Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 214: Round Two

{Aegis}

If the audit and the military assessment could be considered round one, Aegis was fairly certain she won with stamina to spare.

[Not that those two trials were ever going to be particularly hard,] she thought, pacing in the manor’s main room, finger on her chin as she recapped in her head. [Evelyn is an absolute goddess of paperwork. And, looking for those legendary items was bound to come in clutch at some point.]

"So, how much more bullshit can I expect before Mommy Stone throws in the towel?"

"Throws... what?" Evelyn tilted her head.

"It’s a boxing ref- never mind. How much can I expect before the Stone family gives up?"

Evelyn sighed.

"Well, in truth, the path to victory isn’t all that straightforward."

"What do you mean?"

She stood up, pacing with Aegis now.

"At the end of the day," Evelyn said, "Duchess Evangeline is the matriarch of House Stone. The decision of who Princess Talia marries rests entirely in her hands."

[Ugh. Bullshit medieval norms.]

"So even if I check every box, pass every test, she can still just... say no?"

"Technically, yes. However." Evelyn raised a finger. "If you make yourself the only acceptable option, refusing you becomes politically untenable. That’s what we’re aiming for."

"Okay, so what’s the threshold? How much money do I need? Which houses do I need to convince?"

Evelyn shook her head.

"That’s the problem, my lady. There is no threshold. No visible finish line to cross. No ’amass this amount of gold to win’ or ’secure these specific alliances.’ It’s not a checklist."

Aegis stopped pacing.

"Then what is it?"

"Perception." Evelyn turned to face her. "You need to make every other suitor look unacceptable by comparison. You need to make House Starcaller so valuable, so connected, so indispensable, that refusing you would damage House Stone more than accepting you."

[So it’s vibes. I’m fighting for Talia’s hand based on vibes.]

Aegis rubbed her temples.

"Alright. So we’ve been playing defense this past week. The audit, the military assessment. That was me reacting to what they threw at me."

"Correct."

"And you’re saying it’s time to stop reacting."

Evelyn nodded.

"If you want to secure Princess Talia’s hand, you need to go on the offensive. Proactively build your position. Force the Duchess to react to you for a change."

Aegis let that sink in.

If Round One was blocking, dodging, and weaving around House Stone’s punches, then Round Two needed to be different. She couldn’t just keep dancing around Evangeline’s attacks forever. At some point, she had to start swinging back.

Aim for a knockdown, so to speak.

[Boxing metaphors. Fun.]

"Alright." Aegis cracked her knuckles. "Let’s start punching."

Evelyn blinked.

"I’m sorry?"

"Nothing. What did you have in mind?"

"Well," Evelyn cleared her throat. "I’ve jotted down a few options..."

Evelyn pulled out a small notebook from her pocket and flipped it open.

"First, there’s the matter of Lord Frankfurd’s upcoming charity gala. An appearance there could certainly boost the House’s popularity."

Aegis nodded slowly.

"When is it?"

"Next week."

Aegis sighed.

"Next week? We need to start punching now! Is there anything else?"

Nodding in agreement, Evelyn looked back at her notes.

"Very well. Second option: House Morrow is looking to secure a trade agreement for enchanted goods. If we could position ourselves as intermediaries—"

"Middleman work." Aegis waved her hand. "We’d be doing all the legwork, and they’d get most of the credit. I mean, it’s useful, but it’s not exactly the sort of thing that screams ’about to marry into royalty’. No, we need something that sends a message, and that I can do right now. What else?"

Evelyn nodded again. She flipped to the next page.

"There’s been reports of a griffin terrorizing a village on the outskirts of Rosevale. Lenninsale, I believe it’s called. Small farming community, not particularly notable. The local lord has been petitioning for assistance, but no one’s answered yet. Presumably because the other Houses fear it might cost more to try to save the village than to simply rebuild it later."

Aegis stopped pacing.

"A griffin?"

"Yes. It’s been attacking livestock, destroying crops, generally making life miserable for the residents. Several injuries reported, though no deaths so far."

[A griffin attacking a small village. Commoners in danger. No one helping them.]

The answer hit Aegis like a slap to the face.

[I should win the commoner vote.]

She was a commoner herself. Or, she had been, before the Winter Trials and the noble title and all the rest of it. The people of Rosevale would relate to her story, if they learned it. Farm girl from Sparker Village, clawed her way up through nothing but talent and determination, now standing toe to toe with Great Houses.

If she could get every commoner in the city chanting her name, that was a kind of power Evangeline couldn’t ignore. Not easily, anyway. Popular support wasn’t everything, but it was something. It was leverage.

And the first step might just be solving a problem no one else wanted to touch.

"I’ll do it."

Evelyn looked up from her notebook.

"Excellent. I’ll send word to Scarlett and Kanna immediately. They can depart within the hour if—"

"No."

"No?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Aegis turned to face her.

"The whole point of this is appearances, right? Perception. Making House Starcaller look indispensable."

"Yes, but—"

"If I send my retainers, it’s just a noble house doing noble house things. Outsourcing the dangerous work to hired muscle." Aegis shook her head. "That’s not going to win me any points with the common folk. That’s just business as usual."

Evelyn’s brow furrowed.

"What are you suggesting?"

Aegis grinned.

"I’m suggesting that Lady Aegis Starcaller, former commoner and Winter Trials champion, should ride out to Lenninsale herself and kill that griffin with her own two hands."

"My lady, that’s—"

"Heroic? Dramatic? Exactly the kind of story that spreads through taverns like wildfire?"

"Suicidal," Evelyn finished flatly. "Griffins are extremely dangerous. Even experienced hunters work in teams of five or more."

"Good thing I’m not an experienced hunter, then." Aegis cracked her neck. "I’m something better."

Evelyn stared at her for a long moment.

"You’re serious."

"Dead serious." Aegis’s grin widened. "Start spreading the word. Lady Starcaller is going griffin hunting, and she’s going to declare this victory to Talia Stone!"