CHAPTER 29 #2
At first, he could barely play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," but now, he could skillfully handle even the most complex ornamentations.
Their other friends gathered around them, leisurely drinking, chatting, or joking with one another in the holiday spirit.
After playing "The Flower Waltz," the Queen suddenly leaned over, holding her stomach, and let out a soft gasp.
"Leonardo," she sat up straighter, "I think I’m about to give birth. Call the midwife!"
Luris, terrified, dropped the sword he had been polishing halfway. "You’re giving birth! I’ll go get the whip! Raphael, you go set off rockets! Ten, no—fifty rockets!"
"The Queen’s having her baby!" Niccolo jumped up, stomping his feet like a panicked rabbit. "I’ll go get the birthing stool! What do you need?! Hot water? Scissors? Get all the ropes out of the room!"
The room immediately became a chaotic flurry, everyone rushing about trying to gather what was needed.
The only one who remained relatively calm was Leonardo—though he wasn’t doing much better himself, as he had trouble distinguishing south from north when he stepped outside.
Clarice, having experienced the loss of twins, had been waiting here for a month in advance and quickly arrived with the midwives.
"Oh my..." Hedy counted the intervals of her contractions, holding her forehead with a resigned sigh. "Can’t they calm down just a little?"
"Dear," Clarice gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking down and smiling. "Sometimes, men can be quite foolish."
——
"Push—" Leonardo held her shoulder, sweat covering his forehead and neck.
"Hedy, push! The head of the baby is already out!" Clarice called loudly. "Just a little more!"
Luris couldn't be of much help, pacing back and forth in the next room.
"Calm down," Botticelli took a sip of wine. "The queen didn’t scream, and you've already screamed three times."
"Are your legs shaking, too?" Luris shot him a glare, while outside the window, rockets soared into the sky like falcons, emitting a high-pitched buzzing sound.
"At least I don't look so pale that I need a servant to pass me smelling salts."
"Say that again, and I’ll chop your head off!"
Raphael hurried back holding an empty basket, followed by Michelangelo. "Has the baby been born?!"
Before Botticelli could answer, a loud cry from Hedy suddenly rang out in the room.
Everyone froze for a few seconds, and the baby’s piercing cry immediately followed, loud enough to hear clearly even through a door.
"It’s a boy!" Dechio, covered in dirt, shouted. "Very healthy!"
Raphael cheered, immediately starting to sing praises, thanking God for His protection.
A few more cries followed, along with Leonardo’s anxious inquiry: "Hedy? Are you okay? Do you want to rest for a moment?"
"What does that mean?" Botticelli was confused. "Hasn’t she given birth already?"
"There are two!" Niccolo said energetically. "We have two heirs!"
"Don’t stop—" Clarice urged. "Take advantage of this moment, Hedy, one more push!"
"Two? Can she handle it?" Luris rushed halfway into the room, but when he saw the bloody scene, he clutched his chest and backed out. "I never want to have children in my life—never."
Another baby’s cry echoed, and soon people in the room began to cheer.
"It’s a girl!"
Niccolo immediately grabbed Michelangelo and began spinning around, nearly knocking over a nearby vase.
"Be careful!" Luris shouted. "You’re acting as if you two had the baby!"
The queen had given birth to a boy and a girl, both healthy and safe.
She was in a somewhat weak state, but no one could threaten her or her empire at this moment.
Leonardo had already arranged the political and business affairs, and the ministers had been thoroughly instructed to be obedient.
— Given the tragic deaths of the Borgias, no one dared to cause trouble now.
The queen’s postpartum recovery plan had been made months in advance.
From the nutritional balance in her diet to physical rehabilitation, to the alternating shifts of the nannies, all the details had been meticulously arranged, including the exercise equipment for her recovery, which had already been crafted.
The boy was named Alberto, meaning "noble and bright."
The girl was named Antonia, meaning "a respected person and a priceless treasure."
Hedy's old friends visited her and the children almost every day, completely ignoring Leonardo.
Previously, Michelangelo would occasionally discuss engineering topics with his teacher, but now he spent his free time making toys for the children.
"Botticelli..." The bright light blue eyes were focused on him, and the voice was low and gentle. "Would you be willing to be the teacher for these two children?"
Botticelli, who had been staring at the cradle in a daze, thought he had misheard when he heard this.
"What did you say?"
"Would you be willing to be their teacher?" Leonardo asked with a smile. "This was a decision made by both Hedy and me."
"I..." He froze for a moment, instinctively glancing at the two children. "Can I?"
"I believe you will treat them as your own children, giving them love and guidance." Hedy, holding Leonardo’s hand, looked at him with trust and a smile. "Alessandro Filippo, these two children are in your hands."
"I... I have students?" Botticelli carefully took Antonia, still smiling, into his arms. His expression was somewhat dazed. "I will, I’ll teach them everything I know..."
"Luris, what about you?"
"Me?" The female knight paused for a few seconds. "Can I do it too?"
"Dechio has already agreed to be Antonia's teacher. Would you be willing to take care of Alberto?"
"My God..." She looked at the cradle. "This child is going to follow me around forever?"
"If you don't want to, that's fine," Botticelli, holding the child, muttered. "Wouldn’t want the child to be frightened and cry every day."
"You can’t even calm a baby down!"
Niccolo, sitting next to them and gently rocking the cradle, had a vague feeling that these two children were going to be exceptional...
The queen was already so intelligent that it was almost baffling, and her teacher was a polymath who could make sense of any subject.
The children born to this couple were probably already smart enough, plus all the care and teaching from everyone in this room.
...These two kids might end up conquering Europe in the future?!
The little prince and little princess were both born on January 6, 1488, sparking celebrations and blessings throughout the city.
The people lined up to pray at the church, and the officials and nobles presented extravagant and expensive gifts— the Rucellai family even sent two cradles made entirely of pure gold.
By the time the news reached foreign lands, it was already early spring, in March.
The kings let out a sigh of relief but couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.
When they celebrated the New Year, they only realized that Italy had already seized Naples and the Duchy of Milan. Some even began to predict that the queen might soon turn her attention to their kingdoms.
But at least for now, the queen had just finished giving birth and now had two children to care for. She’d likely need two or three years to focus on her children before she could properly turn her attention back to state affairs.
At least for this year, they still had time to understand how those cannons and similar weaponry worked.
Although these two children were very likely to become threats in the future, for now, they were still infants, and eliminating them wouldn't be particularly difficult.
The governor of Venice thought the same way.
In the past decade, the governors of Venice had changed more frequently than a drunkard’s lovers. By the time one had barely settled into office, they were already dragged out amid public uproar for corruption, with a new candidate swiftly appointed.
The Venetians had been fighting the Turks for seventeen years, and now, after a decade of peace, no one was eager to stick their head out of the city walls to wait for the dawn.
But the problem was— the speed at which the Italian Empire was advancing was terrifying.
It was as though there were devils behind the scenes encouraging the empire’s rise through sorcery.
Agostino Barbarigo, the new governor of Venice, had only been in power for three years.
His predecessor had been imprisoned due to a corruption scandal and died under mysterious circumstances.
And he himself didn’t feel much better.
It felt like he had woken up one day to find Lorenzo suddenly leading an army to attack Rome.
Then, after another sleep, he woke up to find that Lorenzo was dead, and some of his relatives had taken the throne.
Perhaps it was because there was so much news, but the messengers had run their horses to death, and the messages they brought were becoming increasingly unbelievable—
What was this Protestantism about?! What did Italy mean? Why had Naples also fallen?
Barbarigo was desperately trying to save the Borgias, gathering all sorts of materials as per their demands, making frequent trips to the church to pray for the Medici to be poisoned already— and then, the Borgias were completely wiped out.
If it weren't for the news of the queen giving birth, he might have already packed up and fled.
Who knew if the devils were planning to march straight over?
It was now early spring, and the port was bustling as if schools of fish were jumping out of the water.
Fishermen were helping dock workers unload cargo, and ships were arriving one after another.
A young man, struggling to carry a box of apples, suddenly paused in his tracks.
"Hurry up! Aaron!" The person behind him impatiently urged. "If you take any longer, you'll have a beard! Who are you waiting for, some girl?"
"Captain—look over there," the young man hesitated.
"What? What's so interesting?" The old captain cursed, then followed the direction of the young man's finger to look out at the distant horizon of the sea. He instinctively cursed again, "What the hell is that?!"