In the corridors of empire—Rome, Byzantium, the Forbidden City—the servant was formatted, not adored. The body was not erotic. It was sacred flesh, patterned for function. Posture, stillness, obedience — these were the dialects of power. To serve was not humiliation; it was liturgy. She did not exist for him. She existed for the structure. Her usefulness was her beauty. Her correction, her salvation.