Page 143 of DATE
Even though this old man was already in his sixties, his eyes were still set on the changing political landscape of Europe, always ready to seize any advantage from the chaos.
“I didn’t pay much attention to France before,” Lorenzo leaned back slightly, his tone complicated. “Because two years ago, he was defeated by the Archduke of Austria at the Battle of Guinegatte, losing the entire Netherlands to them.”
He had thought that the old man would lie low for a while—after all, in the past ten years, England and France had been embroiled in constant warfare, leaving little time for Louis to interfere with affairs in Florence.
But the reality was…
“Wait, what about his children?” Hedy instinctively asked.
Why was there a discrepancy between this and her own memories?
According to what she had heard in the Uffizi Gallery, about ten years later, a young king would launch a war against all of Italy—
That war would directly force Lorenzo’s successor, Piero, to surrender Pisa, and soon after, the Medici family would lose their influence and be pushed out of the political scene. The fire of vanity would be stoked by the ascetic monks, and the entire city would fall into a cult-like atmosphere.
But the young king—
“Are you talking about his only son, Charles VIII?” Lorenzo furrowed his brow. “The boy is only ten years old. What’s going on?”
Hedy took a moment to collect herself, realizing that she had missed many details.
A ten-year-old child wasn’t yet in a position to interfere in politics or start wars.
Many of the things she had been worried about could be put aside, at least for now.
“So, if this old king passes away, will he inherit the throne?”
Lorenzo thought for a moment, then answered cautiously, “Not necessarily.”
“He will inherit the position, but because he is too young, I believe his sister and her husband will act as regents—namely, Bourbon VIII and Anne of France.”
That would at least give them about ten more years.
Hedy let out a long sigh of relief, quickly calculating various possibilities in her mind.
Ten years... How much could Florence change in that time?
She awkwardly reached for her glass, and Lorenzo, instinctively, passed it to her, his fingers brushing lightly against hers, which were cool to the touch.
“Mr. Medici,” Hedy said, holding the glass, “what do you plan to do about this?”
“An eye for an eye,” Lorenzo replied flatly. “If my spies in the Bourbon camp haven’t misheard, the old king plans to go to Château de Plessis this year—there are sharpshooters and guards there, and it will be secure enough for him.”
Hedy smiled. “That proves one thing.”
If Louis XI were truly brave enough, he wouldn’t be hiding in such a remote and heavily guarded place.
It seemed Louis XI was starting to fear.
Whether from the forces of England, his old enemies in Naples, or the newly antagonized Florence—
He wanted to hide, to retreat to the safest place where no one could strike at him.
“The more heavily fortified, the easier it is to infiltrate,” she said, looking at him. “You’re planning to send him a reliable doctor, aren’t you, Mr. Medici?”
Lorenzo revealed a subtle smile.
“If possible, I’d also like to ask you to create a long-term, written plan for Florence,” Hedy carefully chose her words, expressing her true intention. “Or, I could do it, and you can review and make the final adjustments. Would that work?”
