I spent a good chunk of my time in The Witch’s Bakery chasing down every character on the map, and the thing that kept tripping me up early on was simple: I had no idea who liked what, or how to even start building a friendship. So I put everything I learned into one place. Below you’ll find each character, how many hearts you can earn with them, whether romance is on the table, the fastest way to raise your bond, and the gifts that actually land. Someone handed me a few of these tips early and it saved me a lot of guessing, so I’m passing them along.
How Relationships Work at a Glance
Every character has a fixed heart cap, and most of them won’t open up beyond casual small talk until you’ve invested some time. A few of them — Estelle, Mawuli, and Kei — tie into the bigger story because of the large Regrets they carry, which means raising your bond with them isn’t just a side hobby. It’s part of moving things forward.
The pattern I noticed is that talking to a character at their own location is the baseline, and once you hit Relationship 1 with a romanceable character, invitations to restaurants, the movie theater, concerts, and the theater open up. For everyone else, regular visits and purchases at their shops do most of the lifting. Here’s the full roster with my own notes:
| Character | Total Hearts | Romanceable | Where to Find Them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estelle | 3 | Yes | Birllance, Grands Boulevards |
| Ghaldari | 2 | No | Magic shop, Passage Verdeau |
| Hassan | 2 | No | Bookshop, Quai des Bouquinistes |
| Judith Tessier | 2 | No | Decoration shop, Passage Verdeau |
| Kei | 2 | No | Restaurant, Bassin de la Villette |
| Mawuli | 3 | No | Rue de Buci district |
| Mirembe | 3 | No | Ghaldari’s shop, Passage Verdeau |
| Mr. Martin | 2 | No | Movie theater, Rue Gabrielle |
| Orio | 4 | No | Follows you throughout the game |
Estelle
Estelle is the accountant at Birllance over in Grands Boulevards, and she first shows up in Chapter Two. What makes her worth the effort is that she carries one of those big Regrets you need to heal, and reaching that point takes a fair amount of relationship building first. You can’t rush her.
Your opening move is to keep visiting her at the accounting building and chatting. Once you push through to Relationship 1, the doors open — literally — and you can start inviting her out to restaurants, the movie theater, concerts, the theater, and so on. Mixing those outings into your routine made the climb to her third heart feel much less grindy to me.
- H.P. Hatecraft Collection — Hassan’s shop
- Cabaret Poster — Hassan’s shop
- Kitchen Organizer — unlocked after reaching Hearts 1 with Judith
Ghaldari
Ghaldari was Lunne‘s teacher, and these days she runs the magic shop in Passage Verdeau. That shop is worth knowing regardless of friendship, because it’s where you buy books to read back at the Atelier. Romance isn’t on the table here, so I just treated her as a steady relationship to maintain.
Her bond goes up through simple consistency: drop by the shop, chat with her, and keep purchasing books at a regular clip. Nothing fancy required.
- Mythic Pot — Alluux’s shop
- Magical Astrolabe — earned by completing the A Troublesome Grimoire side quest
Hassan
Hassan owns the bookshop in Quai des Bouquinistes, and you meet him for the first time in Chapter 2, when Estelle introduces you to him. Since I was buying books from him constantly anyway, his friendship happened almost on its own — talking to him at the shop and keeping up those regular book purchases is really all there is to it.
- Spin Artbook — Ghaldari’s shop
Judith Tessier
Judith Tessier runs the decorations shop in Passage Verdeau, which is where you pick up decorative items for the bakery. Of everyone on this list, she was the one whose friendship surprised me the most, purely because buying decorations was something I was already doing. Stop in, chat, and buy decor often, and her hearts fill in without much deliberate effort.
- Spectral Decoration — Ghaldari’s shop
- The Magic of Tidying Up — Hassan’s shop
Kei
You’ll meet Kei in Chapter 4. He owns the restaurant at Bassin de la Villette, and just like Estelle and Mawuli, he carries a large Regret you’ll need to help cleanse, so his bond ties directly into the story.
To build your relationship with him, visit him at his restaurant for mentoring and keep following the main story quests. Since the story has you coming back to him anyway, I found his hearts arrived naturally as long as I didn’t skip his mentoring visits.
- Pot Holders — unlocked after reaching Heart 2 with Judith
- Le Viandier de Taillevent — Hassan’s shop
- Aside Poppies — Alluux’s shop
Mawuli
Mawuli is a very energetic content creator living in the Rue de Buci district, first appearing in Chapter 2. Here’s the part I genuinely appreciated: they can help out at the bakery by making customers more patient, which effectively buys you a little extra time when things get hectic. Like Estelle, they also have a large Regret that needs healing.
Your two tools for getting closer are using their ability at the bakery and inviting them out to things like concerts, movies, the theater, or a restaurant. Since their ability is useful on its own, I ended up leaning on it more than I expected.
- A Century of Parisian Street Art — Hassan’s shop
- Aside Picture — Ghaldari’s shop
- The Wind Walker — Hassan’s shop
Mirembe
Mirembe is Ghaldari‘s current student in magic, and you’ll find her in Ghaldari’s shop in Passage Verdeau. She’s one of the youngest characters you’ll meet in Paris, which makes her a fun one to befriend.
Talking to her at the shop is the foundation. Beyond that, inviting her to concerts, movies, the theater, or restaurants is how you push her bond higher — she’s got a generous three hearts to fill, so those invitations add up.
- Blackbird BR-72 — Ghaldari’s shop
Mr. Martin
Mr. Martin owns the movie theater just down the street from the bakery on Rue Gabrielle. He’s your neighbor and, fittingly, the very first person you get to know in Paris. That early introduction made him feel like the friendly face of the whole experience to me.
To get closer, talk to him outside the theater and make a habit of going to watch movies there. Two hearts doesn’t take long when a quick chat and a film visit are all on the menu.
- Moving Mansion Poster — Hassan’s shop
- Crescentia Montressori — Alluux’s shop
Orio
Orio is Lunne’s magical morphing cat-like companion who follows you everywhere and helps make the goods for the bakery. He’s essentially your built-in best friend, and with four hearts he’s the biggest bond on this list — which honestly felt right given how much time you spend together.
The trick with Orio is timing. Whenever the conversation option pops up in the bottom left corner — usually after a big story milestone — take it, no hesitation. On top of that, you earn experience with him simply by working in the bakery, so your daily grind doubles as relationship gains. If you let those bottom-left prompts slip past, you’re leaving progress on the table.
- Surprise Box — Ghaldari’s shop
- Moko Volume 71 — Hassan’s shop
Wrapping Up
The short version of everything I learned: talk to people where they live, buy what they sell, and don’t skip the invitations once they’re available. Get those patterns running early and the hearts take care of themselves. Hope this saves you a few wrong guesses — now go treat Orio to something nice.