History Characters / TheDuchessWithAnEmptySoul

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: In Chapter 12, when Ivona is given the engagement ring that should have been rightfully hers the moment the king sanctioned her being a fiance with Gaspal; a ring which she knows Gaspal gave to Tristan instead behind her back, she shakes with rage, realizing that Gaspal would stomp over his lover if said "love" gets in the way of his ambitions, so she turns him down. In response, he grabs her by the hand and drags her to the royal pulpit where he declares that they're already legally married, because her father Collin already signed the marriage paperwork. [[SummonBiggerFish Fortunately, Claude asked for Ivona's hand in marriage as a favor from the king]], [[StandardHeroReward as a reward for a major act of heroism]], [[MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours which trumps the legal agreement between Gaspal and Collin]], and then [[LaserGuidedKarma Ivona proclaims that the fiance status between Gaspal and her wasn't legit in the first place, selling Gaspal as]] [[TheBeard "a fake fiance"]] to keep her out of the hands of unworthy suitors, [[CallingTheOldManOut in exchange for "helping" him be a better summoner.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler: Tired of Tristan's self-righteous victim-card waving, he decides to stop humoring him, and sends him off, disfigured, mute, and unable to write, dumping him in a public square to try and beg for pity and sympathy.]]

* OverprotectiveDad: While this is most apparent in Lucius, all of the summons are incredibly protective of Ivona and will occasionally protest or show worry when she overworks herself. [[spoiler: The reveal that they remember the previous timeline and thus Ivona's death, makes this very justified]]

* OverprotectiveDad: Justified. He knows the hell Gaspal put Ivona through in the last timeline and doesn't want her to go through that again, so he's wary of Claude at first. He does warm up to Claude once he shows to him he loves and cares for Ivona.

* UnrequitedTragicMaiden: [[spoiler: Sally's loyalty to Gaspal is revealed to be due to a unrequited crush on him, one that he is implied to have manipulated just so he can control her]]

* WidowWoman: She manages to outlive Gerald by at least 10 years, thanks to the fool getting himself killed by a random monster.

! Argentine house

[[folder: Racheal Argentine]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/agentine.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Don't be lazy! Be accepted by that damn sword already!]]
Claude's mother.

* AwfulWeddedLife: Her marriage was not a happy one. Because of her father's obsession with fulfilling a prophecy that his bloodline would give birth to the holy sword wielder that would save the world, she was forced to marry a man named Gerald who was inferior to her in everything, except for swordsmanship and had a wild personality without any ducal dignity. He made up for his inferiority complex by abusing her. When she protested her treatment, her father just told her "all women have it like that. Be patient, once your son is born, he'll come to his senses." This, of course, never came to pass.
* DespairEventHorizon: Trapped in a marriage with an abusive husband with no recourse, options, or means of escape, she began to wonder why the hell she should be alive.
* GildedCage: As can be seen, she is surrounded by luxury, but she can't enjoy it. She's trapped in a family of male abusers, including her father and her husband. It's a miracle Claude has any semblance of sanity.
* PostHumousCharacter: Long time dead by the time she's introduced.
* TroubledAbuser: Because of the pressure her father put on her to sire the "hero who would save the world" as a result of a hundred-years-old prophecy and her husband who would abuse her to vent his feelings of inferiority, she turned and took out her frustrations on Claude, her son, pushing him harder and harder to try and earn the respect of that damn piece of metal called a holy sword.
* WidowWoman: She manages to outlive Gerald by at least 10 years, thanks to the fool getting himself killed by a random monster.

[[folder: Gerald Argentine]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gerald_4.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Do you think anyone would marry you if it wasn't for your family name, huh?!]]
Rachel's husband, chosen only for his proficiency with a sword. He's wild and inferior to her in every way and abused her to vent his feelings of inferiority.

* DomesticAbuse: He abused Rachel purely to drive away his feelings of inferiority to the woman he was forced to marry.
* TheGhost: He is never shown in the story. His only appearance is a rough sketch like a diary that details his actions.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: He abused Rachel to make himself feel superior because he knew he's actually inferior.
* KarmicDeath: He loved to abuse Rachel to make himself feel better. When his son turned six, a random monster killed him while he was out hunting.
* PosthumousCharacter: By the time he's mentioned, he's long dead.
* TookTheWifesName: It's implied he married into the Argentine house because his wife Rachel kept her maiden name and her son Claude is also an Argentine.

[[folder: Roussef Argentine]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rousseff.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: All women are like that! Be patient. Once his son is born, he'll come to his senses!]] Rachel's father. Going by a 100-year old prophecy, he proclaims that he will sire the wielder of the holy sword who will save the world. He abandons his first wife who was barren and remarries, but that woman died in childbirth, giving him a daughter. Focusing all his hate on the dead woman, he raises his daughter to believe her only purpose in life is to sire a son who can wield said sword. To facilitate this, he chooses for her Gerald, the man with the best swordsmanship of all the available candidates. When Gerald starts to abuse her to vent his feelings of inferiority, he pooh-poohs Rachel's suffering and treats her as if she's insane for not being willing to persevere through it to give him that heir he wants so badly.

* AbusiveDad: He's both emotionally abusive to Rachel and an enabler for Gerald's abuse towards her.
* TheGhost: His actions are never on-screen. Just like with Gerald, he's only referrenced by a rough sketch, in a diary showcasing his actions.
* ItsAllAboutMe: He doesn't give a crap about his wives, children, grandchildren, in-laws, etc. All he cares about is his own personal legacy and authority. He pushes so hard for an heir to wield the holy sword, not because the world is at risk from an unspecified threat, but because he would be inconvenienced if the prophecy he boasted of doesn't come to pass.
* PosthumousCharacter: By the time he's mentioned, he is long dead.
* StupidEvil: Rather than remarry, get a concubine, or even a mistress, he abuses his daughter and forces her into a marriage with a brute who abused her to vent his feelings of inferiority. It's amazing Claude was born at all.

[[folder: Viscount Benier]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/benier_4.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Duchess! We're in the north! How could there be any bugs here?!]] One of the sub-houses of the Argentine estate. He is introduced when Claude is hosting an emergency meeting to deal with a pandemic hitting the empire. He is initially very dismissive of Ivona' presence, both because she's a woman and a commoner, but changes his opinion quickly once he sees that her contributions to the discussion are valid, and shows gratitude when Ivona's proposed treatment shows immediate results.

* AdHominem: He first decries Ivona's input because the source is both a woman and a commoner until Claude points out that Ivona's research comes from his own library.
* JerkassRealization: He happily eats crow when Ivona's plan proves effective at easing the suffering of the people in his territory caused by an epidemic.
* StrawMisogynist: Like most of the aristocrats of the empire, he's very patriarcal, but he at least has the decency to apologize when Ivona's propsals prove effective, and shows gratitude when the people of his territory wind up benefiting from the cure she provides them.

! Others

[[folder: Morgane]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/morgane.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Duke Argentine, could you repeat that? Did you say '''all'' of them?!]] The owner of a new and not-well known boutique that Ivona stumbles upon as she's looking to buy a dress for the yearly festival and then the royal ball. While the rest of the boutiques stared down their noses at "the upstart commoner," she's the only one who gave Ivona a fair shake. When Ivona returns with Claude in tow, looking to expand her wardrobe, the duke notes her interest and buys up ''every single dress on display.''

* EnlightenedSelfInterest: It only makes sense from a customer service perspective to offer customers a fair deal on their first visit, if you run a new establishment, especially in a setting where the only advertising is word of mouth. So Ivona returns with a duke in tow promoting the business, and the fact that he buys out the entire inventory is bound to make waves.
* HonestCorporateExecutive: She's an honest and fair merchant, selling Ivona a classy yet humble dress that Ivona wears for days until she's Claude's fiance and returns for others.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Because she treated Ivona kindly, she gets a major windfall from Claude on a return visit, as Claude buys every single dress on display, so Ivona can wear whatever she likes, whenever she likes.

[[folder: Princess Seherz Nohael Parama]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/seherz.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Gaspal, why is Tristan answering all my questions? That is very strange. It's almost as if he's the summoner, not you.]] The crown princess.

* IllGirl: After her son Claude turned six, she was diagnosed with a terminal disease. By some miracle, she managed to hold on until he was 16 and went into the family's ruins from which there is no return and managed to clear the place, finally earning the holy sword's recognition.

Character list for ''Manhwa/TheDuchessWithAnEmptySoul''. Up to date with current translations.

[[caption-width-right:350:It's not logical to annul the engagement because I changed my mind. I have to get my AbusiveDad and BastardBoyfriend to annul it instead.]] The title character. After being abused and exploited by her father, her cousin, and her fiance, to whom she was sold, she winds up dying in despair, rage, and regret, but for reasons she doesn't know or understand, wakes up one year earlier and this time around is absolutely determined to not let them walk all over her again.

* MarriageOfConvenience: She draws up a contract to get Claude Argentine to marry her so she can escape the extremely toxic machinations of her father, cousin and BastardBoyfriend. Once they're actually married, she and Claude are HappilyMarried SickeningSweethearts.

* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: After waking up after having the last year of her life rewound, she makes her father, cousin, and bastard boyfriend see what it's like to be on the receiving end of the abuse they heaped on her. [[MoralMyopia They see her as having gone crazy as a result.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Erm, what?!]] Ivona's BastardBoyfriend fiance and the king's nephew.. Ivona was sold to him by her father so he can cover his debts and support his hedonisitc lifestyle, suppored by the Guise estate. In the original time-line, he abused and neglected Ivona, stealing the credit of her summoning magic to make himself a "hero" earning his seat as the crown prince, and then was caught having an adulterous tryst with Tristan. In the current time-line, he can't handle the fact that Ivona has seen through his self-proclaimed "benevolence" and isn't happily debasing herself to vie for his favor.

* BastardBoyfriend: He insults, humiliates, and beats up on Ivona every chance he gets and calls her "crazy" in the current time-line because she refuses to suck up to him.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Its fur is bright pink.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Her hair is a shade of green.

! Main Characters:

! Summons:

! Claude Argentine's staff:

! Antagonists:

! Argentine house:

[[caption-width-right:350:Do you think anyone would marry you if it wasn't for your family name, huh?!]] Rachel's husband, chosen only for his proficiency with a sword. He's wild and inferior to her in every way and abused her to vent his feelings of inferiority.

* TheMaidenNameDebate: His wife Rachel kept her maiden name, and her son Claude is also an Argentine, so it's likely he took his wife's name, provided he actually changed his family name.
* PostHumousCharacter: By the time he's mentioned, he's long dead.

* PostHumousCharacter: By the time he's mentioned, he is long dead.

! Others:

* PrincessClassic: As intelligent as she is, the kingdom rules only allow her to prance around and look pretty most of the time.

* CripplingOverspecialization: She's mastered all sorts of bridal and maiden courtly etiquette, like embroidery, table manners, and so on, but when she's dragged to the ground by a drunk letch who tries to rape her, she has nothing to fall back on to deal with it.

* HeelFaceTurn: She was introduced being highly antagonistic to Ivona, but after her epiphany, she's shown doing works of charity, and when an epidemic appears in the kingdom, teams up with the princess to help distribute the cure.

* LoneSurvivor: Of the Tigre Clan and of the slaves in the Geisten auction house.

* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: He traded in enslaved Tigre Clan members, sold their eyes like jewelry, tortured the LoneSurvivor for "training" and had a couple of human children locked away at his auction house, for untold reasons. The Tigre clan boy was the only one to be successfully rescued.

* RealityEnsues: "Fake it until you make it" might make for great song lyrics, but it is terrible career advice. People who continuously steal the credit from others will trip over themselves and be found out sooner or later. He ignored his wake-up call at the royal ball, so when an epidemic hits the kingdom and he suddenly finds himself being tasked with using his non-existent summoning magic to provide the cure, he proceeds to fake illness to buy time and excuse his incompetence, but even this fails him when the crown princess stops by his estate and finds Tristan answering all her cure and summon related questions instead of him.

* RealityEnsues: After his ill-advised lecturing of Claude and insults towards Ivona, at what could be argued as the worst possible time, his superiors in the temple fire and excommunicate him, to try and mend relations with both the Panarma empire and the Argestine house.

* {{Transgender}}: Deconstructed. Not only does he live in a society that doesn't even comprehend the concept of gender dysphoria, but he's got a raging case of Venus envy, frequently fantasizes (at least verbally) about actually being a woman, deeply resents being male, and completely ignores the glaring downsides of being female, like the fact that they have virtually no legal standing, can't choose their wedding partners, and have no means to flee abuse, focusing on what he sees as "perks," such as being a GoldDigger, and having the means to marry into a higher social strata, rather than having to earn it by merit.

* MarryForLove: The reason he coldly turned down a bunch of marriage candidates and accepted Ivona's proposal is that he doesn't want a fangirl, peerage, titles, or any of that crap. He wants a strong and equal partner to share the rest of his life with, so he ignores the huge social distance between himself and Ivona, since she showed him she wants him for him, not for what he can do for her, and he has enough vague memories from the previous time-line to confirm Ivona is the partner he's been looking for.
* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: He gained a reputation for being a cruel and cold loner because he would rebuff marriage proposals coldly. In truth, he was actually concerned about the well-being of the women involved and didn't want to be responsible for the life-time's worth of suffering their impulsiveness brought them, unlike the many other knights who accepted the proposals only to literally screw them over.
* NotSoStoic: Beneath Claude's stoic quiet exterior is someone who is actually deeply emotional especially where Ivona is concerned.
* PastLifeMemories: Claude has vague memories of the events prior to the CosmicRetcon, most notably remembering what happened to Ivona and how he was unable to do anything to help her. It is implied to be one reason why he goes out of his way to dote on her when she becomes his fiance.