The Austrian Empire's army still had to observe certain rules, but the loyalist volunteer forces from all across Greece were entirely different. They did not care about any of that.
The king and their own local elites had been murdered in Athens. No one could escape blame.
As the overall commander of West Thrace, Melissis commanded the finest troops in all of Greece. Naturally, he was unanimously chosen as the leader of the loyalist forces.
There was another reason: Marshal Melissis's only son had also died in Athens. His hatred for that city had already broken through every limit.
Melissis had taken part in the Greek War of Independence. No matter what, he could be considered an old minister of merit. But because of his humble origins and his farmer-like appearance, he had never managed to squeeze into the inner circle. Athens's elites had mocked him as a country bumpkin every time.
Yet Melissis had one virtue: he fought with exceptional bravery, never skimmed military pay, and commanded great prestige among the soldiers.
Melissis did not meet Otto I for the first time until more than a decade after Otto I took the throne. Otto I was no wise ruler, nor did he possess an eye for talent. He simply was not stingy.
As long as Otto I could afford it, whether official posts, titles, or money, he never begrudged them. Thus, Greece was crawling with marshals and ministers, but to Melissis, this was an act of recognition and gratitude.
Melissis's son had been as brave as his father. Otto I had taken notice of him and selected him for the parade, intending to mold him into a war hero.
But one assassination had destroyed everything Melissis had. Nearing sixty, nothing held meaning for him any longer. The man Melissis