Annan wrote Gem Bay and his own name on the Pioneer's Warrant.
From that moment on, no royal authority could strip him of his Territory under the rules of order.
"Let's go back."
With the Territory settled, it was time to make money.
Back at the cobblestone road from Golden Beach, Annan had a Servants prepare a carriage. He returned to the lounge and found Lily sitting by the window, her dangling tail swaying gently. She looked like an elf who longed for freedom but had been locked in a cramped prison...
Annan opened the window.
"Cat doesn't want to go out."
Lily jumped down from the windowsill and rubbed against Annan's leg, her tail held high.
"Let's go back to the Embassy and check on our Cat-Eye Squad." Annan picked up Lily, who stretched herself out in his arms, and went downstairs. He put her in the carriage first, then took something good he had brought back from the Montreal Family Manor out of his Magic Ring and affixed it to the carriage.
Earlier that day...
Olin stood before the uneasy Stablehand, gazing in silence at the family crest that had vanished from the carriage.
Horseshoes rang crisply against the morning cobblestones. Pedestrians stepped aside, men removed their wide-brimmed hats, and women lifted their skirts to bow to the noble passenger in the carriage bearing a golden family crest.
Word swept into city hall like the wind. The powerful figures who knew where the carriage had come from and who rode inside it sighed in admiration. Who would doubt a Champion Sorcerer who had just returned from the Imperial Capital and had reportedly spent the whole time staying at the Montreal Manor?
If that "Grand Duke Gilles" knew, he might even fawn over Annan and lick his boots.