Manga / The Duke of Death and His Black Maid

First volume cover.

Can you imagine a life in which you could never touch the one you love?

The Duke of Death and his Black Maid (Japanese: 死神坊ちゃんと黒メイド, Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid) is a 2017 Victorian-styled fantasy / romantic comedy manga series by Inoue Koharu. It received a 12 episode anime adaptation by J.C. Staff that started airing on July 4, 2021 available in the United States through Funimation under the name The Duke of Death and His Maid.

The oldest son of a wealthy aristocratic family is forced into isolation by his mother after a witch afflicts him with a curse that makes him kill everything and everyone he touches. Prospectively the heir to his family's estate, the Duke is given an ultimatum by his mother: break the curse as soon as possible, or surrender his birthright to his younger brother.

Banished to his family's country estate, he cohabits with his maid Alice, a beautiful, loving, buxom and teasing young woman, and an elderly family butler in retirement age named Rob. While unable to touch Alice, they fall in love with each other, seize their days alone together, and research the way to break the curse.

The manga is published in Japan at Shogakukan's Sunday Web Every (AKA Sunday Webry), and has been licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment for English release starting on May 2022.

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Provides examples of:

• Abusive Parents: The Duke's mother, who had a young boy banished to a remote mansion sometime after being cursed. While it was done in an effort to protect his siblings and other people, she also cut almost all communication with him, and when he is finally allowed to visit the family home, later on, one of the first things she does is to bluntly demand that he gets rid of the curse by springtime or she will make his brother the heir to the family. However, there are hints that she used to be much nicer in the past, and when the Duke calls her out for mocking his intent to one day marry Alice and only caring about her own status, she is shown to be impressed by how he's grown, and for being willing to talk back to her.
• Actually, I Am Him: In Chapter 22, the Duke considers buying a mask that looks a lot like him. The merchant tells him that the mask is based on "Death", who supposedly lives in the forest north of the town, where the mansion is located. The Duke realizes that he is "Death" and, tearfully, asks him if he would like an autograph.
• Affectionate Gesture to the Head:
  • It's shown the Duke would receive these from his mother and grandfather when he was a child.
  • Zain likes doing it to Caph.
• Alice Allusion: All of Chapter 32.
• All of the Other Reindeer:
  • Among the witches, there are those that look down on Caph for being half-human.
  • Some noble kids used to bully Alice for being a commoner.
• All Part of the Show: The audience is convinced the magic shown when Circus Gemini has an outdoor show is just illusions and special effects.
• Almost Kiss: The Duke and Alice in Chapters 14 and 147.
• Anachronism Stew: Despite the Victorian era-like setting, there are VR headsets and cosplay. It is Played for Laughs, but possibly justified to some degree, since a character is a Time Master.
• Animal Talk: The cat living in the separate estate perfectly understands the people around him, and has sometimes acted as a wingman for the Duke and Alice.
• Animate Inanimate Object: Cauldron-chan, especially by its second appearance, in which it displays the ability to move, and have learned how to communicate by speaking constantly with Rob.
• Animorphism: A common ability for the witches, though the animals they turn to are always white, making them easy to spot by people aware of that fact.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: McFarlane’s ghost, once the Duke is able to perform his last composition perfectly.
• Attractive Bent-Gender: After Viola convinces Walter to let her put on makeup, they both note he looks rather attractive with makeup and a wig, however, he quickly goes off the rails and decides to dress in female clothes to try to use his appearance to seduce the Duke, in an effort to create a scandal to become family head, by going to the Duke's estate under the guise of being Viola's maid. Viola herself is annoyed by how well he ended up looking.
• Bait-and-Switch: After spending most of Chapter 36 hiding from Rob, who was seemingly angry after the Duke accidentally broke an old flower pot, the Duke is finally found by Rob, who congratulates him for having uncovered some jewels that were hidden inside the pot, that a servant likely stole from his mother back when she was still living in the mansion. Then Rob starts lecturing him about the broken flower pot.
• Banana Peel: The cover pages for Chapters 99 and 121 show Caph having just slipped on one. Receives a Continuity Nod in Chapter 157, when Alice takes one of these away from Caph's path, thus preventing her from falling.
• Bandage Mummy: Mari's papa.
• Beach Episode: Chapter 154.
• Beautiful Dreamer: The Duke and Alice for each other.
• Because You Were Nice to Me:
  • The reason for Alice's love towards the Duke.
  • A witch grants an unknowing Viola a wish as thanks for saving them from being captured.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Zain and Caph often bicker about anything, with him teasing and joking around, but it's shown that they've been close friends for a long time and love each other.
• Berserk Button: Walter, the Duke's younger brother, hates any reminder of how he's second to his brother, reacting either with anger, despair, and even physical pain of it being brought up. The simple mention of the words "two", or "second" are enough to make him react.
• Beta Couple: Zain and Caph, for the Duke and Alice. While the Duke and Alice are aware of how they feel about each other, they are unable to completely act on their feelings. Meanwhile, Zain and Caph have no such limitations but still refuse to confess how they feel about each other, at least at first. The Duke and Alice are also dressed in black, while Zain and Caph are dressed in white.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • The Duke manages to put his curse to good use when he kills the magical plant that was endangering the troupe of Circus Gemini in Chapter 91.
  • Zain often manages to save Caph when she is in trouble.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Philip, a Childhood Friend of the Duke, visits him early in the story under the pretense of catching up, but it turns out he was sent by the Duke’s mother in order to see how he was doing. Then, behind the Duke’s back, he tries to get Alice to abandon the Duke and come with him. When the Duke catches him in the act and confronts him, Philip calls him a monster.
  • He does apologize and tells him the truth of his visit afterward, both as a small way of atoning, and because he truly pities the Duke.
• Black Sheep: As a result of his curse, the Duke has been cast out of the family home and is not allowed to return until he manages to get rid of the curse.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Alice, Viola, and Caph.
• Brick Joke: In Chapter 121, Caph expresses the desire to have a pillow fight with the people from the separate estate, which Rob hears and approves of, loving the idea himself. Brief moments in the following chapters show that he is really looking forward to that pillow fight. However, come to Chapter 125, Caph and Zain leave the estate, and the Duke and Alice go out for a walk, which leads an excited Rob to find himself all alone when he looks for them with his pillows in hand.
• Burn the Witch!: The witch species is shown to be persecuted by humanity throughout the story, showing that it's not easy being a witch. Caph's own parents fell prey to witch hunters.
• By the Lights of Their Eyes: The Duke, Alice, and Caph, in Chapter 111.
• Call-Back: Chapter 69 was pretty similar to Chapter 32. Alice and the Duke are once again in a Dream Land, because an entity inside a book promised them a wish if they help them with something.
  • The Duke's reputation as a being called "Death" living in the forest north of town is mentioned for the first time in Chapter 22. Nearly 100 chapters later, in Chapter 121, Nico and Ichi follow the rumor and make their way to the separate estate.
  • In Chapter 126, The Duke and Alice use the gift the Duke received from Zain in Chapter 57 in order to enter Alice's Mental World.
  • Sharon and Gerbera's meeting in Chapter 152 has more than a few similarities to the moment of Window Love Alice and the Duke shared in Chapter 110.
  • Chapter 155 has one to one of the first panels of the series. It turns out the blue bird the Duke had accidentally killed was his mother's beloved pet.
  • In Chapter 156, the Duke plays for Alice the ballad he composed for her back in Chapter 6.
• Category Traitor: Zain calls out Free, a witch, for serving human sorcerers.
• Censor Steam: It conveniently covers both Caph and Alice in Chapter 133. Viola, meanwhile, is covered by a Modesty Towel.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The pool Caph gifted Alice and the Duke in Chapter 73? They used it to save Amelia, who needed to be in the water to recover, after nearly dying out of it.
  • The cat-shaped stone that Caph tried to use as payment for groceries in Chapter 58. In Chapter 96 its revealed that she gave it to the people from the separate estate as a souvenir, and in Chapter 102, Alice uses it, and the traces of magic Caph left in it, to access a Sabbath alongside the Duke.
• Chekhov's Gunman:
  • The Ringmaster for Circus Gemini is also Amelia's husband.
  • The witch that temporarily turns Viola into an adult reappears later to temporarily turn Amelia into a human, at Daleth's request.
• Circus Episode: Alice and the Duke join Circus Gemini for a few days, from Chapters 86 to 94.
• Clothing Damage: Occasionally happens to Alice, who usually takes the opportunity to tease and embarrass the Duke even more.
• Comforting Comforter: The cover page for Chapter 26 shows Alice doing this for the Duke.
• Complete Immortality: Nico has been cursed by Sade, the same witch that cursed the Duke, to never die. Even the Duke's own curse is incapable of killing him. He is also cursed with youth, making him look like a child despite being over 60 years old, which causes problems for him since his lover states she's turned off by him looking like that.
• Connected All Along: As it turns out, Mari's papa, originally just a nameless witch seen in the Sabbath, created Cauldron-chan. He is also responsible for its terrible personality.
• Consistent Clothing Style:
  • The Duke has an Unlimited Wardrobe, but he always wears a suit with a vest and never stops wearing his gloves or his hat.
  • When she wears something other than her black maid outfit, Alice tends to go for black dresses.
• Continuity Cavalcade: Chapter 127 features a cameo from numerous one-shot characters.
• Continuity Nod:
  • The Duke lampshades that the dance Rob and Alice are performing in Chapter 13 is the same one he performed with Alice in Chapter 5.
  • In Chapter 82, Alice tells the Duke that she learned the language of flowers from her mother when they were living in their hometown, which explains how she knew the meaning of a withered white rose back in Chapter 3.
  • The tree where the Duke carved "me" and Alice's name under an umbrella, which Rob comes across in Chapter 95, is the same tree with a swing where the Duke spent time moping in Chapters 1 and 3. There is also one to Chapter 47, when Rob recalls a moment from a past study session with Caph.
  • The cover page for Chapter 48 features Alice showing Caph the detachable thumb trick. Caph uses the same trick in Chapter 74.
  • Chapter 109 starts the same way Chapter 57 did, with Alice holding a magical item given to them by Zain on top of her chest, and the Duke commenting on what an odd place to put it that is. They are even in the same positions.
  • Chapter 150 shows just how much Keto furnished Alice's cabin in Chapter 118.
• Cool Old Guy: The Duke's butler, Rob, who's been serving the Duke's family for decades and, until Alice was employed as the Duke's maid, was the only person with him in the mansion to keep him company.
• Courtly Love: By necessity. Since the Duke cannot possibly touch Alice, his gestures of affection are reduced to this by having to keep a safe distance from her.
• Crapsaccharine World: While the story doesn't directly reveal too much about the world and shows it to be generally peaceful, with common folk enjoying most commodities of everyday life, a few moments show it to be set in a world in which supernatural beings are ruthlessly persecuted by humans, regardless of their forms or intentions.
• Curse: The whole series started because a witch cursed the Duke to kill anything he touched.
  • The same witch also cursed Sharon, making her fall into an endless slumber.
  • The same witch is also responsible for cursing Nico with immortal life in a child's body.
• Cute Little Fangs: Caph and Keto have this.
• Dance of Romance: In Chapter 5, the Duke and Alice share a romantic dance (obviously without touching each other) in an old dance hall in the mansion, where the Duke’s grandfather and Alice’s mother used to dance.
  • Notably, it is after their dance that Alice first expresses just how much she really loves the Duke, much to his relief, since up to that point he wasn’t sure of what Alice thought of him.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Many characters qualify.
  • The Duke was cursed by an evil witch with a terrible curse when he was 5 years old, seemingly for no reason, and was ostracized by both his peers and family and eventually confined to a remote mansion where he was almost completely alone until Alice arrived in his life.
  • Alice's mother died at a young age, forcing her to live with abusive relatives that barely took care of her.
  • Caph's parents were killed when she was a child, leaving her and Zain to fend for themselves until they joined Circus Gemini.
  • Mari's papa's family died during the witch hunt, and he was injured to the point of becoming a Bandage Mummy.
  • Daleth lived in the shadow of her older twin sister, who scarred her face just because it looked too much like her own.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Despite mostly wearing dark clothing and having the power to kill anything he touches, the Duke is far from evil, being a kind and friendly boy with a terrible and dangerous curse.
• A Day in the Limelight:
  • Rob sometimes receives one, such as Chapters 72 and 95.
  • Chapters 112 to 115 focus on the reunion between Amelia and the Ringmaster. The Duke and Alice only appear during the cover pages.
• Dead All Along: The witch who cursed the Duke.
• Delivery Not Desired: The Duke sometimes writes letters directed to his family, finding it therapeutic, but he never sends them.
• Disappeared Dad: The Duke and his sibling's father isn't really present in the story, since he is hospitalized.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • In Chapter 36, the Duke and Alice are lying together under the Duke's bed, and start flirting with each other. It’s basically pillow talk, except for them being on the wrong side of the bed.
  • Walter being jealous of the Duke's relationship with Viola often makes him come across as a romantic rival for her affections. Viola isn't amused by this.
• Do You Trust Me?: One of the pillars of the Duke and Alice's relationship is her unequivocal trust for the Duke, in particular his deadly touch. She teases him with full confidence that his touch never reaches her, and as such, she can get tremendously intimate with him without ever touching him.
• Dramatic Irony: The Ringmaster sends Caph and Zain away temporarily in order to hide from some suspicious people looking for them. They decide to go to the separate estate, which just happens to be said suspicious people's next stop.
• Dream Episode: The Duke and Alice spend Chapter 32 inside a Shared Dream.
• Dream Land: In Chapter 32, the Duke and Alice willingly enter one of these in order to help an entity that was inside a book, so said entity would help them deal with the curse. Unfortunately, they spent too much time fooling around, so they were unable to achieve anything.
• Due to the Dead: Despite only keeping it for a short time, and despite it trying to kill them, Rob still buries Rob #2 properly.
• Early-Bird Cameo:
  • Rob, Sharon, and the members of the Duke's family all first appear in flashback panels during Chapter 1.
  • Several witches, like Keto and Teto, first appear during the Sabbath in Chapter 37.
• Elegant Classical Musician: The Duke with the piano, and Viola with the violin.
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Fire magic isn't very useful against water magic. Ichi actually has to spell it out before Caph gets it.
• Erotic Dream: The narration reveals the Duke had one in Chapter 9.
• Everyone Can See It: Viola's crush on Rob is obvious to everyone, except to Rob himself.
• Evil Is Petty: The witch who cursed the Duke when he was 5 years old, did so while saying that she wants him to show her a life of misery. As revealed later she is also the reason Daleth is wearing a mask, as she carved her sister's face for no other reason than the fact they were identical twins.
• Evil Aunt: Alice's aunt was negligent towards her, unhappy with having another mouth to feed after her sister's death, and was glad when she was taken off her hands.
• Exact Words: Little Red Riding Hood uses this to not grant the wish she promised the Duke, as they had failed to kill the Big Bad Wolf, and only managed to calm him down.
• Exposed to the Elements: Keto, who wears little more than a bikini, doesn't mind traveling on top of a steam train while it is snowing.
• Faceless Eye: Sade's offspring take this form. They are able to manifest a transparent, intangible body in the shape of Sade after a while though.
• Facial Horror: Downplayed with Daleth, who usually wears a skull mask to cover her face, in order to hide scars that run across it. It's revealed that they were given to her by her twin sister, who felt that it was wrong that someone else had the same face as her.
• Failure Gambit: The reason Evelyn helps Alice win the basketball match is that she wants to lose, so she could receive remedial courses from Free.
• Failures on Ice: The Duke and Caph.
• Family Eye Resemblance: The members of the Duke's family have red eyes. Notably, the Duke, Walter and Viola all have their eyes comically bulge out of their sockets during surprising moments. Also of note is that Viola and the Duke's eyes are drawn in a similar circular shape during light-hearted moments.
• Fell Asleep Standing Up: Caph, just as Zain is praising her during Christmas. Except she didn't, and was just too embarrassed to face him after he praised her.
• Flashback:
  • A brief one in Chapter 74 shows how Zain and Caph ended up working in Circus Gemini.
  • In Chapter 110, Alice remembers the celebration held by Circus Gemini in Chapter 94.
  • There is a brief in Chapter 115 to the time the Ringmaster asked Amelia to marry him.
  • In Chapter 128, Daleth has a brief one of the time her sister, Sade, carved the scars on her face with her nail.
• Floating Water:
  • When Ichi uses her powers, the water around her can turn like this.
  • The sorcerer academy also has balls of water floating around as decoration, presumably for Ichi's use as well.
• Flowers of Romance: Early on, the Duke tries to express his feelings towards Alice by giving her a white rose, which unfortunately withers due to his curse. Alice, however, gladly accepts it, noting that withered white roses are known as Lifetime Vows. It’s later shown that Alice keeps said rose as decoration in her room.
• Flying Broomstick: Keto gives Alice a plant that grows one of these.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Alice somehow being able to see McFarlane’s ghost, despite not performing his composition, wasn't just a gag. She is able to see and interact with ghosts.
  • The mention in the servants' journal of two women wearing white sister habits hints at the fact that Daleth has a twin sister.
  • Nico's comments about Sade acting as if she could read their thoughts, combined with Sharon writing on the journal of something similar, lead the Duke to conclude that Sade could literally read minds. He is proven to be correct.
  • A single panel in Chapter 130 shows Viola and Zain talking, but their conversation isn't shown. A couple of chapters later, it is revealed that Zain and Caph were telling Viola they are witches.
• A Form You Are Comfortable With: The genie in Chapter 109 doesn't have a form, so it copied Alice's. The Duke didn't complain.
• Four-Leaf Clover: The Duke was looking for one of these when he was cursed.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: Alice and the Duke, using a magical item Zain gave them.
• "Getting My Own Room" Plot: The omake for Volume 9 has Zain deciding to start sleeping in a room by himself, as he can't get any sleep in the boys' room, due to the snoring of Peukert and Meinesz.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot: The Duke sometimes has thoughts like these regarding Caph and Alice.
• Godiva Hair: Alice, when she first appears in Chapter 9, and in Chapter 26.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: Zain's plan to go back in time and observe Sade alongside Daleth, Alice and the Duke is derailed immediately upon arrival when Sade discovers them and realizes they come from the future, forcing them to return to the present. The timeline is changed as a result of their actions.
• Goth: The aesthetic, if not the tone, of the series.
• Gyaru Girl: Keto and Teto.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Witches and humans are able to have kids together, such as Caph.
• Hot Springs Episode: Chapter 133.
• Hourglass Plot: When they were children, the Duke was more open to show his affections towards Alice, who would get easily embarrassed. By the time the story starts, it's the other way around.
• Hypnotic Eyes: The Sade's offspring that Rob encounters hypnotizes him into taking care of it.
• I Broke a Nail: Keto breaks a nail while fixing the roof of Alice's cabin.
• Identical Twin Mistake: When they first meet Daleth, both Nico and Ichi mistake her for Sade. Since both of them had played a hand in her death, they conclude she must have returned Back From The Death somehow. Daleth, for her part, plays along for a bit in order to gain information, but desists when she overhears their battle might threaten Walter.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Hugo, towards Zain, soon before the later starts dating Caph.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: This is how Walter defeats one of Sade's offspring.
• Indirect Kiss: The only way Alice and the Duke are able to kiss.
• Insistent Terminology: Nico and Ichi insist on being addressed as professors while inside their academy.
• Interclass Friendship: Most relationships the Duke and his siblings have with the other characters qualify. Also the case between Sharon and Gerbera.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Alice and Rob, the Duke’s only two servants, actually get along really well, despite the fact Rob is old enough to be her grandfather.
• Internal Reveal:
  • In Chapter 94, Daleth reveals to the Duke and Alice that Sharon is still alive. The Ringmaster also learns that Zain and Caph are witches, which he reveals to the rest of the troupe the following chapter.
  • The Ringmaster also reveals that he is Amelia's husband in Chapter 95.
  • Chapter 132 shows that, during their train trip in Chapter 130, Zain and Caph revealed to Viola they are witches. She takes it pretty well.
• Jerkass Genie: The genie from Chapter 109 came across this way. It granted the Duke's wish of getting rid of his curse by passing it to someone else, without telling him of this detail until it is already done, then it decides by itself that his second wish would be giving him a flower to prove it to him that the first wish was successful. The Duke is forced to undo the first wish using his final wish in order to prevent some unknown person from being hurt by the curse.
• Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: The mystery regarding the reasons for the Duke's cursing, and the players involved, is slowly revealed over time.
• Kissing Discretion Shot: For the Duke and Alice in Chapter 32. It would be their First Kiss too if it didn't happen inside a Shared Dream where they were unable to feel the physical sensation.
• Lecture as Exposition: The very first lecture Nico gives, during the Duke and friends' first day at the sorcerer's academy, has him explain the differences between witches and sorcerers to the rest of the cast.
• Let's Duet: The Duke and Alice sing The Owl and the Pussy-cat together in Chapter 41.
• Let's Wait a While: Zain and Caph.
• Light Is Not Good:
  • The witch who cursed the Duke looks like a nun dressed in white garb, but she is also responsible for a lot of terrible things that happen to the characters.
  • Daleth herself, skull mask aside, is also dressed in nun robes, and for a long time opposed the heroes, that were trying to find a way to lift the Duke's curse. She has a Heel–Face Turn upon meeting Walter.
• Love Letter: The Duke claims he can write a whole love book for Alice. He was not exaggerating.
• Love Potion: Alice unknowingly drinks a potion that would make her fall in love with the first person she saw, but it would not have any effect if she was already in love with them. Of course, the person in front of her was the Duke, and of course, it didn't have any effect.
• Magic A Is Magic A: By the time the story starts, the Duke managed to figure out several rules regarding his curse:
  • 1) Everything his body touches, dies.
  • 2) Even if something touches over his clothes, it dies.
  • 3) Even if they are super close, living things won't die unless physical contact is established.
  • 4) If the Duke is wearing something with a certain degree of thickness, contact is fine.
  • 5) His bodily fluids aren't cursed.
  • 6) It's okay to grasp other people's clothes.
  • 7) It's okay to be touched through a medium, like a piece of cloth.
• Magic Kiss: The final step for a witch to become a human, according to The Book of Witch-to-Human Conversion, is for the witch to kiss a human being. Daleth is very flustered upon finding out.
• Magic Mirror: All any witch needs to access a Sabbath is a mirror nearby.
• Make a Wish: Viola makes one to turn into an adult sooner, which a soon-to-be grateful witch happened to overhear.
• Male Gaze: Plenty, especially around Alice.
• Maligned Mixed Marriage: Likely the case for Caph’s parents, which were killed by humans when she was still a kid.
• Marionette Master: Mari's papa.
• Mayfly–December Romance: Between Amelia, who is already over 150 years old, and the Ringmaster, a normal human who is not even middle-aged yet.
• Mental World: For Christmas, Zain gifts the Duke a magical box, which sucks people in, and transports them to the imaginary world of the person to open the box. There, all of the said person's wishes come to sight.
• Missed Him by That Much: Subverted, but this almost became the case when Amelia tried to find her husband.
• Modesty Towel: Alice briefly wears one in Chapter 26, after having momentarily stepped out of the bathroom completely naked in front of the Duke.
  • Also when they take a bath together in Chapter 63.
  • Viola for most of Chapter 133.
• Moment Killer: It's not uncommon for other characters to walk in on the Duke and Alice having an intimate moment.
• Morning Routine: Chapter 55 shows Alice's daily routine.
• Muggle Sports, Super Athletes: The characters, most of them superpowered, play a game of basketball while in the sorcerer's academy. Even though it is called basketball, it pretty much is a Fictional Sport, since it consists of grabbing floating, semisolid balls of water and throwing them into floating baskets in a room with fluctuating gravity and a constantly changing landscape.
• Naked Apron: Averted in Chapter 164, despite Zain's wishes.
• Nephewism: Alice was raised by her aunt after her mother passed away.
• No Antagonist: While the witch who cursed the Duke certainly fits the bill for an antagonist, the story often either follows Slice of Life or focuses on characters who at most turn out to be inconveniences. Said witch turns out to be dead by the time the story begins, killed by sorcerers sick of her playing with humans, as such the Duke's curse and finding the means to break it, is left as the main source of conflict and drama in the story.
• No Name Given:
  • The Duke's name is never revealed, unlike his siblings' name.
  • The name of the Ringmaster isn't given either. His wife doesn't know it either.
• Non-Ironic Clown: Peukert, from Circus Gemini.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Ichi notices that Zain and Caph are very similar to her and Nico in the past.
• Not My Driver: A rather light example, Walter just exchanged places with Viola's coachman in order to secretly accompany her to the separate estate.
• Not What It Looks Like: When Viola first meets Caph, she is convinced she is a thief, so she knocks her down, gets on top of her, and ties her up with her ribbon bowtie. When Rob, Alice, and the Duke come back into the room a moment later, they immediately leave them alone again, their minds clearly in the gutter.
• Numerological Motif: All the witches have this, as their names are taken from the Gematria numerology system.
• Odd Friendship: Between Sharon and Gerbera.
• Official Couple:
  • The Duke and Alice are basically a couple, despite not being able to touch each other.
  • The Ringmaster and Amelia, who married 10 years ago.
  • Zain and Caph, as of Chapter 93.
• Old-Fashioned Rowboat Date: The Duke and Alice go on one in Chapter 14, in order to catch a meteor shower which only occurs once every ten years.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: The Duke casually saying that he prefers butts over breasts is never forgotten by Zain, who likes to remind the Duke that he is a Covert Pervert.
• Only One Name: Witches all have only one name to identify themselves.
• Parody Magic Spell: The phrases that must be spoken to get Cauldron-chan to work in Chapter 11 are just pickup lines, like "hurry up and become my woman".
• Perverse Puppet: Mari is an inversion, as she is a good-natured, if often rude, living marionette.
• Pinky Swear: The Duke and Alice do it when they promise each other to drink tea together in Chapter 28.
  • On a more serious note, they also do it in Chapter 82, when they promise to visit Alice's hometown together with their loved ones.
• Plant Person: Keto. Unfortunately for her, plants are the one thing the Duke isn't afraid to use his Touch of Death on, making her practically useless against him.
• Playing with Fire: Witches are often able to generate and manipulate fire, Caph in particular having an affinity towards it.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Caph towards Zain, who was considering leaving her in order to protect her from Daleth’s schemes.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Liz, the Duke's grandmother, died when she was hit by a carriage on her wedding anniversary. Victor was devastated by this event, which lead to him making a deal with Sade to be able to see her again. This very deal indirectly would lead to the events of the story since it resulted in Sade later cursing the Duke.
• Poisonous Person: Teto, who can also turn into a white snake.
• The Power of Love: Zain outright claims this is what helped him use his time magic again.
• Power Perversion Potential: McFarlane’s ghost, invisible to anyone not performing his last composition, lifted Alice’s skirt and started to undress her in front of the Duke.
  • As it turns out, Alice was also capable of seeing him, as she had somehow been able to see ghosts since a young age, but was playing along in order to embarrass the Duke, and stopped him when he tried to kiss her.
• Precocious Crush: Hugo develops one on Caph after she saved him and brought him to the circus. He eventually decides that he wants her to be happy, so he gives up on her before she gets together with Zain.
• Puppy Love: As it turns out, the Duke and Alice already were in love with each other when they were children.
• Race for Your Love: In chapter 217, Alice tries to leave the estate after the Duke's curse has been broken. The Duke chases after her in the train and proposes marriage to her. Alice says yes.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The troupe of Circus Gemini is mostly composed of former lowlifes, which came together under the Ringmaster to entertain people. They also consider each other family.
• Recruited from the Gutter: Hugo, for whom Caph manages to get a job at the circus.
• Replacement Goldfish: Subverted. It initially looks like Mari is this for her papa since she was designed after his dead daughter and was created so he wouldn't be alone anymore, but he assures her that he loves her for who she is.
• Rescue Romance: Hugo falls in love with Caph after she saves him, despite the fact he tried to rob her just beforehand.
• Reunion Vow: The Ringmaster and Amelia, at the end of their second meeting.
• The Reveal:
  • The Duke was cursed by Daleth's older twin sister, Sade.
  • Sade had given Sharon two choices before cursing her: either save herself and let Alice remain sick, or accept the curse so that Sade would cure Alice. She chose the second.
• Ripple Effect Indicator: Sharon wakes up from her slumber after the Duke, Alice, Daleth and Zain's trip to the past. Sade originally planned to only have her wake up after Alice's death, but changed her plans when she saw them in the past.
• Romantic Spoonfeeding: The Duke and Alice feed each other cake during the second anniversary of Alice's arrival to the estate.
• Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Upon encountering several people from the future, including Alice, spying on her in the past and then running back to their own time, Sade decides to have Sharon wake up at the same time they come from (instead of waking up after Alice's death), and implants her offspring in her body so they would emerge and attack those people.
• Sealed with a Kiss: Chapter 217 ends with the Duke and Alice sharing their first kiss at their wedding.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Zain and Caph are planning to use Zain's time manipulation powers in order to go back in time and prevent the Duke from being cursed in the first place. They are uncertain if it's going to work, and Zain even notes there are a bunch of other problems, the biggest one being that they would be forced to face Sade, the most wicked and powerful witch.
  • When Nico comes into the picture he reveals that he had the same idea, and is hoping to use Zain's powers to prevent Sade from cursing him too.
• Sexy Surfacing Shot: Alice, when she comes out of the lake in Chapter 14. Once again in Chapter 133, when coming out of some hot springs.
• Shared Family Quirks:
  • Daleth specifically notes that she and Sade do share some similarities when Zain point out both of them are obsessed with love.
  • Upon hearing of Sharon's friendship with his mother, the Duke proposes that his family is just weak to the Lendrott bloodline.
• Short Teens, Tall Adults: None of the teenagers have reached their parents' heights.
• Sibling Rivalry: Walter is convinced that he and the Duke have one of these, but the Duke usually doesn't pay it much mind.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: The Duke and Alice can slip into this at times.
• Sick Episode: Chapter 160 is this for the Duke.
• Silly Spook: McFarlane’s ghost, in Chapter 23. He shows up when someone attempts to perform the last melody he composed in his life.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: The Duke notes how pretty Caph is after she takes a shower since she was dirty and disheveled when she arrived at the estate.
• Slice-and-Dice Swordsmanship: Utterly averted by the magical rapiers Ichi teaches how to use. They are usually just a hilt, and the blade only manifests when performing a thrusting motion.
• Slumber Party: Alice, Viola, and eventually also Caph, have these every so often.
• Snake People: Teto.
• Sneeze Cut:
  • At the end of Chapter 132, Walter asks Zain if his magic could be used to undo someone's scars. Cut to Daleth sneezing outside.
  • Chapter 163 has Alice and the Duke thanking Zain from the estate. Cut to Zain sneezing in the circus.
• Snot Bubble: Caph, Rob, and Viola often show this when sleeping.
• Snowball Fight: The Duke and Alice have one soon after it starts snowing. The Duke loses badly.
• Snow Means Love: Some of the Duke and Alice’s most romantic moments occur when they are surrounded by snow, most notably the time the Duke left the mansion in the middle of a snowstorm, soon after Alice started working there, forcing Alice to go look for him to bring him back safe. It was after this incident that the Duke truly fell in love with Alice.
• Spectacular Spinning: Free can move around at fast speeds in a whirlwind.
• Speech-Bubble Censoring: A speech bubble covers Alice's behind in Chapter 133.
• Spit Take: Caph, when Zain offhandedly mentioned the word kiss around her.
• Spooky Painting: The painting of a woman with tears of blood, which appeared in Chapter 42.
• Star-Crossed Lovers:
  • The Duke and Alice have both expressed their love for each other, but they cannot consummate their relationship, as the Duke's curse would kill her on contact. The premise of the story is both of them dealing with the curse as best as they can and working on finding a way to break it.
  • There is also Amelia, a witch, and the Ringmaster from Circus Gemini. They met 10 years before the start of the story and got married, however, they are kept apart by the fact that she is an octopus-like being and he is a human. Later on, however, Daleth allows her to temporarily grow human legs at the cost of her magical powers being sealed for the duration of it, but it only lasts a day, with the implication that it only works for a single day every 10 years. At the end of their second meeting, he laments how next time they meet he will be middle-aged, only for her to reply that she wouldn't mind at all.
• Staring Contest: Alice talked the Duke into several of these soon after moving into the estate, in an effort to get the Duke more accustomed to looking at people in the face.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Keto in Chapter 118.
  • Both Ichi and Nico pull it off a few chapters after that, leaving a confused Hugo behind.
• Street Urchin: Hugo was one of these. Later on, his old friends try to bring him back into that life.
• Stripperiffic: Keto and Teto's outfits consist of bikinis and little else.
• The Strongman: There is one in Circus Gemini. His name is Meinesz.
• Surrogate Soliloquy: At one point, the Duke uses the cat in the estate to express his insecurities regarding his relationship with Alice.
• Surveillance as the Plot Demands: Daleth can see through the eyes of any animal, and she is often seen secretly spying on others. Downplayed in that it is shown she often isn't paying attention.
• Sweet on Polly Oliver: Zain's first instinct upon seeing a cross-dressing Walter is to ask for "her" name.
• Talking in Your Sleep: Mari's papa whispers his deceased wife and daughter's names during his sleep.
• The Tease: Alice often teases the Duke in many ways, both because she enjoys getting a rise out of him, and because it snaps him out of his moments of Heroic Self-Deprecation.
• Technicolor Eyes: The Duke and his family all have red eyes. Caph’s eyes are pink.
• There Was a Door: Zain and Caph have a tendency to enter the separate estate through the window.
• Third Wheel: Hugo acted as one during Caph and Zain's first date.
• Time Stands Still: This is Zain's main use of his Time Master powers, though he discovers that he is only able to bring himself to do it when Caph's life is in danger.
• Tightrope Walking: Part of the show at Circus Gemini.
• Time Travel: One of Zain's powers.
• Touch of Death: As a result of his curse the Duke is unable to touch any living thing, person or otherwise, lest it wither and die. He is terribly upset as a result of this, and it caused him to be ostracized by people and his own family, which banished him to a remote mansion in fear of his power harming anyone.
  • He does manage to weaponize it later (though only against plants), and notes that it can come in handy to save his friends.
• Tragic Keepsake: The pendant Alice always wears contains a picture of her mother. Her earrings are also a gift from her.
• Training the Gift of Magic: Some humans are born with the potential to use sorcery, but need guidance to use it effectively. The objective of the sorcerer's school is to provide them with sad guidance.
• True Love's Kiss: The witch Daleth finally becomes an ordinary human after Walter confesses his love for her and kisses her.
• Two-Teacher School: Nico and Ichi's Wizarding School only has themselves and Free as staff, which is enough for a school that usually only has four students.
• Umbrella of Togetherness: Alice and the Duke share an umbrella to cover themselves from the snowfall in Chapter 28, soon after Alice had a flashback about a time the Duke was nice to her in the past. To top it off, he even says she looks like a snow fairy, much like he had done when they were kids.
• Unequal Pairing: Between the Duke and Alice, his maid.
• Uptown Girl: Gender inverted case, with the Duke being the eldest son of a duke and Alice being just a maid. It's not often remarked upon due to the Duke's curse, but Alice secretly fears that once the Duke is freed of it, he'll no longer look her way.
• Van Helsing Hate Crimes: Many such crimes have been committed towards witches, to the point that they have gone into hiding and rarely interact with humans anymore.
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: Alice often draws things she has in her possession this way, often as a way of teasing the Duke.
• Wedding Finale: The story ends with the wedding of the Duke and Alice.
• Weird Moon: The moon in the witches' world has a grotesque face, which often changes expressions.
• We Named the Monkey "Jack":
  • The abandoned cat that came to live to the separate estate early in the series is named Viola in an extra, at Viola's own suggestion. It didn't stick.
  • Rob decides to name the weird creature he finds Rob #2. Unfortunately, it is one of Sade's offspring, and turns on him as soon as it gained enough strength, resulting in its death by accidentally touching the Duke.
• What Beautiful Eyes!: Rob notes that the members of the Duke's family all have beautiful red eyes, and Alice claims to adore the Duke's. The Duke, meanwhile, has described Alice's blue eyes as being nothing short of angelic.
• When She Smiles: Mari.
• When the Clock Strikes Twelve: A particular witch, usually in the form of a white rabbit, is able to transform people into other forms, but only until midnight.
• Whole Episode Flashback:
  • Chapters 43, 44, and 45 focus on the events surrounding Alice coming to work at the estate, two years in the past.
  • Chapter 56 is set before the Duke was cursed, and introduces Alice's deceased mother, Sharon.
  • Chapter 72 shows some of the time Rob spent alone with the Duke, and the time he decided to bring Alice to work at the estate.
  • Chapter 78 shows the early days of Caph and Zain's friendship.
  • Chapter 98 is set soon after Chapter 45 and shows Alice helping the Duke overcome the results of years of almost total isolation.
• Wight in a Wedding Dress: The ghost in Chapter 71, who died when she fell down the stairs after throwing a fit because her wedding ring wasn't the right size. She is not actually so bad, at one point even telling Alice that the Duke was in the other corner, so they wouldn't bump into each other.
• Window Love: The Duke and Alice, in Chapter 66. Chapter 110 takes it a step further, as they even kiss through the glass.
• Wizarding School: Nico and Ichi run one of these. It is a giant Asian-style building located in the middle of nowhere.
• You Can't Fight Fate: No matter how many times he went back in time, Zain wasn't able to save Caph's parents, eventually realizing that some things just cannot be changed.
• You Must Be Cold: The Duke offers Alice his jacket after a cat stole her nightgown while she was taking a shower in the middle of the night. Alice, being Alice, proceeds to wear it in the sexiest manner possible.

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