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One young man’s sister was seduced and then discarded, which led him to gather two other men who shared his hatred of the lord. Together, they assassinated him at the Church of St. Stephen.
Now, the young lord was caught up in indulgence and pleasure, leaving all the power to his newlywed guardian, Ludovico Sforza.
Whereas in Florence, people would address him with fear as "Lord," here in the tavern, people preferred to call him "the Moor." With his dark hair and eyes, resembling that of the Moors, he didn’t mind the nickname at all.
The word "moor" also sounded like "moro," which means mulberry tree in Italian. Thanks to his progressive policies, the number of people who adored him in Milan was growing, and even the mulberry green had become the trendy color—so much so that even the tavern curtains were made of it.
The regent, clearly having learned from the tragic death of his older brother, never recklessly entangled himself with married women. Yet, before and after his marriage, he had numerous mistresses, some of whom even lived with him. One had borne him two sons and a daughter.
Interestingly, his new bride didn’t seem to mind and would even drink with his mistresses.
This had become the most talked-about gossip in town, so much so that even Dechio couldn’t resist mentioning it.
Hedy silently listened to the explanation and began to wonder whether the children the bride would bear would truly be Sforza’s.
When a woman shows indifference to her partner's infidelity, there are typically two possibilities: she doesn’t love him, or she loves many people.
Affairs and indulgent celebrations weren’t anything new in the medieval world.
Using the gold she had saved, Hedy purchased two dairy workshops and merged them into one.
With a large herd of cattle nearby, milk prices were unbelievably low.
Hedy was well-versed in making cheeses and various pastries, and within just two months, she had improved production lines and manufacturing techniques several times. The products were flying off the shelves.
Once money is invested wisely, it can lay golden eggs like a frenzied hen.
By August, Hedy’s assets had doubled from what they were when she first arrived, and she had purchased three new workshops in one go.
The weather had grown increasingly hot, and it was clear that stepping outside for a stroll would lead to sunburn.
Hedy quietly bought some saltpeter to make ice blocks, and fruit shaved ice became a long-awaited indulgence.
After her leisure time, she wanted to find something to occupy her, so she wandered through the various rooms and eventually found herself in Da Vinci’s studio, suddenly taking an interest in the space.
By now, the process and techniques of egg tempera painting were no mystery to her.
More importantly, in her past life, she had already been proficient in painting— and quite good at it.
Modern paints were stable, neatly packaged in cans or tubes. But in this era, many materials were still in the early stages of development, though they were already usable.
Hedy gathered some pigments and couldn't help but smile when she saw the copper sulfate blue.
She decided to paint a water lily pond in a style reminiscent of impressionism, using more modern techniques to blend the colors.
When Da Vinci returned with a caramel apple in hand, he happened to glance into the room and saw her painting.
He paused outside the window, standing still for a long time as his expression blanked. All the stories he had heard before vanished from his mind, leaving only a whirlwind of emotions.
Hedy—Hedy was painting?!
Why would she paint? Or perhaps she could already do this before meeting him?
The black-haired girl was focused on applying color, her expression calm and gentle.
Her water lilies were brought to life with layers of blended colors, and the depth of the water, with its light and dark variations, was distinctly visible.
There was no Madonna, no mythological figures, nor any Christian elements.
