"Venetian Boat"

Renaissance ceilings featured not only fresco decorations, but also gilded patterns. Together with the geometric tiles on the floor, they formed a luxurious work of craftsmanship. Not only were the paintings on display works of art—the buildings displaying them were works of art too.

In this era dominated by the West, almost everyone believed it had been a revival of ancient Greece and Rome. Yet that was not actually the case.

What modern people knew of Greek and Roman civilization had been passed back to them through Muslims. The geometric patterns on those tiles bore a slight resemblance to those in mosques.

The Franchetti Gallery was Venice's most outstanding Gothic building, yet it differed from ordinary Gothic style. It was more accurate to say that it lay somewhere between a medieval church and a mosque. Like that Spanish merchant's courtyard, its buildings surrounded a small central yard. Two staircases in the courtyard led to the second floor, where visitors could begin their tour.

Just as Pomona and Monica were admiring the paintings, a pitch-black figure suddenly appeared at the first-floor entrance.

She immediately crouched down.

"That's him, right?" Monica asked as she looked downstairs through the glass window. "That's your husband?"

"That's right!" she whispered. "Come here, quickly."

"Why should I hide from him? He doesn't know me." Monica smiled. "You've been tangled up with him for thirty-four years?"

"Get me out of here!" Pomona whispered. The old bat was furious. He had already been black to begin with, and the magical pressure around him made him seem even darker. A "vampire" going out during the day was bound to be in a terrible mood. He was like a walking black hole, swallowing even the light around him.

"He's not easy to mess with, is he?" Monica said with a