Chapter 1.6

The ballroom, filled with the heat of people, was suffocatingly hot, and the chandelier reflecting the warm, subtle light of a rainbow was blindingly bright.  

Why did the people on the dance floor below not feel this suffocating air and only dance so beautifully?  

Lucia Bianchi swallowed dryly.  

“What… what did you just say, Your Majesty?”  

She must have misheard.  

She had to have misheard.  

The man standing before her smiled broadly at Lucia, who was now sweating.  

With his turquoise eyes curving into crescent shapes, he spoke.  

“I’ve chosen you.”  

He pointed at Lucia with his long finger as if sealing the decision.  

“My next concubine.”  

***

Before Lucia, who felt as if her blood had frozen, Aristide continued speaking.  

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a concubine but a mistress. My women don’t hold the legal status of concubines. But doesn’t the word ‘concubine’ roll off the tongue better?”  

Lucia, stunned by the shock, couldn’t respond.  

By the time she regained her senses, a knight was asking Aristide a question.  

“Shall I prepare a room, then?”  

“Well, not today.”  

Aristide hummed a tune as he walked down the long corridor.  

‘Should I run away now?’  

Lucia thought to herself.  

Then, another rumor suddenly came to mind.  

‘He finds women who try to escape and subjects them to horrific executions…’  

Lucia ran up to Aristide and spoke firmly.  

“I refuse.”  

But he calmly descended the stairs and opened the door to the first floor.  

“You would be wise to rescind your command, Your Majesty.”  

Lucia followed closely behind him, speaking.  

“As you must have heard, I’m a crazy woman. You’ll gain nothing by involving yourself with me. If you make me a concubine, I’ll burn down the Imperial Family!”  

He stepped into the dark garden, walking leisurely between the hedges lining both sides with his hands behind his back.  

“Can’t you hear me? I said I don’t want to be a concubine!”  

Her face flushed red as she protested, but he didn’t respond.  

This man, too, ultimately dismissed her opinions as mere noise and nonsense.  

The man who had acknowledged her inventions turned out to be just another beast who saw women as mere toys.  

She had rejected suitors who thought of her body only as a vessel for bearing children, yet now she was to become the prey of such a lecherous man.  

Her anger, far greater than her fear, blinded her.  

“You disgust me.”  

At this point, it didn’t matter what happened.  

Even if she were executed, she couldn’t endure this any longer.  

“Your Majesty, you are no better than a beast who sees women as mere toys. No, beasts at least look like beasts, but you are even filthier and more repulsive because you disguise yourself in nobility and deceive people.”  

Aristide still said nothing, picking up an apple from the ground and biting into it.  

“Why did you buy my inventions? Were you trying to win my favor? You wouldn’t need to go to such lengths, Your Majesty.”  

Aristide threw the half-eaten apple into the bushes.  

“Even if you were the last man left in this world, I would never become your woman.”  

“Oh. In romance novels, the female protagonist who says such things always ends up with the male protagonist.”  

Talking to him was like talking to a wall.  

Before she knew it, they had reached a corner of the garden. The scent of flowers wafted over.  

Aristide turned around, furrowing his brows as he reached into his pocket. Lucia instinctively took a cautious step back.  

At that moment, the Emperor suddenly extended his hand. Lucia reflexively shut her eyes tightly.  

“Ta-da!”  

Something fluttered above Lucia’s head. It was flower petals scattered by him.  

“Congratulations, Miss Bianchi!”  

He smiled brightly and extended his hand for a handshake, but Lucia mercilessly slapped it away.  

‘What is he congratulating me for?!’  

“Oh…”  

He looked at his hand with drooping eyes.  

“Should I have explained first? I forgot…”  

Clearing his throat, he adopted a serious expression.  

“My concubines are no longer suppressing their fiery desires but are freely pursuing not just me but many people—”  

Smack!  

Unable to hold back any longer, Lucia slapped his cheek.  

“Ouch!”  

Aristide clutched his cheek.  

“Miss Bianchi, why did you hit me?”  

“You filthy bastard.”  

Tears welled up in Lucia’s eyes as she spat out curses and turned sharply to run.  

Even if she died trying to escape, it didn’t matter anymore. She had to at least try.  

“Miss Bianchi, Miss Bianchi! Wait, listen to me until the end!”  

He shouted at her retreating back.  

“Researcher. They’re researchers!”  

‘Researchers?’  

What was he talking about?  

“My concubines are researchers! They conduct research that benefits many people! I’ve never laid a hand on them!”  

Lucia stopped running.  

“And it’s ambition, not desire. I misspoke.”  

Not only was he disgusting, but he was also spouting lies now.  

He was far crazier than she had imagined.  

As Lucia resumed running, Aristide shouted after her.  

“Bartolo Retierre!”  

Lucia stopped again.  

Bartolo Retierre.  

The current greatest architect of the Bederon Empire.  

The one who recently completed the continent’s largest suspension bridge using catenary curve research.  

“That person is actually one of my concubines.”  

‘What?’  

Even men!  

“Bartolo Retierre is a woman! She uses a male name to avoid discrimination.”  

Lucia was struck by immense confusion.  

“And Riccardo Moretti is also a woman. She’s one of my concubines too.”  

Riccardo Moretti. The almost sole botanist of Bederon.  

‘Is what he’s saying true?’  

Aristide had already approached Lucia, who had stopped walking.  

“Yes, it’s true.”  

As if reading her thoughts, he answered.  

Then, taking a deep breath, he launched into a lengthy explanation.  

“You know well that our country is lagging behind compared to neighboring nations. So, while it’s imperative to devote all efforts to progress, I find it unjust that talented individuals are denied opportunities simply due to prejudice. But if people knew that I, the Emperor, was supporting female researchers, they wouldn’t stand idly by… After much deliberation, I created a laboratory but disguised it as a harem!”  

Lucia stared at Aristide.  

Suddenly, the face she had considered that of a filthy Emperor overlapped with the sparkling eyes of the ‘regular customer’ who had fiddled with her inventions.  

The dirty rumors about the Emperor clashed with the innocent image of the regular customer, leaving her dizzy.  

Lucia managed to ask.  

“…Why such a lie?”  

“If I told the truth, only my researchers would have suffered.”  

Aristide continued, seemingly excited.  

“But if I change the name ‘researcher’ to ‘concubine’…!”  

Yes. No one dared to touch the Emperor’s women.  

“So, the concubines aren’t actually concubines but researchers supported by you, Your Majesty, pretending to be concubines for their safety?”  

“Exactly! Miss Bianchi, you understood it perfectly!”  

“…You don’t seriously expect me to believe this insane nonsense, do you?”  

“Miss Bianchi, you don’t believe it immediately, as expected!”  

Lucia irritably swept her disheveled hair back.  

“There are too many holes in this story. If this were true, why didn’t you just tell me I was selected as a researcher from the start instead of causing this uproar with talk of concubines!”  

“Because it’s a secret known only to my aide Enzo. Last week, the researchers voted, and you were chosen as the next researcher. You were going to be contacted next week anyway.”  

“Then why reveal this strictly guarded secret to me now?”  

“I have to inform new recruits! If they think they’re really joining as concubines, it would be a disaster! You absolutely mustn’t assault me!”  

Aristide widened his eyes and defensively wrapped his arms around himself.  

The sight of such a massive man in that pose was almost grotesque.  

“What if I go around spreading this information?”  

“Who would believe you? You know my reputation. A lecher. A s*x addict. The Emperor of the Night! Hahaha!”  

After a brief silence, Lucia coldly replied.  

“If this is a lie designed to make me think better of you, drop it.  

An Emperor who treats women as toys and an Emperor who gives researchers the degrading title of ‘concubine’ are no different in my eyes.”  

“But it’s not a lie.”  

Aristide tilted his head as he spoke.  

Lucia was at a loss for words. Everything he said sounded insane, yet everything fit perfectly.  

“Miss Bianchi, the murderous intent in your eyes is starting to fade!”  

Aristide exclaimed excitedly.  

“It’s a great decision. A generous lifetime salary, free lodging, and a laboratory! I’m offering you an incredible opportunity!”  

The excited Aristide and the still wary Lucia were worlds apart in mood, though he didn’t seem to notice this.  

“To help you make your decision, how about visiting the Moonlight Palace?”  

“…Moonlight Palace?”  

“Haha, that’s the name of the harem where the researchers and I work. It originally had a longer name, but I can’t even remember it properly. People seem to believe it’s a harem even more because of the name ‘Moonlight Palace.’ The power of names is truly remarkable!”  

Lucia shut her mouth tightly in shame. Aristide spoke cheerfully.  

“Shall I send the carriage to Saper Bookstore on Friday?”  

Perhaps interpreting her silence as agreement, Aristide spun around and began walking toward the Imperial Palace, waving his hand.  

‘Leaving? He’s just… leaving like this?’  

If it were a ploy to catch her off guard, Lucia checked her surroundings for knights poised to drag her to his bedroom by his command.  

There was no sign of anyone.  

Lucia stared at his coat shimmering under the moonlight until it disappeared from view.