Page 327 of DATE
Hedy had returned too late.
While waiting, he had still harbored some feelings of guilt.
If she hadn’t insisted on going to Milan, if she had discovered these things sooner, he might have been able to leave Medici with some backup.
But she had returned far too late.
Every day of waiting, every hour, felt inseparable from the sharp and dull pain that seemed to intensify with each heartbeat, turning each moment into an agonizing torment.
...Why hadn’t Da Vinci brought her back yet?
...Had they found the two children?
"Lorenzo—" Hedy noticed his body was cold, covered in a light sweat, and her voice trembled in shock. "Are you sick? Is your gout acting up again?!"
"Quiet." The man suppressed the urge to curl up in pain and opened the secret compartment in the desk.
"Pisa has rebelled."
"What—No, Lorenzo, your health is the priority right now. Let me help you to the bench, we don’t need to discuss this now."
He gripped her wrist, stopping her from pursuing this futile idea.
"Our army has been redeployed to the front lines of Rome," his voice was heavy and hoarse. "The armies of the Duchy of Modena and Siena are already advancing, attacking from both the north and south, squeezing us from both sides."
"I'll handle this, my lord," Hedy allowed him to hold her wrist, her voice filled with panic and helplessness. "I'll call for reinforcements, at least Milan still has forces—"
"...Quiet." He had held on for too long, and now each word he spoke sounded fatigued.
The man slowly released her hand and took out a ring box fromthe hidden compartment.
When Hedy saw the wooden box, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown in her face. She nearly guessed what was inside in the next moment, but she didn't want to confirm that thought.
"Open it."
She shook her head repeatedly, trying to deny some things as if rejecting a bad omen. "Lorenzo, you need to rest..."
The man coughed violently, and Hedy instinctively pulled out her handkerchief to cover his mouth, only to see bright red bloodstains.
—It was blood!
Her face turned pale, her fingers trembling as they gripped the handkerchief.
But Lorenzo, as if he had seen these stains countless times before, showed no change in expression.
"Open it," he said??ly.
The wooden box was finally opened, revealing a radiant ruby ring lying quietly inside.
The band was made of platinum, and the large diamond was surrounded by petal-shaped rubies, making the ring appear delicate and exquisite.
—A bud about to bloom, like a cyclamen from Greece.
This diamond had thirty-five facets, a miracle no craftsman in the world could have completed.
"I’ve already spoken to the mercenary corps." He pushed the ring box toward her, leaning back in his chair again, starting to cough violently. "To see the ring is to see the person."
The twenty thousand strong mercenary corps from Florence would follow the ring's owner’s command without question.
