1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 105 A Dinner for the Unjust!

"You're going to see him?" Constantine looked at Sophia. Her decision was within his expectations, but the determination in her eyes was sharper than he had imagined.

"Yes," Sofia replied without hesitation, "I'm going to see him."

Constantine walked up to her and smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, which had become disheveled from her excitement. "No wonder you're Emperor William's granddaughter; you're decisive. But what do you plan to do? Take a squad of guards, storm his factory, arrest him, and then what?"

"Then try him for worker abuse!" Sofia said fiercely.

"And then?" Constantine pressed. "Our laws don't have a crime called 'worker abuse.' At most, we can only prosecute him for a few assaults. His legal team will drag this out for a year or two, and in the end, they'll fine him a few hundred drachmas and call it a day. And you, the future Crown Princess of Greece, will get a reputation for 'abusing royal power and interfering with commercial freedom.' Those oligarchs you offended will unite and create endless trouble for us in parliament."

Constantine's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Sofia's burning anger.

She then realized how powerless her anger was in the face of cold, hard reality.

"Then... what should we do? Just watch?" Sofia's voice was filled with resentment and frustration.

Constantine took her cold hand and pulled her to the window, making her look out at the silent darkness outside the palace.

"Sophia, anger is the lowest form of weapon. Remember, never use your own sword to attack the enemy's shield. Use the enemy's sword to pierce his own heart."

Sophia looked at him, puzzled.

A cold smile crept across Constantine's lips.

"Haven't you always wanted to host a real charity gala?"

Three days later, an invitation, personally signed by Her Highness Sophia, the fiancée of the Greek Crown Prince, was delivered to the desks of all the top dignitaries in Athens.

The invitation was decorated with gilded iris patterns and elegant, noble wording. It stated that Princess Sophia would be hosting a charity fundraising dinner to improve the lives of impoverished women and children in Athens, and earnestly requested the presence of all gentlemen and ladies.

This caused a minor sensation in Athenian high society.

"See, I told you! This is the demeanor a Prussian princess should have!"

"Yes, just a few days ago I was worried that His Highness the Crown Prince was getting too close to those commoners, but now it seems that Princess Sofia has brought him back on the right track!"

"What's the point of forming an association with workers? Hosting a charity gala that brings together the nation's elite—that's true royal decorum!"

The nobles and oligarchs all breathed a sigh of relief. They saw this banquet as a signal from the royal family—that the royal family was still on their side.

Dmitri Coroneos, the textile factory owner, naturally received an invitation as well. Twisting his plump mustache, he said smugly to his mistress, "See, darling? The royal family can't do without us. After all that fuss for days, it's still his fiancée who has to clean up the mess. Get your prettiest dress ready; we're going to donate the largest sum of money at the banquet, so that the beautiful princess will remember our generosity!"

On the day of the banquet, the grand ballroom of the "British Hotel," Athens' most luxurious hotel, was brightly lit and filled with elegantly dressed guests.

The most powerful people in Greece gathered here. Bankers, shipping magnates, landowners, members of parliament... They wore the most gorgeous formal attire, held champagne, and chatted and laughed as if this were a grand gathering of power.

Constantine, as the host, stood at the door with Sofia to greet the guests. He was handsome and dashing in a well-fitting white military uniform, a perfectly measured smile on his face, warmly shaking hands with each guest. He seemed to have reverted to his former self—the humble, polite, and rule-abiding crown prince.

Sofia wore a long black velvet dress, the hem embroidered with stars in silver thread. She wore no luxurious jewelry, only a small diamond-encrusted cross pinned to her chest. A faint smile graced her face, exuding nobility and elegance, but deep within her azure eyes lay a chilling coldness imperceptible to others.

Coroneos, with his enormous belly protruding, walked up to the two men with a beaming smile.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" he exclaimed, bowing dramatically. "Your kindness and beauty, like the goddess Athena, illuminate all of Greece!"

"Mr. Coroneos, thank you for coming." Constantine smiled and shook hands with him.

Sophia simply nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over his greasy face without uttering a word.

The dinner began. To the accompaniment of melodious string music, guests enjoyed an exquisite French meal.

Finally, it was time for the fundraising.

Sofia walked onto the small stage in the center of the banquet hall. Under the spotlight, she was like a goddess in the night, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

"Thank you all for coming tonight." Her voice, clearly transmitted through the microphone, resonated throughout the banquet hall. "For a long time, I have hoped to do what I can for the unfortunate women and children of this country."

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

"Tonight, our fundraising aims to build a night school, a clinic, and a canteen that can provide hot soup and bread for impoverished female workers and their children in eastern Athens."

A smug smile spread across Coroneos's face. The east side of the city—that was his territory. Building a canteen and clinic for his workers? That would save him a fortune! He had already decided to donate the highest amount available!

Sofia's gaze slowly swept over the faces of the audience below, each wearing a fake smile.

Then, she changed the subject.

"I was very confused before I decided to do this. I didn't understand their lives or what they really needed. Until my fiancé, His Highness Constantine, showed me a report."

Everyone in the banquet hall fell silent.

"It was a secret report about a textile factory." Sofia's voice began to turn cold. "The report said that the female workers there worked 16 hours a day. The youngest child laborer was only 7 years old. They lived in moldy dormitories, ate blackened bread, and many died of lung disease before the age of thirty from inhaling cotton fibers."

The atmosphere in the banquet hall began to become somewhat eerie. The smiles on the guests' faces gradually froze.

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Coroneos's forehead.

"The report also recorded the story of a female worker named Elena." Sofia's voice, like a scalpel, precisely dissected this false peace. "She worked continuously for 36 hours to buy medicine for her sick child, and ultimately died suddenly next to the machine."

She paused for a moment, her gaze sharp as a sword, piercing through the crowd and striking directly at Coroneos!

"And the only compensation she received after giving her life was a single silver coin."

boom!

The entire banquet hall was as if a bomb had been dropped on it!

All eyes immediately turned to Coroneos, whose face was deathly pale!

"I've been thinking," Sophia's voice echoed in the deathly silent banquet hall, each word carrying immense weight, "what kind of 'gentleman' would think a human life is worth only a silver coin?"

She stepped off the stage, her long black dress making her look like a vengeful goddess holding a verdict, walking step by step toward the stunned Colonnos.

The guests unconsciously stepped aside to make way for a passage.

Sofia walked up to him and stopped. She was half a head taller than Coloneos and looked down at him.

"Mr. Coroneos, tonight's charity dinner is for you and your factory."

"I implore you to donate what you deem appropriate to the unfortunate souls in your factory."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was like a series of loud slaps, striking Coroneos's face hard!

“Of course,” Sophia smiled slightly, “if you believe that a silver coin represents your entire understanding of the value of life, then you can donate only a silver coin.”

She held out her hand; a gleaming silver coin lay on her white silk glove.

"Please, Mr. Coloneos. In the presence of all the dignitaries of Athens, tell us, how much is your mercy worth?"