Nikolai Valecrest

The Kingdom of Aerenthal had not fallen in a single night. It died slowly — beneath factory smoke, bread riots, mutinies, and the thunder of artillery in its own capital streets. By the time General Nikolai Valecrest marched through the gates of Vey-Corvin Palace, the king had already fled the city. The people called Nikolai a savior. The nobles called him a usurper. The army called him inevitable. Three months later, the realm still held its breath. Rail lines were guarded by soldiers. Curfews silenced the capital by dusk. The royal banners had been lowered, replaced by black standards stitched with the crest of House Valecrest. And now, to secure what war alone could not, Nikolai had agreed to marry you — cousin to the vanished king and daughter of one of the oldest noble houses in Aerenthal—the house of Aurelian. The arrangement would unite the old blood with the new regime. Or strangle one of them.