When Your Secret Crush Wizard Took a Love Potion - Chapter 1
“Please make me a love potion.”
A noblewoman as pure as a lily pleaded, dabbing her tears with a fine handkerchief.
“Make it potent, so he cannot live without me, so overwhelmed with love that he can’t breathe and sees only me!”
Her request sounded a bit malicious.
Honestly, these situations are quite tricky. Although some say you can easily sell your kidney or conscience to increase your proficiency in magic, I still hold onto my ethical standards.
“Who do you intend to use it on?”
“My husband.”
Looking at me, who was surprised, she covered her mouth with her hand.
“He, he…! After whispering he loved me, he continued to seek other women every day even after we married!”
“It must have been very tough for you.”
Hearing her story, it was clear she was dealing with a scoundrel. Blinded by a love potion would be too good for him.
She had evidently suffered a miserable marriage due to her unfortunate choice in a partner. The woman, voicing her anguish, looked truly sad. Clearly, those who commit adultery and cause their innocent spouses such grief deserve the pit of fire.
“However, madam, I must decline this request.”
Magic is a profound power, achieved through intricate spells and rituals. The more one studies, the more one realizes the grandeur of magic but also that it is not omnipotent.
There are three main areas unaffected by magic.
The first is tasks requiring meticulous attention, such as cleaning or cooking.
Even a great wizard who can create whirlwinds of fire and burn down mountains struggles to scrub away bathroom stains. Edgar, for instance, first used his high-level magic to command a golem to catch up on overdue laundry and clean the cabin.
The second is time. Time is a taboo that even the most powerful sages cannot alter, and to date, no one has managed to travel back in time.
The third is emotions.
Unlike the previous example, while not entirely unmanageable, human emotions are complex and delicate. The heart is a domain that generally eludes manipulation by magic.
Therefore, potions that disrupt emotions are considered dark magic or curses and are almost entirely hidden from public knowledge because of their dangerous nature.
If I were to accept the commission and the potion somehow made its way into circulation, it could result in a disastrous outcome.
“Please, wizard, I beg you.”
The woman, her eyes brimming with tears, pushed a heavy purse of coins toward me.
“It’s okay if it fails. Just making it will earn you this money. And if the potion causes my husband to love only me madly, I will double this amount.”
Haa. I sighed unintentionally.
“Triple.”
“Madam, money is not the issue. A love potion…”
“Four times. I can’t do more than that.”
I coughed awkwardly and picked up the purse laid on the table.
Ethical considerations are important, but it’s hard to refuse a regular client who is in a pitiful situation and earnestly requests help.
“I will do my best.”
However, I made sure to emphasize an important point.
“Please understand, Madam. Even if your husband takes the love potion, the feelings it induces are artificial and the effect will be temporary at best. It won’t bring you his eternal love.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The noblewoman lifted the corners of her mouth into a somewhat sinister smile.
“As long as I can divorce him after making him cling to me in love, and extract a hefty alimony, that’s all I need.”
She had her own agenda.
I sighed in relief.
After parting ways with the woman, I returned to the cabin and immediately began concocting the love potion.
It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but my potion-making skills were so proficient that even the great wizard Edgar Blayden would acknowledge them. However, letting my guard down would be dangerous.
A slight miscalculation in the ingredients could create a potion as destructive as a bomb, turning the village into ruins.
All the ingredients needed for the love potion were in Edgar’s lab: bellflower root, toad venom, zedoary flowers, and tears from a creature neither male nor female…
Once the final bit of magical energy was added to the bubbling cauldron, the love potion was complete. Now, whoever drank this potion would fall madly in love with the first person they encountered.
“All done…”
By the time the potion was finished, I was nearly fainting from exhaustion. My reflection in the mirror hung on the lab wall showed dark circles under my eyes from several nights without sleep.
Fortunately, Edgar was away meeting a contact in the Mistwood Forest; otherwise, I would have been subjected to another of his lectures.
I wondered when he would return. He was known to disappear like the wind on occasion, but this trip had been particularly long.
If Edgar returned this time, it might well be the moment for me to leave this cabin.
