{Aegis}
The morning of the betrothal ceremony, Aegis looked at the checklist on her desk one last time.
Five pillars. Political, magical, military, wealth, reputation. Five boxes that needed to be checked before she could walk into that ceremony and turn Duchess Evangeline's carefully laid plans into a flaming wreck.
She scanned the list and nodded to herself.
[All five. Ready to go. Let's crash a betrothal.]
---
The Stone family's city estate was the kind of place that made you feel underdressed even if you were wearing your best clothes. Which Aegis was, for the record. A deep crimson coat with gold embroidery, fitted trousers, polished boots, the whole noble package. She looked good. She knew she looked good. But the estate still made her feel like maybe she should've worn something fancier.
