Part 452: Maribelle B

Hmm... A difficult quandary, to be sure.

Is something on your mind, Maribelle? I can hear the gears in your head turning from here.

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.

Might I ask what manner of trial it was that has you so vexed?

A child cast out by her parents was driven by hunger to steal from an aristocrat.

Orphan or not, it seems a clear enough matter. Regardless of the reason, all crimes against a noble are capital offenses.

Yet should a noble commit the same crime to the commoner, the sentence is light. Surely that cannot be considered justice!

Then you would have the laws apply equally to all, regardless of station?

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.

All, you say? Even the unwanted children of lowborn parents?

Naturally.

I must confess, I never thought to hear someone espouse such views.

Have I said anything so shocking?

Quite the contrary. Your words are warm and fair. I feel proud to have met so pure a person. Redeemed, even.