Sometimes she did grant wishes properly. There were people who brought plenty of food to thank her when their wishes came true, and others who brought lots of money.

In short, her wish-granting was hit or miss.

Lisette had once asked if it would be better not to grant wishes at all rather than granting them and getting cursed at.

‘Rie, do you know? My father was a much better mage than me, but at the same time, he was a bad person who abandoned his conscience.’

That’s when Celia, who rarely talked about herself, opened up about her true feelings while drinking together.

‘So I decided then. To atone for my father’s sins by granting wishes for a small price. But things don’t go as planned.’

After hearing that, Lisette couldn’t bring herself to suggest that Celia stop granting wishes. All her actions contained no real malice.

Perhaps it would be better not to ask Celia for help?

Remembering Celia’s bitter expression made Lisette want to trust her with a wish, but after seeing how she had just granted someone’s wish in such a strange way, her determination to make a wish seemed to diminish.

While contemplating whether to seek help from Celia or find another solution, a middle-aged woman arrived before Lisette and knocked on the shop door.

“Ah, what now… What can I do for you?”

Celia, who had been irritated thinking the man from earlier had returned, relaxed her expression when she saw the woman’s face.

“Thanks to you, my son passed the civil service exam. He hated studying so much, but the concentration potion you gave him worked wonders. I came to thank you.”

Ah… that person.

Hearing about the civil service exam, Lisette finally remembered that this was the middle-aged woman who had wished a month ago for her son to pass the exam.

“No need to thank me.”

Celia’s face remained expressionless as she accepted the thanks.

“These are steamed potatoes. Please accept them.”

Seemingly unconcerned with Celia’s lack of reaction, the middle-aged woman offered the potatoes with a bright smile.

“Thank you. Rie, what are you doing? Take the potatoes.”

Celia, who had been pretending not to see Lisette until now, suddenly acknowledged her when there was work to be done.

“Yes. Congratulations on your son becoming a civil servant!”

Lisette accepted the potatoes while offering congratulations in Celia’s place.

“Without the mage, my son would have remained a good-for-nothing. I’m so grateful.”

While seeing the grateful woman off, Celia went back inside the shop, seemingly done with her business. After confirming the woman had completely disappeared from view, Lisette also entered the shop.

Seeing the woman thanking Celia revived Lisette’s desire to make a wish.

‘Well, it’s not like I’m going to make a strange wish.’

Thinking about it, it seemed that wishes came true the way you wanted if you explained specifically to Celia rather than being vague. So if she explained well, she might get the desired result.

“Looks like you’ve got a wish to make.”

Noticing Lisette’s determined look, Celia asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“What is it? Remember, nothing too difficult.”

Instead of answering, Lisette let out a deep sigh. It was just stating a wish, but she couldn’t understand why she felt so nervous.

“You remember Lord Usta, one of your regular customers? You said he looked familiar when you first saw him.”

“Of course I remember.”

“It seems he’ll be marrying Natalie soon. They say they’re in love with each other.”

“In love? He doesn’t seem like the type to like someone like her.”

Celia tilted her head after hearing Lisette’s words. She too found it hard to believe that the cold, stern man was in love with Natalie.

“They say they love each other, so it must be true. I want to stop their marriage. Lord Usta deserves better, someone much better than her.”

“What’s your standard for ‘better’?”

“A woman from a good family who’s kinder than the Imperial Princess. I’m not asking you to grant that wish too, just break up their marriage.”

After hearing Lisette’s words, Celia rested her chin on her hand and thought deeply for a moment.

“What? Is this wish too difficult to grant?”

“That’s not a difficult task. Leave it to me—just give me three days.”

Unlike previous wishes she had refused, this time she readily accepted.

“S-sure.”

Lisette felt drained seeing Celia agree so easily to grant her wish. She almost regretted spending so much time worrying.

After Lisette left, someone entered the shop.

“We’re closed… oh?”

Celia, who had been doing final cleanup, stopped what she was doing.

“What brings a noble lord here? You usually make appointments, so this must be urgent.”

“It’s not urgent, but I came to ask if you sell any potions I might need.”

Celia carefully examined him from head to toe. She had only seen him through the magic orb in her laboratory; this was her first time seeing him in person.

“What kind of potion are you looking for?”

“Lately, even when I drink potions, my fatigue doesn’t decrease. What’s going on? Has the effectiveness decreased?”

“Huh? That shouldn’t be possible…”

Celia tilted her head. Her expression showed she was certain that couldn’t be the case. She approached Claude and examined him from various angles.

“Judging by your dark circles, you’re not sleeping well. Good sleep reduces fatigue. Are you under excessive stress?”

“Stress? No, just overwork.”

What stress would he have from his father’s harassment?

“No, that’s not it. I need to know the cause to prescribe medicine. Has anything changed from usual? Any incidents or someone bothering you?”

“My father is forcing me to marry, but it’s nothing important.”

He didn’t want to discuss trivial matters, but Claude gave a vague answer because Celia kept asking persistently.

“Ah, so you don’t want to marry but your father is forcing you? I see. Well, now that I’ve found the cause, I think I can make a potion!”

“?”

Claude tilted his head to one side. Could she really identify the cause and make a potion from just that?

For a moment, he wondered if she was a quack, but the potions she had made before had been quite effective, so he quickly dismissed the thought. There was nothing to lose, so he decided to trust her for now.

“When can I get the potion?”

“You must have a magic communicator, so I’ll let you know the date. I’ll deliver it to your home personally.”

Celia hadn’t yet decided how to help Lisette, but after this conversation with the man, a good idea came to mind.

“Is it necessary to receive it in person?”

“Yes. The potion I’ll give you works best in a damp, dark place. Like a basement. I’ve heard noble lords keep a basement in their mansions as a hiding place in emergencies. If a servant goes, they can go there and open the potion bottle.”

“I understand. I’ll do that.”

Watching the gallant figure of the man riding away on horseback, Celia smiled mischievously.

Of course, she couldn’t predict exactly how her actions would unfold, but one thing seemed certain.

Something interesting was about to happen.

* * *

The three days she was told to wait passed so slowly that even though Lisette was working at the shop as usual, it felt like each day lasted a year.

During those three days, Claude didn’t visit, and no news related to his marriage with Natalie reached her even when she walked in the garden.

Celia barely showed her face for all three days except during meal times and when leaving work, claiming she was busy. Finally, on the third day, Celia handed Lisette a small bottle.

“Could this be solved with medicine?”

“Of course. Just trust me.”

Seeing her bright smile somehow didn’t inspire confidence. Her expression, which seemed to hide some scheme, gave Lisette an uneasy feeling.

“What? Don’t you trust me? If not, you don’t have to take it.”

When Lisette gave her a suspicious look, Celia made a hurt expression.

“How do you plan to stop their marriage?”

“I’ll insert another lady between them. You said you wanted him to meet a much better woman.”

“Are you going to give a love potion?”

Remembering the failed wish, Lisette had an ominous feeling. Surely she wouldn’t offer the same potion that had failed before?

“No. This is completely different from that potion.”

Hearing it wasn’t a love potion, Lisette breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Celia didn’t seem to be planning to reuse her failed creation.

“What do I need to do?”

“Go to the Usta family mansion yourself.”