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But just then, the carriage came to a stop.
"My lady, we have arrived."
Hedy nodded, finally snapping out of her thoughts.
Lorenzo instinctively got out of the carriage first, offering his hand to help her down.
His long, fair hand carried a faint warmth, and for a moment, it felt as though time itself paused when they touched.
Hedy didn’t notice anything unusual about his silence, politely thanking him instead.
They both ascended the stairs in silence.
At the top of the stairs, as they parted ways, Hedy instinctively spoke to say goodnight.
"Goodnight, Mr. Medici."
He gave her a faint glance before heading upstairs without another word.
Five days later, Giovanni gradually recovered.
His fever had completely subsided, the rashes had faded significantly, and even his tongue was slowly returning to normal.
Though his appetite and energy were still low, he was much better than he had been when he was near death.
Meanwhile, the Rucellai family and the Medici family both gave even more substantial sponsorship to the penicillin workshop, using a large amount of gold coins to secure priority access to the medicine.
Hedy gradually acquired a group of capable and reliable helpers.Under her influence, Dechio began learning to read and write, and was able to assist her with many tasks.
Her life became increasingly smooth, but something felt amiss.
Da Vinci hadn’t returned in three or four months, and the Doge’s Palace had felt much quieter in his absence.
Occasionally, when she played Mozart’s compositions, she would suddenly long to hear her old friend play his lyre.
But before Easter could arrive, Da Vinci returned, weary from travel.
It seemed the journey and the trials of the road had matured him; there was a new sharpness about him, a youthful energy, and his eyes were determined and bright.
And when Da Vinci returned, he brought with him news that was shocking enough to stun all of Florence.
—Both Sultan Mehmed II and King Louis XI had passed away.
The news came so suddenly, yet it somehow seemed entirely logical.
Before Mehmed II had even passed, his sons had already begun fighting among themselves for inheritance and power. Even though there had been no official news from Turkey, it was enough to make one recall many earlier events.
As for Louis XI, his age was simply too advanced, and his passing to God seemed almost inevitable.
Only Hedy, upon hearing the news, showed the slightest change in her expression.
She knew exactly how the French king had died.
The Medici’s intelligence network… was certainly growing more and more sophisticated.
This time, Da Vinci had not only surveyed the local water systems but had also proposed multiple suggestions for dredging canals and building bridges, some of which had been adopted.
If the plans for the canals and bridges could be completed, traveland access to water would be greatly improved for the people.
