Page 290 of DATE
"Good, well done." She flipped to the last page and squinted at the crooked family portrait drawn by Atalante. That littlegirl sure was growing up fast. I heard she’s running around everywhere now?
"And I’ve also compiled information on the situation in Venice for you." Finally, Leonardo placed the last few sheets down but didn’t leave.
Hedy blinked and looked up at him. "You seem to have something else you want to say?"
"No," Leonardo answered quickly, sounding a bit frustrated.
"Really?" She shook her quill. "Then go back and rest. See you tomorrow."
The man grunted, leaned down, and quickly kissed the corner of her lips. Before Hedy could react, he turned and hurried out, not even saying goodnight.
"Stop." She suppressed a laugh. "Come back."
By the time Leonardo had reached the door, he turned around and slowly walked back to her.
"You missed," she pointed to her lips. "You should kiss here."
Blushing, the man bent down and gave her a clumsy but earnest deep kiss.
"Goodnight, my lord," he murmured. "No more pretending you don’t see me."
She chuckled and pinched his cheek, slowly saying, "I just wanted to see how long you could keep pretending."
The wind in the city finally settled.
The rumors, which had spread like wild grass, seemed to have been burned away by a fire, and no one was whispering about mysterious news anymore.
In the end, it was because the Genoese had been thoroughly frightened.
Several spies and traitors had been caught and forced to read aloud to those rough men. Standing between beds in the barracks, they felt like lambs stripped of their wool, thrown intoa pack of wolves. They were so scared they couldn’t even breathe properly.
If they didn’t read well, the night watchmen would scold them, and the candle would be extended for another half-hour.
—What had they discovered?!
—What kind of intimidation was this?!
The spies had to stand in the middle of the snoring mercenaries at dawn, nervously reading The Divine Comedy and The Decameron. When they reached certain inappropriate sections, laughter would echo from every corner of the room.
Outside the window were the ever-vigilant night watchmen, some even carrying whips, ready to give the spies a taste of their punishment.
—If they had truly wanted to assassinate someone, they probably wouldn’t have even been able to draw their daggers before being forced to keep reading ten more lewd passages.
According to meetings with the lord and senior officers, it was expected that they would stay here for two months to rest and prepare. During this time, they would also increase control over the army and conduct drills.
By the end of August, when the weather cooled a bit, they would set off again to conquer an even more succulent prey—Genoa.
The heat was unbearable, and the officials had all hidden in the castles and churches to enjoy the coolness. The content of the meetings had grown so monotonous that it nearly put them to sleep.
As Hedy was explaining the recent calm in the war, someone was quietly flipping through The Decameron in search of the story they hadn’t finished listening to the night before.
At that moment, Dechio walked in from the doorway and leaned down to whisper a few words into Hedy’s ear.
"My lady, there’s a young man outside the south gate requesting to see you. He claims he should be hired as the chief advisor."
... That sounded rather arrogant.
"How young?"
