CHESSBOARD REGIME.

the queen's men!

✢ THE YOUNG MASTER.
MALE, 16-18.
❝ i think that's enough wine, my lord. oh, forgive me; you mean to tell me you're this ridiculous sober? ❞

— THE YOUNG MASTER is a nobleman known for being charming ( and petty ). despite being inherently polite, he has barbs of malice underneath everything he says, and is patronising to a fault. he knows he's one of the youngest powerfully seated noblemen and takes full advantage of it. despite his questionable motives, he's still one of cordelia's most eligible bachelors, with both a title and a pretty face to back him up.

— he follows all of JACK THE RIPPER's orders (no matter how vicious or cruel)*. he seems to lack a conscience or a moral code.

HE MUST:
➮ HAVE SOME SORT OF DEBT/ ROMANTIC ATTRACTION TO JACK THE RIPPER.
➮ DOESN'T ANSWER TO ANYONE LOWER THAN THE CROWN.
➮ BE A NOBLEMAN. MOST PREFERABLY A DUKE.
➮ BE SELF-DESTRUCTIVE; CUTS OFF RELATIONSHIPS. BUT WHY EXACTLY IS HE LIKE THAT?
➮ KING OF PASSIVE AGGRESSION.
➮ LOOK STOIC AND EMOTIONLESS.

___

✢ TEA LEAVES.
FEMALE, 20-25.
❝ i told you, my lady, to keep your spine straight. don't disappoint your mother now. ❞

— TEA LEAVES is a foreign governess known for her exotic good looks, vast knowledge, and her insistence that she will not marry. many wonder to where her manners, which are credited for being on par with a highborn's, come from. however, the reason for leaving her country is still a secret she's keeping under wraps. she's never entertained questions about her personal life, and will shut you down at first try.

— there are rumors that she's proposed to THE YOUNG MASTER and got turned down during her time teaching him, but there's also rumors about female lovers that grace her bed.

SHE MUST:
➮ HAVE A HIDDEN PAST. WHY'D SHE LEAVE HER HOME COUNTRY?*
➮ HAVE SOME SORT OF SECRET CRIMINAL RECORD.
➮ CONFIRM AT LEAST ONE OF THE RUMORS.
➮ LOOK ELEGANT AND SOPHISTICATED.

___

✢ ROSEWATER.
FEMALE, 20.
❝ i don't quite enjoy being inside all the time, but i do suppose there are worse things to suffer through. ❞

— ROSEWATER is a daughter of a baron, crippled during a vehicular accident. she can't do much in her current state except sit by the window and people watch. soft, feminine, and gentle, she's every man's dream; but she was deemed too weak to bear children, which increases her father's loathing towards her. behind it all, she is angry and sadistic, targetting insects and small animals for her 'experiments'.

— she ends up falling in love with TEA LEAVES when she sees her pass the windowsill one day.

SHE MUST:
➮ BE SECRETLY SOME SORT OF YANDERE.
➮ GIVE HER LOTS OF OVERPROTECTIVE BROTHERS.
➮ BE A DOCTOR.
➮ BE LESBIAN AS FUCK.
➮ LOOK SOFT AND GENTLE.

___

✢ STERLING.
FEMALE, 20.
❝ you say 'woman' as if it's an insult. it's laughable; you can barely hold up your sword. ❞

— STERLING is a prodigy with the sword and is the only child of the duke of durwand*. she's a knight, and the obvious choice to lead the queen's batallion once the current general passes. despite her not being able to take a suggestion and her aggressive nature, she's devoted to a fault, much like a dog ready to attack, teeth bared, for her royal highness. despite her 'barbaric swordfighting,' as her mother describes it, she's actually quite refined and sophisticated outside the battlefield.