CHAPTER 14 #2
It felt refreshing, as though he had just jumped into a pool and had a thorough, enjoyable bath. It was so delightful that he wanted more.
By the time Leonardo came to his senses, the entire bowl had been scraped clean, with not even a bit of ice left.
Hedy couldn’t help but laugh. “Got a taste for it?”
Leonardo tried to grab an unprocessed ice cube, bent down, and licked it.
He felt his tongue almost stick to it, and his whole hand was covered with a layer of coldness.
Hedy propped her chin up, watching the southern man clumsily and happily play with the ice. She suddenly longed for the existence of air conditioning.
Air conditioning, television, taxis, airplanes...
She rubbed her forehead, pushing the faint feeling of regret to the back of her mind.
After all, there were gains and losses.
Leonardo felt something strange happening within him.
He was a fully grown man, and sometimes he would inevitably have to deal with small issues in the morning.
But whether he was performing on the lyre in front of noblewomen or arguing with the lord, he could always maintain his composure and decorum, always gentle and polite like the predecessors he admired.
Yet now, when he was around Hedy, he seemed to become nervous and awkward at times.
For instance, when she just reached for the salt shaker near him, or when she handed him a glass of orange juice.
When she got close to him, he felt a secret unease and anticipation, like a little boy waiting to eat a piece of candy.
But when he left her and returned to the cathedral to participate in the designs, he became the mature and clear-headed man once more.
...Could she really be a witch?
Leonardo sighed unconsciously as he worked on a diagram of the forces on the lifting equipment.
Even if she were a witch, he wouldn’t betray her.
The priests gathered nearby, chatting while comparing the sizes of the gems on each other's rings.
“Leonardo—take a break?” The cardinal smiled and waved. “I heard Mr. Lorenzo is coming to Milan this month?”
Leonardo paused for a moment and asked, “When?”
“He didn’t tell you? I heard he's coming to celebrate the birthday of the lady of the castle,” the cardinal waved his hand dismissively. “He’ll probably bring a lot of gifts, but it has nothing to do with us.”
He furrowed his brow, suddenly recalling something.
Before Hedy had rushed to find him that night, she had been with Cosimo, seeing Lorenzo off.
He wasn’t sure if Lorenzo had said something inappropriate or acted rudely.
But it seemed she didn’t want to see him again.
It had been more than half a year since their last farewell, and he noticed that Hedy hadn’t written to the lord on her own initiative, though she would still reply briefly to letters from Florence.
If Lorenzo had come this time with the intention of summoning her, he might force her to return.
When this thought crossed his mind, he felt a distinct surge of anger.
This feeling was difficult to explain and analyze—it didn’t seem to be related to friendship at all.
The young man didn’t want to think too much about it, but he instinctively shook his head.
She seemed far happier now than she had been in Florence.
When they returned to their residence after leaving the church, Leonardo hesitated for a long time, eventually deciding to take her away for a while, away from him.
He didn’t want to see that expression on her face again, and he wanted her to sleep peacefully and relax every night.
“—Leaving half a month early?” Hedy skewered some roasted beaver meat, looking somewhat curious. “Why are you leaving so early?”
Leonardo lowered his head, cutting olives, and lied unconvincingly, “There might be some delays on the road, so it’s better to leave early.”
Hedy thought for a moment, then turned to Atalante, who was focused on gnawing on a drumstick. “Can you help me watch over things for a while? It might be a bit of a hassle for you.”
The boy, with half his face covered in grease, nodded and then returned to his meat with full concentration.
On the third day, they packed their belongings and set off for the Duchy of Ferrara with a few servants in tow.
By the time they arrived on the first of September, the weather had cooled considerably.
The olive trees were heavy with fruit, and the oaks and maples stood tall and green.
Together, they traveled by carriage, both of them deep in thought, though about entirely different things.
Hedy had her head pressed against the window, eagerly watching the various plants that appeared along the roadside.
She was hoping to find the lichen she had read about—a small cluster of red berries hanging from the top, with deep green or blackish leaves, likely not very conspicuous.
Leonardo leaned against the other side, feeling uneasy and restless.
He wasn’t sure if his judgment was correct, as taking the initiative in this way didn’t seem very friendly or loyal.
Moreover, he found himself with many questions he wanted to ask her, like how she achieved that blending of colors, or how she handled light in her works.
But every time he thought about asking, he hesitated, fearing she might find him noisy or bothersome.
Would the question be childish?
Had she ever answered similar questions before?
Leonardo anxiously revised the question in his mind several times, but after a long while, he just leaned back against the carriage without saying anything.
Maybe it was better not to ask.
This slightly awkward feeling was something he hadn’t experienced before.
In the past, even when asking about the preparation of copper sulfate blue, he could discuss the details with her endlessly, without ever feeling like he was interrupting.
That carefree, unrestrained feeling seemed to have disappeared, and now even the simplest things seemed to trigger his anxious thoughts.
He wanted to see her every day, to laugh with her for hours over small things.
But sitting beside her now, he wasn’t sure where to put his hands and feet.
—If only Botticelli were here.
He would know exactly what to do.
Hedy hadn’t taken her eyes off the scenery outside for nearly two hours, and Leonardo even began to wonder if she knew something he didn’t, silently protesting against him.
I really do feel like a fool right now.
Leonardo sighed, then cleared his throat nervously and called out, "Hedy?"
"Hmm?" Hedy finally sat back down, rubbing her stiff neck. "Would you like some sandwiches?"
Leonardo instinctively nodded but quickly shifted the topic. "I have something I need to confess to you."
"What's that?"
He hesitated for a moment, then explained the situation regarding the visit from the Medici family.
Once he finished explaining, his head stayed lowered, too nervous to meet her eyes.
But she couldn’t help but laugh.
"Avoiding trouble isn’t a bad thing, is it?"
Besides, they were coming for the lady of the lord’s birthday, so it likely had nothing to do with her.
If Dechio had already heard the news, he wouldn’t have let her simply leave like that.
Hedy patted his shoulder, then took out the sandwiches she had prepared for lunch from the basket, sharing them with him as they had their afternoon tea.
She pulled out the plant sketches she had copied and asked him to help her look for the plant.
The mood between them seemed to lighten once again, and by evening, they were singing together as they went to fetch water from the mountain spring.
But later that evening, Leonardo slowly realized a new issue.
Tonight, there was no Dechio or Atalante in the carriage, and there seemed to be no inns or taverns along the way.
They would have to spend the night together in the carriage.
Hedy had been so thoroughly enjoying herself by the spring that her skirt had gotten wet, and now, resting with her little soft pillow, she was sleeping peacefully.
He could have easily fallen into a deep sleep on the other side of the carriage, but somehow he couldn’t quite relax.
As night settled in, the world fell silent.
He could faintly hear the croaking of frogs and the sound of her long, gentle breaths.
It was like an angel fluttering its wings.
He was thirty-one, and she was twenty-three.
Yet when he was with her, he often felt like the one being cared for and protected.
The moonlight, like silver gauze, bathed her profile, and the shape of her nose and delicate eyebrows were outlined in a classical, gentle manner.
Leonardo sat still for a few seconds, silently watching her, when suddenly the carriage hit a round stone, causing it to sway to the side.
As it rocked, she shifted in her sleep and leaned against his shoulder.
In that instant, the young man stiffened, his whole body tensing up in a flurry of panic.
He had never had such contact with a woman before, and he was not accustomed to this kind of position where someone leaned on him.
She appeared to be in a deep sleep, only subconsciously adjusting her forehead before settling back into a peaceful slumber.
Leonardo sat upright, his back stiff as a board, suddenly starting to question many things.
He even felt as though he would have to stay perfectly still and "proper" all night, with his eyes anxiously darting out the window—
After all, he had seen plenty of women’s naked bodies in the bathroom, and had painted them without feeling any shame.
Yet now, he couldn’t even bring himself to look at her in such an intimate way.
The faint scent of hyacinth mixed with the smell of her cascading hair, and the warmth from her shoulder made him feel his breathing quicken.
At this moment, Leonardo felt awkward and nervous, his hands rigidly placed on his knees, sitting as straight as a ruler.
She must have dreamed of something pleasant, as she gently rubbed her head against his shoulder in her sleep.
When he felt the subtle movement, it was as if his hair stood on end, and he inwardly prayed for her to wake up soon—hoping that when she did, she wouldn’t think badly of him.