1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 145 The Contract of an Old Gun

Sofia's "open conspiracy" provided the perfect cover for the entire "Agrafa Project".

However, once the plan was finalized, finding the right people to execute it became the most difficult problem.

Constantine knew he couldn't use any of the engineers or officers with influence in Athens. Each of them was on Sir Harding's and the British advisors' watch list. The unexplained disappearance of any one of them would spark unnecessary suspicion.

What he needs is a group of people who have been forgotten by the world but possess extraordinary skills.

Late at night, in the royal study.

Constantine did not rest. He had Alexandros retrieve the first batch of personnel files compiled since the establishment of the "Royal Special Investigation Bureau".

These files are quite different from the resumes kept in government departments. They record not successes and glories, but failures, injustices, and buried talents.

The thick files, like a tomb, bury countless souls abandoned by the old system.

Constantine turned the pages one by one.

Sharpshooters, detectives, combat heroes… most of the talents he personally discovered have already found their place. What he needs are special talents who can survive in a wild place like Agrafa and complete exploration missions.

His fingertips finally stopped on two dusty files.

The owner of the first file was Gregorios Zograves, an elderly geological engineer. His resume stated that ten years earlier, he had submitted a 100-page report to the then Ministry of Public Works, detailing the feasibility of building a giant dam on the upper reaches of the Aserloos River.

As a result, his report was denounced as "the madman's fantasy," and he himself was ostracized by the academic community, eventually being expelled from the University of Athens and disappearing without a trace.

The second file belongs to a young man named Elias Petritis, a former army surveyor. He was born in the Pindus Mountains and knew every mountain path there. Three years ago, during a border survey, he had a heated argument with a noble superior from Athens and was forced to retire on charges of "disrespecting superiors and undermining unity." The file concludes with a statement that he harbored deep hatred for the Athenian bureaucracy.

"Find them." Constantine pushed the two files towards Alexandros. "Bring the secret here."

Two days later at midnight, Zograves and Petrettis were taken to the secret map room beneath the palace.

The elderly Zograves wore a worn-out coat, his hair was gray, and his eyes were cloudy, like an old man whose vigor had been drained by life.

The young Petritis, like a rebellious lone wolf, wore a hunter's leather vest, crossed his arms, and looked at everything in the palace with a look of vigilance and disdain.

Constantine made no promises of official positions or money.

He simply walked to the table, picked up a yellowed report, and placed it in front of Zograves.

"Mr. Zograves, this is your plan from ten years ago."

The old engineer's body trembled violently. His cloudy eyes stared intently at the report he considered his life's shame, and his lips began to tremble.

Constantine then presented them with Dimitrios's rudimentary alternating current model.

"Technically, it's now possible."

Zograves's hand trembled as he touched the cover of the report, and cloudy old tears rolled down his cheeks uncontrollably.

Constantine turned to Petrettis.

"Mr. Petrettis, the mountain range you know best will become the cornerstone of our nation's rise."

He looked at the two men before him, whose edges had been smoothed by life, but whose eyes were now burning with renewed passion.

"I cannot offer you any public glory or wealth at this moment, but I can give you an opportunity."

Constantine's voice echoed in the secret room.

"An opportunity to reclaim the boasts we made back then and the dignity that was taken from us."

No hesitation.

Zograves wiped away his tears, and Petrettis lowered his arms, which were clasped to his chest.

The two men knelt down on one knee in unison, facing Constantine.

This is their declaration of their dreams.

"Mr. Zograves," Constantine personally helped them up, "you will be the chief technical officer for the entire exploration project. To the outside world, you will be an ascetic scholar obsessed with studying ancient mountain monasteries."

“Petritis,” he turned to the young man, “you will lead a small surveying team, disguised as shepherds searching for new pastures, and be responsible for the most dangerous field surveying work.”

But their enemies are not just the harsh natural environment.

Constantine turned and returned to the huge map.

His finger pressed heavily on the most central area of ​​the Agrafa Mountains.

“This man,” his voice grew serious, “is Leonidas Capusalis. The hereditary chieftain and de facto ruler of the Agrafa Mountains. He obeys no orders from Athens; he and his mountain militia are the law there.”

Petrettis looked up, his eyes sharpening.

"I've heard of him. The mountain people call him 'The Wolf of Agrafa.' Any outsider who tries to enter his territory will be stripped naked and thrown out."

Constantine didn't speak. He took a long, rectangular wooden box from the weapons rack beside him.

Upon opening the wooden box, one finds a finely crafted but antique-style flintlock pistol. The gun body is in excellent condition, the brass parts are polished to a gleaming shine, and the mahogany stock is branded with the emblem of a griffin family.

"This is a keepsake given by my father, King George I, at the beginning of his reign to Leonidas Capsalis's father, Hector Capsalis, in recognition of his family's outstanding service to the royal family and Greece during the War of Independence."

Constantine handed the heavy old gun to Petrettis.

"Find him. Tell him that a descendant of an old friend has sent someone to visit the son of a hero."

"This is respect, not an order."

The final piece of the puzzle has now been completed.

A few days later, a grand departure ceremony was held in Athens.

Amid cheers from the public and newspaper reporters, the massive medical and teacher aid mission, personally organized by Queen Sofia and destined for impoverished mountainous regions, set off from Syntagma Square.

All eyes were drawn to this procession, a symbol of royal benevolence and civilized progress.

Nobody noticed.

Behind the main group, an inconspicuous "logistics detachment" consisting of a dozen or so people and a few mules carrying surveying instruments quietly broke away from the main force before dawn, like a drop of water flowing into a stream, heading towards the endless, dark green mountains of the Agrafa Mountains.