Page 207 of DATE
November’s weather in Milan was damp and rainy, and the square in front of the church looked like a giant mirror, with the reflections of passing pedestrians clearly visible.
As she held her umbrella and made her way back, she noticed Leonardo standing at the door, waiting for her.
Hedy suddenly realized something.
It seemed that... for the past year, he had been waiting for her return each time.
She couldn’t recall when it had started, but he no longer spent his afternoons and nights in the church as he used to. Instead, he spent more time in his studio, painting, though he never let her see his sketches.
He also frequently brought her small snacks—nothing particularly refined, but always something she liked.
Some quiet, unnoticed things… had gradually become habits.
Because of the misty rain, the man hadn’t seen her yet and suddenly sneezed while holding the umbrella.
Thirty-year-old Leonardo, tall and gentle, occasionally had a childlike side to him.
But in the face of war and politics, he was more mature than anyone else.
Hedy couldn’t help but smile and walked slowly toward him.
Leonardo finally saw her and quickly walked over to shield her from the rain at her side.
"Your clothes are all wet..." he instinctively said. "Hurry, let's get inside and warm up by the fire. I’ve prepared some hot wine."
"Is it from the batch we made last year?" She allowed him to take the things from her hands and let out a long sigh. "I’m really a bit chilled; the temperature dropped suddenly today, and the wind outside is so strong."
As she walked into the house, she suddenly caught the scent of something sweet.
"Leonardo—" Hedy suddenly became expectant. "What delicious thing did you bring back this time?"
The young man gave a somewhat shy smile and showed her the egg custard almond cakes he had baked himself.
"Today is your birthday," he said softly. "Happy birthday, Hedwig."
Birthdays had once been banned by the Christian Church because they were considered a pagan tradition from ancient Greece.
Luckily, from the lord to them, almost no one truly adhered to such dogmatic rules.
Hedy paused for a moment, then gave him a big hug. "I completely forgot—today is November 9th?!"
"Actually, I’ve prepared another gift for you," Leonardo said as he handed her a cup of warm wine and then carried over the painting beside him.
"I didn’t want to show it to you before because some details weren’t finished yet." His voice was a little awkward, tinged with a boyish nervousness. "I… I painted a portrait of you."
With his long, pale fingers, he pulled back the cloth covering the painting, revealing the figure of the beautiful woman glowing in the candlelight.
She was wearing a luxurious purple robe, with Eastern-inspired black hair flowing over her shoulders.
Her light blue eyes held a gentle smile, and her fair skin was so smooth, almost translucent, with a natural, radiant glow.
Hedy stood there, suddenly feeling as though something inside her had been touched.
She hadn’t expected that after acquiring purple, the first painting he would create would be one of her.
And she had never seen such a beautiful portrait before.
From the gloss of the lips to the jeweled accents in her hair, the delicate lines seemed infused with emotion and soul, making it hard to look away.
