Chapter 2.1

The site of the fire was now occupied by the half-burned remains of the Bianchi mansion, standing grotesquely in its ruin.  

Furniture that once boasted ornate patterns and decorations had been reduced to ashes, and walls adorned with elegant wallpaper had collapsed under the intense heat.  

The once-magnificent, heavy front door was now warped and twisted into a bizarre shape.  

Yesterday’s splendor and glory were nowhere to be found amidst the wreckage.  

Lucia’s family wandered through the house like ghosts.  

They rummaged through the ashes, salvaging anything of use.  

None of them bothered to search for Lucia’s body, which had supposedly been trapped in the attic.  

Despite the fire being large enough to be visible from City Hall, the adjacent houses had not been affected at all.  

The servants had evacuated safely beforehand, the drawing room door had been locked from the outside, trapping Cedro, Marisa, and Ferris inside, and most notably, the fire had erupted all at once with a massive explosion.  

All of these details hinted at the fact that Lucia had not been in the house during the fire.  

Marisa stopped in front of the family portrait.  

The portrait seemed to have survived the flames.  

Cedro, Ferris, and Marisa were dressed impeccably, gazing down at her with pride.  

Yet, strangely, one person’s image had been completely burned away without a trace.  

***

While Aristide leisurely enjoyed a lavish breakfast for over an hour, Enzo reported the Emperor’s schedule and read several important newspaper articles to him as the Emperor busily ate.  

One article was a follow-up on the incident involving Cedro Bianchi, a successful merchant, whose house had burned down completely.  

Fortunately, the massive fire that had caused the explosion had been extinguished without spreading to other areas, and there were no casualties.  

Except for the missing daughter, Lucia Bianchi.  

Today’s report revealed new information: someone had anonymously submitted records of Cedro Bianchi’s fraud and tax evasion to a prominent newspaper.  

Cedro Bianchi, having lost his house, was now fortunate enough to have gained free lodging—in prison.  

Upon the revelation of his illegal activities, Mr. Bianchi’s assets were immediately frozen, and Ferris Bianchi’s fiancée’s family, enraged, broke off the engagement.  

According to the newspaper, Mrs. Bianchi and her son had managed to secure a small, dilapidated house as their new residence.  

Aristide paused his busy hands and fell into thought.  

Enzo observed the Emperor’s sudden silence and quietly stepped back.  

Lucia had sent a letter saying, 

‘There’s been a change in the plan, and the escape has been delayed, but don’t worry.’  

So this was the plan.  

Aristide skimmed through the newspaper covering the explosion at the Bianchi mansion once again.  

He propped his feet up on the dining table, clasped his hands behind his head, and leaned back against the chair.  

The front legs of the chair lifted off the ground.  

He stared at the portrait of his father, Orestes Segreo, the Emperor whom everyone revered.  

His father’s teal-green eyes, identical to Aristide’s, gazed straight back at him.  

“I wish I had that kind of courage.”  

***

Lucia was working in the back room of Saper Bookstore, adding various voices to a machine that emitted screams.  

Though she had decided not to enter the harem, she wanted to gift Julietta, who loved tragedies, a machine that felt more realistic.  

“Lucia, come eat.”  

Mr. Saper called from outside.  

Mr. Saper was preparing lunch on the boiler.  

The meal consisted of sandwiches with cold ham stuffed between flatbread and tea poured into a chipped teacup.  

Lucia sat across from Mr. Saper, holding the plate warmed by the boiler.  

Mr. Saper glanced at her briefly.  

When Lucia had been trapped in the attic and unable to visit the bookstore, Mr. Saper had wanted to go to her house to check on her but refrained.  

Years ago, when Lucia first began visiting the bookstore, she had asked him to keep her visits an absolute secret.  

She had told him that her parents would forbid her from ever coming again if they found out.  

One day, when his worry had reached its peak, a woman named Sara came by, claiming to be an acquaintance of Lucia, and took some of her inventions from the workshop.  

A few days later, early in the morning, Mr. Saper opened the bookstore door and found Lucia sleeping on the workshop floor.  

Mr. Saper didn’t ask any questions.  

He could piece things together from the newspapers and rumors.  

Instead, he simply set up a bed in the workshop, installed a bathtub in the guest bathroom, and made sure she had meals.  

Thanks to Mr. Saper’s unwavering discretion, Lucia’s parents never imagined she was hiding in a bookstore tucked away in a secluded alley.  

“One day, I’ll repay your kindness, Mr. Saper.”  

Lucia said as she ate her sandwich.  

“You don’t owe me anything, Lucia.”  

He replied firmly.  

“I’ll never forget how good you were to my daughter, even if you’ve forgotten.”  

The two quietly resumed their meal.  

“Don’t you feel stifled?”  

Mr. Saper broke the silence.  

Lucia hadn’t stepped outside the bookstore, fearing she might run into someone she knew.  

She had even closed her invention shop.  

She had always desperately avoided social gatherings, so there were only a few people who recognized ‘Lucia Bianchi’s’ face: the servants, Mr. Saper, the people she had volunteered with, and the suitors she had rejected.  

Still, Lucia couldn’t risk encountering even those few people and remained inside.  

“I’m fine. I like being able to invent all day without interruptions.”  

“Still, you should stand by the window sometimes. Do you know how important sunlight is? Oh! I know some fascinating facts about sunlight!”  

He pulled out a notebook and spent the rest of lunch sharing useful information about sunlight.  

Lucia nodded at every word, asking thoughtful questions.  

***

Early in the morning, Lucia was startled awake by the sound of books tumbling to the floor.  

Rubbing her eyes, she was about to get up and investigate when Mr. Saper’s booming voice rang out.  

“Apologies, Mrs. Bianchi! I’m rather clumsy!”  

Lucia froze and stepped back.  

“I heard my daughter used to come here every day.”  

Marisa’s voice followed.  

‘How did she find out?’  

But it seemed she had come based on old rumors, not knowing for sure that Lucia was currently there.  

Lucia had waited until nightfall after the fire to sneak into the bookstore.  

“I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear that someone I used to see every day died in the fire.”  

Mr. Saper replied.  

“I heard Lucia sold items here. Shouldn’t she have gotten her guardian’s permission to do such things?”  

Ferris demanded.  

“Miss Lucia was an adult and didn’t feel such permission was necessary.”  

As the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, Lucia pulled down the lever she had installed on the ceiling.  

A folded wooden panel dropped down, creating a makeshift wall in front of her temporary bed and desk.  

The sound of the panel dropping seemed to hasten the footsteps.  

“Mrs. Bianchi, that’s the storage room. It’s off-limits!”  

Mr. Saper shouted as the door burst open.  

Through the thin wall, Lucia could almost hear Marisa’s breathing.  

Lucia held her breath.  

“See?”  

Mr. Saper, panting after rushing over, said.  

“It’s just a storage room.”  

A moment of silence passed before Marisa spoke slowly.  

“I’ve been rude, Mr. Saper. My apologies.”  

She turned away from the door.  

“If you ever meet my daughter, could you relay this message? We’re waiting to return the gift she gave us.”  

The sound of footsteps faded, and Mr. Saper returned to whisper.  

“They’re gone, Lucia.”  

Lucia exhaled the breath she had been holding and sank onto the bed.  

***

Her family didn’t return after that.  

Though Lucia still didn’t venture outside, her tension gradually eased.  

She was reading about gear mechanisms in the workshop.  

Her notebook filled at an alarming pace.  

Tap-tap-tap-tap.  

A secret knock sounded at the door.  

Lucia unlocked the three padlocks and opened the door to find Sara standing there.  

They embraced each other.  

Tears welled in Sara’s eyes as she gazed at Lucia and gently caressed her cheek.  

“I missed you, Miss.”  

The two sat on the sagging bed.  

Sara bounced slightly to test its firmness, then looked around the small room, which was so cramped that her hand could touch the wall if she stretched out.  

The stacks of books made the room feel even smaller.  

“Miss, why don’t you stay at my house? It’s not much better than here, but it’s still better than a storage room.”

“It’ll cause rumors if a strange woman starts coming and going. Mr. Saper even suggested I go to his house, but I refused.”  

Though the city was bursting with people, Lucia worried that her family, who were still searching for her, might somehow find out.  

“It’ll be okay soon.” 

Sara said.  

“People are pointing fingers at the Bianchi couple, saying they’re crazy for searching for their dead daughter. It looks like they’re about to give up on finding you.”  

“Mr. Saper said other rumors are starting to spread too.”  

Since Lucia’s body hadn’t been found and the Bianchi family continued to inquire about her, some people began to believe that Lucia was still alive.  

They spread rumors that Lucia, unwilling to face an unwanted marriage, had conspired with a lover to set the house on fire and run away laughing in the middle of the night.  

“That’ll die down soon. Mr. Bianchi was recently released on bail and now seems to want to live quietly. He hasn’t come to my house in over a month.”  

A shadow passed over Lucia’s face.