Lisette pretended to check the appointment list while watching him cautiously. Her mouth went dry and her palms sweated from the tension of possibly being recognized.

“Oh!”

When their fingertips touched while handing over the potion, Lisette’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit. She hastily withdrew her hand, but Claude spoke in an indifferent tone, seemingly uninterested.

“If it works well, I’ll come again.”

Ah, he doesn’t care even when she makes mistakes.

After confirming he had the right item, he left the shop with the potion, appearing to have finished his business. Only then did Lisette breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he showed no interest in others. Just like the rumors, he seemed indifferent to people, which was lucky for her. Otherwise, she might have aroused suspicion.

‘My meeting with Sir Usta might not be just this once. I can’t relax yet!’

Knowing the potion’s effectiveness, Lisette felt uneasy that he might become a regular customer. He might not notice once, but after two or three encounters, he could become suspicious.

The temple ceremony was approaching soon. The probability of encountering him there was high, so she needed to be careful beforehand.

“Isn’t that person someone who frequently visits the imperial palace? I think I’ve seen him at the palace.”

Only after confirming the door had completely closed did Celia come out from her laboratory. It was the first time she showed interest in any customer who came and went.

“Did you see the appointment list? There was only one noble name on it. That’s him.”

“Ah, so it’s him. Quite a famous person.”

“How do you know?”

“Do you know how many people gathered to see him when he returned after suppressing the barbarians? It was so noisy outside that even I put aside all my work and went out to watch.”

Claude was so famous that even Celia, who focused solely on magic and rarely paid attention to outside news, seemed to have heard his name.

“He’s truly famous. He’s the captain of the imperial guard who brought peace to the empire.”

“Ah, so he’s the captain of the guard. Then you might encounter him at the imperial palace several times. Will that be okay?”

Celia asked with a worried look. It was surprising to see her worry about Lisette when she usually showed no interest in her.

“Are you worried about me? It should be fine since he’s never seen my face.”

“I’m worried about losing the employee I worked hard to find if you get caught. You know I don’t let just anyone close to me.”

“…”

‘I should have known.’

Lisette looked at Celia with disapproving eyes, her lips pouting, but Celia, having said what she wanted to say, entered her laboratory, seemingly unconcerned about the gaze.

Though her attitude seemed annoying, Lisette didn’t find it unpleasant.

There was an advantage to Celia helping without asking specific details about Lisette’s circumstances. It made her feel more comfortable. Others would have been curious and questioned her thoroughly.

Just as she had feared, Claude became a regular customer at the shop afterward.

Fortunately, he only bought what he needed and left, showing no interest in Lisette, but she still had to be tense whenever he visited.

“Can’t you watch the shop for me when Sir Usta comes?”

Unable to keep living with a pounding heart, Lisette casually asked Celia.

“Did you see the appointment list? I’m too busy making that to help. Besides, he doesn’t seem to care at all, so aren’t you overreacting?”

“But what if something happens? Please, I’m asking you.”

“Nothing will happen.”

“Can you guarantee that?”

When Celia answered with a firm expression, Lisette asked with hopeful eyes.

“No. I can’t guarantee it. It’s not my business anyway.”

“…”

Would it hurt to help a little?

Lisette felt hurt by Celia’s cold rejection. It wasn’t every day, just asking her to watch the shop briefly when Sir Usta came.

Celia might say she was overreacting, but the reason Lisette was anxious enough to ask for help was because she occasionally encountered Claude at the detached palace.

It was natural for Claude, as captain of the imperial guard, to patrol various parts of the imperial palace and visit the detached palace, but strangely, the frequency of their encounters at the detached palace increased from the time he started visiting the shop.

Because of this, Lisette, who was committing a crime, felt her heart sink whenever she encountered Claude, fearing she would be caught.

Although she wore a black veil, if the frequency of their encounters increased further, she felt her heart wouldn’t survive.

With his good instincts, there’s a risk of being discovered if they meet for too long, right?

Afraid of being caught, Lisette deliberately hunched her shoulders more or walked with her toes pointing outward when he visited the shop, but she feared even this might look suspicious.

“Then you should either refrain from going out or avoid patrol times. You can go home late today. If he’s the captain of the guard, he’ll only patrol the main palace late at night, right?”

Celia looked at her with a pitying gaze and shrugged.

She probably said it thinking to exploit Lisette more, but there was some truth to her words, so Lisette decided to follow her advice.

But that thought soon changed.

“I’ll never listen to Celia again!”

Normally, she would leave work before dinner, before it got dark, but following Celia’s advice, she left after dusk, and Celia worked her diligently until she left.

Isn’t this too much when she’s not even paying her a salary?

Regretting having listened to her, Lisette quickened her steps toward the detached palace.

The secret passage was hidden in the bushes in a secluded part of the rear garden. It was probably an evacuation route created long ago in preparation for war, but now it was a forgotten place that no one used.

Lisette hadn’t known about the secret passage either, but after Celia found its location with magic, she had been using it alone ever since.

Before leaving the passage, Lisette changed into clothes she had left in the corner, put on a black veil, and carefully looked around before stepping out.

Her footsteps quickened as she walked to her quarters, aware that she might encounter someone.

It wasn’t problematic to encounter just anyone, but there was one person who would cause problems if met. That was Natalie, Lisette’s half-sister and the empress’s daughter.

There was only one reason why she, who didn’t even stay at the detached palace, frequently visited the rear garden: solely to torment Lisette.

Natalie, who grew up spoiled because the emperor adored her, would deliberately come to Lisette and pick fights whenever she was in a bad mood.

While Natalie treated Lisette badly, she was incredibly charming in front of people she needed.

Even the emperor was so captivated by her charm that he granted most of her requests. That was why she could be cruel to Lisette.

So even if she picked a fight first, all blame fell on Lisette for being seen by her. To avoid trouble, Lisette had to be perceptive and avoid her.

Just when she felt relieved about safely arriving at her quarters without being discovered:

“Hey, you there!”

Lisette’s footsteps halted at the voice calling from behind. Despite the unwelcome voice, she quickly turned and bowed respectfully.

“Imperial Princess, hello.”

Although Lisette was much older and recognized as a daughter by the emperor, Natalie didn’t care about such things.

To her, Lisette was merely a lowly half-blooded existence, so she treated her like an inferior.

No matter that she was her sister, Lisette had to address her respectfully as “Imperial Princess.” If she didn’t comply with Natalie’s wishes, Natalie might run to the emperor with all sorts of slander and false accusations.

Already out of favor with the emperor, Lisette didn’t want to be disliked even more, so she had to listen to Natalie. That was the reality of her situation, equivalent to being abandoned by the emperor.

“Where are you rushing to?”

“Since it’s late, I was heading to my quarters to sleep.”

What is she trying to find fault with today?

“You, what do you think you’re doing with my words?”

“Pardon?”

When Natalie’s gaze turned toward her hands, Lisette finally realized she had forgotten to wear gloves. She must have left them in the secret passage.