CHAPTER 28
Hedy’s abdomen began to slowly swell.
The rate at which it expanded was much faster than she had anticipated, but Dechio and the seamstresses were very skilled, modifying her dresses to be more flexible—so much so that even with a pillow tucked inside, it was hardly noticeable.
The waistline was raised to just below her chest, making her appear slender as before.
From March to July, she was still able to move around and walk freely.
As time passed, however, to avoid any unexpected shocks or impacts, she had to stay in her chambers, waiting for the moment to give birth.
Although Leonardo would go to Lorenzo’s estate every other week to inspect the progress of the explosive devices, most of the time, he stayed by Hedy's side.
"You all in that era, did you really love children?" he asked, gently adjusting the pillow at her side and handing her a honey apple. "I noticed, there are stories that seem to be specially for children."
Hedy took the sweet treat and smiled warmly. "That’s right."
In modern society, children are regarded as angels and treasures, receiving special attention from education to entertainment.
"So, what kind of education do they get?" Leonardo asked, curiously, as he lightly stroked her gently swollen belly. "Don’t they learn things like arithmetic?"
"If it’s still in the belly... we call it prenatal education," she answered nonchalantly. "We play classical music for them—preferably Mozart—and read them books and poetry. Some educators believe this helps the child develop sufficiently."
Then, her musician husband started bringing different instruments for his daily performances.
At first, it was the lyre—he played and sang, with the deep and joyful melody continuing for half an hour.
After the Queen had grown tired of the lyre, the breakfast music changed to the flute.
Clarinet, harp, violin...
In the end, he tried to have the servants bring in the piano as well.
"Leonardo—" Hedy said with a mix of laughter and exasperation, raising her voice in amusement. "Our child will be smart enough; there's no need to be so nervous, okay?"
The man tried to put on a serious expression, but after just two seconds, he cracked. "So next time, should I play the olive leaves for you?"
Hedy rubbed her face and waved her hand. "Just sing a cappella, anything is fine."
She began reducing the frequency of her outings, dedicating more time to establishing a nationwide unified examination standard and education system.
However, a certain calligrapher insisted on writing on her behalf, so she was content to lie on the bench for the whole day, waiting until the evening when the weather cooled down before going downstairs for a walk.
While dictating, Hedy’s thoughts were clear and well-organized. Leonardo often had the layout and key points outlined by the time he finished recording.
The curriculum content for public schools in each city began to be clearly planned and regulated, and the proportion of theological textbooks was steadily reduced.
The significance of this was that it allowed more children from ordinary backgrounds to participate in the competition of life through exams.
After the Queen’s decree was issued, children could complete their education by working part-time, and based on their performance, they could enter universities or guild schools, obtaining professions that could support a family.
They were no longer destined from birth to be "a servant of some noble" or "a peasant always on the brink of ruin." Instead, through education, they could rise through the ranks and gain more income.
The church and the nobility were very displeased with this, but they had no way to stop it.
—Both the royal and military powers were firmly in her hands, with no one else having any room to interfere.
When the Code was released, everything about what the upper and lower houses could question, and what issues were untouchable, had been clearly outlined with the assistance of Niccolo, who was essentially an old fox known for using his pen as a weapon.
Once August passed, the weather finally began to cool down.
Before the autumn rains could wash away the dust, ambassadors from Milan and Naples arrived.
They requested a meeting between officials from the three countries, with the location to be chosen by her.
This would be the first three-nation conference since the birth of the Italian Empire.
When the news arrived, the couple was studying the construction of a stethoscope.
Hedy, now just over four months pregnant, already had a belly that appeared as though she were five or six months along.
Despite controlling her food intake and eating frequency, and the swelling in her limbs not being too severe, her belly was growing unusually large.
Could it... be twins?
——
The first time Leonardo tried to listen to Hedy’s heartbeat, both of them were startled by the situation.
At that time, Hedy was still just his ordinary friend, lying in bed pale from menstrual cramps.
Leonardo motioned for her to undo her clothing, preparing to place his ear near the lower right side of her chest.
“No, Da Vinci, what are you doing?!” she exclaimed.
Looking back, it was both infuriating and amusing.
Doctors in this era would have patients remove their upper garments and then listen to the heartbeat between the armpit and chest to diagnose illnesses. This applied to both men and women, and the practice continued until the 19th century.
To find out how many children she was expecting, Hedy, while her musician husband was performing his whistle skills, sketched a quick diagram and instructed him to create a small device based on the notes in the sketch.
There were no rubber tubes yet, but even a small, trumpet-shaped hollow wooden tube could conduct and amplify sound.
When Leonardo received the little device, he was initially doubtful of its functionality.
“There are more amazing things than this,” Hedy said, stirring Caesar salad slowly. “There was a very famous musician who, after losing his hearing, still composed many pieces and could even control the rhythm while playing the piano.”
“Why?!” Leonardo exclaimed, looking shocked. “Did you give him new ears? Were they human ears or donkey ears?!”
“No—bone conduction,” she said with a suppressed laugh. “Just a bit of basic physiology.”
As they discussed the topic, they continued adjusting the position of the makeshift stethoscope.
First, it was the young mother's heartbeat.
It was steady, strong, and very clear.
Leonardo listened to the sound for a long time, and when he stood up, he gave her a lingering kiss.
“Now, let’s hear the child’s.” Hedy said gently. “Be a little lighter with your touch.”
He knelt beside her, pressing his ear against her abdomen to listen for the baby’s heartbeat.
“There really is…” Leonardo reflexively looked at her, then pressed his ear back to her belly. “Though the sound is faint, it’s still completely audible—wait, is there another one?”
Hedy relaxed her posture, half-lying on the bench, and pressed her temples.
It seemed she really was expecting twins. It looked like she’d have to brace herself for some challenges ahead.
Leonardo listened for a long time, distinguishing the two heartbeats.
The louder one had a faster frequency, with clear and noticeable fluctuations.
The other was gentler and more prolonged, located more towards the right side.
"My God… we're going to have two children…" he muttered. "I haven't even learned how to be a father yet."
Hedy lowered her gaze and gently stroked his brown hair, her fingers brushing against his cheek.
"You will," she reassured him.
There was a knock at the door, and a guard outside announced, "Lord Niccolo Machiavelli requests to see you."
"Let him in."
As Niccolo entered, he pulled out a white weasel sewn from soft cloth from his coat. "Perhaps I should say congratulations, Your Majesty?"
Hedy motioned for Leonardo to handle the papers on the desk, and looked at Niccolo, raising an eyebrow. "Only you noticed?"
"You hid it well," Niccolo said with a smile, putting the weasel back into his coat. His tone was slightly probing. "It seems you don’t want others to know about this?"
"My food and water are subjected to six layers of scrutiny and protection," she said lazily. "It's to guard against certain people."
"Quite wise, though it will miss many well-wishers," Niccolo said as he sat beside her, glancing with some regret at the teacher, now reduced to being a secretary. He half-jokingly added, "But you might have to show up at events with your belly soon."
Hedy lowered her head and peeled an orange, handing him a segment. "Has Sforza written?"
"Also, Ferdinand I," Niccolo replied, taking the orange and letting out a barely audible sigh. "They are testing you."
Milan and Naples were the last two hurdles to her unified Italy.
During Lorenzo's reign, he tended to balance the relationships between over twenty small city-states, using contracts and oaths to create defensive alliances for mutual aid.
Hedy, on the other hand, closed the gap by driving the economy and advancing technology, and when the disparity was large enough, she swallowed up the small city-states, directly establishing an Italian Empire five times larger than Florence.
After the empire was established, the three leaders tacitly avoided discussing the former mutual defense treaty, and no one attempted to renew it.
Hedy understood what they were thinking.
Although the lord of Naples had only a few brief mentions in history, she was not very familiar with him.
However, she had personally met Sforza.
He was deceitful, suspicious, chauvinistic, and extremely arrogant.
He indulged and controlled his late brother’s son, raising the child to be uncontrollable and unruly from a young age.
When the news of the child's sudden death came last year, even Lady Clarice showed a “no surprise there” expression.