KingMaker
Case cover

The Stolen Flour

A starving mother stole flour from a royal relief shipment bound for the capital.

Chapter I: The Account

The Facts

1

A famine grips the capital.

2

Elara, was caught stealing one sack of flour.

3

She is a widow with two starving children.

A biting famine has seized the capital, Your Majesty. You dispatched a convoy carrying flour, the city's last hope until the next harvest. As this shipment passed through a small village, the defendant, a widow named Elara, was apprehended. Under the weight of her children's hunger, she broke past the guards and stole a single sack. She confessed at once that desperation alone drove her to the crime.

Chapter II: The Arguments

Accuser:

Captain Valerius

Captain Valerius portrait

Your Majesty, if her crime is met with a soft hand, others will see it as an invitation. A hundred thefts will follow. We must establish a clear precedent. A harsh punishment ensures the survival of the many and shows that the Crown’s lifeline is untouchable.

Defendant:

Elara, a village widow

Elara, a village widow portrait

I did not steal for gold, but for bread to feed my children. My crime was one of desperation, not defiance. I beg you, Your Majesty, to judge the circumstances of the act, not just the act itself. Is the role of a King to punish suffering, or to understand it?

Chapter III: Your Deliberation

Your Majesty, do you make an example of this woman to ensure order and the security of the state, or do you show compassion for the desperate individual?

Favor Defence Favor Accuser

I sentence you to serve in the public kitchens for one month, after which you are free to go.