1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 106 The Princess in the Eyes of Capital

Dead silence.

The entire ballroom of the Great Britain Hotel was so silent you could hear the champagne bubbles popping.

All eyes were focused like searchlights on Dmitri Coroneos's bloated, liver-colored face.

Sofia's outstretched hand was like a pristine white sculpture of judgment. The small silver coin, reflecting a blinding light under the crystal chandelier, was like a nail, firmly fixed in Coroneos's pupils.

Sweat dripped from his greasy forehead onto his expensive silk bow tie.

Donate a silver coin?

If he dared to do that, tomorrow all the newspapers in Athens would portray him as a monster who drains people of their lives. His reputation, his business, everything he owns would be torn to shreds by the angry crowd.

But what if you donate too much...

Wouldn't that be tantamount to publicly admitting that the life in his factory was worth far more than a silver coin? Admitting that all his past actions involved cannibalism?

This is a trap, a trap woven with nobility and morality, from which he has nowhere to escape!

Coroneos's breathing became heavy. He could feel his former "friends," the oligarchs, looking at him with a mixture of schadenfreude and wariness.

Constantine stood not far away, his face still bearing that humble smile, as if everything before him was irrelevant. But Coloneus knew that this young prince was ruthless.

"I...I..." Coroneos's voice was dry and trembling.

Sophia remained silent, simply holding up the silver coin, her azure eyes coldly fixed on him.

Finally, as if all the bones in his body had been removed, Coroneos forced out a smile that was more like a grimace and bowed deeply to Sofia.

"Your Highness... your kindness has moved me. I... I apologize for my past ignorance. I am willing to donate... fifty thousand drachmas to your charitable cause!"

Wow!

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

50,000 drachmas! That's enough to buy a mansion in downtown Athens.

Sophia slowly withdrew her hand and put the silver coin back into the small pocket on her chest.

"Mr. Coroneos," her voice remained cold, "I hope your donation can wash away the resentment of those departed souls."

After saying that, she turned away and didn't look at him again.

Coroneos stood there, as if he had been stripped naked in front of everyone. Humiliation and anger churned in his chest, but he couldn't utter a single word.

three days later.

An autumn rain washed the streets of Athens, and the air carried a hint of coolness.

A carriage without royal insignia stopped outside the gates of the Coroneos textile factory.

Sofia stepped down from the carriage. She changed out of her court dress and into a more practical dark blue women's suit, her long hair simply tied up at the back of her head, her face free of makeup, and her expression serious.

She refused Constantine's suggestion to send guards to accompany her. She considered this a special operation of her own. The donation of 50,000 drachmas was her first victory won with "royal dignity," and she had to see the fruits of that victory with her own eyes.

The factory gates slowly opened, and Coroneos personally came out to greet them, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

"Oh dear! Your Highness! Why did you come in person? How could you trouble your noble feet in such a filthy place?"

Sofia ignored his flattery and looked directly into the factory.

The ground seemed to have been washed, and the pungent musty smell in the air was masked by the smell of cheap disinfectant. Several children in clean clothes were playing in an open space, and when they saw her coming, they bowed timidly to her.

Everything seems to have really changed.

"Mr. Coroneos, I'm not here to listen to your nonsense. I want to see your improvement plan." Sofia's tone was devoid of any emotion.

Coroneos's smile froze for a moment.

When he received the message from Mavrokodatos's men, he thought the princess was just there to make a show of her victory. He hadn't expected her to be so relentless.

"A plan? Of course we have a plan!" He quickly pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. "Look, we've decided to give the workers half a day off each week, and we've also added potatoes and meat broth to the canteen's meals..."

Sofia took the paper, glanced at it, and her brows furrowed tightly.

What's written above are all trivial favors and benefits. The most crucial issues—working hours, wages, healthcare, and child labor—are completely ignored.

"This is your plan?" Sofia's voice turned cold. "Sixteen hours of work, unchanged? The problem of the seven-year-old child laborer, unresolved? The female workers' lung diseases, no medical care?"

The smile on Coroneos's face gradually disappeared.

His hunched posture slowly straightened. He glanced at the two unarmed maids behind Sophia, and the awe in his eyes turned into undisguised impatience.

Behind him stood Alexius Mavrodocatos, a leader of the Fanar noble family who, after the fall of Rome, embraced the new dynasty's "refined governance." With this prestigious "Roman ancestor" backing him, he had already publicly funded the royal family from the remote Nordic region, showing them considerable respect. Did this foreign princess, who hadn't even officially married into the family yet, intend to demolish his factory?

Coroneos spread out his fat hands, his tone becoming dismissive and rude.

"Your Highness, you are of noble birth and would not understand our rough work."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was full of provocation.

"It's not easy to feed so many people, and kindness can't be turned into money. The hundreds of people in the factory depend on me for their livelihood. If you really have a kind heart, why not buy a few more bolts of fabric from our factory? That would be a way to support Greek industry."

These words were like a resounding slap across Sofia's face.

The undisguised mockery and humiliation, the subtext of "Why don't they eat meat porridge?", instantly made her blood rush to her head.

Sophia's face instantly turned bright red.

She had grown up in the courts of Prussia and England, where everyone treated her with utmost respect. She had never been so openly defied and humiliated!

"you……"

She was so angry that her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word.

All her anger and kindness seemed so pale and powerless in the face of this scoundrel. She suddenly realized that, away from the spotlight of the banquet hall and the rules of formality, her noble status was worthless here.

Coroneos looked at her angry and anxious expression and a smug smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.

Just then.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

A series of neat, heavy footsteps, as if stepping on one's heart, suddenly came from outside the factory gate, approaching from afar!

The sound was full of metallic quality and undeniable power!

Coroneos' smile froze.

Everyone in the factory stopped what they were doing and stared in horror at the gate.

A squad of soldiers dressed in pure black uniforms appeared at the entrance. They wore black flat-topped military caps, pistols at their waists, and shiny black boots. On their chests hung a silver crown emblem belonging to the Greek royal family.