1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 188 The Prince's Choice

The atmosphere in the royal study was as oppressive as the sea before a storm.

Alexandros Dimitriopoulos quietly placed a file folder on Constantine's desk.

Almost at the very moment Stavros knelt outside the palace gates, the General Intelligence Directorate's final investigation report was delivered to the Crown Prince.

Constantine opened the file bag.

There are no lengthy textual analyses, only pages of cold, hard evidence.

Gunnaris's secret account at a Swiss bank showed that every deposit coincided with the timing of a "special" land transaction he approved in Thessaly.

More than a dozen witness testimonies from different farmers detailed the process of being extorted for bribes.

The most shocking thing was a special accessory delivered by an agent.

A small recording device, newly developed by the Nicholas Dimitrios laboratory, has captured a clear conversation.

That was a private conversation between Gunaris and a steward of an old land.

"...As long as you allocate that piece of land in the south of the city to my nephew, this amount is yours."

"That's too little. That piece of land is worth at least that much."

"My lord, your appetite is far too great..."

"Hmph, think it's too big? There are plenty of people willing to pay that price. My power was given to me by His Highness the Crown Prince, but how I use that power is my own decision."

After listening to the recording, Constantine turned it off without any expression.

He looked up and gazed out the window. The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the distant Acropolis in a golden light, making it appear solemn and sacred.

"Let him in," Constantine said calmly.

A few minutes later, Stavros was brought in. The limping tough man's face had lost its usual fortitude, replaced only by deep weariness and pain. The moment he saw Constantine, the dam of suppressed emotion that had built up throughout the journey crumbled instantly.

He knelt down again, this man who hadn't uttered a sound even after losing a leg on the battlefield, now wept like a child.

"Your Highness! I'm so sorry! I was blind! I let a wolf into the house!" He raised his bloodshot eyes, his voice hoarse but firm. "Your Highness, I'm not here today to plead for him, nor to atone for my sins. I only ask one thing of you—use the harshest laws to publicly execute him! Let everyone see the consequences of betraying the people! This festering sore must be eradicated completely, otherwise, everything we've built will be reduced to nothing!"

He did not plead for Gunaris, nor did he defend himself; he simply banged his head heavily against the cold floor, making dull thuds.

"Your Highness, kill me! Use my life to give those bullied farmers justice! I beg you, you must severely punish this scoundrel! You must! This door cannot be opened! If it is, we...we're all finished!"

Alexandros stepped forward, wanting to help him up. Constantine raised his hand to stop him.

He simply watched Stavros quietly, letting him vent his pain of betrayal and his fear of the future.

After a long while, Stavros's crying gradually subsided, leaving only suppressed sobs.

Constantine walked down the steps and personally helped him up.

"Stavros, you are innocent." His voice carried a calming power. "The one who discovers the festering sore is not the sinner. The sinner is the root of decay that caused the sore."

"Go back and get some rest. The union needs you, the people need you. I will give you an explanation for this, and I will give all of Greece an explanation."

Stavros left, dejected and heartbroken.

A long silence fell over the study once again.

After Constantine returned to his desk, his fingers unconsciously tapped on the report.

Executing a Gunaris is as easy as crushing an ant.

However, Gunaris was no ordinary ant.

He was a "model of the common people" he set up himself, a banner of the rise of a new class, and the most dazzling new star in The Daily Telegraph.

Executing him publicly would be tantamount to slapping ourselves in the face.

Will this chill the hearts of all the reformist officials who follow him?

Will this allow those covetous old nobles to laugh behind his back at him for having "no one to use" and only being able to promote some unreliable fools from the peasants?

Will this become the perfect excuse for foreign forces that do not want Greece to rise to attack the new government as "outwardly impressive but inwardly rotten"?

A thought flashed through his mind.

He was executed secretly, then announced to the public that he had died suddenly from illness. In this way, the cancer was removed while preserving the dignity of the new regime.

This is the most "safe" option from a political perspective.

Just then, Crown Princess Sofia entered quietly, carrying a cup of coffee. She saw the report on the table and her husband's furrowed brow.

She placed the coffee on the table, offering no words of comfort, but simply asked softly:

"Connie, if an apple rots, do you choose to dig it out immediately and throw it away to keep the whole basket of apples fresh, or do you choose to hide it at the bottom, pretend you don't see it, and let it rot, spreading to every healthy apple until it ruins them all?"

Sophia's words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in Constantine's mind.

Yes.

Maintaining a false, perfect facade is a thousand times more harmful than openly admitting mistakes and correcting them with decisive action.

The most valuable asset of a newly established regime is not a flawless reputation, but its incorruptible purity and its absolute, deeply ingrained justice.

Any compromise or cover-up of corruption could become the anthill that eventually brings down the entire country.

Constantine's tense facial features softened. He looked up at Sophia, his eyes regaining their clarity and resolve.

He picked up the report about Gunaris, slammed it shut with a sharp sound.

"Alexandros".

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Notify the Ministry of Justice to prepare a public trial, in the name of the state. The location shall be Thessaly, so that every farmer he has deceived can witness it!"

Constantine's tone was calm, but the determination within it sent a chill down Alexandros's spine.

He knew that His Highness the Crown Prince was about to kill someone.

It's not just about killing one person, but about using that person's blood to establish the first ironclad rule for the newly born Greece.

Before issuing the arrest warrant, Constantine did one more thing.

In his capacity as Crown Prince, he urgently convened Parliament for a special, ad hoc meeting.

Instead of presenting the dirty evidence, he delivered a short but powerful speech to all the members of parliament.

"...Power is a double-edged sword. It can build a nation, but it can also corrupt a soul. In order to protect our hard-won achievements in reform, and to protect those upright officials who serve the country, we must forge an indestructible scabbard and an inviolable red line for this sword."

Driven by Constantine's undisputed authority, a brand-new bill was deliberated and passed with unprecedented speed.

—The Anti-Corruption Law of the Kingdom of Greece.

The bill's provisions are simple yet harsh: any official who uses their public office to seek improper benefits for themselves or their group, thereby harming the interests of the country and the people, regardless of their social status or the extent of their merits, will be prosecuted for treason once verified.

The most severe punishment is death.

What Constantine wanted to do was not a one-time act of venting his anger and seeking revenge.

He wanted to use the sharp blade of law to establish an eternal rule, forged in blood, for the entire Greek bureaucratic system.

After the meeting, he signed the decree.

Before the ink was dry, Constantine put down his pen, picked up another document, and signed the arrest warrant for Dmitri Gunaris.

He looked up out the window. Night had fallen, and a crescent moon hung in the sky, cold and sharp as a knife.