CHAPTER 20 #2
Even though she had deep love and passion for that country, making world-changing inventions during times of war, she was ultimately reduced to a faded actress, her scandalous stories making their way into tabloid gossip.
This era also has wars and many outdated and decayed practices. People still hold reverence for certain things.
She didn’t know how, but finally, she was able to breathe deeply.
—A new beginning.
Da Vinci’s gunpowder explosion experiments lasted for a week.
During these days, even at night, the booming sounds from the military preparation area were like thunder.
The wooden boards used for writing and drawing were filled with dense calculations, random numbers jumbled together, like some mysterious code.
On the eighth day, they conducted another explosion test.
Hedy sat far away, her gaze wandering toward the figure in the distance.
If they had truly found the optimal mixture... maybe even a thousand-year-old city wall could be destroyed completely, and sieging a city would no longer be a difficult task.
Before she could finish her thoughts, she suddenly heard a violent explosion.
The sound came like a bolt of lightning, and even her ears started to ring with a buzzing noise deep within her skull.
She saw a massive wave of sand and dust surge up from the center of the field, as if the very earth itself had been pierced, shaking the ground beneath her feet.
The next second, the high-flying sand and stones cascaded down like a flooding river, engulfing even Leonardo’s figure.
"Leonardo—!" Hedy's face went pale, and she jumped to her feet, rushing toward the storm of yellow sand.
She didn’t care about the sharp stones that almost pierced through the soles of her shoes, nor the scattered sand that flew in all directions. She shielded herself with her arms and ran as fast as she could.
He couldn’t die. He couldn’t die!
This man was no longer the mysterious and distant figure in the Louvre, nor just a famous name in the history of art and engineering.
He was Leonardo, the only vibrant, talented, and gentle Leonardo—
"Leonardo—!" Hedy ran stumbling, not knowing where he had been buried.
Although they had kept some distance beforehand, this explosion had far exceeded everyone’s expectations, and its power seemed almost mythical.
"Leonardo—! Where are you—?"
She couldn’t control the volume of her voice, calling out desperately, following her memory to find his location.
She absolutely—absolutely could not accept that he might leave this world because of this. Florence needed him, Milan needed him, and she could not live without him—
In her dim and chaotic vision, she suddenly saw some movement in a pit.
Hedy took a deep breath and ran toward it, but when she stepped on a loose stone, she slipped and fell straight down.
Instinctively, she closed her eyes, bracing for the pain and scratches.
But in the next second, she landed in a familiar embrace.
Leonardo was lying at the bottom of the pit, holding her and letting out a long sigh.
Amid the acrid smell of gunpowder and dust, his scent of figs was like a warm kiss, just as it had been on that anxious night, offering a sense of security.
She unsteadily propped herself up in his arms, her body still trembling, her voice hoarse as she cried, "Leonardo, Leonardo—"
He gazed at her reddened eyes, reaching out to pull her tighter into his embrace.
"Don't tell anyone, Hedy," he murmured. "…78, 8, 14."
These numbers would change the fate of all of Europe.
She buried her face in his collar, letting out a long sob.
"—78, 8, 14." She choked, gripping his hand tightly, both of them intertwining their fingers without hesitation, their palms pressed together.
This was the closest they had ever been to each other.
Even their hearts had finally started to touch.
They helped each other stand up from the rubble of gravel and dirt, their disheveled hair covered in dust.
When Leonardo stood up, he checked his body and felt that there were no fractures, only multiple bruises and scrapes, but recovery wouldn’t take long.
As the two walked out of the ruin-like pit of earth and stones, the people outside had already retreated far away, with several others still gathering at the outer edges, clearly observing the situation.
The explosion that had just occurred was far more intense than the previous ones, and the impact was quite astonishing—
Had it not been witnessed by many, they would never have believed that a bucket of mixed powder could cause such terrifying destruction.
Not only had Hedy experienced a ringing in her ears, but the intense explosion had startled the entire city of Luka, with some people even thinking that the French had attacked.
The two exchanged a glance and gave Luris a brief explanation as he quickly approached, then staggered back to the medical room.
Once they confirmed that everyone else had returned to clear the site, Hedy took out the medical kit and began disinfecting Leonardo’s wounds.
The alcohol she had distilled herself was now very effective in various situations, and the necessary medical personnel and resources had been well-prepared before departure.
The more than forty shops operated like automated machines on a gold mine, continuously providing her with the maximum support.
When the cold liquid on the cotton ball touched his wound, Leonardo winced in pain.
Some small debris had already splattered into the wound, and the abrasions covered a considerable area.
"Hang in there," Hedy said with a focused expression, using tweezers and cotton balls to help him clean the wound.
Leonardo lowered his head to watch her clean the wound on his left leg, and couldn’t help but let out a small grunt.
“It might really hurt a bit…” Hedy said with a bit of a headache, “But if we don’t get these little stones and sand out, it could get infected or even fester.”
The man gazed at her long lashes and murmured softly, “If you hold my hand, it won’t hurt.”
Hedy paused for a moment and then extended her left hand to him.
His somewhat rough yet warm palm gripped her hand again, their palms aligning perfectly.
Leonardo instinctively interlaced their fingers, careful not to hurt her.
He held her hand gently yet with a hint of nervousness, smiling as if he had received a gift.
“Just for a moment,” Hedy glanced at him and said, “I still need my left hand to hold the bandage in place.”
“I still have a left hand,” he raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s nimble enough to finish any church mural.”
She gave him a skeptical look but handed him the bandage.
To her surprise, his left hand—despite being reversed and on the same side—moved as smoothly as if it were her own hand.
Whenever she lifted her hand, he knew to press tightly; when she picked up the tweezers, he reached out to twist the bottle cap; if she needed to pick out stones or remove dead skin, he helped adjust the angle of the wound.
No spoken instructions, no hesitation.
Hedy almost forgot that one of her hands was still being playfully held by him as she became more and more focused on tending to the various wounds.
In this era, there were no band-aids, and the bandages could only be secured with clean cotton threads.
Even when she and he tied the knot together, it felt as though they were both controlling their hands perfectly.
Once Hedy finished tying the knot, she instinctively looked up at him.
His amber-colored, deep brown eyes held a gentle smile, neither overly eager nor flattering, yet full of subtle emotions that she could feel.
In fact, Leonardo was ambidextrous, able to use both hands with equal skill, and the agility of both hands was unmatched by anyone else.
He usually painted and wrote with his left hand, and the written words would appear as a mirror image.
However, when he needed to correspond with friends or complete a specific task, both of his hands could serve the same purpose.
He had never considered sharing the same hand with anyone, but in that moment, he focused all his attention on it.
He didn’t want to let go of her hand.
He wanted to stay this close to her, to keep her always in his line of sight.
A few years ago, the resolute resistance and avoidance seemed like nothing more than a distant memory now.
For some reason, Leonardo felt a bit relieved that he hadn’t followed his father’s advice to go to the so-called “official brothel for homosexuals.”
He only wanted to spend every night with her.
“This wound is a bit deep…” Hedy furrowed her brow as she looked at him. “And it’s slanted upward. I’m not sure if I can remove it in one go. There’s also a small wooden splinter that went in; it might hurt.”
He nodded quietly, looking calm and obedient.
Hedy adjusted the candle and brought it closer to his slightly outward-turned wound, starting to remove the splinter.
As the foreign object was moved, the intense pain radiated sharply from the wound and spread to the surrounding areas.
He remained silent, and when the pain became unbearable, he lowered his head to kiss the back of her hand.
The warm kiss was filled with reluctance and dependence—though it was just a kiss on her hand, it felt solemn and sincere.
“It’s out,” Hedy sighed in relief, then began cleaning the area scratched by the stones. “Next time you do such an experiment, make sure to mark a bigger safety zone, and leave the fuse a bit longer.”
She knew in her heart that he had been a hair’s breadth away from death just now. Besides, with something like gunpowder, if the dosage is off, anything could be destroyed.
“And also, since you’ve made this thing, don’t experiment with it too often,” Hedy couldn’t help but remind him again, blowing on the wound slightly as she cleaned it with alcohol, as if trying to ease his pain.
Leonardo focused on her dark, wavy hair that had fallen over her shoulders and her gemstone-like light blue eyes, becoming somewhat mesmerized.
Having known Hedwig for so long, why hadn’t he paid more attention to her in those first few years?
Perhaps it was because of the copper sulfate blue she gave him at the beginning that he couldn’t help but linger around various new things.
He suddenly remembered the words Atalante had said to him when he was avoiding himself.
“The more you hesitate, the less you’ll love her.”
Even without a response, loving her would still make him feel as if he were blessed by the gods.
And if she did respond…
Leonardo suddenly felt a pang of regret. Why hadn’t he noticed all the wonderful things about her sooner?
If only he had fallen in love with her earlier.
Hedy didn’t notice that he had drifted off into his endless thoughts again. After confirming that all the wounds had been treated, she clapped her hands and stood up.
“You really kept your promise, not a sound of complaint,” she said, feeling much lighter, before bending down to kiss his forehead. “Mr. Scientist, you should get some rest. Tomorrow is another busy day.”
Leonardo looked up at her and suddenly said, “Kiss me again.”
He was starting to savor the sweetness of it.
“Are you being coquettish?” Hedy couldn’t help but laugh, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “Don’t let your wounds touch water, remember?”
“Mm, I’ll remember,” Leonardo said, standing to see her off. But after walking a few steps, he turned and asked, “When can I see you tomorrow?”
She glanced at him and tapped his head with her hand. “Isn’t it always at breakfast?”
“Alright,” he nodded. “I’ll see you then.”
After Hedy left, Leonardo cautiously reached up to touch his forehead, then his cheek.
Does this mean… she cares about me too?
—If Botticelli were here, he would definitely know what to do next.
He heard that guy had gone to Venice to paint again. I wonder if he’s currently holding some girl while watching an opera.
Leonardo looked down, carefully checking the bandages, ensuring they were in place. He packed up the papers he had left there and prepared to head to his room to sleep.
As he took a few steps, his thoughts once again turned to her.
During the explosion earlier, she hadn’t waited for the dust to settle—she rushed straight toward him, frantically searching for him…
Hedy… does she care about me?
That night, he slept soundly.
The next day, they held a military meeting and finalized the project list for improving firearms and cannons.
The scouts soon brought in reports from various regions, detailing the situations in different cities.
— Florence had entered a state of alert, with some ports completely blocked off.
— Milan was still celebrating its festival, and all commercial activities were running as usual, though it was reported that the city’s defenses had been greatly strengthened.
— The lord of Naples had provided some support, helping Florence defend the southern borders and preparing to respond to any disturbances from Rome.
— There were no reports about Caesar Borgia.
— Venice had no intention of participating in any side of the war.
The new lord of Luka city was handling matters decisively, offering rewards and comfort to those who had newly pledged allegiance.
Her reputation began to spread, and even some small mercenary groups started to actively seek to join their forces.
The soldiers around Luka began clearing the surrounding woodlands to plant crops, and some troops were even helping to herd sheep and raise pigs.
After finishing her daytime duties, the lord would sit with military engineer Leonardo during dusk, regularly helping him change his bandages and check his wounds.
After so many bandage changes, Leonardo had become adept at handling much of the work with just one hand.
He appeared mature and steady in front of others, but every time it came to changing bandages or tending to his wounds, he would gaze at her for a long time, until she took his hand.
... When a man gets childish, he’s just like a child.
“The wounds are almost healed,” Hedy said with a sigh of relief, standing up to pack the medical kit. She turned her back to him, saying, “You need to take good care of yourself too. If you get hurt again, I might not have time to tend to you.”
As she turned around, the man smiled and bent down, mirroring her earlier actions by kissing her forehead.
The soft kiss fell on her hair, as light as a feather.
Hedy froze for a moment, feeling her heart race.