"The Relic" by Guy de Maupassant is a satirical tale narrated through a letter from Henri Fontal to his friend, Abbe Louis d'Ennemare. Fontal recounts a peculiar incident leading to the breakup of his engagement with Gilberte. During a trip to Cologne, Fontal purchases a relic, a supposed bone from one of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, as a souvenir for Gilberte. However, the relic goes missing, and Fontal replaces it before presenting it to Gilberte, claiming to have stolen it. The story takes an ironic turn as Gilberte discovers the truth during a visit to Cologne, leading to the end of the engagement...