Page 141 of DATE
This was the body’s stress response—
When truly encountering or witnessing something horrific, only a few could run away while maintaining high self-control.
The majority, upon witnessing such a scene, would scream uncontrollably or freeze, unable to even move their legs.
She had been so frightened that she was almost speechless.
“It’s me—” Da Vinci carefully approached her, his voice softening considerably. “We’re safe now. Let’s go back?”
Her light blue eyes stared blankly at him, and then, suddenly, tears began to fall.
After being brought back to the lord’s palace (Palazzo Vecchio), Hedy had a fever for four straight days.
Dissecting corpses and witnessing a bloody massacre were two completely different things.
Even though she hadn’t explained it, they all knew exactly what she had seen.
Severed heads, young men with their bellies ripped open, and blood and flesh spilling out...
For the first two days, Hedy couldn’t sleep at all at night.
She had one restless, suffocating dream after another, and many things from her past and present began to swirl together.
Images of Hitler, newspapers reporting the death toll, sharp media commentary, and the cruel face of the MGM boss...
Countless scenes kept intertwining and shifting, and even the screams from the Saint Sixtus massacre echoed in her mind.
Soldiers, trained to handle such horrors, often return from the battlefield with severe PTSD. Even someone as strong and calm as she was couldn’t escape the haunting nightmares.
She muttered in English and German while burning with fever. The servants could vaguely identify the languages, but they couldn’t understand her words.
She refused to take medicine and rejected bloodletting.
When the doctor reached out to touch her, she would briefly regain consciousness and order him to stay away.
The lord’s face darkened, instructing the doctor to leave.
Dechio carefully fed her meat soup and water, and followed the Maternal and Child Encyclopedia's instructions to place a cold compress on her to bring down the fever.
Fortunately, by the third night, her fever finally broke, and she began to regain consciousness.
When Hedy spoke again, her voice was hoarse.
She was helped up to drink some orange juice and had a bit of bread.
There were no medicines, and no reliable doctors.
She briefly praised Dechio for his cleverness, and after explaining her care instructions, she fell back into a deep sleep.
This illness kept her bedridden for an entire week.
It wasn’t that Hedy was weak, but in this era, there were hardly any medicinal remedies to restore her strength. All recoverydepended on her body’s natural processes.
According to local customs, it was common to place alchemical talismans on the sick, feed them strange herbs, or perform bloodletting, claiming it could cure all ailments.
Thankfully, she managed to avoid all of this.
During the days she was bedridden, many people came to visit her.
