Little Tyrant Doesn't Want to Meet with a Bad End[1-200]

Chapter 149: Unexpected Meeting

Austine Empire.

On a mountaintop in the midst of the vast Leumann Forest, there stood an observation platform packed densely with visitors.

Numerous beautifully adorned carriages had stopped before a cluster of palaces that was built with a great amount of money. Couples alighted from these carriages with their hands interlocked and their bodies leaning against one another. With such a chummy atmosphere lingering between them, they would enter the palaces together.

This was the most famous date spot in the Austine Empire, the Leumann Palaces. Its reputation transcended boundaries; there was hardly anyone on the continent who hadn't heard of it. Every February, couples would gather here at these centuries old palaces to gaze down on the majestic forests and clear streams of the Leumann Forest... as well as to watch butterflies.

Indeed, this was a famous spot for watching butterflies.

The Leumann Forest had a tropical climate, so the concept of the four seasons didn't apply here. It was hot and humid all year round. Every February, a certain species of butterfly known as the Nightglow Butterfly would lay their eggs here, and after several months of incubation, they would become beautiful stars of the night.

These almost fantastical creatures were capable of glowing in the dark—in fact, their leader was chosen by the brightness of their light. There was no doubt that they were a pleasure to watch, but how they came to be associated with romance was more of a marketing gimmick used by the Austine Empire.

According to the rumors, a few centuries ago, the emperor of the Austine Empire then, Charles II, proposed to the queen of the powerful Rona Kingdom. However, as the queen was uninterested in the proposal, she decided to set a condition—she declared that she would only marry Charles II if he could show her beauty that transcended her imagination.

Charles II was caught unprepared by her request, but in a stroke of ingenuity, he picked up an egg of the Nightglow Butterfly and infused his mana into it. Soon, the egg hatched to become the ravishing leader of the Nightglow Butterflies, stunning everyone present.

Impressed by the beauty of the butterfly, the queen changed her mind and accepted Charles II's proposal. As a result, the Rona Kingdom was absorbed into the Austine Empire, pushing the empire to greater heights of prosperity and strength.

Roel personally felt that the legend was not too bad for a marketing gimmick, but its credibility was sorely lacking. 

While there had been no historical record to verify or refute the authenticity of the legend, based on how the tyrannical Austine Empire usually handled problems, if a marriage of annexation didn't work, they wouldn't hesitate to resort to war next. 

Just think about it, which smaller country would accept the proposal coming from the emperor of a larger country, knowing that the goal of the larger country was annexation? One would really have to be out of their mind to actually accept such a proposal!

"Distorting facts to conceal their tyranny; the Austine Empire sure is as shameless as ever."

"You should empathize with them a little. They used to be a grand empire in the previous epoch. The least they could do is to annex a few of the smaller, nearby countries. It's Austine we're talking about after all."

"Pfft."

Roel's sarcastic mocking made Charlotte burst out laughing. One of them came from Rosa whereas the other came from the Theocracy. Both of them came from noble houses who had a history of fighting against the Austine Empire, so they happened to share the same views on this matter.

However, while the two of them thought that this legend was utter bullshit from an objective point of view, there was no denying that it did have a huge market value, especially for couples.