CHAPTER 24 #3
Lorenzo lowered his head, scanning the battle reports, only turning the page after a long while.
"My lord, it's already late," Cosimo brought over a cup of freshly warmed orange juice, his tone respectful and gentle. "You should rest early, so your leg pain doesn't flare up again."
It was no longer just leg pain.
At its worst, the pain radiated through his limbs and could cause excruciating spasms that lasted for a long time.
"Understood."
The guard stood by for a while, noticing that Lorenzo didn’t seem to be reading the military updates. He cautiously asked, "Are you worried about… that lady?"
The lord remained silent, placing the file aside after a long pause.
"I’ve heard that the Borgia family is planning a wedding, and the Pope himself will be there to witness the vows," Cosimo sighed. "Are you really going to sacrifice her?"
If Lorenzo simply compromised, allowing the Medici family to align with the Church on the same side, engaging in mutual defense and trade, none of this would have to be so complicated.
Now, almost every country on the peninsula was embroiled in chaos and war, and the lord in Rome was likely losing his mind.
"If it’s worth it," he whispered. "Dismissed."
The servant nodded obediently, bowed, and left.
Lorenzo sat alone in silence for a long time, before raising his gaze to the cup of steaming orange juice.
He reached out and poured the entire cup into the nearby flower pot.
Lorenzo's body was steadily deteriorating.
When he first noticed the symptoms two years ago, he had initially thought it was a complication related to gout. However, since Hedy wasn’t around, he couldn’t confirm much.
It wasn’t until she ran into trouble that he belatedly realized many things.
—Cosimo was an orphan, whom he had found on the streets as a teenager and had taken in, training him up to his current position.
He had spoken with a slight Spanish accent at first, but he was strong and brave, and over time, his speech had become indistinguishable from that of a Florentine.
Lorenzo had originally believed he had raised a loyal subordinate, but little did he know that he had unwittingly brought a wolf cub into his court.
He had repeatedly instructed everyone in Genoa, from top to bottom, to be above reproach and spotless, leaving no room for internal strife.
Even Machiavelli, who appeared midway, had been secretly investigated by Dechio for his background and private dealings.
—He was from an old noble faction, with aligned interests, and posed no threat.
But Cosimo… Lorenzo realized it too late.
The stomach cramps, the weakness in his limbs, and the muscle spasms—Lorenzo could never be sure what he had tampered with in his food or water over the past two years.
Lately, he seemed to be getting more and more fatigued.
He could sleep through an entire morning and furrow his brows in silence when reviewing official documents.
Doctors started to come and go frequently, but none could provide a concrete diagnosis.
Lorenzo rejected suggestions like enemas and bloodletting, but his condition only worsened. His sleep became increasingly heavy, and he could no longer respond to his servants’ calls.
Finally, one deep night, he experienced another round of excruciating pain before collapsing heavily onto his bed.
Cosimo carefully tucked the blankets around him and, in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, asked, “Are you still in pain, my lord?”
There was no response, as if the man had already fallen into a dream, or perhaps slipped into unconsciousness.
“Lorenzo,” Cosimo raised his voice. “Miss Hedy has returned. She requests to see you.”
The entire bedroom was drowned in silence, with no reply.
The next moment, a gleaming dagger slid from the servant's sleeve.
Master, with just one strike, you can be free of these tortures forever.
Just one strike.
He raised his hand high, gripping the lord’s shoulder.
In the dim light, the exact position of the neck wasn’t clear, but it didn’t matter if it was a little off—this sick man no longer had the strength to resist.
Cosimo hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath before refocusing and confirming the target.
But suddenly, he heard three piercing arrows whizzing through the air.
The area around his chest and abdomen turned cold and numb, and then a violent, crashing pain surged like a roaring beast, causing him to collapse to his knees—
What… what is happening?!
“Cosimo.”
The man sat up, his voice cold. “Is this what you call loyalty?”
The servant clutched his pierced abdomen, blood flowing freely, staining his hands and trailing across the carpet in a winding path.
“You…” he hissed, his voice breaking, “you…”
Hidden crossbowmen emerged from three concealed corners, their blades pressed against the rebel's throat to prevent any sudden movements.
Cosimo was now incapable of completing a sentence. He grasped the arrow protruding from his stomach, his throat filled with gurgling blood, his eyes red with veins.
“I treated you like a brother,” Lorenzo said, sitting at the edge of the bed, looking down at the man kneeling before him. “But I never imagined I had a Borgia in my own court.”
Cosimo sneered, his body trembling as he tried to maintain his balance. The intense pain caused him to collapse onto the carpet, unable to control his groans.
"You... you are already..." he stammered, "...you will die too..."
"Better late than you," Lorenzo stood up and placed his foot firmly on Cosimo's throat.
"Your corpse will be devoured by wild dogs, your bones buried under a coal mine, forever consumed by the fire of the devil," his voice was cold, as if discussing the weather, but the pressure of his foot made Cosimo gasp for breath.
Cosimo's dagger was swiftly taken from his hand, and the long arrow embedded in his abdomen was brutally pulled out.
More blood flowed from him, and his vision began to fade.
"Better off dead," the lord whispered.
When Hedy saw the two children, she let out a long sigh of relief.
"By afternoon, we’ll reach Florence," she reassured them. "The carriage has been moving quickly; perhaps your father is still waiting for you at the Palazzo Pitti."
Lorenzo’s eldest daughter, Lucrezia, had already married a nobleman. His second son and adopted son were both around eleven years old and getting along well.
These children had been studying and receiving instruction from the Roman Church since their childhood, and they were as gentle and friendly toward Hedy as ever.
Their brother, Piero, had nearly choked to death on food earlier, but thanks to Hedy’s quick intervention, he had been saved.
The children didn’t understand much about the war, focusing more on the wild sparrows and foxes they encountered.
They seemed relaxed and happy, as though the chaos of the world had no bearing on them.
The carriage made its way toward the Palazzo Pitti, where the lady of the house had been waiting for some time.
"Lorenzo is still in his office," she explained apologetically. "There have been too many battle reports lately."
Hedy instinctively glanced behind her, looking for the others, and lowered her voice to ask, "What about Cosimo?"
"Cosimo?" The lady of the house showed a look of regret. "He ate some poisonous berries and passed away some time ago."
Hedy turned and exchanged a glance with Leonardo, both of them sighing in relief at the same time.
The outbreak of war had thrown the entire Italian Peninsula into turmoil.
The Holy Roman Empire, once a proud and battle-hardened lion’s den, had fractured due to numerous reasons, leaving only isolated and defenseless Rome.
Now, Rome was calling upon various duchies to fight for it, while several powerful city-states plotted to claim their share of the spoils.
A dozen or so smaller principalities were locked in chaotic conflict, and the battle situation was impossible to predict.
There were no radios, no wireless communications, no means of passing messages.
As she awaited her meeting with Lorenzo, Hedy found herself pondering the idea of wireless communication.
If she could confess to Da Vinci and ask him to use all the information he already knew to create a wireless system, the speed of the world’s progress would surely be altered once more.
Science, economics, unity, the Protestant movement, human liberation—
There was so much to focus on.
During her wait, Hedy lowered her gaze to the floor.
She noticed that the carpets in the palace had all been replaced, now more fitting for the gold and splendor of the palace.
She also noticed a bloodstain in the corner of a doorframe, an area that had clearly not been cleaned properly.
When the woman saw the faint brownish mark, she merely smiled down at it, offering no further questions.
The new servant, Nino, a young man promoted from the Medici family, blushed slightly when he saw her. He quickly stepped aside and bowed. "The lord has risen."
...Risen?
Hedy felt a bad premonition at the mention of this.
During the years she had spent in the Old Palace, Lorenzo had never napped in the afternoon, nor did he ever delay meetings.
The man sat at his desk, just as he had eight years ago, hunched over, flipping through documents.
His face had grown much paler, with faint wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes.
His hands bore subtle scars and bite marks, and they were still trembling slightly.
"Lorenzo?" Hedy realized something was wrong and quickly walked over. "What’s going on with you?"
The lord took a deep breath, struggling to steady himself.
Cosimo had died thirteen days ago, and his body was rapidly deteriorating.
He had even killed four or five of the chefs and replaced all the managers—
But just as Cosimo had cursed before his death, he could die in any sleep.
The accumulated poison was corroding his internal organs, and his entire body was slipping out of control.
Hedy had returned too late.
While waiting, he had still harbored some feelings of guilt.