Chapter 3.4

The once empty lab was now overflowing with equipment and materials to the point where one could barely find a place to step. A broom leaning in the corner seemed forlorn, waiting for the day Lucia would pick it up again.  

Lucia wiped the sweat off her hands onto her apron. She plucked a mint leaf, a gift from Thea, and placed it on the stage of the highest-grade microscope available in the market. Then, she brought her eyes to the eyepiece.  

A blurry circle appeared.  

On the green background, faint dots were scattered here and there.  

Lucia then moved the leaf to the stage of the microscope she had built herself.  

Through the eyepiece, she saw distinct patterns of stacked brick-like structures with embedded nuclei.  

Electricity surged from her heart to her head.  

Lucia collapsed onto the bare floor.  

She had done it.  

She had created a lens that eliminated spherical aberration within a week. Spherical aberration occurs due to the curvature of a mirror’s reflective surface, causing images viewed through a microscope to appear blurry. Using dozens of types of mirrors and glass, Lucia had created a microscope that compensated for this issue.  

For years, she had recorded theories and logic on how to eliminate spherical aberration. Although the concept was simple, the expensive and specialized glass and mirrors required had been beyond her reach, preventing her from attempting the invention.  

However, as soon as she received research funding, she had completed it within a week.  

While there were people who had created achromatic lenses, no one had solved the problem of spherical aberration that blurred magnified images.  

“Until now.”  

Lucia whispered.  

She was undoubtedly a genius.  

This wasn’t boasting.  

If she had only attended elementary school and achieved this much, how far could she have soared if she had attended the Academy—  

Lucia cut off her thoughts.  

The Academy, which she had longed to attend but ultimately couldn’t due to reasons she couldn’t accept, and the life she could have led if she had attended it, would only bring her frustration the more she dwelled on them.  

To hold onto her quickly cooling excitement, Lucia pulled a notebook from her pocket. She checked off “Microscope Spherical Aberration” and scanned the remaining list.  

The notebook contained a lineup of invention ideas she had recorded over the years. Some ideas were so old that her handwriting had changed since she wrote them.  

Now, she could finally invent to her heart’s content.  

Her roots, once confined to a small pot, could now meet healthy soil and spread freely.  

‘If I plant a bonsai outside the pot, could it grow as big as other trees?’  

She glanced at the microscope she had built.  

To think she had created something like this in just a week.  

She burst into laughter, proud of herself.  

Lying on the floor, Lucia laughed alone in the empty room.  

“Ha ha ha.”  

How long had it been since she had laughed out loud?  

“Ha ha ha ha ha.”  

Unable to control her laughter, tears began to flow.  

***

The harem members took turns looking through the high-grade microscope and Lucia’s microscope.  

Everyone concluded that the view through Lucia’s microscope was clearer. A round of applause followed, and Lucia blushed.  

Reselda inspected the bottom of Lucia’s microscope.  

“Oh, you engraved it again.”  

Since her days running a shop at Saper Bookstore, Lucia had always engraved her mark on the bottom of her inventions. It was a Ruppell’s vulture.  

…At least, that was the intent.  

Being no artist, the vulture ended up as a somewhat abstract depiction of a bird.  

It was only after meeting the harem members that Lucia learned she had become quite famous, thanks to the Emperor purchasing many of her inventions. People had tried to find out who the inventor was, but the Emperor had refused to reveal her identity.  

The bird mark engraved on her inventions had come to signify high-performance, luxury inventions, to the point where counterfeit machines with forged marks were being sold.  

Having lived cut off from the world, Lucia had been unaware of all this.  

Julietta exclaimed.  

“Let’s throw a party, a party!”  

Not every time a researcher successfully completed a project was celebrated with a party. Otherwise, the harem would be hosting parties every day, leaving no time to work.  

However, for Julietta, starved for parties, Lucia’s first successful project was reason enough to celebrate.  

They went to the parlor. The researchers’ glasses were filled with red-colored liquor.  

Reselda spoke.  

“Now you need to file for a patent.”  

Lucia replied.  

“A patent? I’ve never filed for one before.”  

“All those inventions without patents? Why?”  

“…I was afraid my parents would find out.”  

“I see. What about now?”  

Lucia hesitated. She had never filed for a patent before, so she didn’t know the benefits of doing so.  

Thea, munching on cookies, chimed in.  

“Your favorite professor, Rosalyn Deste from the Panserinos Empire, has a lot of chemistry-related patents.”  

“Professor Deste!”  

Lucia exclaimed.  

Rosalyn Deste, a chemistry genius from a neighboring country, was also famous as a hero who thwarted the rebellion of the commander and saved the Emperor, Empress, and the nation. Lucia had read all her books five times each, and her “Guide to Scientific Research” was kept by her bedside.  

“Then I should file for a patent too!”  

Lucia said.  

Reselda brought patent application documents from her lab.  

“I’ve only filed a few for new drug developments, but I know enough to help you.”  

Under Reselda’s guidance, Lucia described the outline of her application. She detailed why her microscope was superior to existing ones and how it would contribute to scientific advancement, writing fluently without hesitation.  

She read the first page, which required the inventor’s personal information.  

For her surname, she wrote “Saper.” The fall of the Bianchi family was a hot topic, so she couldn’t use her real surname. Mr. Saper’s surname was common and easy to use.  

When it came to her first name, she was about to write “Lucia”—  

“You’re going to write your name?”  

Valeria asked. 

Lucia paused.  

“Is that not allowed?”  

Reselda replied.  

“It’s allowed. Go ahead, write it.”  

Valeria said.  

“Reselda, let’s be realistic. You’ll be working under this name in the future.”  

Celeste interjected.  

“What’s realistic? We’re not doing this for money. We want recognition. If you’re going to use a man’s name, why bother?”  

Julietta muttered behind her wine glass.  

“Here we go again.”  

Thea, sensing the heated atmosphere, left to brew her “calming tea.”  

Valeria countered.  

“Using a different name doesn’t mean you won’t get recognition. Think of it as another identity, like an alter ego.”  

“A male alter ego, you mean.”  

Celeste said.  

Reselda replied.  

“I feel it’s my duty to use my name. Even though I’m a concubine, I want to show that women can be doctors.”  

Celeste added.  

“I want to show that women can be composers, not just piano players. Female composers need to exist for others to dream of becoming one. How can you aspire to something impossible?”  

Valeria turned to Julietta, who used a pseudonym. 

“…Julietta, help me out here.”  

“I use one to avoid hassle. No grand reason.”  

Julietta replied.  

Valeria sighed. Thea, who published under a male pseudonym, had gone to the kitchen with no intention of returning.  

It was a lonely fight.  

“Isn’t it true that women’s work gets ignored?”  

Valeria said.  

“Still—”  

“Doesn’t it feel unfair to bury yourself in the shadows because the world isn’t ready to accept you? What about discoveries and knowledge that don’t spread because they’re hidden?”  

Reselda and Celeste, who had been pushing back, couldn’t argue.  

“And using a pseudonym isn’t just for me. Imagine ‘Bartolo Retierre,’ shrouded in mystery, finally revealing himself to be a woman! That shock and impact would be a hundred times greater than years of being ignored for being female.”  

The parlor fell silent.  

“That’s a good point.”  

Reselda said.  

Though they discussed it, Reselda and Celeste would continue to use their real names, while the other three would use pseudonyms.  

Even if they couldn’t compromise, they could understand each other.  

Valeria spoke.  

“Lucia, whatever you choose, we’ll respect it. Issues like this always come with diverse opinions, and there’s no single correct answer.”  

Thea returned and sat beside Lucia. The other harem members had already moved on to a lively discussion about a different topic.  

Lucia traced the rim of her wine glass with her finger, lost in thought.  

“Thea, do you know much about bonsai?”  

Thea’s usually calm face stiffened.  

“Oh, you mean that violent crime of tying trees with wire, stunting their growth, and shaping them however you want? Yes, I know it. I know it well.”  

“What happens if you plant a tree grown as bonsai outside the pot?”  

Lucia asked.  

“Being grown as bonsai doesn’t change the tree’s nature. If it meets a good environment, it can grow as big as any other tree.”  

Lucia felt a sense of relief.  

***

That night, the dying candle flame danced in front of Lucia’s face as she rested her chin on her hand. She tapped her desk with her fountain pen, staring at the blank “Inventor Name” section of the patent application form.  

Suddenly, she began slowly writing her name. Her hand pressed down hard, causing the pen nib to cut into the paper, and ink bled along the fibers of the torn sheet.  

Lu. Ci. A. 

She finished the last letter but didn’t lift her pen from the paper.  

Adding just one more syllable—‘no’—would turn it into a man’s name: Luciano.  

Regardless, the fact that she had created this microscope wouldn’t change.  

‘The surname isn’t even mine anyway.’  

Changing her name wouldn’t alter anything.  

The ink under her paused pen slowly spread, seeping into the adjacent section.  

She placed the pen down on the desk. She read the name written on the paper.  

Inventor Name: Lucia.