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Dechio thought for a while before shaking her head.
"No, not really."
After Simonetta passed away, he brought her a bouquet of flowers, then turned and walked away.
And after that, he never spoke of her again.
Both brothers and subordinates falling for the same woman, and that woman being married—it's the kind of plot even soap operas would hesitate to write.
Hedy was contemplating all this when Dechio, thinking she was reflecting on the unpredictability of life, casually remarked:
"Actually, before the lord got married, there was someone he liked."
"And even after the marriage, they continued corresponding for a long time."
Eventually, when the young lady got married to someone else, their contact gradually ceased.
That must have been... his first love, right?
Hedy didn’t want to pry further, but after a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Then, what does marriage mean to people like them?"
Dechio looked puzzled. "It’s just marriage."
Engagement, vows, exchanging rings—what else could there be?
"Then... don’t they have to remain faithful?"
The maid thought for a while and honestly replied, "Perhaps, compared to responsibility, love and romance are more like a luxury."
Hedy was taken aback and let out a long sigh.
The lady of the house knew perfectly well that her marriage to the lord was just a contract, yet she dutifully bore nine children. That was truly a remarkable level of dedication.
Dechio's eyes had improved rapidly; now she could clearly see the steps at night and no longer stumbled.
Spring arrived quietly, as if the camellias had bloomed overnight.
The palace once again began holding grand balls, with noblewomen and young ladies surrounding Botticelli, chattering away, while knights dueled with swords.
Hedy received several new dresses, and it seemed that the fit around her chest had been adjusted. She refused to reveal too much cleavage, and the design of the dresses was just perfect—not too stiff and boring, but also not so revealing that it looked like she was about to expose herself.
Moreover, Dechio also took her to the nobles' private bathhouse—an entirely secluded space. While it wasn't very large, it was private enough for her to relax and take a bath.
When Hedy learned that this was at the lord's request, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, she wouldn’t have to sneak around in the middle of the night to wipe her body.
And just at that moment, her penicillin experiment was finally complete. It felt as if God had suddenly caused all the flowers to bloom in front of her.
In three glass dishes, Hedy had cultivated three different things.
She had taken mold from a piece of orange peel and golden staphylococcus bacteria from pus. Once these two were cultivated and started to reproduce, she took samples from each and placed them into the same dish.
As long as she could see the golden staphylococcus bacteria being gradually dissolved and destroyed, it would prove that the dish contained enough penicillin. This substance could treat syphilis, festering wounds, pneumonia, endocarditis, and many other ailments.
That day, when Hedy went to inspect her experiment, she almost couldn’t believe her eyes.
It really worked—it really worked!
She had successfully cultivated penicillin from the countless bacteria!
