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Mae hesitated for a moment, contemplating why she might have unintentionally taken the relic, but the confusion still marred her thoughts. She handed the tiny urn to her father as the soldiers, having now seated on the lush couch, inquired, "Why did you take this from the royal palace?"
Mae stammered, her voice filled with genuine confusion, "I was very absent-minded and didn't even know what I was doing, I was so tired." She said, as beads of sweat rolled down her face.
Her father handed the relic back to the soldiers, "I'm really sorry, gentlemen. My daughter has a tendency to be absent-minded, and please make an exception for her and forgive her this one time." There was a slight shake to his voice, like his resolve was cracking.
"Since you admitted that you're the one who stole the royal relic, you're going to be placed under trial for robbery." The soldier said, as he sat down, in a calm voice.
Mae, now taken aback by the sudden declaration of being placed under trial, her voice started shaking.
"W-Why would I be placed under trial for robbery!? Didn't I hand back the relic in question?" She asked, as the soldiers promptly filed out of her room.
Mr. Reinhart, desperate to protect his daughter from this dire situation, followed the soldiers into the hallway. "Please, gentlemen," he implored, his usually authoritative voice now tinged with pleading. "My daughter didn't take the relic with malicious intent. It was a genuine mistake, a lapse of judgment. Can't you show some leniency?"
The soldier at the front turned around, and walked back, and closed the distance till he was face to face with Reinhart.
"A crime committed, is a crime. The court shall judge your innocence, for I am not the one who metes out justice." He said, his voice strong and not appearing to be swayed by Reinhart's pleas.
Mae's heart dropped as the gravity of the situation finally dawned upon her.
"Please, I'm begging you now, sir!" Mr. Reinhart got on his knees to give a formal apology.
In a final act of despair, he tugged at the soldier's coattails, his voice choked with emotion. "Please, you must understand. I don't want my daughter to be punished like this." He said as his voice choked, holding back tears.
The soldier merely glanced down at Reinhart's grasping hand, but he did not stop or change his course. With a firm resolve, the soldier continued walking, dragging Reinhart through the front door and out onto the lawn.
A small crowd had gathered outside the house, drawn by the commotion. They watched in hushed curiosity as the once-respected diplomat, Mr. Reinhart, was humiliated and dragged away from his own home, his pleas for mercy echoing in the crisp morning air.
Mae watched her father's pleas fall on deaf ears, her heart heavy with a sense of foreboding. She couldn't help but feel like she was being dragged into a situation beyond her control.
The man who appeared to be the head, turned around and declared. "Get dressed, a carriage will come to pick you up."
Mr. Reinhart just lay on the ground, and he quickly turned got up and and turned around, and had a stoic expression on his face.
"W-what?" She wasn't understanding what was happening. Mae was still bewildered by the sudden turn of events, her question hanging in the air, "What is going on?"
Reinhart grabbed Mae by her wrist, and dragged her inside the house, as the crowd watched on with hushed whispers and dialogue.
"What just happened?"
"Did that idiot girl finally screw up?"
"I feel so sorry for the man, such a nice man, but he had to be given such a daughter."
"Poor soul."
These words, heard by Mae as she went back in, echoed in her mind.
"Am I being a nuisance to you dad?" She finally asked, her voice low.
"N-no, Mae. It's fine. Father will take care of it. I will go talk it out in the court. The current judge there is my childhood friend." He said, a steadfast look on his face as he rushed in, and started to tidy up his appearance.
"Mae. You don't have to go anywhere." he said, a stern but reassuring tone in his voice.
She followed him around, as he dressed himself up. "I'll be back soon, okay? Just stay put in the house, and don't go anywhere Mae!" Reinhart shouted as he hurried off outside, calling for the carriage to be taken to the court.
Alone in the dimly lit house, Mae sat in solitude, her thoughts spinning like a whirlwind. She contemplated her options, and her mind raced back to the numerous instances when her father had been humiliated because of her blunders. Those painful memories weighed heavily on her heart, amplifying the guilt she had carried for so long.
She looked at herself in the mirror, and she couldn't even feel sorry for herself at this point.
"The way I am..." She looked at her hand, and all she could see was the hand that had led her into that situation.
"These hands are the one... that were responsible for bringing the urn in right?" her voice started to quiver as she closed her hands tightly into a fist.
With a heavy heart, she started to write a letter for her father.
After writing said letter, she promptly left her house.
Mae had never been on her own before. As she ventured into the city, she relished the freedom and the chance to escape the shadow of her father's expectations.
She tried to make the best of her newfound independence, visiting quaint cafes, enjoying leisurely walks in the park, and immersing herself in the vibrant nightlife.
As days turned into weeks, Mae was faced with a troublesome prospect. Since she had been living a lush life under the umbrella of her father for so long, for the first time in her life, Mae was at a state where she was about to run out of money.
"What am I going to do?" She thought, as she urgently needed a way to address her dwindling funds.