Olin turned her horse around and rode away. Even at the end, she never said whether she would come back for him.
Only then did Sack, who oversaw the Commercial Street and had been watching from a distance, dare to approach. "Lord Annan, I'm in charge of the Montreal Mountain district..."
"Sack, right? I know you."
Annan looked at the petite woman beside Sack, whose eyes were fixed on him without blinking. "Are you Moni?"
Moni, who was about Annan's height, nodded vigorously. She was delighted that he knew who she was. Clearly, she was a fan.
Sack was one of his own, while Moni was a local noble. Having a local with them would make dealing with people here much easier.
"Has anything happened on the Commercial Street?"
"No, no. Everything's normal. It's just..."
Sack hesitated. Annan motioned for him to speak, and he finally asked, "Did you... send Lord Little Smo here?"
"No."
"That's good. That's good..."
Sack knew the Blade of Freedom's reputation. What he feared most was Little Smo being sent here, because that would mean Annan was about to cause a major incident.
Though this was hardly a small matter either. Annan said he would most likely end up at odds with the Judgment Hall, and told Sack to have Freedom Street check for tax evasion or other violations so no one could use them against him.
"Don't worry, Lord Annan. There's definitely nothing like that!" Sack promised, thumping his chest.
Imperial law was simple: steal something, lose a hand; cause trouble, lose a foot. Whatever part of you did wrong got cut off. There was a Head-Mound at nearly every intersection, and a Peacekeeper who hadn't taken a few heads could hardly hold his head up in public.
Steal from the Empire? How many