CHAPTER 21 #4
"And this ruler, when he ascended the throne last year, was only twenty-eight!
" one of the men nearby sipped his beer, growing more spirited as he began discussing the legendary figure.
"He was so young and was the one Merlin's prophecy spoke of.
He's truly a legendary character—exiled to France at fourteen, with countless stories of his youth! "
Hedy hugged herself a little tighter, lowering her head as she continued to toast by the fire.
The night breeze in June carried the faint scent of grass and wood, and the crackling sound of the campfire, along with the muddled chatter around her, gradually began to fade.
She hadn’t had a proper rest in a long time, and now her awareness, like the tide, began to ebb slowly.
The dark clouds over the European continent, the clamor of guns, cannons, and soldiers, slowly became distant, no longer relevant to her in this moment.
Leonardo, having just finished roasting a skewer of wild fruit, suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. He realized that his lord had fallen asleep against him.
Luris, noticing that their lord had become so tired she couldn’t even hold herself upright during the prayers, shot a fierce glance at the men nearby, signaling them to lower their voices while they talked.
Leonardo allowed her to rest against his shoulder, taking the silver fox fur cloak that Dechio had brought him and draping it over her.
She slept soundly and deeply, her breathing light and peaceful.
The men continued to chatter on about the entanglements and rivalries between England and France, while a nightingale sang from the forest. Gently, Leonardo shifted her to rest on his lap, tucking the cloak more snugly around her.
He knew that if she slept too long against his shoulder, her neck would be sore the next day.
His brown eyes lingered on her face, soft and focused, just like they had always been.
"Are you her lover?" Luris asked casually, nibbling on a roasted acorn. "Or is it unrequited love?"
Leonardo raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear and whispered, "I love her."
It was a phrase he had never dared touch or discuss before, but now, speaking it softly in her ear, it felt entirely natural.
If Leonardo lowered his head just a little more, he could kiss her eyes and the tip of her nose.
But instead, he simply stared at her, not daring to overstep or disturb her, allowing her to sleep peacefully in his lap, lost in sweet dreams throughout the night.
Nearby, Zino cast him a knowing and sympathetic glance, pouring a cup of hot wine for the man who, despite seeming capable of everything, appeared somewhat lost and burdened.
This was how someone experiencing love for the first time behaved, as if the person they adored were a rose—too afraid to touch it for fear of disturbing its delicate beauty.
"Our lord is already asleep and can’t hear your confessions," Luris muttered. "You should say such things when she's awake."
"It doesn’t matter," her second brother shook his wine glass, raising an eyebrow. "Sometimes, not saying things aloud might bring two people even closer."
An owl hooted softly in the little forest, like the ancient sound of a clock’s long hand swinging in the night.
——
They trekked westward along the Apennine Mountains and easily captured Massa.
At this time, the city was still just a small town, and it only took a single cannon shot to break down its walls.
As the citizens fled in panic, the well-trained legion under the diamond banner entered the town. They not only captured the lord's family, who was trying to escape with rolls of gold and silver, but also found a map of the surrounding area.
The map was indeed a valuable thing.
In an era without satellite reconnaissance, people had no idea what other regions were like, where mountains or seas were located.
The modern, scientific concept of map-making was only just beginning to take shape, and the map in the parchment scroll was vague with few markings. Still, it provided enough reference.
Beyond Massa, it was La Spezia.
And taking La Spezia would bring them to the doorstep of Genoa.
This small city had a self-sufficient system, with food and fisheries developed to a mediocre degree, and commercial trade was rough, based on private dealings without independent caravans.
Its only specialty was its high-quality marble.
However, the marble was heavy and hard to transport, so its sales to the outside were limited.
— Perhaps Michelangelo would like it here.
Hedy did not stay in the city long. She instructed Luris's second brother to send a small group of people to remain stationed here, telling them to check fingerprints when receiving orders and to take good care of the messenger horses.
The army rested in and around the city for three days before continuing their march north.
Luka, Massa, La Spezia…
She sat in the carriage, listening to Leonardo playing the olive branch, and suddenly thought of something. She opened the curtain and looked at Luris, who was riding alongside: "Do you know anything about La Spezia?"
"I heard it's controlled by the Genoese, and the guards are pretty strict," Luris mocked. "But it's just a matter of one or two cannon shots, nothing to be too nervous about."
"I mean—does the city have any resources?"
"Resources?" Luris stroked his chin, indicating he wasn't sure.
But Mr. Fabio, who was sitting on the ox cart behind her, suddenly said something that seemed to answer the question.
Hedy stuck her head out of the window and asked, "What is the old man saying?"
The knight grinned and, with one hand, hoisted the old man onto his horse. The old man, flailing his arms, almost fell off but glared at her angrily.
"That's the place where heretics are punished," the old man, refusing to hold on to her, clung tightly to the saddle with both hands, swaying beside the window as he spoke.
"There are countless coal deposits there—my lady, you know how bishops punish heretics.
They force those sinners to drag such filthy things around; it can even stain their souls! "
Hedy frowned and repeated, "Coal? You mean the kind of coal used for fuel?"
"Not just coal fields..." The old man, jostled by the horse like he was sitting on a trampoline, spoke in intermittent bursts. "It's a place full of sin, even the spring water that flows underground is the devil's black blood!"
Hedy felt her mind go blank. She knew what this information meant.
Wasn't the naval and munitions base of Italy a hundred years later located right here?
When she had looked through battle reports and news articles, she seemed to recall seeing images of submarines or something similar—
Which meant this place could very well serve as a breeding ground for modern industry?
Abundant fuel, an excellent deep-water harbor, and the ability to connect Genoa and Luka, with the protection of the Apennine Mountains behind it.
What a lucky coincidence!
The army had been split twice, and now there were only around five thousand mercenaries left.
But these fellows didn’t complain about the long journey; on the contrary, they were quite cheerful.
The lord had clearly taken great care of their morale, from the abundant food to the handfuls of gold coins. Those who did well could be promoted in rank, earning the admiration and respect of the others.
Though she was a young beauty, no one dared to have improper thoughts— even when the two Zino gentlemen had left one after the other, it hadn’t affected anything.
Many of the former members of the Flame Legion had long been tamed by Luris Zino, who was fiercer than a lone wolf, and had become thoroughly obedient. They had also grown accustomed to respecting and fearing women.
Rough men, when there's money to be made and meat to be eaten, are not hard to deal with. Those who broke military discipline were dealt with according to the law, and even when they exchanged formalities, they never spared old friendships.
Now, with only five thousand men left in the small legion, it seemed impossible to capture La Spezia, a city with a population of over ten thousand, based on past experience.
However, everyone remained optimistic, for they had become accustomed to certain things—
When the defenders of La Spezia finally waited for the legendary enemy to arrive, they found that these people had no intention of even setting up a trebuchet.
The city's walls stood twenty to thirty feet high, and attempting to scale them by hand was nothing short of a joke.
When Massa fell, the unfortunate lord who had been captured instructed his men to crawl through a dog hole to send a message seeking help from this distant neighbor.
Genoa was not foolish enough to send reinforcements. Instead, they deployed all their forces to defend the walls.
The general and countless archers, seeing the large army approaching from the walls, were on high alert, ready to take down those foolish enough to challenge them.
However, the people below began to set up camp at a distance, and soon tents were rising like dunes.
— Wasn't this supposed to be a battle?
Why were there no siege ladders or siege engines being built?
What were they unloading?
When the massive crossbow mounted on four carts was finally assembled, both the general and the lord turned pale—
What in the world was that?!
They understood the logic, but why was this crossbow so huge?!
Not only that, but the cannons were also assembled within a single day, positioned at a range completely out of reach of the archers.
The general breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the small, stone-like cannon.
He had seen these before; they had little power, and from such a distance, they probably wouldn’t even hit a sparrow—
Then, from afar, the artillerymen lit the fuse, and after a short moment, a fireball was suddenly shot high into the sky, and to their shock, it actually hit the city wall!