CHAPTER 29
After they sat down, they began discussing matters concerning Venice.
This country was born from the expulsion of the Huns under King Attila and is now invincible due to its prosperous trade routes.
In the past few decades, Venice had been at war with Milan, Genoa, the Ottoman Turks, and other nations, all while supporting a large number of mercenary groups due to its exceptional economic advantages.
The servant brought in a lavish dinner and, after pouring them two glasses of fine wine, bowed and left.
Hedy had just received a caramel pudding that Dechio had brought from home earlier that afternoon. The smell of quail made her lose her appetite, so she pushed her plate aside.
“These meatballs are fried with vanilla sauce,” Leonardo said, scooping a spoonful and jokingly pretending to feed her.
“I really have no appetite,” she sighed, saying, “Tell the kitchen to make some beef stew with peas tomorrow.”
Leonardo casually tasted two meatballs and continued discussing the lion in the northeastern direction.
As the important ports along the Venetian coast were marked one by one, he drank several glasses of water, unconsciously covering his throat with his hand.
Hedy vaguely felt something was wrong and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“I feel a bit nauseous,” Da Vinci said, covering his abdomen and frowning. “And my stomach is starting to hurt.”
Hedy froze for two seconds before quickly ringing the bell to summon Nino. “He might have been poisoned—bring the bucket over and make him vomit now!”
Leonardo’s face grew increasingly pale, and even coughing began to trigger vomiting.
“Nino, go get some milk—make sure it’s boiled and absolutely clean!
Lock up all the other kitchen staff!” Hedy, seeing that Dechio had arrived after hearing the bell, gestured for her to hold Leonardo steady.
She placed one hand on his shoulder and said, “Leonardo, you have to vomit everything out—there’s still time! ”
The man bent over the bucket, vomiting violently, his forehead starting to bead with sweat.
Hedy had already ordered Niccolo to secure the palace and the city. When she returned, slightly unsteady on her feet, she sat beside him and continued wiping the sweat from his neck and forehead. “You need to keep vomiting—until it’s only clear water.”
Dechio placed a silver needle into the vomit. After a while, the needle began to darken.
It was indeed poison!
Hedy, frantic, handed him some mouthwash water while Niccolo, coldly, spoke from behind her: “These meatballs are problematic—some of them have something inside!”
Why had she fortified the palace so thoroughly, yet there were still people who could sneak in?
It was the same last time—why, when she lived in a heavily guarded high place, could someone still poison her wine and directly bring her to Rome?
Where had things gone wrong?
Hedy’s expression went blank for two seconds before she suddenly stood up, gripping the table, her face ashen. “Niccolo, lock all the windows, and check all the rooftops and eaves now!”
Could they have snuck in from above through the windows?!
Whether it was the Old Palace or the Genoa palace, these places couldn’t be breached from the ground by the guards.
But Borgia’s assassins might have climbed the stone walls and used ropes to enter through the windows from the highest points!
Leonardo had been vomiting for quite a while now, and his voice had become weak and hoarse.
"It hurts so much..." he muttered. "I don’t want to throw up anymore..."
"Just a little more, Leonardo," Hedy said, tears streaming down her face as she tightly held his hand. "Just a little more, for me and the two children—Leonardo, you have to vomit everything out of your stomach."
"Don’t cry..." He took a deep breath and forced himself to vomit again, clinging to the bucket in a pitiable and desperate manner.
"I’ll be fine..." Leonardo, with what little strength he had left, held her hand tightly, enduring the pain and resistance of his body as he emptied the food he had previously eaten.
His stomach felt as if it were being corroded, and the sharp pain made him curl up, kneeling on the ground. Even the rise and fall of his breath intensified the agony.
He couldn’t stop now; he had to trust her... he had to believe in her.
Each time he vomited, his throat and esophagus felt like they were being burned by intense fire, the pain so excruciating that he almost wished he could die right there.
"One more time... Leonardo," Hedy, her vision blurred by tears, knelt beside him, staying with him in his misery. "It’s almost over. You’ll be okay."
She had no idea what would happen next or what exactly was in the poison.
But this was all she could do.
Thankfully, the poison in those two meatballs wasn’t in a large enough quantity.
The onset of the poison was quick, but the rescue measures were timely, and they hadn’t reached the worst-case scenario.
Half an hour later, Leonardo was only vomiting clear water, and the stomach pain and nausea had lessened considerably.
At the same time, the milk was brought in.
Niccolo, his face full of confusion, was helping his teacher, trying to understand what had happened. “So vomiting can fend off the poison’s effects? So you don’t need an enema?”
And what about the milk? He had heard that cow's stomach stones could save a person, but now milk could detoxify as well?
“Drink one more sip... slow down.” Hedy sat beside him, feeding him the milk, her heart finally at ease. “Finish this bowl and sleep for a while. You’ll feel much better.”
At that moment, Nino walked in, followed by several guards.
"Your Majesty," he said, clearly breathless from what had just occurred. "We caught three people on the roof."
When they had arrived, the men were just tying ropes around their waists, preparing to descend.
Hedy’s expression darkened, and she placed the empty bowl aside, her voice cold.
"Bring them up."
The guards brought the three men, bound tightly, and their faces seemed somewhat familiar.
“Borgia’s three illegitimate sons,” she sighed. “I knew it.”
Caesar and his two brothers were bound hand and foot, their mouths completely gagged with filthy cloths, preventing them from making a sound.
The Queen stood up and slowly approached the three men lying on the floor.
She had never intended to go to such extremes.
But her mercy had only made her and those around her vulnerable to deadly threats—
Just a moment ago, when Leonardo had been clutching his stomach in pain, she had almost lost her sanity.
"Spain is a place you cannot return from," Hedy said, her eyes cold as she observed the terrified or enraged expressions of the three men. "The two countries there are already divided, and they will never accept the Borgia name—so where can you go?"
“Milan has already surrendered, Naples has already fallen, and you can’t cross Genoa to get to France.” Her gaze became sharp, her voice carrying a bone-chilling coldness. “The Venetians saved you, didn’t they?”
They gave you shelter, allowed you to take refuge, and provided you with the resources to return for revenge...
Caesar stiffened, struggling to make a sound.
“This is the price of mercy,” Hedy said slowly, her tone heavy with meaning. “Sometimes, it’s not such a good word.”
Leonardo had fallen into a deep, feverish sleep by Niccolo’s side, and the entire bedroom was eerily silent.
The raven outside circled, shrieking, and even the night sky seemed to carry an air of gloom.
Tonight’s crescent moon would be illuminated by a blood-red hue.
"When the Roman Papacy was destroyed, a complete set of torture tools was discovered in the dungeon," Hedy said, her voice calm but heavy with meaning.
She turned and sat beside Leonardo, intertwining her fingers tightly with his, no longer casting a glance at the three men.
"You will be the last penitents for these tortures."
"Take them away," she sighed softly. "I’m tired."
Florence erupted in the most rigorous round of scrutiny and reckoning.
Most of the locals were able to prove their identity and length of residence, and they took the opportunity to register their identities and fingerprints.
Through denunciations and comparisons, the guards uncovered a total of fifteen Borgias.
They had different hair colors and eye colors, some were male, some female, some old, some young.
All of them died on January 1st, as if it were another gift to Lorenzo, who rested in the grave.
Botticelli painted the grand execution scene as another mural beside the town hall. His brushstrokes and colors were so vivid that children would have nightmares after seeing it late at night.
Milan and Naples had completely lost their titles as "duchies" and were now just two cities within the empire.
Their political systems and religions were completely overhauled, with the symbols of the Reformation and the phoenix flag appearing at the southern and northern ends of the empire.
This time, Venice sent no letters of congratulations or greetings, remaining silent as if avoiding each other’s existence.
After the incident, Leonardo had a high fever for two nights and spent a month fully recovering.
By the time his body had regained health and vitality, Christmas was already nearly over.
The empire was slowly rebuilding order and rules, like a hibernating beast beginning to awaken.
Finally, on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, the Queen suddenly prepared for the timely arrival of her childbirth date.
On that day, Florence’s Piazza della Signoria hosted the grandest "Adoration of the Magi" knightly procession in history. Guests from the north, south, east, and west filled the entire city, with joyous singing and festivities echoing through the streets.
However, their sovereign did not attend the celebration. Instead, she leaned on a bench, listening to her lover play the piano.
Recently, Leonardo had been busy with two things: improving firearms and learning to play the piano.