Chapter 2.6

Late in the afternoon, Lucia reflected on what the Emperor had done today.  

He ordered shoes, ate breakfast for an hour, went for a walk, snacked, tried on shoes hastily crafted by the shoemaker in mere hours, ordered new clothes inspired by them, ate Kanestrelli cookies because he was tired, played marbles…  

It was a busy schedule in its own way.  

Currently, Aristide was avoiding Enzo and had kicked Lucia out of his bedroom, claiming he needed a nap.  

He said he couldn’t sleep when someone was watching him—though could someone who eats rotting fruit be considered sensitive?  

Emerging from the Emperor’s bedroom, Lucia smoothed out her wrinkled skirt and fixed the stray hairs escaping her loose bun.  

“Broad daylight…”  

A passing servant muttered under her breath.  

Ah. It could look like that.  

Lucia left the area.  

Whether shouting she wouldn’t be subjugated to men or being in a position to be ‘loved’ by one, she had always faced people’s disdain.  

Before, it hadn’t bothered her, but now, she couldn’t bear it.  

But since she had chosen this path, she would have to get used to it.  

Lost in thought, Lucia wandered aimlessly around the palace until she accidentally entered the Emperor’s study without knocking.  

The guards, indifferent to the Emperor’s security, didn’t stop a concubine from entering.  

Aristide stood by the window.  

The setting sun reflected off the palace’s white walls, casting a deeper halo around him.  

Bathed in golden light, he muttered to himself, his usual smile absent.  

“Why am I so tired today?”  

Lucia froze at the doorway.  

She didn’t know whether to leave and knock again or announce her presence now.  

When Aristide turned and met her gaze, she froze entirely.  

It felt like she had been caught doing something wrong, though she wasn’t sure what.  

For a while, silence hung in the air.  

The icy tension shattered with his eye-smile and wide grin.  

“Miss Bianchi! Why the startled face? Does this hour’s sunlight exaggerate my beauty unusually?”  

He winked as he spoke.  

“Y-Yes… No, that’s not it.”  

“Oh! Even you have fallen for my charms?”  

“No—”  

“Gasp! Then you’re saying I’m ugly?!”  

“No, that’s not what I meant—”  

He laughed heartily.  

As the conversation spiraled out of control, Lucia began to forget the odd tension from earlier, like waking from a strange dream.  

“Well, I must bathe in rose water now, so that’s it for today. Ah, but before you leave.”  

Aristide pulled something out of his pocket.  

“I don’t think you’ll go around announcing you’re a concubine, but I hear there will be times you must. So here.”  

It was a handkerchief embroidered with the emblem of the Segreo Imperial Family—a white chrysanthemum held in the beak of a raven.  

Below the raven were the words, ‘Concubine of Emperor Aristide Savio Segreo.’  

Lucia frowned as she examined the handkerchief from various angles.  

“This is… all?”  

When the moment came to prove herself as a concubine, Lucia doubted that simply showing this would make people say, ‘Ah, so she really is a concubine.’  

Aristide shrugged his shoulders.  

“They’ve all said this was enough so far. Well then, take care.”  

Lucia bowed and left the room. Unconsciously, she turned back, but his expression was obscured by the setting sun behind him.  

***

Aristide was sunk deep into his armchair, arms crossed.  

He had been showing uncharacteristic behavior in front of Lucia. He worried that she might find it strange.  

Aristide confided this concern to Enzo and ordered him to summon Lucia.  

Enzo remarked, 

“There’s no need to go on at length about wanting to see Miss Lucia.”  

“…I don’t know what you mean.”  

Aristide grumbled for no reason.  

He knew it himself. The truth was, he simply wanted to see her.  

Of course, it wasn’t ‘just’ to see her—he wanted to check if she was adjusting well to life in the harem, if she needed anything… the same ordinary concern he had shown for every new researcher.  

Aristide convinced himself of this.  

***

Lucia had been spending dull days waiting for approval on her research funding request.  

So when the summons from the Imperial Palace arrived, she welcomed it.  

‘Now I can start inventing.’  

Entering the palace study, she found Emperor Aristide furrowing his brows and staring intently at a document.  

He seemed so focused that he didn’t notice her entering.  

‘Is he finally attending to state affairs?’  

At that moment, Aristide called out to Enzo, 

“I’m craving tiramisu today!”  

Of course, that wasn’t the case.  

“Miss Bianchi! How have you been?”  

Lucia replied that she had been well. She wanted to ask when her research funding would be released, but it was basic courtesy not to rush the one providing it.  

Holding back what she wanted to say, she asked something else instead.  

“What task may I assist you with?”  

“…Task?”  

“I’ve heard from other researchers that you only summon them for official matters, Your Majesty. Is it something related to machinery?”  

“…That’s right. I summoned you to ask about machinery.”  

Aristide’s gaze subtly shifted to Enzo, who answered tactfully.  

“Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that you have a meeting with the Minister of Finance right now.”  

“Oh, that’s right! My apologies, Miss Bianchi. My schedule overlapped. I’ll have to postpone the matter about machinery until tomorrow.”  

Lucia said it was fine and left the room.  

Aristide let out a sigh as his stiff smile relaxed.  

Enzo told him, 

“You could have just been honest and said you wanted to check on her well-being.”  

Aristide shook his head.  

He felt a strange and strong certainty that he shouldn’t do that.  

“Enzo, find something related to machinery.”  

***

The next day, when Lucia arrived at the Imperial Palace, Aristide was waiting outside.  

He led her to the archery range tucked away in a corner of the Imperial Garden and stood before a wooden device.  

It had a barrel mounted on wheels and a lever attached to the side.  

“This is a machine for launching targets into the air for archery training, but I’ve received reports that it’s broken.”  

Aristide placed a clay target into the barrel and pulled the lever.  

The machine coughed but failed to launch the ball.  

“Can you fix it?”  

Lucia nodded and took out tools from her bag.  

“I’ll take responsibility for fixing it. You may leave now.”  

“No, I can’t do that!”  

Aristide protested vehemently. He leaned in and whispered, 

“If the Emperor leaves a concubine alone, wouldn’t people start to suspect something?”  

It was a problem she hadn’t considered.  

The only reason a concubine would come to the palace was to spend time with the Emperor.  

So in the palace, where many eyes were watching, she would have to stick close to him to avoid suspicion.  

Lucia quickly understood and nodded.  

While she disassembled the archery target launcher, Aristide paced around nearby.  

“This might take a very long time to fix. How about moving it to the study so you can work on it slowly? And, well, since you’re already here, we could chat about various things—”  

“It’s fixed.”  

“What, what did you say?!”  

“I said it’s fixed.”  

Lucia tilted the barrel to show its interior.  

She pointed to the gear mechanism, which was as simple as arithmetic to her but appeared as complex as geometry to others.  

“The second gear was loose, so the spring couldn’t receive proper tension. That’s why it wasn’t working.”  

She placed the clay ball back into the barrel and pulled the lever.  

The ball flew high into the sky as if to mock Aristide’s earlier efforts.  

Lucia left a polite farewell and promptly departed.  

Aristide checked his pocket watch.  

Two minutes.  

They had only spent two minutes together.  

Aristide irritably ordered Enzo, 

“Find another broken item. Something that looks difficult to fix.”  

“Yes, Your Majesty.”  

***

Lucia was summoned to the palace again the following morning.  

Aristide was waiting in the basement. 

He showed her a massive machine that reached the ceiling.  

It resembled a loom but had rows of wooden hammers hanging in the center.  

“This is a laundry machine that can wash a large quantity of clothes at once. It broke after only a few uses and has been abandoned for years. Can you fix it?”  

It was her first time encountering a machine of this size.  

Surrounding nations held exhibitions for cutting-edge machinery and ideas, but Bederon had never hosted such an event.  

So for Lucia, who had never even left the capital, seeing a machine of this scale in person was a first.  

Like a candle flickering in the wind, her confidence wavered for a moment.  

‘Can I fix this?’  

But that fleeting doubt quickly transformed into curiosity.  

Lucia rolled up her sleeves and climbed the ladder.  

From below, Aristide asked, 

“Are you adjusting well to life in the harem?”  

“Yes.”  

“Is there anything uncomfortable?”  

“No.”  

“Do you need anything?”  

“No.”  

Aristide had known Lucia for over a year.  

He understood that she wasn’t trying to be rude but was simply stating the bare truth without embellishment.  

Her habit of answering everything yet leaving room for more curiosity was fascinating.  

“Are you getting along with the other concubines?”  

“Thanks to the researchers’ consideration, yes.”  

For the first time, she didn’t give a curt reply…!  

“Really? In what way—”  

“It’s fixed.”  

“What, what did you say?!”  

“It’s fixed.”  

Lucia explained, 

“The direction of the hammer shafts was incorrect, and the gears assisting rotation had loose belts. After a few uses, the belts tangled around the shafts. I’ve fixed everything, so it should work properly now.”  

She descended the ladder and turned the crank.  

The hammers began pounding in a steady rhythm.  

“Well then, I’ll be off.”  

Lucia left Aristide, who was too stunned to speak, and returned to the harem.  

Aristide muttered to himself, 

“She truly has remarkable skill…”  

Indeed, there was no better candidate for a researcher in the field of invention.  

In that case…