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As though her naval technology patent was nothing more than a joke.
But when the BBC reporters came for an interview, she still chose to stand by the words that had never changed in her heart.
People are irrational, illogical, and selfish.
Even so, you still have to love them.
If you do something good, others may accuse you of being selfish, of having impure motives. Even so, you must still do good.
Give the world your best, and you will be struck down;
Even so, give the world your best.
She knew who she was.
Even with the accusations of thousands, she had never wavered.
Dechio knocked on the door and brought the young man in.
Hedy snapped back to attention, took another sip of wine, and looked up to finally see his face.
He really was only about seventeen.
His clothes were torn and smelled foul, his hair appeared to be self-managed—untidy and uneven.
But his black eyes gleamed with energy, as if there was so much he wanted to say.
Hedy’s gaze slowly shifted downwards, noticing that the boy's shoes had completely worn out.
Not only were the soles shredded, but two of his toes were also exposed.
... How is it that these young men keep getting worse off?
Hedy instinctively thought back to that time with Michelangelo, crying while eating pizza under the eaves. She rubbed her forehead and asked, “Say your name again.”
“Niccolò Machiavelli.”
She inquired, “Where are you from?”
“Florence.” The boy straightened up, and a spark of pride appeared on his dusty face.
“Did you come alone? What for?”
“My lady—” he raised his voice a little. “I’ve come to be your chief advisor.”
Luris, who had been focused on cleaning the dust from the crevices of the gold ornaments, laughed out loud when she heard this.
Hedy didn’t immediately dismiss him.
She could tell that this young man didn’t come here blindly with naive enthusiasm.
It seemed he knew exactly what he was after.
“Sit down first.” She gestured for him to take a seat. “Bring this guest some food.”
When the boy sat down, the stains on his sleeves left black marks on the table.
His manners while eating were far from refined. He slurped every last bit of juice from the bones and cleared the soup and meat platters with such enthusiasm that the dishes didn’t even need washing.
