Chapter 47

The next day, Lia went to the eastern annex immediately after breakfast.  

Rafaella was left in Paula’s care.  

The butler guided Lia, who did not know the exact location of the laboratory.  

In front of the laboratory, Dorothea was already leaning against the door, waiting.  

“Dorothea, how did you find the way here?”  

“The mages in the annex had already heard the news.”  

She had asked one of the mages, who gave her detailed directions.  

The news that Lia was making a potion to cure Penelope’s illness had sparked great curiosity among the mages.  

“My task is now complete, Miss Lia.”  

The butler politely bowed to them and left.  

“Shall we go in?”  

Lia opened the laboratory door.  

“…Wow.”  

The room was arranged in the optimal conditions for potion-making.  

Not only were all the ingredients Lia had requested neatly prepared, but various potion-making tools were also organized.  

There were even two sturdy-looking cauldrons.  

Furthermore, a bookshelf lined one wall, filled with a wide array of potion-making books.  

‘I didn’t expect them to prepare this well.’  

Although the room was prepared for Penelope’s treatment rather than for her, Lia found it extremely satisfying.  

She even thought about continuing to use this place after making the healing potion.  

“Dorothea, shall we begin?”  

Lia took out her potion-making notebook.  

“Yes.” 

Dorothea’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lia’s notebook, which she had briefly seen in the North.  

Once again, they carefully read through the recipe written in the notebook.  

Lia put the notebook down and carefully took out a Dewflower from a large pouch.  

“The ingredients are surprisingly simple, but the process is a bit tricky.”  

“Yes, so we can’t let our guard down even for a moment.”  

On the spacious laboratory table, Lia placed the Dewflower, leech extract, goat’s horn, and a healing mana stone in order.  

“I’ll crush the Dewflower, so Dorothea, please grind 10 grams of the healing mana stone.”  

“Understood.”  

They immersed themselves in their work, preparing and boiling the ingredients in different ways, fully focused until night fell.  

The maid who brought lunch and dinner marveled at their intense concentration, quietly opening and closing the door.  

***

By the third day of potion-making, they had yet to create the cure for Penelope.  

“Did I write something down wrong back then?”  

“If you had, you wouldn’t have succeeded in completing it in the first place. But it worked back then, didn’t it?”  

“Well, that’s true….”  

“If we fail again today, let’s make a few adjustments and try again tomorrow.”  

Although they followed the recipe and worked late into the evening, they failed once more.  

“See you tomorrow, Dorothea.”  

“Don’t worry too much and get a good rest, Lia. Tomorrow might bring progress.”  

Receiving comfort from Dorothea, Lia parted ways with her in front of the laboratory.  

Exhausted, she walked to Rafaella’s room.  

‘Did I really write something wrong back then? Where exactly did I make a mistake…?’  

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to find her mistake and fail to cure Penelope.  

She had promised to heal her.  

“…Hey, look ahead.”  

“…Huh? Your Grace?”  

She was startled to see Johann emerging from Rafaella’s room.  

“What were you thinking about so deeply that you didn’t even notice someone in front of you?”  

“…Ah, I’m sorry. I was thinking about the potion.”  

“Is it not going well?”  

“Well, there’s a part where I’m a bit stuck.”  

“I don’t know much about potions, but don’t be too hasty.”  

“But I need to finish it quickly.”  

“Penelope wouldn’t want you to push yourself this hard to make it.”  

As he spoke, he stared intently at the dark circles under her eyes.  

“Do you even know how hollow your eyes look right now?”  

Embarrassed, Lia covered her eyes with her hand.  

“Are you getting proper sleep at night?”  

“…I’ve been going to bed a bit late lately.”  

“If you don’t sleep properly, even a sharp mind won’t function well. Don’t think about anything tonight and just sleep.”  

Although his tone was curt, there was concern in his words. Lia nodded slightly.  

“Do you know how worried Rafaella is about you?”  

During the three days she was busy, Johann had spent time with Rafaella, playing with her and eating meals together.  

Hearing about it from Paula in the morning had reassured Lia immensely, as it wasn’t just a temporary change.  

“Thank you for spending time with Rafaella and eating with her.”  

“No need to thank me. Just take care of yourself since the child is worried.”  

He responded gruffly, as though he had been scolded rather than thanked, and walked past her.  

But despite his brusque tone, his words conveyed his concern for her well-being.  

‘He probably doesn’t remember, but he said something similar to me in the past.’  

That day, Lia decided not to think about anything and just sleep, as her husband had suggested.  

After all, if she didn’t sleep properly, her mind wouldn’t function well.  

As soon as she lay on the bed for the first time in three days, she fell asleep immediately.  

And she dreamed of the past.  

In the dream, she and her husband were picking Dewflowers in the rain.  

With the flowers she had gathered, she combined various ingredients to create a potion to treat a child bitten by a demonic fish.  

She had been so eager to make it quickly for the child, who was wasting away day by day, that she hadn’t slept properly.  

“Lia, aren’t you overworking yourself?”  

“I keep failing. I need to make it quickly so Fabio can get better.”  

“…At this rate, your body will give out first.”  

“I’m fine. I’m just a little sleep-deprived.”  

“Sleep is important. You should get some rest today.”  

Johann—or rather, Hart—lifted the dark-eyed Lia from her desk and took her to bed.  

He carefully tucked her in and kissed her gently on the forehead.  

“I’ll take care of Raffy, so don’t think about anything and just sleep, Lia.”  

“Thank you, Hart.”  

After a good night’s sleep, she woke up and suddenly realized the problem with the recipe, successfully completing the potion.  

She had showered Hart with kisses in gratitude.  

“…Huh.”  

Lia woke up from her dream, startled, the memory of kissing her husband still vivid.  

‘Why did that particular scene have to appear in my dream…?’  

She calmed her racing heart and stepped out of the bedroom.  

The dream had not been detailed enough for her to recall what error she had found in the recipe.  

However, there was one thing that came to mind.  

‘…Could it really be because of that?’  

If so, it wasn’t the recipe that was the problem.  

After breakfast, Lia headed not to the eastern annex where the laboratory was located but to her husband’s room.  

“What brings you here so early in the morning?”  

“It’s about the healing mana stone you provided.”  

“Is there a problem with it?”  

“…It’s of the highest quality, isn’t it?”  

“Isn’t that obvious?”  

Samuel was fastening a cravat around Johann’s neck.  

Johann tilted his head slightly upward before approaching Lia.  

“Could you get me a lower-grade one?”  

“…A lower-grade one?”  

“I think the healing mana stone is too high-quality, which might be causing it to clash with the leech extract.”  

“Samuel, are there any lower-grade healing mana stones in the ducal estate?”  

“I’ll check and bring one right away.”  

Samuel left the room to procure a lower-grade healing mana stone.  

“If we find one, I’ll have it sent to the annex immediately.”  

“Yes, thank you. I’ll be going now.”  

Lia turned to leave after finishing her business. However, as if something had come to mind, she paused with her hand on the doorknob and half-turned to look at him.  

“…Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to clear my head a bit.”  

“…That’s good to hear.”  

Johann seemed slightly flustered as he turned his head slightly and responded.  

After bidding him farewell, Lia headed to the laboratory.  

She explained to Dorothea, who had arrived earlier and was waiting, that the healing mana stone seemed to be the issue.  

“The healing mana stones my grandmother used to store were all lower-grade.”  

“I didn’t think of that. So even using something too good can be a problem.”  

“I was so fixated on the recipe that I didn’t consider the possibility that the ingredients might be the issue.”  

“My Master used to say, ‘If everything seems perfect but you still fail, it’s surely because of a minor detail.’”  

“Oh? My grandmother used to say that a lot too.”  

“Really? That’s one of my Master’s famous sayings!”  

“Could my grandmother and your Master be the same person?”  

“That’s unlikely, considering the age difference. But it’s fascinating.”  

As they were engrossed in discussing their mentors, someone knocked on the laboratory door.  

It was a servant who had hurriedly brought a lower-grade healing mana stone.  

“There weren’t any in the ducal estate, so I quickly went to the store to purchase one.”  

Lia carefully examined the healing mana stone handed to her by the servant and smiled in satisfaction.  

“Will this do?”  

“Yes, this will work perfectly.”  

After the servant left, Lia and Dorothea began making the potion again, this time with renewed determination.  

By the time the sun began to set, they finally succeeded in creating the potion for Penelope.  

The cauldron bubbled with a clear liquid of pristine color.  

“At last!”  

“We did it!”  

Lia and Dorothea cheered with joy and hugged each other tightly.  

The transparent liquid now needed to cool completely.  

Afterward, it would be transferred to small glass bottles and left to mature for a few hours before it was ready for use.  

Lia and Dorothea shared dinner in the laboratory as they waited for the liquid to cool.  

It was only near midnight that they carefully transferred the cooled potion into glass bottles.  

‘Tomorrow morning, I’ll deliver this to Lady Penelope right away!’