CHAPTER 27 #3
“Leonardo, maybe one day, after I’ve sorted everything out…” she suddenly said. “I’ll retreat to the countryside and become a happy, free person.”
…When all the things that tied her down were taken care of, she might lay down her crown, shed her royal robes, and return to a simple, peaceful life.
“When that time comes, I’ll leave with you,” he said, holding her hand, their fingers intertwining with perfect synchronization. “There will be no hesitation.”
She looked at him, her gaze locking onto his amber eyes in the evening light.
Pure, clear, unchanged from nine years ago.
Leonardo smiled and lowered his gaze, pulling her into an embrace and kissing her forehead.
"I will love all of your dreams."
——
When Hedy woke up, it was still just dawn outside.
Her lover had already left early to check on the drying of the oil paint at the Florence Cathedral.
Hedy tugged on the long cord beside her bed, and soon a court official appeared in front of her.
Breakfast consisted of warm small hamburgers—one of the foods created by the Queen herself.
The beef patty was fried to perfection, then topped with lettuce and sauce, served with boiled milk and other small snacks.
Hedy sat up against her down pillow, still a little sleepy.
She smelled the mix of olive oil fried with beef, and lazily said, "I don't want to eat it, take it away."
The court official looked a bit worried, "Your Majesty... then what would you..."
"Just two slices of white bread," she replied.
Lately, she had lost her appetite for greasy foods.
Now, the Florence Academy had already started research on steam engines and radio designs. The first communication line had been laid from the academy to the Old Palace, and information exchange had been successfully completed—
However, since the distance wasn't very long, people only used it for simple responses at the moment.
For instance, two short beeps and one long one meant, "There has been a new major discovery, please come over to see it when the Queen has time."
At the same time, the upper and lower houses had approved the budget, starting the process of laying down radio lines.
The transmission tool would be copper wire, but it had to be coated with three layers and buried deep underground.
—Mice, like greedy farmers, were equally annoying. If one wasn't careful, the expensive signal network could be destroyed by them in an instant.
The first line would be laid from Florence to Luka.
If all went well, more workers and mercenaries would be recruited, and the construction of wired communication radio stations connecting Florence-Genoa and Florence-Rome would begin.
At least for now, roads like spider webs were being constructed in these regions, and travel and troop movement would be greatly shortened in the future.
The Queen continued to focus on the development of the economy. After appointing Niccolò Machiavelli as the Minister of Finance, she granted him enough power to build a larger department to balance and encourage the nation's economic exchanges.
In the past, merchants traveling from south to north across the Holy Roman Empire had to pay dozens of taxes to the church and various lords. But now, within Italy, as long as they showed the proper documentation, they only had to pay taxes once.
Moreover, merchant caravans traveling from Florence to other cities were now encouraged by the government to form larger organizations, and permanent trade markets were being established in various cities.
People no longer had to wait for grand festivals to conduct trade; centralized and fixed trade points began to attract many foreign merchants—so much so that the number of immigrants started to steadily rise.
Hedy found some time to inspect the new textile workshops near the West City.
From small family-run workshops to centralized small factories and then to larger handicraft workshops, the evolution and transformation of this industry historically would have taken centuries.
But under her leadership, it took less than six years.
—With enough guidance and momentum, and by setting up reliable regulations and guidelines, many things could develop in a healthy and scientific manner.
Now, West City had seen the rise of many new wealthy merchants, some of whom held orders from several countries, and they were wealthy enough to buy entire sets of precious porcelain worth thousands of gold from Arab traders.
Hedy, surrounded by attendants and officials, walked through the area and saw the beginnings of an industrial district.
Many large machines were already in operation—even without steam engines, they could weave fine and dense fabrics at a much faster pace.
Each workshop had a clearly defined functional area, and everyone knew exactly what they were doing.
This was different from the assembly lines used in car production; instead, it was a breakdown and reorganization of complicated steps.
Large bundles of wool were being transported by carriages, with skilled women spinning cotton and working the spinning wheels. In the distance, the boiler had steam rising from it, and some were stirring the solution used to soften the threads.
As Hedy smelled the strong, pungent odor of wool, she was speaking with Niccolò, but immediately felt something stirring in her stomach. She rushed to the side and uncontrollably vomited.
—Her actions were somewhat inappropriate, but she was doing her best to suppress her abnormal behavior.
Niccolò's face changed, and he quickly rushed to support her, lowering his voice to ask if she needed a doctor.
Hedy seemed to have thought of something. After taking the water and handkerchief, she shook her head, signaling them to continue to inspect the other workshops.
Her period had been absent for forty-five days.
If it didn’t come in another fifteen days... she feared...
Hedy had always been very cautious about her health.
After all, she lived in an ancient time where even a simple cold could be fatal.
Penicillin didn't cure every disease, and the men wearing bird-beak masks, who were supposedly "doctors," seemed more like strange witches from Bohemia than any true healers.
She wasn’t sure if she was pregnant, but there was no way to test it.
Ten days earlier, after finishing a morning work handover, she had asked Dechio in a half-joking tone, “How do people test for pregnancy these days?”
“Still the same,” Dechio replied, helping her sort letters into three stacks, sealing them with the emblem of the Phoenix representing different domains. “They either give the urine to a doctor to taste, or mix it into wine and watch for a change in color.”
The Queen paused for a few seconds, silent. “Anything else?”
“Or the old Egyptian method—directly urinate on wheat seeds and see if they sprout faster.” Dechio remembered something and asked, “Do you have a need for this?”
“No, not at the moment. Just curious.”
She didn’t want to see any of those three methods used.
After the last hunt, Hedy had noticed some regrettable things.
Since many nobles attended that hunt, a lot of young people were accompanying them as servants or game fetchers.
It wasn’t just the sons of farmers or hunters—some nobles traveled with at least a dozen young attendants. They were all in their prime years, yet lived like hunting dogs.
There was no need for any personal will; from a young age, they were taught how to be a better servant.
After entrusting the matters of the textile industry to Niccolò, Hedy left more of her time for the office.
She vaguely noticed that her calves were swelling, and her sleep duration was steadily increasing.
—Education was also something worth paying attention to.
Leonardo had noticed her recent lack of energy and handed over many of his tasks to Michelangelo and Raphael, asking them to take care of the more mechanical work on his behalf. He returned to her side with manuscripts and designs, spending each day with her in the office.
“Leonardo,” she dismissed the servants and asked, “What are schools like in this world?”
Hedy wasn’t very certain about the school systems of her previous life.
She had grown up in a Jewish educational system, and later, her children had been raised under the American educational model.
But at least in this era, there were no SATs, nor any Ivy League schools.
"Schools... there are probably two types," Leonardo replied, taking a sheet of paper and sketching a brief table for her.
"Church schools and city schools."
Knightly education had already fallen into decline during this period, becoming an old, laughable remnant of the past.
Hedy blinked and showed a regretful expression. “Theology is the most prestigious education today, isn't it?”
The man shrugged. “I’d love to know what people five hundred years from now are studying.”
As the name suggested, church schools were once the dominant force in education.
These schools trained devout followers, as well as students of noble birth or virtuous character.
According to the teachings of the Bible, they were expected to maintain obedience and chastity, with sufficient self-restraint to avoid desires.
However, after several centuries, schools that frequently produced various sexual scandals were often found to have deep connections with the Catholic Church.
In these schools, students studied grammar, rhetoric, and logic, and may have also learned basic knowledge like geometry and arithmetic.
But their ultimate belief always circled back to the Bible.
“What about the other type?” Hedy asked. “What does a city school mean?”
“Guild schools or schools for merchant children,” Leonardo casually wrote a few notes. “I come from one of them.”
Compared to some grand but impractical theological theories, these schools were designed to serve the children of merchants or craftsmen, providing them with enough practical skills to help them quickly move out of their “childhood” phase and become self-sufficient professionals in their industries.