Manfred von Karma stood, arms crossed, in front of the local primary school's entrance waiting to pick up his daughter, Franziska, when she finished her final lesson of the day. Any day now, he'd send her to a private school that was much better than that dump of a place; it was just that he hadn't the time at the moment. Trials and hearings clogged up his days, even this close to Christmas, and he also did everything in his power to achieve guilty verdicts on every single trial he prosecuted or happened to be a part of- even though he did this normally.
"I'm here, Father." a girl's voice stated from behind him, and- whirling around to face said girl- he realised it was his daughter, Franziska. Manfred was very proud of her; she was extremely bright for her age and was most definitely the heir to the von Karma name.
"Hello, Franziska."
"Hello, Father. Today," Franziska went on as they began to walk, "they chose parts for the Nativity play."
Manfred raised an eyebrow and huffed in annoyance. "They should have planned this beforehand- not now, almost days before Christmas."
"I know, Father- my guess is that, because we all only have a few lines each, they thought that they wouldn't necessarily need to plan all that much."
"I agree. Carry on," Manfred beckoned, with a curt wave of his hand.
"Anyhow, I was picked to be King Herod, for two reasons: one, I get the most amount of lines, and two, they all say it suits me."
Franziska grinned. "I does suit me, I should say, Father."
Manfred did not return Franziska's happiness, but replied all the same. "I agree."
Franziska's gaze turned to one of doubt as she thought of something, Manfred watching her with a hint of concern; she usually did not look like this and was always calm and collected. Manfred had taught her to behave that way.
"…Father?"
"Yes, Franziska?"
"I wondered…perhaps you could attend the play when it is staged here at school? I would like somebody sane in the audience to help me…you know…concentrate."
Manfred thought for a moment. A small smile came upon his face for but a moment as he finally replied.
"Of course. I'll see what I can do."