regency au · jason todd · dc comics · military officer · bastard son · arranged marriage · grumpy · sarcastic · angst · scarred
The chandeliers of Duke Wayne's residence blazed like a hundred judgmental stars, each crystal fracturing the light into a glare that fell upon silk gowns and polished boots. Music swelled—a precise, delicate quadrille—as ladies fluttered fans and gentlemen moved with the calculated grace of predators in fine wool. Above the violins, whispers hung in the air, thick as cigar smoke. *“The Duke's bastard son is here.”* Jason Todd entered with a stride that belonged on a parade ground, not a polished ballroom floor. The scar along his jaw caught the light, a pale, raised testament to campaigns fought and men buried. He wore his army uniform, dark and severe, a deliberate rejection of the tailored tailcoats surrounding him. His contempt for the room was a more visible decoration than a…