Withering Away: Anca's Recipe

Anca explains the recipe once, while she is handing the herbs over. If you clicked past it: use hot water, then add three spoonfuls. Below is that step in full, plus every other decision the quest puts in front of you.

The Answer: Hot Water, Then Three Spoonfuls

Two prompts, in this order. Pick these and the medicine is correct.

Use hot water — hot, not boiling.
Add three spoonfuls of herbs.

What Anca Actually Says

Her instruction is spoken once: brew three scoops of the mixture with water that is hot but not quite boiling, give it to Esme before Mass, and then twice daily. She also slips a physical recipe into your inventory, which is easy to miss — you can reread it there instead of guessing.

Does Getting It Wrong Matter?

Less than the scene suggests. Esme drinks the brew either way, and she still turns up at Mass afterwards. You can even admit to Anca at Mass that you mixed the wrong dose, and she answers that there is nothing to be done because there is no time. Polygon's testing found no lasting effect on Esme beyond her existing condition, so get the recipe right for the moment rather than out of fear of a hidden fail state.

Every Other Choice in Withering Away

Choice	What it changes
Force Esme to eat, or not	Push and she knocks the spoon away. Hold back and Pieter is unhappy but understanding. No lasting consequence either way.
Call out to Anca, or watch quietly	Speaking up startles her and nothing more. Staying quiet walks you in slowly and the camera catches red marks on her arm that you would not otherwise see until Page-Turner.
Ask about the scars	Open with the line about not interrupting and you can ask directly. She does not take it well, but there is no lasting effect.
Pay full, pay half, or say you cannot afford it	Saying you cannot afford them still gets you the herbs, because Anca lets you settle up later. Paying now simply leaves you out of pocket with no known extra benefit.
Practise Latin, or leave	Practising starts the Page-Turner quest and the first flirtatious scene between Coen and Anca. Leaving hands that time back to another quest.

After the Herbs

Giving Esme the medicine leads straight into a duel with Pieter, the second combat tutorial. You cannot refuse it, and losing takes you to the same cutscene as winning, so treat it as parry practice rather than a fight you have to protect. That duel closes Withering Away.