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“There is,” Leonardo looked at her and suddenly smiled. “On that day, come hunting with me.”
She really should rest.
Almost from the day of her coronation, she hadn’t stopped reviewing documents or holding meetings, tirelessly pushing the stone like Sisyphus.
And he really should spend some quality time with her—
Since two years ago, they hadn’t stopped moving forward.
“Leonardo, are you being coquettish?” Hedy blinked and couldn’t help but kiss him. “Say it again?”
“Your Majesty,” he replied slowly, giving a bow. “May I ask if you’d like to spend an afternoon doing absolutely nothing with me?”
“You got the title wrong,” she shook her head, acting composed. “Try again.”
“Hedy, my angel, my love...” He leaned down to kiss her lips, his voice low and gentle. “Let’s sneak out and have some fun together.”
“Alright.” She smiled brightly. “It’s a deal.”
——
However, this seemingly reasonable request was met with an absurd difficulty.
Women in this era were not allowed to ride horses openly, and even if they did, they had to sit sideways.
On one hand, this was because women only wore skirts for a long time, and riding a horse while wearing a skirt would cause the inner thighs to be chafed by the horse's mane.
On the other hand, it was considered highly inappropriate for women to openly spread their legs, and such behavior was often described as vulgar or improper.
A hundred years ago, Queen Anna of Bohemia, the Queen of England, commissioned craftsmen to design a side-saddle to allow women to ride publicly.
Even brave men riding high horses risked falling off or getting injured, and many lost their lives each year as a result.
But women, in order to gain the right to ride, had to take on even greater risks by choosing to sit sideways.
This greatly reduced their stability, and many basic equestrian skills became impossible to perform.
The fact was, even after the craftsmen designed side-saddles and stirrups with safeguards to prevent falling, Queen Anna of England still could not manage her horse in this position.
After some discussion, the nobles arranged for another man to sit in front of her and take control of the horse.
To put it bluntly, it was like doing something completely pointless.
Hedy didn’t associate horse riding with these customs. She casually instructed Dechio to arrange the schedule, then returned to reading a letter from France.
Dechio was somewhat troubled. After hesitating, he finally asked, “Are you planning... to have Mr. Leonardo sit in front of you?”
The queen focused on replying to the letter, the sound of the quill scratching against the parchment filling the air. “Why would he sit in front of me?”
“How will you control the horse, then?”
“I know how to ride, Dechio.”
“But riding sideways is really dangerous. Please be careful.”
“Sideways?” She finally looked up and asked, “Why would I need to ride sideways?”
“Because... of your skirt…” Dechio stammered, “It’s not appropriate…”
