Chapter 3.1 

Aristide signed Lucia’s research funding documents in elegant cursive.  

Admiring his own flowing, beautiful signature, he handed the documents to Lucia.  

“There. You’ll receive the funding within a week. Of course, under the name ‘Miss Lucia’s Harem Living Expenses.’”  

Her sharp gaze was her only response.  

“I spoke with other researchers, and they said this is the first time you have ever requested a research proposal, Your Majesty.”  

‘She’s caught on.’  

It was actually a good thing.  

Aristide replied confidently, 

“Yes, I thought it would be fun to ask you to submit the first research proposal. Didn’t it turn out well?”  

“By ‘well,’ do you mean your amusement at teasing me, Your Majesty?”  

“You’ve understood perfectly! Haha! Ha… Ha… Uh, um….”  

Aristide laughed heartily but faltered when he met Lucia’s icy glare.  

He subtly reached out to move the sharp fountain pen closer to himself and glanced at the guards standing outside the door.  

Fortunately, Lucia’s flushed face gradually calmed.  

With a polite thank-you for the approval, she left.  

Aristide leaned back in his chair, tilting his head.  

He had expected her to rage or confront him point by point for making her write the proposal when no one else had to.  

But she had let it go more easily than he anticipated.  

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Aristide understood why Lucia hadn’t gotten angry.  

After a two-hour lunch, Aristide strolled through the orchard as usual.  

He headed toward the fig trees to pick up fallen figs to eat.  

Salivating at the thought of the ripening figs, he approached the tree—  

“Gah! What’s this!”  

The area around the fig tree was spotless, without a single leaf or fruit.  

Aristide flailed his arms like a windmill as he ran.  

“Enzo! Enzo, it’s a disaster! Fetch the gardener!”  

Five minutes later.  

Aristide stood frowning before the trembling gardener.  

“Mr. Davino, I’m sure I told you not to touch the fallen fruit. The taste of figs on the verge of rotting is heavenly.”  

“Of course, Your Majesty, I understand. My apologies.”  

The gardener spoke in a voice mixed with fear and indignation.  

“While I was pruning the orange trees, a woman came with a broom and sack and cleaned up everything! I chased her as soon as I noticed, but I couldn’t catch her.”  

‘A woman?’  

Aristide asked, 

“Was she a woman with curly black hair?”  

“Uh, yes! How did you know?”  

“Did she have a green ribbon? A brown-striped dress?”  

“Yes, yes!”  

Aristide clenched his fist.  

“You’re not at fault. You may leave.”  

The gardener crumpled his hat in his hands and bolted.  

Aristide thought of Lucia.  

‘That’s unlike her.’  

***

Lucia was on her way back to the harem after disposing of the sack full of His Majesty’s favorite rotting figs.  

She had spotted the gardener pruning the orange trees and quickly swept up the figs before he noticed.  

But he must have seen her, as he came running, shouting and waving a broom, forcing her to flee in panic.  

‘By now, His Majesty must have realized the fruit is gone.’  

As she pondered, Lucia suddenly noticed something strange.  

She touched her face with her hand.  

The corners of her mouth were turned up.  

Ah, she was smiling.  

How many years had it been?  

That strange sensation soon disappeared.  

Lost in thought, Lucia found herself back at the harem. She greeted Valeria and Celeste, who were resting in the parlor.  

Valeria asked Lucia, 

“You just came back from the palace, right? His Majesty knows that tomorrow is the day he visits Moonlight Palace, doesn’t he?”  

“His Majesty is visiting tomorrow?”  

“Yes, once a month, His Majesty visits Moonlight Palace and spends the night in the guest bedroom. If the Emperor were to completely ignore Moonlight Palace, people would start to suspect something.”  

Celeste asked Valeria, 

“What do the Imperial staff think about His Majesty visiting only once a month?”  

“They probably prefer it to him coming often. Even if they think it’s sleazy and disgusting, at least it’s efficiently disgusting.”  

Valeria spoke as casually as if she were discussing the weather.  

Lucia still wasn’t used to such conversations.  

***

The next evening, the sound of the lion-shaped iron knocker on the harem door echoed.  

When the door opened, Emperor Aristide stood holding baskets full of food high in the air.  

Aristide always brought food from the palace when he visited. Eating the food brought by the Emperor was another enjoyable aspect of this monthly event.  

Valeria took the basket and headed to the dining room.  

Aristide greeted the remaining five cheerfully.  

“Miss Falco, Miss Gravina, Miss Cusano, Miss Moretti, and Miss Thief.”  

He glared at Lucia as he said the last word. 

“Thief?”  

Celeste whispered to Julietta, who shrugged.  

Lucia replied calmly, 

“I don’t know what you mean, Your Majesty.”  

“Don’t play dumb! I have proof!”  

He pulled out a montage he had drawn based on the gardener’s testimony.  

“The thief must have been a spider, Your Majesty.”  

Lucia said.  

Aristide’s colored pencil sketch showed a spider with long limbs and a mop of black hair holding a sack.  

Rolling up the paper, Aristide said, 

“Hmph! You’ve made a mistake. You dared to touch my favorite!”  

From the kitchen, Valeria called out, 

“Your Majesty, dinner is ready.”  

“Oho!”  

Aristide quickly forgot his anger and headed to the dining room, licking his lips.  

***

Aristide popped the last piece of maritozzo into his mouth. The dessert, a bun split open and stuffed to bursting with cream, had disappeared into Aristide’s mouth in the blink of an eye—three of them, to be precise.  

He patted his bulging belly contentedly.  

Valeria stood up.  

“Well then, we’ll prepare for the demonstration. Please come out when called.”  

Whenever Aristide visited, the harem members presented their research projects to the Emperor. This small event, called the “demonstration,” added a bit of liveliness to the isolated harem.  

The harem members left the dining room to prepare for the demonstration, leaving Aristide and Lucia, who had yet to receive her research funding, behind. Aristide stood up, gathered the dishes, and moved them to the sink.  

Then he rolled up his sleeves and began washing the dishes.  

The Emperor himself washing dishes?  

Aristide asked, 

“Are you staring at me because you’re worried I’ll leave them dirty, Miss Thief? Don’t worry. If there’s one thing I do well, it’s washing dishes clean.”  

He showed her a sparkling plate.  

“I’m watching because it’s fascinating to see you wash dishes, Your Majesty.”  

Lucia replied.  

“Aha. What’s the big deal when no one’s watching?”  

“Are you saying it would be a problem if someone were watching?”  

At that moment, Valeria called out, 

“Lucia, help me move this.”  

Lucia left for the parlor without hearing Aristide’s response.  

***

Aristide cradled Cannoli as he sat in an armchair. The demonstration began.  

The first presentation was Julietta’s.  

She had prepared the climax of the play she was writing. As usual, it was a tragedy, but this time, she was attempting gothic horror for the first time.  

Julietta turned off the lights and drew the curtains. In the darkened parlor, she recreated the play using monologues and sound effects.  

On a rainy night—  

“Boom.”  

Thea, standing in the corner, beat a drum to mimic the sound of thunder.  

A traveler, drenched from the rain and leading an injured horse, entered an inn.  

“Whoooosh.”  

Thea played an eerie melody on a flute.  

The traveler was guided to a room that seemed ordinary. He threw himself onto the bed to sleep.  

As the traveler dozed off, a faint figure passed by the window of his room. The door, which had been closed, was now open again.  

“The traveler followed the water trail…”  

“Boom. Whoooosh. Thump thump thump.”  

The drumming grew louder.  

“Give me back my child!”  

Julietta screamed directly behind Aristide.  

“Ahhhhhh!”  

A woman’s ear-piercing scream echoed endlessly.  

Lucia wondered where the scream had come from. It wasn’t an instrument…  

‘Did she use the scream machine I gave her?’  

The lights turned on.  

The source of the scream wasn’t the woman—it was Aristide.  

Even after the lights came on, he kept screaming until he barely managed to move his eyes to confirm the harem members staring at him strangely.  

He stopped screaming and shut his mouth.  

With a pale face, he weakly smiled and clapped his hands.  

It was a dramatic start.  

***

Next was Valeria’s turn.  

She presented a model of a new building she was designing.  

The four-story model, knee-high, had a façade completely covered in window-like tiles.  

“I’m trying to create walls that can support horizontal loads using only the structure of the columns. Essentially, it’s a building with a metal frame and large glass panels installed. The disadvantage of having light only enter from one side is compensated by the large windows, maximizing natural light. The biggest advantage is that the panels can be pre-made and simply attached, allowing for prefabrication and mass production.”  

Valeria detached one of the glass walls and handed it to Aristide.  

“This will be the first attempt in our empire and historically. It will bring significant changes to architectural styles and the use of building materials. If exported, it will also provide great economic benefits to the empire.”  

Aristide admired the glass wall, flipping it around like a toy.  

“I don’t understand half of what you said, but it seems like it will be a marvelous building!”  

“To put it simply, we’ll need at least 2,000 banon more to create this.”  

“Aha! Now that’s easy to understand! Approved!”  

Lucia, who had been taking notes on each research project, learned the most important information about the demonstration. She wrote in her notebook: “The demonstration is an opportunity to request more research funding.”