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Main Characters
Firentia Lombardi
Firentia "Tia" Lombardi
The illegitimate offspring of Gallahan Lombardi and a peasant woman. She reincarnated from Korea after dying in an accident, only to get run over by a carriage after the fall of her family in her second life. She returns to when she was seven years old, vowing to take over the family and save everyone from their miserable fates. She becomes the head of the Lombardi family after coming of age, as well as the Empress after marrying Perez.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Tia, when she returns to the past, is a cute little girl with the mind of an adult. She slowly proves how intelligent and clever she is to the other adults, to the point of being considered a child genius. Though she still has to play with her cousins to keep up the appearance of being a normal child, and sometimes gets treated condescendingly by people like her cruel uncles.
- Bastard Angst: Tia is the illegitimate child of Gallahan and her peasant mother. She's treated like crap by her uncles, their wives, and a few of her cousins because of her "dirty blood". Despite that, she's treated fairly well by everyone else in the family, growing more loving as Tia proves her worth.
- Career Versus Man: Her reluctance to begin a relationship with Perez boils down to this, while she clearly is just as in love with him, an empress must give up all inheritance to her family which directly contradicts her goal of becoming head of the Lombardi family.
- Child Prodigy: What she is considered to be by everyone who knows just how intelligent she is. She herself downplays this, as she already lived until her 20s. This turns out to be enforced, since she didn't actually time travel at all.
- Matriarchy: Tia aims to become one for the Lombardi family, even though becoming one is rare in the Empire. She eventually succeeds, and even becomes the Empress as well!
- Peggy Sue: Firentia travels back to when she was seven years old after being trampled by a horse while drunkenly cursing her family's downfall. She uses her second chance to rise up and become the most powerful member of the Lombardis, despite her illegitimate status. Averted later on; she didn't travel back in time at all. Her mother's side of the family had the ability to predict the future through their dreams, but Firentia doesn't discover this until later.
- Wise Beyond Her Years: This is what she comes off as to her family as a child due to her regression back in time leaving her with all the knowledge of what happened and allowing her to correct those mistakes that create a terrible end for the Lombardi family's future. Turns out that this is actually more true than even Tia thought, as she didn't actually go back in time, but was rather given a lengthy vision of the future while she was a child. This ability was passed to her via her mother's bloodline, and what Tia actually saw was a possible future that was on the precipice of coming true with the way things were going.
- Young Entrepreneur: Tia manages to become this by the age of 12, starting her own merchant's guild as well as several businesses.
Perez
Second Prince Perez Brivachau Durelli
The illegitimate offspring of the Emperor and a maid. He lived most of his life hunted and harassed by the Empress, forced to live in a dilapidated palace and fed poison everyday in an effort to kill him off. He survives despite their efforts. In the first timeline he succeeds the throne, which he's poised to do again in the new timeline, now with Firentia's help. He's Firentia's love interest and eventual husband.
- Bastard Angst: Perez was born from a tryst between the Emperor and a maid. The Empress does whatever she can to keep Perez from taking the throne from her own son, First Prince Astana, including murdering Perez's mother and nanny.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Perez instantly falls in love with Tia because she is the first person who is kind to him, telling him he has to stay alive and giving him the antidote to the poison that caused his chronic insomnia in the first timeline.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: When it comes to Tia, he will not let another man so much as glance at her without giving them a Death Glare. Clerivan, who is Tia's teacher and assistant, as well as Tia's male relatives, like her father, grandfather, and the cousins she gets along with, are the exceptions to this.
- Identical Grandson: The reason the emperor dislikes him is because Perez looks exactly like his grandfather, the Emperor’s father, whom the Emperor has always resented.
- Single-Target Sexuality: In the second timeline, his eyes only focus on Tia and no other girl. He is polite to other girls, but also makes it clear who really has hold of his heart, especially to other boys who may show affection to Tia and aren't also her relatives.
- The Stoic: He is cold and expressionless towards practically everyone except Tia.
The Lombardi Family
The Adults
Lulac Lombardi
Lulac Lombardi
Tia's grandfather, the current head of the Lombardi family. Shrewd, calculating, and stern, he has led his family well for decades. His age, however, means he must find a successor among his family members, who all have something holding them back from being a worthy heir.
- Cool Old Guy: He’s the head of the family, and well-respected by his peers for his intellect and shrewdness when it comes to business, and his strict but fair personality.
- Doting Grandparent: Lulac adores his grandchildren and holds in particular a special place in his heart for Tia. It wouldn't be a stretch to guess she is his favorite despite his otherwise impartial nature toward his other grandchildren. When Tia asks him for things, usually tools or help with her hidden schemes, Lulac will usually go along with it, partly because he can sense she is using them for more than what she asks but also because he truly is a softie for her.
- Papa Wolf: While he has to remain impartial as the head of the family, don't be mistaken: Lulac is very protective of his children and should never "ever" be angered about their safety. One example of this comes when Tia narrows down the identity of the mistress of her Aunt Shananet's husband and tricks her into coming into her father's clothing store, whereupon seeing that the woman is wearing a necklace that Vestian had given her that actually belonged to his late wife Natalia, Lulac forces her to confess her adultery to Shananet under threat of having her arrested for stealing a precious family heirloom. The mistress does so when she realizes that the "old fool" her lover had constantly complained about was actually a far more terrifying foe than she had been led to believe. Oh and don't worry. Lulac also holds the title of being a Grandpa Wolf, as he is just as protective of his grandchildren, particularly Tia.
- The Patriarch: Lulac is the very definition of a Lombardi, which makes it difficult for him to choose a successor amongst his children since none of them have the talent to be the next head. This becomes less of a problem after Viese proves how incompetent he is when in the Acting Head position and Lulac is convinced by the Family Heads and Shananet to make his daughter the Acting Head in his stead. He agrees, having been disappointed by how consistently Viese failed to use the many chances Lulac had given him to prove his worth.
Shananet Lombardi
Shananet Lombardi
Tia's aunt, the wife of Vestian Schultz, and the mother of Giliou and Mayron Lombardi. She is the most qualified to be the Lombardi head out of Lulac's four children, but she didn't take the seat in the first timeline because Lulac didn't trust Vestian. She becomes the acting head during the second timeline after Viese is disqualified for his incompetency, and gives up her seat to Firentia when she comes of age.
- Love Forgives All but Lust: Shananet's biggest weakness is putting her trust in Vestian, who proves to be not only a cheater but a conman embezzling from the Lombardi coffers. While she's able to accept his excuses for his dubious business matters, his affair with another woman goes too far for her, and she divorces him.
- Proper Lady: She's the pinnacle of high society, praised for her etiquette and poise.
- Nephewism: Downplayed as Tia's father is still alive and is of course her primary parent with her mother having been dead for years, not to mention that Shananet still has her own family life to worry about. Regardless, Shananet helps raise Tia as a sort of surrogate mother figure and clearly loves her very much even if she seems rather aloof and at times cold. Tia does clearly look up to her aunt as someone inspiring and wants to help her live the best life, which is why Tia eventually helps expose Shananet's husband Vestian as the cheating scumbag conman he is so that Shananet doesn't go through the humiliating and unfair divorce trial that lost her custody of Giliou and Mayron. After Shananet divorces Vestian but with the odds in her favor this time, she becomes slightly more active as a mother-like figure for her niece, eventually culminating in her promising Tia that she will buy her time so that when Tia comes of age, Shananet will give her the Head of House's seat, as she believes Tia to be the one best suited for it.
Viese Lombardi
Viese Lombardi
Tia's uncle, the eldest son of Lulac and Natalia Lombardi, and father to Bellezac and Lorraine Lombardi. Unlike most of his family, he is arrogant and cruel towards others, desiring fame by means of cozying up to the Imperial family. His rule as the Lombardi head in the first timeline led to the downfall of the family.
- Bad Boss: Demonstrated during the previous timeline and when he becomes the temporary head during the second timeline. He proves to be quite inept at even the basics of running the family business, and it was partly his bad decisions that led to the Lombardi's fall from grace the first time around.
- Dirty Coward: Downplayed, as unlike his son Bellezac, Viese "sometimes" knows when to shut his mouth and not let his fears show, but when he is forced to stay quiet, he quickly kowtows to whomever tells him to, especially if that person is his own father, Lulac. But yeah, it's clear that Bellezac's cowardice when met with a more imposing figure comes from Viese.
- Evil Uncle: He's one of Tia's uncles, and the worst out of all of them.
- Inadequate Inheritor: Viese is only able to become the Lombardi head because he’s the eldest son. No one else would’ve let him near the seat if they could help it. Which is what happens when Shananet is made acting head in the second timeline after he messes up one too many times.
- Spoiled Brat: What Viese really is deep down. His belief that he is the only correct choice as the future family head boils down only to the fact that he is the eldest son. That's it. He never applies any true cunning and actual business making smarts to any deals he makes, and most of the investments he puts into projects fail because he never truly goes the extra mile to make anything for himself as a business man. Everything he does is instead around cozying up to others in power, which is very much against what the Lombardi family is about and proves to be his downfall, when after Lulac is left bedriddden following a health scare, Viese proves how incompetent he is as the "Acting Family Head" by not taking the recent counterfeit check scare seriously and instead continuing to put out loans despite the genuine threat these fake checks pose for the Lombardi Bank. When Lulac is informed of this by the family heads and Shananet argues that Viese is not fit for the position, he fully agrees, which Viese angrily and childishly argues against, to which a more angered Lulac responds to by going forward with removing Viese from the Acting Head position, and putting Shananet in place instead. Viese is so enraged by this that he forces his entire family to go stay with his wife's relatives, rather than live in the same house as Shananet while she is in charge.
- Upper-Class Twit: Viese's job in the family is to act as the face of the family at social events, but the rest of the family doesn't see much value in interacting with high society, making his efforts look more like him attempting to cozy up to those in power. Outside of that and investing in some failed projects, Viese doesn't do much to contribute to the family. As soon as he loses the acting head position to his sister after he proves to his father how unworthy he is to become the head even in a temporary situation, he storms off with his family like the whiny brat he had acted like when Lulac agreed with Shananet and the other Lombardi family heads.
Laurels Lombardi
Laurels Lombardi
Tia's uncle, the second oldest son of Lulac and Natalia Lombardi, and father to Astaliu and Craney Lombardi. He's a coward who sucks up to anyone he believes will succeed in the family, which is currently Viese and his family.
- Evil Uncle: Downplayed compared to his brother Viese, but he's Tia's uncle and doesn't do much to be one to her.
- Extreme Doormat: Towards Viese to the point that he's less of a brother and more of a Sycophantic Servant.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: He spends all his time sucking up to Viese, as he expects him to be the family head.
Gallahan Lombardi
Gallahan Lombardi
Tia's father and the youngest child of Lulac and Natalia Lombardi. He's a quiet, soft-spoken man who prefers reading books and sketching ideas for clothing than participating in family matters. He is fated to die when Tia is eleven from an incurable illness.
- Cowardly Lion: He's extremely timid towards his other family members, but is quite protective of Firentia. He thought shielding her away from his family's drama was protecting her, not realizing until much later that he needs to be proactive for Tia's sake, as well as his own. Subverted later on after he finds out Viese leaked his disease to the public; he becomes much fiercer and bold, no longer holding back against even his brother.
- Doting Parent: Gallahan is warm and gentle towards his daughter, doing everything he can to protect her from his discriminating relatives. When that's not enough, he enters the business world to provide for Tia in the future while not letting anyone get away with insulting or looking down on her.
- Papa Wolf: Not as ferocious as his father, but Gallahan can become quite serious when it comes to protecting Tia. He really steps up to this role when he learns of Viese leaking his disease to the public, something that could've put Tia's future in jeopardy if he had in fact perished like he had in the first timeline. From here on, Gallahan no longer cowers to his brother and shows the backbone he developed, to Viese's shock and rage.
- Self-Made Man: Gallahan wasn't originally interested in the family business. Tia has to drag him out to a potentially disastrous prospective meeting between Viese, Lulac, Clerivan and an Angenas merchant to kick-start his involvement. By the end of the series, Gallahan owns a successful clothes business and is honored by the Emperor for his contributions to society with a small territory in the south.
Vestian Schultz
Vestian Schultz
Shananet's husband and father of Giliou and Mayron Lombardi. He acts lovey-dovey with his wife and kids, but seems to act cold and indifferent towards the rest of the Lombardi.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Is given this in the second timeline. His affair is exposed and in anger at his betrayal to her, Shananet divorces him rather than the other way around. His sons take their mother’s side and he himself is arrested for his betrayal to the family and must now await a heavy loan that he had taken out along with the lofty interest that comes with it. Even worse, every single investment that the Lombardis made to the Schultzes has been revoked and ending with them being removed from the noble’s registry.
- Remarried to the Mistress: In the original timeline, Vestian marries his mistress after divorcing Shananet, taking their sons with him to his territory. He's not as lucky in the new timeline, getting thrown in prison and expected to pay a hefty loan with interest upon release.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: For betraying the Lombardis and cheating on Shananet, Vestian is sent to prison and will have to pay the enormous loan he took out without his family's power, along with the big interest that comes with it.
The Children
Giliou and Mayron Lombardi
Gilrou and Mayron Lombardi
Tia's identical twin cousins and the sons of Vestian Schultz and Shananet Lombardi. They are mischievous and driven to fun or interesting things.
- Big Brother Instinct: What they develop for Tia. They love playing with her and practically think of her as a little sister, one they are always eager to impress with their swordsmanship skills and any tricks they come up with.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: Since the boys are identical twins, the only way to tell them apart is by their bangs and to which side they are swept. Giliou's bangs are brushed to the right and Mayron's to the left, but aside from that very easy to miss difference, they look exactly the same.
- Trickster Twins: Both of them enjoy teasing and messing with their other cousins. They both calm down as they get older, however.
- Undying Loyalty: In the second timeline after hearing how Tia put Bellezac in his place, the twins become obsessed with her, following her around, being overly protective of her, they even glare at Perez whenever he’s with Tia.
Bellezac Lombardi
Bellezac Lombardi
Tia's cousin, Lorraine's younger brother, and the son of Viese Lombardi. He is a carbon copy of his father, arrogant and haughty. He bullies Tia due to her "dirty blood" and acts as Prince Astana's playmate.
- Dirty Coward: He's all but willing to bully those he believes are weaker than him, but the moment someone bites back, he becomes a gibbering mess.
- Spoiled Brat: Big time. His father lets him do whatever he wants, since he’s the son of the future head of the Lombardis, as well as Prince Astana’s playmate. He doesn’t do the school work that Clerivan assigns to him because, like his father, he believes his status as the son of the heir to the Lombardi’s head makes it so that he doesn’t have to prove his worth. He also refuses to acknowledge Tia as family, even saying she wasn't a Lombardi, which got him and his father in hot water with Lulac when he heard from Tia after she beat him up as a child in self defense.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Bellezac has a hidden paralyzing fear of birds that he is desperate to hide from the viewing world. It's a fear so palpable and deep that he can't even stand the sight of chicken when it is served at meals. Tia is fully aware of this and decides to weaponize this in order to teach him a lesson once and for all when he refuses to stop bullying Craney. She throws bird seed all over him and stands back as crows and other birds flock around him and peck at him. It's so effective that it leaves him a sobbing mess. After Tia rightfully calls him a hypocrite for enjoying the suffering of others while he himself begs for mercy after being put through basically the same things he inflicts on those he bullies, she then threatens to knock him out and leave him in a field filled with migratory birds, tied him to a pillar while covered in bird feed paste if he bullies Craney one more time.
Astaliu Lombardi
Astaliu Lombardi
Tia's cousin, Craney's older brother, and son of Laurels and Rosette Lombardi. He's a carbon copy of his father, acting as Bellezac's bodyguard/partner-in-crime.
- Big Brother Bully: He torments his little brother, Craney, mostly because Bellezac does.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: Like his father, Astaliu sucks up to Bellezac in order to be kept in his good graces once Viese becomes the family head. He slowly becomes the mask as he starts bullying his younger brother, Craney, simply because Bellezac does.
Lorraine Lombardi
Lorraine Lombardi
Tia's cousin, Bellezac's older sister, and daughter of Viese Lombardi and his wife. Unlike the rest of her family, she's sweet and gentle towards everyone.
- Black Sheep: She's this to her immediate family, which is why her mother had no problem sending her off to marry an abusive husband in the first timeline.
- Head-Turning Beauty: What Lorraine becomes in the time skip. She is widely considered to be the most beautiful woman in the land at this point.
- The Ingenue: She's so sweet and innocent that it makes one wonder how she's related to Viese or Bellezac.
- Runaway Bride: She becomes one in the second timeline, running away from her arranged marriage with Prince Astana.
Craney Lombardi
Craney Lombardi
Tia's cousin, Astaliu's younger brother, and son of Laurels and Ronette Lombardi. He's the youngest of the cousins, and adores Tia like an older sister.
- Big Brother Worship: With Tia, and with Perez somewhat.
- Cheerful Child: He's this with shades of Adorably Precocious Child; he's a cute, bright kid who adores his older cousin, Tia and becomes a serious reader because of her.
Family Associates and Allies
Clerivan Pellet
Lulac's assistant, and teacher of the Lombardi children selected for the special class. He has a particular eye for business, and assists the Lombardis with their ventures. After discovering Tia's hidden talents, he becomes her right-hand man, acting as the proxy found for the Pellet Corporation.
- Bishōnen: Definitely qualifies for this. Clerivan is a very handsome man with very long hair and strict eyes. These looks do not fade come the time skip when Tia turns 18 and Clerivan decides to brush his bangs back, about the only major change he makes aside from wardrobe.
- Hidden Depths: There is a possibility that Tia acknowledges that part of the reason why Clerivan chose to follow Tia despite her status as an illegitimate child is because he himself is an illegitimate child, from the House of Dillard, a noble house whose daughter, Lauryl, becomes Tia's maid when she is 12. Very likely, he saw strong similarities between them, as bastard children who proved their worth via their intellect and business savviness, and chose to help her because of that.
- Hired Help as Family: Is practically thought of as this by the rest of the Lombardis. Even when he goes off to start his own guild (aka be the proxy for his best student's guild), the family celebrates his success and wish him well.
- Secret-Keeper: Is one of the few early on to know Tia's true nature as a Child Prodigy, becoming of her first "people" to help her get started in the business world.
- Stoic Spectacles: He wears glasses and has a long ponytail, and is a calm, collected figure within the Lombardi family.
Estira
Estira
An apprentice doctor working for the Lombardi's personal physician, Dr. O'Malley. She befriends Tia after treating her injuries from Bellezac's bullying. She is fated to one day invent the cure to the incurable disease that killed Tia's father, but after his death and Tia’s subsequent regression; Tia hopes to speed up the process by befriending her and getting her into the Academy early.
- Court Physician: In a sense, since becoming the Lombardi's personal physician is as close to serving royalty as you can get.
- Sweet Tooth: She has a fondness for desserts, which Tia takes advantage of to get closer to Estira.
Violet
Violet
Clerivan's right-hand woman, who helped run the day-to-day operations of Gallahan's clothing store before transitioning into assisting Tia and Clerivan with guild operations.
- The Face: Acted as one during the early days of Gallahan's clothing store. She's the one who initially advertised the store to passerby while the store building was under construction, and acted as manager during its opening days.
Bate
Bate
An informant who runs a dessert shop, Caramel Avenue, as a front. Tia buys out his rent in exchange for his services.
- Mysterious Informant: Acts as this. Tia knew about him since he was known for being a high-quality informant during the first timeline, and wanted to make sure he was on her side when she began expanding the Pellet Corporation.
- Sweet Baker: Downplayed; while he isn't all that sweet, he is a good man who happens to run a dessert shop as a front for his information brokering service.
The Imperial Family
The Emperor
Emperor Yovanes
The ruler of the Lehmbruck Empire. He is known as a decent emperor to the public, but he's secretly known by the nobility for his greediness, more so than any ruler before him.
- Fatal Flaw: Greed. He's so greedy that a seemingly benevolent act of not forcing the Eastern people to pay taxes during a drought is actually a ploy to force powerful families to pay more taxes instead. But his greed also makes him easily manipulated and dangerous when denied. He never properly chose his successor because he was too greedy to share his power with his sons, neither of whom he fully trusts, which leads to several assassination attempts by Prince Astana and the Empress, and then getting actually killed by Perez as revenge for allowing the Empress to kill his mother.
- Smart Ball: Surprisingly, the Emperor can hold this ball quite often, usually in regards to his mental chess game with his wife. He knows that Astana isn't the best fit as the heir to the throne due to the boy's lack of aptitude for politics and his eventual interest in hunting and women as well as the fact that he only shows interest because his mother clearly forces him to, but he also knows that Perez, the only other option, needs to show if he can even be useful. When Lulac begins secretly sponsoring the child and Perez's hidden talents begin showcasing, on top of his resemblance to Yovanes' late father whom he despised giving the man a potential chance to symbolically have his father bow to him at last, Yovanes decides to give Perez back his rights as a prince and even shows favoritism toward the boy as it becomes more clear how lacking Astana is in comparison.
The Empress
Empress Lavini
The emperor's wife, and mother to Prince Astana. The main antagonist of the series, she's the de facto leader of the Angenas family. She has an obsessive grudge against the Lombardis and will do anything to get her son on the throne.
- Alpha Bitch: The political fantasy version. She’s power-hungry, demeaning towards others (especially Perez), and has an obsessive grudge against the Lombardis. The only person she’s not horrible to is her son, Astana, for whom she’ll do anything to get him on the throne, including murder.
- Evil Matriarch: She's not the actual leader of the Angenas family (that's her father) but she rules over the family nonetheless. She has a severe grudge against the Lombardis for how respected they are compared to her own family, and plans their downfall from the shadows, all while trying to kill Perez to secure the throne for her son.
- Humiliation Conga: She suffers several embarrassing moments towards the end of the story. She’s tricked by Perez into giving him a large amount of money so he’ll quietly go to the Academy for several years, never considering how she has given him the financial backing he needed to strengthen his position, or that he could graduate earlier than expected. She also had to sell several territories to amass the money needed to pay off Perez, many of which were bought by the Lombardis. She’s therefore blindsided when Perez becomes the favored candidate for the throne, and resorts to assassination attempts to get rid of both Perez and the Emperor. She ends up in prison after Perez becomes Emperor, her family wiped from the noble registry.
- Wicked Stepmother: She's this to Perez, having killed his mother and nanny and sent him to die in a dilapidated palace, all so that her son will be the only heir to the throne.
Prince Astana
First Prince Astana
The son of the Imperial Couple, and Perez's older half-brother. He has inherited both his father's greediness and his mother's arrogance, making him an unpleasant boy to be around.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He doesn't like the Lombardis anymore than his mother, but even he can't stand how deep her obsessive grudge against them goes and how badly she wants to bring them down. He chews his mother out for it at one point, which is one of the few things he does that goes against everything she has taught him.
- Evil Prince: He's not a nice kid, acting haughty and superior towards others with no regard for decorum. He does start to mellow out somewhat as he gets older, but not enough to save him from being removed from the line of succession by Perez.
- Royal Brat: He's the first legitimate prince of the empire, and an overall Spoiled Brat that doesn't like when things don't go his way.
The Royal Palace's Servants and Associates
Caitlyn Brown
Caitlyn Brown
A Lombardi scholarship student who went undercover as a court lady for the Imperial palace while acting as an informant for Lulac Lombardi. When Perez is reestablished as a prince, she becomes his lady-in-waiting instead.
Other Nobles
The Angenas Family
In General
The Angenas family
A noble family that has a deep rivalry with the Lombardis. The Angenases were once vagabonds that wandered the barrens in the West before taking over the Brown family's territory. They are believers in the purity of one's blood, and the majority of its members are haughty and arrogant.
