Characters / Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter

Characters in Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter

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Armelia Ducal House

Armelia Family

Iris Lana Armelia

The Duke of Armelia's daughter and acting fief lord. She becomes the founder of the Azuta Corporation.

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• All-Loving Hero: While she can enjoy seeing someone she dislikes get into trouble like any normal human being, there is no doubt that Iris is genuine in just how much she loves her people, especially children. Iris even uses this to her advantage to survive the Deadly Decadent Court that Tasmeria's nobility can sometimes embody - everyone who knows her finds it difficult to believe she slandered Yuri, even when Iris outright admits to it, and even when they do believe Iris slighted Yuri, everyone pretty much agrees Yuri had it coming anyway given the fact she seduced Ed into cheating on Iris with her.
• Babies Ever After: She and Dean have a boy that wants to follow in her footsteps and a baby girl.
• Benevolent Boss: Even before she was appointed acting governor and became president of the Azuta Corporation, she treated her servants well, and the entire household was on her side after Edward broke off her engagement which led to her being publicly humiliated, made only worse because her brother Berne sided against her willingly. She values her employees and never takes them from granted. It's one of the reasons she is so loved.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Iris is willing to help her people without any provocation. However, she is more than willing to sentence Van to death for treason when he attempts to spy on her Duchy. She also tears Dorseen a new one after he causes her some trouble in her Duchy, and she is happy when she finds out he had been expelled from the Knights and his family has disowned him. She also tears into the Civil Servants that betrayed her. While she gives them a chance to either officially resign or return to work, she makes it clear there would be consequences if they continue impeding government progress.
• Birds of a Feather: With Dean. They both love their job and share the same values.
• Book Dumb: According to Berne she wasn't a good student back at the Academy. However, this was mostly due to a lack of interest: She was so busy chasing after Edward that she ignored her studies. The wake up call from past life memories snapped her into gear, causing her to become the most influential young noblewoman in the country.
• Cain and Abel: Initially she was the Abel to Berne's Cain. However, after Berne's Character Development they are in much better terms, even if Iris hasn't completely forgiven him yet.
• Daddy's Girl: Subverted. She loves her father but is closer to her mother.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: After the betrayal she suffered, she has drawn a line she won't cross when it comes to trusting people. She complains Dean is making her to want to trust him with everything.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Iris was on the receiving end of this. While it is true she did bully Yuri, she wasn't the only one, and scenes further into the story call into question just how much slandering Iris actually did. Additionally, Yuri was seducing Iris' fiancé, which most people would consider a far graver crime - especially considering Iris' betrothed was one of the two princes. Being physically and emotionally humiliated was not something Iris deserved, and the threat of being sent to a nunnery was rather extreme for what was considered a light infraction and small social gaffe at worst.
• The Exile: Until the end of Volume 01, Iris was banished from High Society and became a Persona Non Grata. This changes after she gets the Azuta corporation off the ground along with making major reformations to her territory. The Queen Dowager uses this as an excuse to invite her to a Royal party.
• Freudian Excuse: Her justification for bullying Yuri after gaining the memories of the woman who played the otome game Iris was in. During her humiliation at Edward's hands, Iris flat out refuses to apologize for her treatment of Yuri, feeling it was not wrong for her to chase after the man she loved and was in a relationship with. This actually earns her a fair amount of support from the students of her school at from some of the more level-headed noblemen.
• Friend to All Children: She visits Mina and the orphans she takes care of regularly, and seeing them again helps her to go back to her former self after having become more ruthless and detached because of the events of the Excommunication Arc. She even says at one point that taking care of children is an appealing plan for when she retires.
• The Gadfly: Especially early on, Iris loves to poke fun at herself and play along with anyone who (justifiably, given the setting and their prior understanding of Iris) questions her ability to handle money, businesses, tax reforms, and just general economic matters. She'll typically make a big deal about how a 'clueless noble' like herself would be eaten alive dealing with the economy, only to then suggest a course of action that takes the market by storm.
• Guile Heroine: Iris did not take after her mother in terms of physical prowess, and thus needs her servants to keep her safe from physical threats. Though her knowledge of economics early on allows Iris to keep away from the Deadly Decadent Court and the shadowy war of succession going on between the princes' factions and seclude herself to her fief, Iris slowly grows into having something of a silver tongue as she becomes accustomed to the politics around her and starts having to leave her fief to deal with national affairs. At points, Iris herself is even frightened by just how competent she is at tricking people into dancing to the beat of her drum - especially Van.
• Heir Club for Men: She is the oldest child but only a son can inherit. It was a big surprise when her father appointed her as acting fief lord and she has accepted she'll have to resign when Berne becomes Duke. However, prior to Berne's Heel–Face Turn, their mother outright tells Berne if he didn't get his act together, he would be disinherited, and Iris could remain in charge. In Volume 5, Berne voluntarily steps down from being the heir and allows Iris to become the next Head of the Household.
• Heroic BSoD: Goes through one when she is told Alfred was killed in battle following the climax of Volume 5.
• Honest Corporate Executive: An honest fief lord and businesswoman doing what's best for her territory, company and workers. She even establishes a break system and maternity leaves.
• Implied Death Threat: During Volume 3, when she confronts the Civil Servants who abandoned her during the Excommunication, she tears them a new one. She tells them to resign or stop wasting her time and get back to work. When asked what would happen if they didn't, she makes it clear they wouldn't want to know.
• King Incognito: She masquerades as a regular woman named Alice when she goes into town.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Almost everyone is aware that Dean is Prince Alfred except for her. Well, at least until near the end of Volume 4.
• Love Is a Weakness: After her public humiliation at the beginning of the series that resulted in her expulsion from school and High Society, she concludes love is a sickness. It's why she is so reluctant to fall for Dean. She continues to believe that even after learning his true identity. She decides to accept the proposal of a foreign prince because she knows it might be better for the kingdom, and she believes she wouldn’t be the best choice for Alfread/Dean partly due to her previous association with Edward..
  • During Volume 2, Iris even resigns herself to the possibility she may never marry and move to semi-isolation when forced to retire.
• Love Makes You Dumb: Iris acknowledges her love for Edward and her jealousy regarding when he was cheating on her with Yuri caused her to act rather illogically. This allowed her to be scapegoated in things that she wasn’t responsible for.
• Modest Royalty: She always wears simple dresses that are comfortable to work on. She is so used to this that she designs her party dresses to be easy to move around.
• Nerds Are Sexy: Iris is quite beautiful but it is her brilliance as a civil administrator and sharp business acumen that attracts the attention of no less than two princes.
• Next Life as a Fictional Character: Iris was originally a Japanese accountant who played an otome game where Iris was originally the game's antagonist. She regained her memories during what was supposed to be game's Dénouement where Iris is punished for her bullying of the game's heroine Yuri. Since she was too late to change the story's outcome, all she can do is pick up the pieces of her life and reputation and forge a new path.
• Nice to the Waiter: She is always kind to servants, and most of her known staffs are people she saved from the streets. She's also nice to the people of her fief, and she chooses to not use her status to get special treatment when she goes incognito.
• Number Two: As the acting fief lord she is this to her father.
• Ojou: She was this in her school before being scapegoated for bullying Yuri and losing the Second Prince's favor. She regains this as she surrounds herself with her competent maids and servants to act as her subordinates in her rising merchant empire. She uses her social standing to shut down those who would badmouth her and gains the adoration of the public and fellow nobles for her business acumen, beauty, and charity work.
• Parental Favoritism: Due to Berne's actions and how Iris has successfully been running the dutchy, her parents make it no secret that she is their favorite child even after Berne starts making amends to redeem himself.
• Past-Life Memories: She regains her past life’s memories right in time to avoid her bad ending. She is the same person, though the memories give her useful knowledge and a new perspective.
• The Power of Friendship: One of the major factors behind her success. Many people approaching her for the first time assume she's The Ace, and for good reason, but despite the fact she outdoes everyone in terms of economic knowledge and policy reform, Iris herself acknowledges the simple power that comes from surrounding oneself with loyal allies who outshine them. While no one questions her skills with management, Iris' mother is much better at playing the court, Rehm has unmatched knowledge of Tasmeria's history, Dean has connections, Moneda has more connections, Tanya has street smarts, and so on. While Iris can shoulder the burdens of the Azuta Conglomerate and the Armelia Duchy herself, every crisis she runs into is resolved by her combining her areas of expertise with the expertise of others around her. Leticia even points out this very concept to Ludi, explaining how Alfred more or less has a beneficial relationship with Iris because both parties are, knowingly or otherwise, making use of this cooperative power.
• "Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives Berne this when she confronts him regarding his reason for betraying her. She points out his actions have consequence, and he blindly follows his emotions like she used to which is detrimental.
  • In Volume 3, she gives two separate ones to Van and Dorseen due to their own indescresions against her as well as their numerous mistakes.
• Reincarnation: Iris is the reincarnation of a Japanese accountant. To make things more complicated, her new life is a dating sim she played in her previous one.
• This Is Unforgivable!: She is disgusted that she ever loved Edward after the way he decided to cheat on her with Yuri and then humiliate her. She also finds herself unable to forgive her brother for his actions, but she acknowledges that he does have remorse.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Zig-zagged. While Iris remains a good person, Iris' brush with Excommunication does take a toll on her, and she develops a cold, 'Villainous' Persona that Tanya makes a note of. When she confronts the Civil Servants that abandoned her, she makes an Implied Death Threat against them if they plan on continuing to neglect their duties.
• True Blue Femininity: It seems blue is her favorite color since she mostly wears dresses with some blue in them, blue nail polish, blue or white accessories, etc... The only exception is the white dress she wears to the church opening speech.

Duke Louis de Armelia

Iris's father and Duke of Armelia.

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• Brutal Honesty: When he saw Merellis crying because she couldn't join the army and protect the people as a soldier, he basically told her, "if you wanted to be a soldier then sure, cry, but if you want to protect people, there are other ways."
• Career-Ending Injury: At the beginning of Volume 04, Louis is injured in an assassination attempt which more or less renders him bedridden. For a number of weeks, he does his best to keep performing his duties. Unfortunately, a combination of his injuries and the problems caused by Edward's faction, specifically Queen Elle, force him to resign from his position as the Prime Minister.
• The Good Chancellor: He is the Prime Minister and makes his best effort to keep the kingdom running smoothly in spite of how increasingly difficult it is becoming to manage as a result of greed and corruption.
• Happily Married: To Merellis.
• Neutral No Longer: His house didn't publicly side with any of the princes initially (though they were secretly on Alfred's side). After Ellia and the Pope conspired to have Iris excommunicated they threw any pretenses out of the window.
• Parents as People: He loves his children but as a Duke and Prime Minister he is very aware of his duties. He planned to break the engagement between Ed and Iris and send her to the nunnery because her love for him was complicating the political situation. He only changed plans when Iris showed him she was politically smarter than he thought.
• Perpetual Frowner: His default expression; he rarely smiles and often scowls.
• So Proud of You: Though he rarely makes mention of it, he could not be happier with how Iris is running his territory and growing.
• When He Smiles: He rarely ever lifts his lips, except for a sarcastic quip or sardonic laugh, but after seeing his daughter for the first time in three years and praising her work ethic in not only maintaining but improving his domain, he lets loose with the most earnest smile he can.

Merellis Reiser Armelia

Iris's mother. A powerful force in social circles. She is the main character of the author's earlier work Buke no Tashinami (Common Sense of a Warrior)

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• Action Girl: She is so strong that only her dad could defeat her.
• Action Mom: As demonstrated in Volume 4 & 5, becoming a mom has not diminished her ability to fight.
• Doting Parent: She is always cheerful and loving when Iris is around.
• Happily Married: To Louis.
• Hero of Another Story: By virtue of being the main heroine of the author's previous work, Buke no Tashinami.
• Hidden Depths: Seeing her now, it's difficult to believe that she used to be "like a meatheaded boy" and wanted to join the army.
• Mama Bear: She makes clear that she has Iris' back regarding her situation with Ed. She even says that if Berne (who supported Ed's humiliation of Iris) wasn't her son, she would destroy him.
  • In Volume 5, she tells Iris to call upon her the moment war comes to her territory. When Iris does, Merellis wastes no time leading a group of soldiers to help her daughter fight off invaders.
• Military Brat: Her father is a famous general and war hero.
• Missing Mom: Her mom was killed by bandits, which was her original motivation to train.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We don't see it properly, but she saved her husband from assassins, even killing all of them in the process.
• Parental Favouritism: She favors Iris over Berne, and she outright tells Iris that she is on her side. Justified in that Berne was acting irresponsible and entitled while also participating in Iris' humiliation and exile from High Society. Additionally, he was completely blinded by his crush on Yuri while ignoring his responsibilities for two years. Even when Berne comes to his senses and makes amends, Merellis makes it no secret that Iris is still her favorite.
• Red Baron: Called "genius of genius" by her dad.
• Retired Badass: To an extent. She gave up her plans to join the army but she is still every bit of a badass.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She is exactly what one would expect of an aristocratic lady. She also won't hesitate to destroy verbally, socially and physically anyone who crosses her or mess with her family.
• Stay in the Kitchen: She wanted to join the army but women aren't allowed to be soldiers. She could have joined the Royal Guard, but she wanted to protect the kingdom at large.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: As those assassins attacking Louis learned the hard way.

Berne Tashi Armelia

Iris's younger brother and part of Yuri's harem. After seeing the error of his ways, he works hard to become a reliable First Minister.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Prior to his character development, no one in Iris’ employ likes him. Tanya especially has disdain for him even after he begins turning around due how he betrayed Iris. Even his mother points out that what he did was so horrible, they might have to disinherit him and let Iris take the reins.
• The Atoner: Following his below mentioned Heel Realization and Heel–Face Turn.
• Big Brother Instinct: Inverted. He is the younger one but he is very protective of his sister after reconciling with her.
• Big Brother Worship: Iris's hard work and accomplishments inspire him, to the point that he asks Alfred to name her Duke of Armelia instead of him.
• Bound and Gagged: Played for laughs. He observes Iris as she works, completely speechless...and then it's revealed that Tanya gagged him.
• Cain and Abel: Initially the Cain to Iris's Abel, but his character development changes this soon.
• Character Development: He starts as an entitled Spoiled Brat, concerned only with his feelings for Yuri and ignoring his responsibilities. As time passes, he becomes more responsible and mindful of the people who depend on him.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Zigzagged. No one will forget the fact he betrayed Iris. While some are willing to somewhat forgive his actions, others, including Iris, are not. Iris is willing to acknowledge he is remorseful, but she can’t forgive him just yet.
• Heel–Face Turn: It doesn’t take long for him to change his ways after seeing Iris’ accomplishments.
• Heel Realization: He starts going through one when seeing what Iris has done, and he goes through it again wjen Yuri suggests dissolving the Royal Army. He then reports directly to his father what he had heard.
• Hidden Depths: He is the best study in the academy.
• Important Haircut: He cuts his hair after he sees the devastation of the flooding along with with how some of the innocent civilians died due to how neglectful the Nobles running the territory were.
• Laser-Guided Karma: In both ways. He chose to go against his own sister condemning her in the front of the school in favor of Yuri, which results in his parents being incredibly dismayed and disappointed in him. While he does eventually realize how wrong that was, it takes a long time before he regains that trust among the family and staff. On the flip side, he's the only member of Yuri's harem that has remorse for his actions and actively works to atone for them, even voluntarily giving up his inheritance to allow Iris to be the next Governor of Armelia. The end of the story reveals he married Leticia, who has become the High Queen of Tasmania, making him her Prince Consort.
• Irony: He starts the story as a member of Yuri's harem under Prince Edward, who self-proclaims himself to be the next heir. The end of the story reveals Berne married Leticia, who ultimately became the next ruler of Tasmania, so Berne ended up closer to being within the ruling class than Edward ever did.
• Love Makes You Dumb: While he managed to retain his book smarts, he lacked the ability to see how far he was falling behind in regards to the real world. He was shocked to see what his sister had managed to accomplish while he was doing nothing of importance.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: He gets this treatment from Iris when she is invited back to the Capital when she happily greets her parents and is far less enthusiastic about Berne.
• Passed-Over Inheritance: As early as Volume 1, Mereliss warns Berne that this could be his fate if he doesn't shape up since Iris has proven herself to be a worthy governor. In Volume 5, Berne voluntarily steps down in favor of letting Iris go from being 'Acting Governor' to being the true Governor of Armelia.
• Took a Level in Badass: While he was easily taken down a peg by his sister, mother, and Tanya, by Volume 04, he becomes capable enough to command a room full of nobles and call them out on their crap.
• The Unfavorite: His own doing by betraying Iris. He notices that all of the servants treat him coldly, especially the ones directly under Iris’ employ. Unlike most examples of his, he has resigned to the fact he deserves this treatment.

Gazell Daz Anderson

Iris's maternal grandfather, a very respectable general.

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• Badass Teacher: He trained some of the strongest fighters in the series and is still teaching.
• Berserk Button: The normally jovial Gazell is furious when Berne informs him of Yuri's plan to dismantle the military to fund alms-giving events, especially considering the current political situation with Towair.
• Cool Old Guy: A very friendly and laid back fellow always ready to drink and have fun. Iris remarks he doesn't act like a Marquis.
• Four-Star Badass: He is a general respected by both the army and the Royal Guards.
• Heroic Build: As expected from a general, he is an elderly man with strong build.
• Old Soldier: He is old but still strong enough to give Dida and Lyle a run for their money.
• Passing the Torch: He has passed his Marquis title to his son.
• Retired Badass: Played with. He is officially retired but sticks around the palace to train new soldiers to keep an eye on the political mayhem.
• Silver Fox: Louis notes that quite a few younger women at the founding ball are swooning over him.

Armelia Family's Servants

Tanya

Iris's personal maid.

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• Babies Ever After: She is pregnant with Dida’s child in the epilogue.
• Beta Couple: With Dida.
• Blade Enthusiast: With khopesh especially, likely because she tends to wait on Iris' orders to actually slice people with her blades and the rounded blade of a khopesh lets her fit the knife right around an assailant's throat.
• Childhood Friend Romance: She and Dida grew up together in the Armenia estate. They had a few ship tease moments when they got older, and they eventually married and are about to have children of their own.
• Dark and Troubled Past: When she first met Iris, she had collapsed on the street and would have died that day had Iris not helped her. It's heavily implied Tanya was forced to become a thief out of desperation to survive and the circumstances Iris found her in was because she was caught and beaten up to the point of death.
• Good Is Not Soft: Easily one of the nicest, friendliest, kindest souls around. However, when asked by Dida to spar, she points out the lethality of her method of combat would make her a poor sparring partner, and when some thugs talk about selling Iris into sex slavery directly in front of Tanya, she has her knife at the leader's throat faster than anyone can even blink.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: She has the most duties out of Iris' servants, being her personal maid, secretary, bodyguard, and spy, not to mention her companion.
• Justified Criminal: It doesn't get more justified than needing to eat. It is all-but said outright that Tanya was a thief before ending up in Iris' care. The reason she was found bleeding and broken on the floor is heavily implied to be because she was caught in the act and beaten to near death.
• Master of Disguise: As shown in a bonus story, Tanya frequently employs this when going out incognito; only someone as close to her as Dida can pick her out. Otherwise, everything down to her body language can be falsified for the purpose of getting intel. About the only thing she can't really change is how messy her hair is.
• Ninja Maid: One of her duties is to be Iris's bodyguard.
• Sherlock Scan: Adept at these largely as a necessity. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of other people in fiction with such a talent, Iris is pretty good at reading people and their intentions - especially when they mean to harm her mistress.
• Stealth Expert: When she wants to be unseen, she typically can be unseen. Unless she makes a point of telling Iris she's going to be gone on some errand, it's a safe assumption she's always near.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Anyone who betrays and hurts Iris is forever in her eyes an unforgivable monster for whom she has burning passionate hatred. And it usually is justified. Edward cheated and cruelly dumped Iris in a humilaiting fashion all so he can show how he favors Yuri? Unforgivable. PERIOD. Berne betrayed his sister by siding with the cheating Edward because he himself had a crush on the other woman that Edward left Iris for? Unforgivable. Even after Berne gets over Yuri and changes his ways, Tanya still looks at Berne with visible disdain and annoyance.
• Tsundere: Type B towards Dida. She often sees Dida as an annoyance, giving him an annoyed look when she saw him while she was collecting information, even throwing her daggers at him when he tried to follow after her.
• Undying Loyalty: Having been saved by Iris as a child, she is loyal to Iris and claims to serve her only. She wishes to train her children to serve Iris’ children.

Lyle

Iris's bodyguard.

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• Childhood Friend: With Dida, who is also his rival too. When they were younger, they often compete against each other during training. Despite that, the two are close where Lyle is aware that Dida secretly trains everyday to maintain and improve their skills.
• Day in the Limelight: Yuri attempts to personally recruit him when she reveals to know his past. He proves to be the first known man to turn her down.
• Heroic Bastard: He is the illegitimate son of an aristocrat and a maid.
• That Man Is Dead: While he doesn't deny his illegitimate noble heritage if asked, he has long since stopped caring about what could have been had he not been disowned by his noble father and moved on with his life. When Yuri tries to subvert him to her service by promising him revenge against the family that cast him out and a chance to claim the family title from his half-brother, he states that he's perfectly happy serving as one of Iris' retainers and doesn't want it, to Yuri's utter incomprehension.

Dida

Iris's bodyguard.

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• Affectionate Nickname: He likes to call Iris "Princess".
• Badass in Distress: He is captured by his previous partner during the Boltique Arc and has to be saved by his friends.
• Childhood Friend: With Lyle, and rival too. When they were younger, they often compete against each other during training. Despite that, the two are close where Lyle is aware that Dida secretly trains everyday to maintain and improve their skills.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He used to work for a criminal gang before meeting Iris.
• Day in the Limelight: The later events of Volume 3, give Dida more focus regarding his past, and he is captured by his old childhood friend when he lets his guard down. When given a chance later on, he contronts and defeats his former friend in a fight with ease.

Rehme

Librarian of the Duke's library.

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• Cute Bookworm: A librarian who spends most of her time reading books and is cute as a button.
• Verbal Tic: She tends to elongate the consonants at the end of her words, such as 'wass' and 'fictionn.' On rare occasions she'll elongate vowels.

Moneda

Merchant guild's vice-chief of accounting, before being asked to manage the new institution: the Bank.

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• Aloof Ally: He initially was going to refuse to help Iris because he doesn't mix friendships with business. He only changes his mind because Iris' plans are genuinely interesting and promising.
• Meaningful Name: Moneda is the Spanish word for coin.
• Smug Smiler: The smile he often wears is so smug, it becomes suspicious.
• Stoic Spectacles: Wears a pair of round glasses and is a strict, distant guy with the appearance of an educated noble.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a brief one to Berne, as the latter doesn't know who brought the big changes on his own fief.

Sebastian

Head butler of the Duke's household.

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• Cool Old Guy: He is a grandfatherly figure to Iris and a guiding presence to the rest of the staff.
• In-Series Nickname: Everybody calls him Sebas.
• Old Retainer: He has served the House of the Duke of Armelia for generations.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Whenever he drops his cool demeanor, everybody in and out of universe knows shit is going to hit the fan.
• The Reliable One: Iris remarks how necessary Sebastian is to the running of the fief several times.
• Stock Characters: There’re tons of cool old butler named Sebastian around, and he is only one of them.

Sei

Butler-in-training for the Duke's household. Later works as manager at one of the Azura shops in the capital.

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• Berserk Button: Don't badmouth the people in his charge. Seriously, don't.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He is a really nice person but he'll rip anyone a new one if they attack the company or employees.
• Character Development: One of the characters who changes the most, going from a nervous teenager to a capable leader with a spine of steel. Iris even compares him to Sebas later on.

Dean

An accountant who works part time for the Azuta Corporation. For more information on him, go to Prince Alfred Dean Tasmeria in Alfred's Faction.

Royal Family and Associates

Edward's Faction

Prince Edward Tome Tasmeria

Second Prince of Tasmeria and Iris's ex-fiance. Currently engaged to Yuri.

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• And Then What?: Okay, say that Edward successfully arrests Iris at the conference to select the next king and sends the army (somehow) after her duchy. The Duke, Duchess and heir apparent would all immediately raise their flag in rebellion. The kingdom is having a famine and the Duchy of Armelia supplies 40% of the kingdom's food. Even if he won, the fief would be in perpetual revolt and its productive farmland would be ruined by war. There was absolutely no upside to Edward's actions.
• Arranged Marriage: Previously to Iris, he is now in a "Perfectly Arranged Marriage" to Yuri.
• Break the Haughty: Right when he thinks he has the throne in his pocket his brother appears out of nowhere and arrests him, Yuri, his mother and grandfather. Given his behavior, he had it coming.
• The Caligula: Edward is generally vacuous and impulsive as opposed to evil and insane. However he does start slipping into this trope as the story progresses. For example, he ordered Iris arrested because she stated that her fief already supplies a huge chunk of the kingdom's food supplies and cannot increase its tithe to the Crown. He even challenged her to prove that her fief had actually given anything at all for the famine relief effort when everyone in the room is aware that all such deliveries came with proper receipts and records.
• Epic Fail: On a few occasions.
  • When Iris is briefly excommunicated, Edward builds his own company, and he poaches some of Iris’ employees. However, most of the employees he poached are lower level, and he didn’t get any of the research and development team, so he only produces imitations of existing products. After Iris’ proves her innocence, she releases a new product, and she regains momentum while Edward can’t compete causing him to either let go of his employees or the employees quitting due to poor work conditions.
  • When Edward attempts to take the throne, his arrogance blinded him to the point he didn’t realize Iris and her Uncle had formed an alliance with other nobles, and he couldn’t stop a large number of people from walking away from him. If that wasn’t enough, his brother Alfred had him, Yuri, his mother, and grandfather arrested for treason.
• Evil Redhead: Crossed with Fiery Redhead. He has flaming red hair and is a total pain in the ass.
• Fatal Flaw: His blind love for Yuri and irrational hatred for Iris. With the former, he's oblivious that many of the things he does to please Yuri are affecting the kingdom badly and refuses to listen when told otherwise. With the latter, his pettiness to get back at Iris by any means makes him look like a fool and an enemy with Iris' allies and friends.
• Hate Sink: Any appearance he makes is bound to make many hate him due to his stupidity and pettiness to get back at Iris.
• Hypocrite:
  • For someone whom claims he wants to abolish the monarchy system, he's also the first to fall back on his authority as a prince when things don't go his way.
  • He calls Iris an embarrassment for coming to a royal ball, and her mother Merellis disrespectful for showing no respect to him and Yuri despite the fact that he himself is an embarrassment for cheating on Iris with Yuri, picking a fight with Iris and her mother during the royal ball hosted by his grandmother (who had personally invited both of them), and showing no respect to them at first in court etiquette.
  • His terrible treatment of Iris in general. He treats her like she is the worst thing ever, but the only reason there was any conflict was due to him cheating on her in the first place, and he goes out of his way to antagonize her even when she makes it clear she’d rather avoid him.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: He dies being impaled while attempting to protect Yuri.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Even without Yuri exacerbating his worst qualities, he doesn't seem to have any knowledge or interest in the kingdom he feels himself so entitled to, which shows itself at various points (such as not recognizing the problems with disbanding the military or be able to plan appropriately for famine relief).
• Irrational Hatred: Of Iris, as the story goes along. If she is around, Edward will make an active point of ruining her day, even when she is minding her own business and hasn't said an unkind word about either him or Yuri at all. After seeing her for the first time in years after their engagement annulment, Edward demands Iris give Yuri a gift that she simply isn't capable of giving at the time and then accuses her of lying and treason when she brings up that she simply can't. The worst part is, there was a time when they were younger when they actually were on friendly terms, so this sudden active despising of her existsnce comes off as especially harsh.
• Love Makes You Dumb: All of Yuri's suitors suffer from this, but he is hit hard. Yuri suggests financing the royal spending and soup kitchens by disbanding the army, arguing that it's unnecessary because there's no war now... and Edward praises her intelligence. Do note that there actually is still an ongoing war that has simply hit an unofficial ceasefire. When Berne tries to point out to Edward holding an almsgiving event at the moment would only burden the national treasury, Edward calls him rigid and flat out ignores the advice.
• Pet the Dog: For all his flaws, his love for Yuri is genuine. He even begs Alfred to arrest only him and not Yuri.
• Prince Charmless: He is a good looking prince, but an awful human being.
• Puppet King: Part of the support he gets comes from nobles who realize he is easier to manipulate and less interested in properly ruling than his brother.
• Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: His willingness to buy expensive gifts for Yuri and fund her every whim is the treasury's despair.
• Royal Brat: Whenever he doesn't get his way he throws tantrums, even in important parties.
• Satellite Love Interest: Deconstructed. He only has interest in Yuri, completely disregarding everything and everyone else unless they antagonize Yuri or their relationship. It's so bad that when his brother takes the throne and arrests him (with little chances of showing him mercy) he is only concerned with Yuri being arrested too.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Surprisingly, the reason Iris fell in love with him in the first place is because he comforted her when she was feeling down. Unfortunately, he got worse from there and by the present day, Iris no longer can remember why she loved him as he is so far away from the once kind person he had been, he's a whole different person in the present time altogether.

Yuri Neuer

Daughter of a baron and Edward's fiancée. She was the heroine in the game Iris's past life played.

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• Bastard Bastard: She's the illegitimate daughter of a baron and a spy from a hostile foreign power. She grew up in poverty, which made her an easy mark for Tweil to use her for their purposes after her mother abandoned the mission. Her poor upbringing also led her to resent Iris for her wealthy and privileged upbringing and natural air of nobility, which is why Edward's faction keeps picking fights with her.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: An expert at wrapping young men around her fingers with a bit of empty flattery. That said, she has no real understanding of how to interact with men who don't fall for it.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At first glance, she's a dumb but kind and well-meaning sweetie. However, not only is she smarter than she lets on, she's actually a spy working for Tweil.
• Broken Pedestal: She becomes this to Berne after he realizes that her acts of charity ultimately accomplish nothing, and she isn't even willing to donate her own expensive gifts. Dorsen eventually feels the same way as well.
• Crocodile Tears: An expert on this.
• Entitled Bastard: Yuri believes she is entitled to great things because she had a hard life growing up.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Even working to weaken Tasmeria as a spy, Yuri has serious misgivings about simply abandoning her friends like Van and Dorsen.
• Evil All Along: Despite portraying herself as a nice girl, she’s really a spy trying to ruin everyone’s lives to get what she wants.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: As the illegitimate daughter of a baron herself, she's baffled when Lyle rejects the chance to defect to the side of the future queen and claim his rightful place as a nobleman, instead choosing to stay loyal to his liege. She's probably especially confused, considering that she felt so entitled to a lavish life that she chose to become a spy for a foreign power to get it.
• Freudian Excuse: Her hate of Tasmeria comes from her mother falling in love with her father and abandoning her mission as a spy and her father leaving them behind, which caused Yuri to grow in poverty.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: It doesn't exactly net any sympathy points when she's arrested for treason and likely executed for being a spy.
• Hidden Disdain Reveal: In Volume 03, it is revealed she hates Iris due to how she was born to great status and thinks Iris views herself as entitled despite the fact Yuri acts like an Entitled Bastard herself.
• Honey Trap: She is trying to become the queen of Tasmeria as part of a plan to weaken the kingdom from inside.
• Hypocrite: She hates Iris because she believes Iris views herself as entitled. Yuri on the other hand think she was entitled to steal Iris' finance and become Queen due to her hard life.
• It's All About Me: Convinces herself that she's Tweil's top agent in Tasmeria. Alfred telling her that she's never been more than Divan's tool, who could be - and already has been - discarded the moment she's no longer useful breaks her.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Finally gets arrested by Alfred at the end of Volume 04.
• Love Epiphany: Yuri goes through one in Volume 05 after seeing Edward die for her.
• Obnoxious Entitled Housewife: Makes a point of claiming all the perks of royalty the moment her engagement to Edward is officially announced, despite the fact that under Tasmerian social conventions, a noble's intended is not considered part of his house until the wedding actually happens - betrothals do fall through on occasion, after all, as she would know, having poached Edward from his original fiancee herself. Her claiming of rights she is not yet entitled to does not make her any friends among Alfred's faction and merits more than a few raised eyebrows among the neutrals. When she finally gets her comeuppance, presenting herself as royal when she isn't is declared to be fraud at best and treason at worst.
• Rags to Riches: She was raised in poverty by her mom until she died and her rich father took her in.
• Rags to Royalty: And from there becomes a princess-to-be, at least until Edward's inept plotting gets him and her arrested for treason before the wedding can actually happen.
• Smug Snake: She is not dumb, but she isn't as smart or necessary to Divan as she thinks she is.
• Stepford Smiler: She hides her dark personality behind a Perpetual Smiler facade.
• Villainous Breakdown: As things continue going worse and worse for Edward's faction, her facade of innocence starts slowly breaking down and she starts dropping the mask entirely in front of certain people. People who wouldn't be believed, but it still shows a lack of control. Having Lyle reject her hits particularly hard because she feels the two of them are similar.
  • She ultimately breaks down after Alfred taunts her about being a puppet abandoned by her puppetmaster, aka Divan. The end of Volume 04 has her speaking with an imaginary lady-in-waiting - while still in prison for her crimes and likely awaiting her execution.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Whenever confronted she'll cry and plead and appear as the perfect victim.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Cuts ties with Dorsen and Van after they lose their ranks. After being arrested for her part in Edward's treason, Divan abandons her to prison and presumably death.

Dorsen Katabelia

Part of Yuri's harem. His dad is the commander of the Royal Guards.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: In the manga, he is rude and condescending towards Lyle and Dida, whereas in the novel he was polite and respectful even before they showed their talent.
• Black-and-White Insanity: He seems to have classified Yuri as "good" and Iris as "evil" and can't understand why others don't see things his way. He also stubbornly clings to his selfish, one-sided beliefs because he doesn't want to have a Heel Realization.
• Broken Pedestal: He eventually realizes that Yuri isn't the saint he had propped her up as and his anger toward Iris truly was unwarrented, but by that point the damage of what he had done is no longer able to be undone and his life is now left worse, with him being kicked out of the Royal Guards, disowned by his parents and exiled.
• Didn't Think This Through: This has become a habit of his, especially after meeting Yuri.
• Distressed Dude: He is kidnapped alongside Dida in the Boltique Family Arc.
• Dramatically Missing the Point:
  • He has a high sense of honor and when he realizes his treatment of Iris may have been wrong, he wants to make amends. Unfortunately, he approaches it in a very self-centered way. Stubbornly believing Iris to be a villain, Dorsen wants to give Iris a half-hearted, insincere apology only to silence his parents' constant rebukes and restore his own reputation among the Royal Guards.
  • He regrets he judged Iris based on other people's accounts of her character instead of talking to her... so he goes to her fiefdom and asks her people what they think about her. Even though their opinions were positive he was making exactly the same mistake. It's lampshaded by Iris herself.
  • His visit to Armelia and later his pursuit of Dida for more info leads to him being kidnapped alongside Dida. As Iris tells him later, if something had happened to him, people would have speculated she was behind it given their previous history.
• The Exile: After being saved at the end of Volume 03, Iris outright tells him that he is banished from her land, and she tells him to get out of her sight and never come back. She also has someone keep an eye on him to make sure he leaves. In Volume 04, he is exiled by his own family after he is officially disowned.
• Innocently Insensitive: His senpai all but needs to spell to him why Iris would be upset by his plan of winning a visit to her by defeating his bodyguards.
• Killed Offscreen: In Volume 04, it is indicated that Divan killed him at some point due to him outliving his usefulness.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Subverted. Dorsen thinks he is one of these or at least on the path to becoming one. His actions though reveal that he has a very shallow and selfish understanding of knighthood and chivalry. This is why his parents' rebuke on how he treated Iris was basically them asking their son "Are you SURE you did nothing wrong". His assault on Iris broke the code of chivalry in three different ways. Dorsen used violence against an unarmed, defenseless woman; he raised his hand against someone his better (Iris is much higher than him in the peerage) without just cause and lastly he stood against the side of justice since Iris, after being cheated on and abandoned by her fiancé, was the wronged party.
• Obliviously Evil: Impetuous, insensitive, and stubborn, he has a hard time understanding that his selfish ideas about justice might be harmful to others. Even when his own parents rebuke him and point out the consequences of his poor choices, Dorsen outright struggles to contemplate the possibility that he made a mistake, instead rationalizing that everyone, including his parents, was deceived by Iris or they're all simply wrong-headed.
• Would Hit a Girl: Deconstructed. His first scene has him restraining Iris on the floor and humiliating her in front of the Academy. An action that has long term consequences on his reputation as well as his family. Lyle and Dida both hold grudges against him for harming Iris.

Van Lutasha

Part of Yuri's harem. His dad is the Pope of the Darryl Church.

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• Dude Looks Like a Lady: He has shoulder-length glossy blond hair which is rarely found even among women, long, narrow eyes and androgynous features.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He asked to settle in Iris' fief as a citizen, using their old relationship as classmates to have her overlook his past actions against her. After abusing this to act as a spy, he was arrested and punished.
• Karmic Death: During Volume 03, Iris informs him that he most likely would be executed for acting as a spy and committing treason. Volume 04 confirms he would have to be forced to drink poison like his father did.
• Killed Offscreen: Volume 04 indicates he was sentenced to death by being forced to drink poison, but the Light Novel doesn't feature a scene involving his death. Instead, Iris merely asks for confirmation regarding his death, and she goes about her day without batting an eyelash.
• Love Makes You Dumb: Perhaps the worse offender next to Edward. In an effort to get back in Yuri's graces following the arrest of the Pope and the reformation of the Darryl Church, he attempts to settle in Armelia as a spy despite the fact everyone expected he would do something like this.
• The Mole: His entire purpose in settling in Armelia is to act as a spy for Yuri. Absolutely nobody was fooled by his half-hearted apology, but they let him in anyway to give him enough rope to hang himself with.
• Never My Fault: When Van finally meets Iris after her heresy trial, he demands that she help him since she ruined both his and his father's lives only for Iris to point out it was the Lutasha family's own fault for their downfall since they helped Edward plans to ruin her family by falsely making heresy charges against her.
• The Unapologetic: Unlike Berne or Dorseen, Van feels no guilt or remorse what he or his family has done to Iris. This leads to Iris seeing through Van when she knows he didn't feel sorry for what he did even when he knew it was wrong.
• Ungrateful Bastard: While Iris knew he wasn't trustworthy, she was still willing to give him a chance to prove himself. To say that he didn't take her offer would be putting it mildly.

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Queen Ellia Tasmenia

Edward's mom.

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• God Save Us from the Queen!: She hosts lavish parties and buy expensive things, not caring it's affecting the kingdom's Treasury.
• Off with His Head!: Charged with treason for attempting to place her son on the throne in violation of the established laws of succession, and later executed.
• The Un-Favourite: The king might have been physically attracted to her enough to have a child with her, but he loved his actual wife. When she died, Ellia was furious that he didn't turn his affections towards her.

Alfred's Faction

Prince Alfred Dean Tasmeria

Basically Dean, but manga version

First Prince of Tasmeria. Though rumor says he's studying abroad, he in fact has been moving throughout the kingdom incognito.

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• Death Faked for You: Zigzagged. He originally didn’t intend to, but after he was injured and assumed dead, he decided to roll with it, so he could have a life with Iris.
• King Incognito: Despite the rumors about him studying abroad, he’s moving around in the kingdom under his middle name, Dean.
• Stepford Smiler: Seems to hide his true emotions with a facade mask or smiles which makes him mysterious.

Dowager Queen Arya Von Tasmeria

Alfred, Edward and Leticia's grandmother. The current Dowager Queen.

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• Heir Club for Men: When her elder brother, the Crown Prince, died, she became the only one who had full rights to inherit the throne. However, because it was unprecedented for a woman to take the throne, she married a Duke and had him assume the role of the King, although she still played a role in politics afterwards.
• Never Mess with Granny: She shuts Edward up with a few words after her grandson makes a fool of himself for picking a fight with Iris and her mother during a ball.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Her son, King Tasmeria, suddenly fell to his illness although he had been recovering well, which is implied to be Ellia's doing. After the king's death, she remained firm in his funeral but her eyes were swallowing the sorrow.
• Shipper on Deck: Made it a goal for herself that Iris and Dean be wed. She outright tells Iris it would be a waste for her not to get married.

Princess Leticia Tasmeria

Alfred and Edward's younger sister.

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• The High Queen: Following Edward's death and Alfred's supposed death, Leticia becomes the High Queen of Tasmeria, and she does what she can to be a true queen and not simply a link to the next generation.
• Irony: Despite having rarely left the Dowager Queen's residence, Leticia is the one that's actually doing all of the paperwork in her father's absence, which means she's also more aware of what's happening compared to Edward.
• Nice to the Waiter: She’s nice to people below her station.
• Official Couple: At the end of the story, Leticia is said to be married to Berne, Iris' brother.
• Parental Incest: The reason Alfred never let Leticia meet their father was due to the latter showing a very VERY disturbing interest in his daughter and hoping she becomes just as beautiful as their late mother.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: While she is not a Politically-Active Princess, preferring to put energy in her studies than taking part in the power struggle for the throne, she is the one who deals with all of the documents and compiles reports ever since the King fell ill.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: Leticia has been trapped in the Dowager Queen's castle since she was quite young. Even within the castle, her movement is restricted due to the fear of an assassination attempt. Still, she's still far more aware of things compared to Edward.
• Shipper on Deck: She supports Alfred and Iris after learning her brother is in love with Iris and believes they make a good couple.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Leticia looks a lot like her deceased mother. The reason Alfred refuses to have Leticia see their father is because of this, since it would make their father act rashly and put her in danger, on top of Alfred already having been failed by their father on the matter.

Rudius Gib Anderson

Iris's cousin and Prince Alfred's aide.

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• The Ace: A very talented individual who is capable of most anything.
• Undying Loyalty: He is extremely loyal to Alfred. While he cares for Iris, he outright states if he had to choose between Iris and Dean, he’d choose Dean.

Milo

A spy working for Alfred.

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• Everybody Has Standards: Milo seemed surprised by how Yuri coldly disregarded Van after his father's fall from grace.
• Worthy Opponent: While they don't actually fight each other, Tanya and Milo both consider each other worthy opponents to the other.

Tweil

Tweil

Tasmeria's northern neighbor, which is short on arable land. They waged an unsuccessful war of conquest to seize Tasmeria's grain belt, which petered out, but did not ever officially end, roughly thirty years before the story begins. The war heats up again at the end of volume 4.

Divan

Officially, a merchant working for the Ayler Corporation. Unofficially, Tweil's top sabotage agent in Tasmeria.

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• Counterfeit Cash: Buys up a large chunk of Tasmeria's famine reserves from corrupt nobles with adulterated coins.
• Man Behind the Man: The backer of many of the problems that Iris has to face starting in volume 2.
• Nothing Personal: Unlike his catspaw Yuri, he has nothing against Iris (in fact, they've never met). He just wants to undermine the authority of House Armelia in general, so as to weaken its head, the Prime Minister. Attacking Iris is just a means to that ends. On the other hand, Iris feels this is very personal.
• The Spymaster: His real job. The precise extent of his network is never revealed, but the most prominent (but not necessarily the most important) agent under his command is Yuri.
• Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about Divan without bringing up that Yuri is a Tweili spy and he is her handler.
• The Unfought: Despite being the one who ultimately engineered the vast majority of the conflict throughout the series, he is never brought to account for it. When his plans start unravelling, he simply cuts off the loose ends and retreats back to Tweil, presumably to start coming up with new plans.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Discards his tools once he no longer needs them. Even Yuri.

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