CHAPTER 25 #2
"500 years from now?" Leonardo felt like his mind couldn’t quite grasp it. "I can’t even predict what will happen in fifty years, let alone 500. That world— it must be completely different, right?"
Yes... everything had changed.
She nodded.
"Are there others like you?" He tried to find the right words to describe it. "Time travel?"
"I don't know," she chuckled bitterly. "I was originally an old lady, living to 85 before I fell into a deep sleep."
When she woke up, she found herself here.
"85!" Leonardo seemed to focus on the wrong point. "Your body was that healthy?"
Well, yes, it was.
"And I had two children, a boy and a girl." She decided to open up further. "It must have happened when I was in my twenties— but when I woke up, I was back to being nineteen."
"And then I met you."
Leonardo had never heard such a story, not even in the theater.
"Wait— are you sure you're not joking with me? This isn’t really the time for jokes, right?" He studied her face, whispering, "Even if you were an old lady, you'd still be the most beautiful one."
"True enough," she raised an eyebrow.
"So... after death, you go to another time? And you bring your body with you?" Leonardo tried to make sense of the mystery. "And have you met any gods?"
"I told you… when I woke up, I found my body had changed, and then I met you," Hedy couldn’t help but laugh. "You can also take it as a compliment."
"Sometimes I wonder, what exactly is death, and what is time?" Leonardo’s expression grew serious, holding her hand and muttering, "It’s difficult to give time a precise definition and explain what it really is."
"Mr. Leonardo..." Hedy cleared her throat. "It seems like you're missing the point again."
The issue now was that his fiancée was from another era, 500 years ahead.
"Sorry, sorry," he chuckled, once again gazing at her face. "I might not fully understand this."
"You know many things we can’t even imagine—are these inventions of the future?"
"Some of them are, some I created myself."
"So, 500 years later..."
"I saw your portrait in the future," she whispered. "I also saw almost every one of your paintings."
He froze, suddenly feeling his cheeks burn.
"No 'you'?"
"No 'me,'" she shook her head. "You worked tirelessly from the age of thirty to over sixty, leaving behind masterpieces that would be admired and remembered for centuries."
"I…" He mumbled. "You know things about me?"
"Only part of it. But after meeting you, it feels like I never really knew anything at all," Hedy said, then suddenly smiled and glanced at the palace towers. "Raphael and Michelangelo both became legendary painters and sculptors, leaving behind immortal works."
"And you?" Leonardo asked, looking at her. "Who are you?"
Her words faltered for a moment, suddenly unsure how to answer.
—Who am I?
A young starlet? A frustrated investor? An inventor of wireless communication?
A drug addict framed for a crime? A laughingstock of failed plastic surgery?
…Who am I?
"It’s a... long story," she let go of his hand, raising it to cover her cheek. "I’m a little confused myself."
Leonardo didn’t immediately embrace her, but after a moment of silence, he spoke again, "I’m glad you’re willing to share these things with me."
"Hmm?" She turned her head to look at him. "Don’t you think I’m a witch or a monster?"
"I’d be very surprised, and my mind would be all over the place," he said, honest yet sincere. "But it doesn’t change our marriage or how I feel about you."
"Even if I’m just an old lady turned young again?" she retorted. "What if tomorrow I turn into someone with gray hair?"
"Then I’ll dye my hair white too," he raised an eyebrow with a smile. "That way, we’d look even more perfect together."
"Even if I don’t belong to this time?"
"Speaking of which..." Leonardo's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Can you take me to that world? Show me what it's like?"
"…I don’t even know how I got here." She rubbed her face. "Maybe it’s just God playing a joke on me."
"Hedy." The man gently grasped her wrist and placed a soft kiss on it.
"Let’s take some time to digest and understand this information, alright?"
He held her hand again, leaning in to kiss her lips once more. "I still love you."
Don’t be afraid.
I won’t leave.
"I’ll give you a chance to escape the wedding," Hedy said playfully, though her heart was sincere. "And then I’ll bring an army to France to bring you back."
"Maybe in Milan," he laughed heartily.
They parted in front of the reception room. One went to face the noble guests with their congratulations and flattery, while the other went alone to sit by the Arno River, pondering for a long time.
He didn’t know what any of this meant. This story, like the fairy tales she once told, completely exceeded his imagination.
Five hundred years apart…
After finishing her meeting, Hedy was quickly taken away by Niccolò, followed by Dechio, who arrived carrying a pile of documents, asking for her decisions on the divisions of lands and rewards for medals.
It seemed that the Empress, on her first day of coronation, already couldn’t escape the grind of work.
When everything settled down, she lifted her head again and noticed the crescent moon high in the sky outside the window.
And there, outside the office, stood a familiar figure.
Hedy had chosen to set up her office near her old bedroom, permanently keeping Lorenzo’s study intact.
Just as he had done when she left.
The night breeze was cool, like a thin veil, passing gently around them.
As Hedy opened the door and looked at Leonardo, she hesitated, not wanting to move forward.
She couldn’t bring herself to imagine what might happen if he chose to stop, or...
The man opened his arms and smiled at her, “Come hug me.”
Her hesitant gaze instantly disappeared, and her eyes brightened.
Hedy took two or three steps and walked up to him, giving him a firm, heartfelt embrace.
They held each other tightly, their loose strands of hair tangling together.
The familiar scent of him filled the air, and she couldn’t help but inhale deeply.
“It’s honey apple,” he said, shaking the food box in his hand. “Are you hungry?”
So what should have been a heavy and serious moment of disclosure suddenly turned into the two of them swaying on a swing, the night breeze brushing against them.
She held a box of warm honey apples, gently swaying in the quiet courtyard, occasionally taking a small bite.
In the distance, the candles had already been lit by Dechio, glowing like the moon suspended in the sky.
“I thought about it for a long time,” he said slowly, “and then realized, there’s really nothing to think about.”
“You are you, whether it’s five hundred years ago or five hundred years from now.”
Hedy turned her head, biting into the apple as she looked at him. “You don’t think I’m some sort of monster?”
“If that’s the case, then I’d like to be a monster too.” He leaned in, biting off a small corner of the apple, like another secret kiss.
She blushed a little, lowering her head to finish the apple.
“And thinking about it like this... you crossed so many years just for me to meet you.” He whispered, “That’s my luck.”
“…It’s my luck too.”
Hedy sighed, “Well, there’s no escaping now, we have to get married.”
Some things seemed destined, as if they were fated from the start.
“Don’t worry about a grand wedding.” Leonardo said seriously, “Of course, if you like parades—”
“No,” she reflexively interrupted, “Absolutely not.”
Wearing extravagant clothes and parading around the city for three whole rounds? She’d had enough of that over the years.
The two of them tilted their heads back, gazing at the sky full of stars, swaying gently with the swing.
It felt as if they had returned to the innocence of childhood, with the countless trivial matters of the world irrelevant to them.
"Five hundred years from now, people don’t ride horses or sit in carriages," Hedy suddenly spoke.
"...Do they fly directly in the sky?" Leonardo asked curiously. "Or ride other animals? Wolves?"
"No, there's something called a car," she gestured with her hands. "It's a square-shaped machine that can be driven by people and travel all over the country."
"Oh, and there are airplanes too," she laughed. "They're somewhat like what you designed, but usually, dozens of people sit together. They can cross mountains and oceans."
She began telling him about the history she knew, from the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the rise of America, from the Industrial Revolution to the technological revolution.
Leonardo was a genius, and even with her simple explanations, he was able to fill in the gaps with even more fitting information.
History, culture, revolutions...
"Then what about love?" he suddenly asked.
"How is love and marriage five hundred years from now different from now?"
"Different?" Hedy blinked.
She remembered everything she had encountered before and smiled nostalgically.
"Love is still the same as now."
People in the present believe in gods, while people in the future believe in material desires.
Yet love has always been given too many definitions, remaining fragile and extravagant all the same.
"As for marriage," she held his hand, their palms once again pressed together, "five hundred years later, it has become easier to fall apart."
Divorce was difficult in this era, while in the future, breakups and reunions were no longer uncommon.
People impatiently came together, only to hurriedly part ways in an embarrassing fashion.
"So promises are always illusory and distant."
Leonardo watched her profile under the starry night, suddenly taking a deep breath.
"I will love you forever."
"What?" She didn’t hear him clearly and turned her head to look at him.
"I will love you forever," he gazed into her eyes, his voice firm and unwavering.
"Till death do us part."
——
He escorted her back to the bedroom door. They exchanged brief goodnights, preparing to part ways.