Part 452: Maribelle B
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Hmm... A difficult quandary, to be sure.
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Is something on your mind, Maribelle? I can hear the gears in your head turning from here.
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I've been reading a chronicle of court cases as a part of my studies of late. The decision in one such case has left me quite conflicted.
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Might I ask what manner of trial it was that has you so vexed?
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A child cast out by her parents was driven by hunger to steal from an aristocrat.
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Orphan or not, it seems a clear enough matter. Regardless of the reason, all crimes against a noble are capital offenses.
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Yet should a noble commit the same crime to the commoner, the sentence is light. Surely that cannot be considered justice!
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Then you would have the laws apply equally to all, regardless of station?
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This is not a matter of inviting the local squalor to a dinner party, sir! All must be equal in the eyes of the law, else we cannot claim them fair.
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All, you say? Even the unwanted children of lowborn parents?
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Naturally.
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I must confess, I never thought to hear someone espouse such views.
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Have I said anything so shocking?
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Quite the contrary. Your words are warm and fair. I feel proud to have met so pure a person. Redeemed, even.