Her shout made the people around her turn their heads. A tax official glanced at her and walked over.
"You say this is your mansion? Where's the deed?"
The deed?
Only then did Vanessa remember that she did not seem to have a deed. Everything had been a gift from that old man before he died.
This was her home, but she had never owned it.
"I, I don't have a deed-"
"No deed? And you say this is your house?" The tax official sneered.
Vanessa did not know how to defend herself. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I, I have money! I can pay the tax! Aren't you here to collect taxes? I'll pay you! Leave my house alone!!"
At those words, even the soldiers rummaging through the house stopped and stared straight at her.
Vanessa's heart leaped. Sure enough, these Redskin Dogs only wanted money. If she paid them, she could save this house!!
Did she have money?
She did have some.
She still had the fifty pounds she had previously extorted from Lawrence, tucked in her pocket. She had been saving it all this time and had barely spent any.
Fifty pounds was a huge sum. Even without spending anything on food or drink, a dockworker earned only two pounds a month. Fifty pounds was two full years' income.
In fact, most workers could never save that much in their entire lives.
If it was only a matter of paying some housing tax-
The tax official seemed to have forgotten about the deed as well. He leisurely opened his ledger. "Ahem. Since you are willing to pay your taxes, you are a lawful citizen of the Empire. Let me see-"
"Under the Empire Housing Tax Regulations and the relevant supplementary provisions, the total cost of this enforcement