but everyone just calls her Silky, so we shall do that as well.
Silky has an interesting backstory, explored in episode 24. She used to be a Banshee, who are also Fae, ones that cry about and herald death, thus sharing the pain with each other. Silky's clan died out, leaving her lost and unable to share her pain. However, she got another chance due to an intervention from Spriggan, the very grim servant of the Faerie Queen, Titania. Spriggan helped the Banshee become a Silky and brought her to the home she maintains to this day. He visits her occasionally to check in.
Among other things, it means that Silky has been living in the house she maintains for Elias and Chise for longer than either of them. In fact, some mortals without the ability to see Fae had lived in the house, and with mortals, Silky could not help with the household chores openly.
She still did small things as unnoticeably as she could, but she could not just openly cook or clean. With Elias, though, she simply took over household chores, and she seems quite happy about it, which makes sense for a housekeeping Fae.
Most of Silky's abilities are household-related ones. She has housekeeping magic, she cooks and cleans, and she might try to give Ruth, the Church Grim that became Chise's familiar, a bath at some point. She also knits, and she knitted Chise a sweater. In other words, she is a gifted maker, and she seems to enjoy everything connected to maintaining a household.
Something should also be said about Silky's design. She just looks so neat in her pink dress, shawl and bonnet, that it is difficult not to like her. Her bonnet even has flowers. She is also unhindered by the long dress, which reminds one of the Victorian era; she is quick and nimble, and she looks beautiful and almost regal. The design itself could be a good reason to like her.
Silky seems fine with Elias, despite him being a rather strange creature in the lore of the anime. However, Silky seems to really like Chise. It might be because Chise is capable of seeing and attracting spirits and Fae, or it could be just Chise's personality, but Silky dotes on her. For example, Silky encouraged Chise to visit London while Elias was not available, providing her with some money. Chise, in response, brought a lot of gifts for Silky and Elias. It seems that Chise loves Silky, too, and Elias has at least some respect for this Fae.
Silky is mostly silent, which makes it especially strange that people love her. What cannot be denied is that she is very industrious and hard-working. Besides, she does display emotion, even though it is rare for her to be seriously upset, unless, of course, Chise gets distracted from her food.
One could argue that Silky is a very calming presence when she does not talk. One could also suggest that she does not need words; after all, she always manages to convey her meaning without words. She also writes notes sometimes, such as the note that she added to Chise's envelope of money when she made her go to London for a change of environment. In the end, her being silent did nothing to stop people from liking her.
Silky is only a side character, but she is a good side character. She has good relationships with both Elias and Chise, and she is a sweet, kind person, who helps the main characters through their journey. That alone should be enough to be liked, but to top it off, she has a character arc, even though it happened in the past, and she has a beautiful design and a calming manner. As such, loving Silky is only natural.