The town of Huono used to be not only one of the most remote populated regions of the Blue Dawn, but also one of the most impoverished.
Of course, considering the general state of the country at the time, that wasn’t really saying much. But now that Emilia was in charge, and the Blue Dawn was now her empire, she obviously couldn’t let things remain the same.
Unfortunately, when it came to regions this remote and disconnected from the rest of the economy, even the most substantial changes to the empire’s overall structure might not affect them much in short term. And that was exactly why Emilia had asked her older sister to give a ‘booster shot’ to these ‘needy’ zones.
Naturally, while the crimson-haired girl believed this to be the perfect spot to lure her enemy in, she didn’t want to needlessly endanger the lives of her ‘children’. So the actual place of meeting was on the outer edge of the town, which was even closer to the border of the commonwealth.
When the citizens of Huono got wind of the news of the empress arriving in their impoverished, remote town, they were naturally filled with both disbelief and excitement.
After all, no matter how the governments changed before, no one at the top really seemed to even know that their little town existed. The people here had long since accepted that the only ones who could ‘change’ their way of life here were those willing and able to leave the town entirely, while the rest could only remain impoverished for the rest of their lives.
Things had even gotten a lot worse when the meager amount of trade and support that their town received almost ceased to exist thanks to the previous government’s poor and tyrannical decisions, and the population of the town was almost completely strangled to death.
At present, the total strength of the town was less than a third of what it used to be just twenty years ago, but the people here thought that even that was a ‘shockingly good’ result which was only possible thanks to the empress.
When Emilia came into power, it was the first time that they received any form of actual ‘aid’ outside of news reports, and their impression of the girl naturally changed from ‘somewhat good’ to an almost fanatical worship.
Of course, even if they were excited, they couldn’t really throw a huge welcome party for the empress. After all, most people here were just making do with the new financial aid system of the empire, and were in no position to ‘waste money’.
What they could do, instead, was gather together and show the empress their appreciation.
The fact that they could finally gaze upon her form in person was just a bonus.
And so, when Emilia finally arrived, what she was greeted with was thousands upon thousands of people wearing ragged clothing, huddled together tightly like a horde of rats ready to swarm a granary.
Since she was in a car with tinted windows, the people outside couldn’t see who was inside too clearly, and only continued staring in her direction eagerly.
Well, even if they could have seen her directly, their reactions might not have been much different. After all, they’d never seen the temperament of the empress with their own eyes, and didn’t dare to overstep their bounds too much.
After observing the crowd through the window, Emilia couldn’t help but tug at her older sister’s sleeve. “What’s going on here? Are the funds insufficient here, or is there something else that is wrong?”
Normally, this kind of thing would only be known to Alexandria and Noelle, who were both like walking encyclopedias as far as Emilia was concerned.
But consider that Sam must have already done a brief analysis of the area before planning out an optimal strategy for its economic development, Emilia felt that she must know enough to enlighten her.
The older girl rubbed her little sister’s head with an adoring yet helpless smile. “Neither, baby. The people here are… well, let’s just say their previous experience makes them very frugal. We give them enough to survive comfortably, and even some extra, but they save most of it for ’emergencies’. To be honest… I’m not sure if their lifestyle will change much even after I’m done.”
After all, if they were determined to save everything they could, the only thing getting a higher paying job would change would be to make their savings grow faster, and their actual quality of life would remain the same.
Emilia hummed. “I see… this wasn’t part of our original plan, but since there’s time, can I ask Noelle to arrange a big enough venue to address them comfortably if possible, and let the people here know as well?”
Sam blinked at her in surprise. “Wait… why are you asking me? Just tell her what you need to get done?”
With Noelle’s efficiency, arranging this kind of thing remotely wouldn’t be a matter worth mentioning at all.
Emilia hugged her older sister’s arm and looked up at her pitifully. “B-But you all bullied me so much before… what if I get scolded again?”
The older girl smiled helplessly. “Baby… are you still holding a grudge?”
The crimson-haired girl grinned playfully. “Can’t I?”
Sam felt a jolt of pleasure and thrill run up her spine when Emilia leaned up to lick her earlobe.
”It will definitely take a while for Noelle to get back and direct us to a prepared venue, so why not have big sister make up for ‘bullying me’ till then?”
Feeling her nimble little sister’s soft body slide into her lap as two gorgeous arms wrapped around her neck and hot, tantalizing breath brushed against her nape, Sam decisively clutched her arms around Emilia’s slim waist to press the sexy girl against her body. “H-How do you want me to ‘make up’, baby?”
The crimson-haired girl smiled as she bit her older sister’s right earlobe playfully. “How about you try making me happy without taking off or staining any of my clothes?”
Sam gulped. “C-Can I kiss a-anywhere that’s not covered?!”
Emilia giggled. “Sure.”
As the older girl lunged at the little beauty’s exposed, delicate collar bone in ecstasy, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but be incredibly glad that she hadn’t argued with Dixie when the girl wanted to ‘drive for her princess’ after only having recently learned to do so.
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