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"Lorenzo is still in his office," she explained apologetically. "There have been too many battle reports lately."
Hedy instinctively glanced behind her, looking for the others, and lowered her voice to ask, "What about Cosimo?"
"Cosimo?" The lady of the house showed a look of regret. "He ate some poisonous berries and passed away some time ago."
Hedy turned and exchanged a glance with Leonardo, both of them sighing in relief at the same time.
The outbreak of war had thrown the entire Italian Peninsula into turmoil.
The Holy Roman Empire, once a proud and battle-hardened lion’s den, had fractured due to numerous reasons, leaving only isolated and defenseless Rome.
Now, Rome was calling upon various duchies to fight for it, while several powerful city-states plotted to claim their share of the spoils.
A dozen or so smaller principalities were locked in chaotic conflict, and the battle situation was impossible to predict.
There were no radios, no wireless communications, no means of passing messages.
As she awaited her meeting with Lorenzo, Hedy found herself pondering the idea of wireless communication.
If she could confess to Da Vinci and ask him to use all the information he already knew to create a wireless system, thespeed of the world’s progress would surely be altered once more.
Science, economics, unity, the Protestant movement, human liberation—
There was so much to focus on.
During her wait, Hedy lowered her gaze to the floor.
She noticed that the carpets in the palace had all been replaced, now more fitting for the gold and splendor of the palace.
She also noticed a bloodstain in the corner of a doorframe, an area that had clearly not been cleaned properly.
When the woman saw the faint brownish mark, she merely smiled down at it, offering no further questions.
The new servant, Nino, a young man promoted from the Medici family, blushed slightly when he saw her. He quickly stepped aside and bowed. "The lord has risen."
...Risen?
Hedy felt a bad premonition at the mention of this.
During the years she had spent in the Old Palace, Lorenzo had never napped in the afternoon, nor did he ever delay meetings.
The man sat at his desk, just as he had eight years ago, hunched over, flipping through documents.
His face had grown much paler, with faint wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes.
His hands bore subtle scars and bite marks, and they were still trembling slightly.
"Lorenzo?" Hedy realized something was wrong and quickly walked over. "What’s going on with you?"
The lord took a deep breath, struggling to steady himself.
Cosimo had died thirteen days ago, and his body was rapidly deteriorating.
He had even killed four or five of the chefs and replaced all the managers—
But just as Cosimo had cursed before his death, he could die in any sleep.
The accumulated poison was corroding his internal organs, and his entire body was slipping out of control.
