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Here is a list of characters from the manhwa The Monstrous Duke's Adopted Daughter.

Beware of unmarked spoilers.

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Protagonist

Leslie Speràdo / Leslie Shuya Salvator

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/leslie_sperado_2.jpg

The main protagonist of the story and a young girl who wants to become the adoptive daughter of the Salvator family.

The Ace: She has immense magical ability and is, surprisingly, very well educated and intelligent despite her neglectful upbringing. It turns out she wasn't born with the power; rather, her magic was given to her by the spirits of the sacrificed Speràdo children the day she was to be sacrificed. Though the reality of the matter is a bit more complex, as all silver-haired children in the family have that power, it's just the sacrificed spirits actually saved and chose to empower her further.
Animal Motifs: Is often compared to a rabbit. Konrad even conjures an on-screen mental image of her as a rabbit among dangerous beasts when in the Salvator home.
Badass Adorable: She is the cutest 12-year-old girl you are likely to meet. She is also the strongest user of dark-magic in over a century and can reduce a mansion to sawdust if she wanted to. Not to mention she’s so frighteningly intelligent that she has an understanding of university level academic material.
Battle Couple: Eventually forms one with Konrad after she finally accepts his courtship offer.
Because You Were Nice to Me: Despite the jaded nature driven into her by her abuse at the Speràdo household, she warms up to the Salvators in a hurry because they dote on her and lavish her with genuine affection.
Bequeathed Power: She wasn't born with strong dark magic. Instead, every time a child of the Speràdos was sacrificed about 80% of the power they couldn't use went to the official successor while the remaining 20% disappeared somewhere. The spirits of the sacrificed children give this power to her instead.
Best Served Cold: Much as she would love to use her Dark Magic to turn the Speràdo house to sawdust, and she has the actual power to do it, she holds off because she doesn't just want her abusers dead, she wants the Speràdo family name wiped out, permanently. However, this is played with slightly: She's trying to get revenge because she thinks it's what the sacrificed children would want while failing to understand they just want her to live.
Big Damn Heroes: In the final arc, Bethrion is cornered by Medea's thugs, the group Etai, whose leader has a grudge with Seraine. She chances on the scene, Seraine himself having sent her there. She then proceeds to rescue her elder brother and tear through the entire group, single handed, even killing the scarred scoundrel who led them.
Break the Cutie: Invoked by her family. Since she was old enough to walk and talk, the Speràdo house has done its best to make her feel useless, so she'd be easy pickings for their generational Human Sacrifice program.
Broken Bird: She's a very sweet girl, but she has a hard time recognizing that the Salvators care about her greatly and are more concerned about her well being than any benefits adopting her would bring them. Contractual relationships are the kindest type she can comprehend.
Calling the Old Man Out: On different occasions, she calls out every single one of her immediate biological family members for the cruel way they treated her. In one chapter, she really rips her father a new one when he suddenly begins treating her nicely in favor of Ellie, knowing he's doing this for some kind of ulterior motive, and tears into him for his hypocrisy. She goes even further during the Noble Trial, laying it into him for daring to lie to the court about what he did to her, and after he loses the trial, she declares she's not his family.
Casting a Shadow: She inhereted her family's darkness magic, letting her black-out rooms and manipulate objects with dark tendrils.
Cheerful Child: When away from the Speràdo household and treated with basic decency, she's actually a very happy and energetic child.
Cordon Bleugh Chef: Her first time trying to cook pancakes had them come out rather dry and floury. Saraine tried to admire them like fine art. They spoiled and Aleca had to throw them out.
Covered in Scars: Her arms have a large number of burn scars and other marks of being abused. Fortunately, they're not too deep, so the duchess is able to have them cured magically, unlike her own face.
Creepy Child: On occasion. Since she was forced to do Ellie's studying for her, and denied her own childhood, her mental and emotional development is terribly skewed, and this does tend to unnerve people at times.
Crippling Overspecialization: This is something which Duke Salvator is actively trying to avoid. She plans to teach swordsmanship to the Leslie herself, in addition to building up her strength and stamina, so she doesn't have to use her dark magic to defend herself, risking a disaster by losing control.
Cuteness Proximity: She has a tendency to induce this in others, winning over the entire Salvator household within a couple days.
Denied Food as Punishment: Her entire life in the Speràdo household, not only was she normally served soup so thin, it was basically colored water, but for the slightest insubordination, real or imagined, she would be locked in her room, with no food at all. The servants would all happily proclaim "It's the Marquis' command, we really had no choice! Please understand!" When she started fighting back and demanding "give me what a 'human' would eat," the servants began looking upon her with abject terror, unsure what to do.
The Determinator: She stood at the gates to the Salvator house for an entire day, wearing clothing that clearly was insufficient for the late autumn or early winter, hoping to get an audience. Duchess Salvator agreed to see what the fuss was about as a result.
The Dog Bites Back: After being thrown into a fire, as a Human Sacrifice, she realized sucking up to the Speràdo family for affection was totally pointless, so she started fighting back. The entire Speràdo household started viewing her insane as a direct result.
Fangirl: She quickly becomes one for her amazing new mom, Aleca. It causes a bit of awkwardness early on as she struggled to be as casual with her hero as she was with the rest of the Salvator's.
Happily Adopted: Invoked and then Played Straight. Although Leslie hasn't been officially adopted by the Salvator household, yet, she is treated as the daughter they always wanted, but never got, and she's ecstatic. Eventually, the rest of the house all warm up to her and see her as part of the family.
Heal the Cutie: After twelve years of endless abuse, Lesile joins the Salvator's just trying to fulfill her contract because she can't even imagine a loving relationship. The entire plot focuses on her becoming happier and more outgoing in her new, happy family.
Height Angst: Being terribly short compared to a child her own age has her seriously worried, and being among the giants known as the Salvator doesn't help. Being aware of this, even Bethrion does his best to reassure her and tells her it's still possible for her to hit a growth spurt, once she gets the proper nutrition to allow her body to catch up.
Hero Ball: When she meets Amroa again in the present, she believes she owes the woman a debt of gratitude and ignores all the warnings of her knights, the Salvator servants, Amroa herself, and even her own instincts, to have a meal with Amroa alone in Amroa's restaurant. This puts her in mortal peril when the Speràdos set Amroa's occupied restaurant on fire. Fortunately, the Salvators were tipped off and rescued her, teaching her a valuable lesson.
Human Sacrifice: She was intended to be one. She survived.
Internal Reveal: Chapter 25 has Duchess Salvator ask why Marquis Speràdo tried to kill Leslie, and if it has anything to do with the "mysterious" deaths of Speràdo children. The chapter ends with Leslie telling Duchess Salvator everything she's been able to piece together.
Ironic Name: According to the Queen Dowager, the name "Leslie" means "happy family." As is well known, her birth family is anything but happy. Her adoptive family on the other hand...
It's All My Fault:
- Combined with Anger Born of Worry. Leslie blames herself entirely for the fact that Marquis Speràdo has dragged the Salvators into the Noble's Trial, and is beside herself with worry because nobody has told her anything. At Konrad's urging, she went to the study and would not go to bed until the Duchess came home and Leslie could speak with her directly.
- When the Speràdos try to set her on fire, a third time, she blames herself for telling her knight bodyguards and Madel to wait just outside while she and Amroa have a private meal... just before the door is locked and the Speràdos set the place ablaze with Leslie and Armoa inside.
It's Probably Nothing:
- Justified and combined with Foreshadowing. She worries that her early lashing out with Dark Magic just after surviving being thrown into a fire may have tipped off her father, Marquis Speràdo, that she's got the power, but she forces herself not to dwell on it because the damage is done, and there's nothing she can do about it. Her father does in fact deduce that she has the power, at which point he decides to test his hypothesis by trying to set her on fire again!
- She ignores her instincts warning her to remove the ribbon bracelet Amroa provides her, thinking it would be insulting and rude to a woman she knows treated her kindly, but this bracelet turns out to have hidden within the dark-chains designed to seal away her powers, leaving her all but helpless when the Speràdos set the restaurant she's dining in on fire.
Lady and Knight: As they grow up Leslie and Konrad become this with her being a graceful lady with a enough dark magic to level a building and him being a paladin with divine magic which is used to contain her magic and enough swordsmanship to protect her.
Made Out to Be a Jerkass: As is often the case in fiction, and reality, the Speràdo house not only paints her as a monster for daring to resist being abused, they all genuinely believe it.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Her nightmares start talking to her in chapter 32. She not only sees all the previous Human Sacrifice victims crying out in despair, but the being of fire that haunts her cries out how Aleca Salvator is a thief, stealing the Speràdos' rightful glory and demanding that Leslie assassinate her. Is this Leslie's subconscious mind reacting to all the abuse she's endured, or is this a genuine attack from a super-natural entity?
Meaningful Rename: Goes from being dubbed Leslie Speràdo to Leslie Shuya Salvator after being given her "blessed" name by the temple in chapter 40.
Mundane Luxury: Her reaction to even the simplest of gifts or meals in the Salvator home. Her childhood was so deprived that she has to ask what hot chocolate is, and didn't realize pancakes should be sweet and fluffy.
Mystical White Hair: Silver hair indicates that she, not the eldest child of Speràdo family, is the one with Dark Magic. This is why she was marked as a Human Sacrifice, so that Ellie, her big sister, would steal away her power.
Older Than They Look: Due to serious, deliberate malnutrition, Leslie is surprisingly short for a child her age. Most are surprised to hear she's twelve years old and not younger. This gets exaggerated when Bethrion first meets her. Between the general large size of his family, and having only his own little brother for reference, Bethrion assumes Leslie is five. At the least, she gets to avert this by the 4 year time-skip.
Past Experience Nightmare: She has nightmares that a being made of fire is chasing her and trying to grab her. Considering that she was thrown into a fire twice, and both times, hands have grabbed her and either dragged or thrown her out, small wonder her subconscious mind just can't stop dragging that image up.
Power Incontinence: Although she's shown to have perfect fine control over her dark-magic when she lashed out at the Speràdo retainers and her near-relatives, in just about any other endeavor, it quickly gets away from her, smashing all 5 of the test candles the first try and 3 of 5 the next, when the test was to trash one candle without harming the others. Though her teacher Ruenti tells her that even that much control is something most mages have to train for years to acquire.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When she learns the truth of what happened at the fire pit and other kids similar to herself, she decides she's not going to put up with the Speràdo family anymore and does everything she can to get the hell out of there.
Ship Tease: With Konrad. Konrad has been nothing but kind to her, which helps her warm up to him and Konrad feels a need to protect her as she reminds him of his little brother. However, it wasn't until much later that Konrad finally sees Leslie in a romantic light.
Spanner in the Works: Her survival was not a part of the Speràdo family's plans, and kicks off the entire story as the dark magic intended for her sister ends up in her possession instead. Just as well, Leslie's actions unwittingly throw the Queen Dowager Medea's plans off-course as well, which leads to a conflict of interest throughout the story.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Being thrown into a fire, twice, has seriously traumatized her and leaves her tossing and turning at night, thus mandating 24/7 care. In addition, even after being healed by priestly magic, the internal damage done by being locked in a carriage that was set on fire had her unconscious for 4 days before she recovered, physically.
- Spending her entire life being made to feel useless, and made to look useless by being given impossible goals and being whipped for failing to meet them, has made her very insecure and hesitant to ask for things, and even though the Salvators dote on her, she's terrified it will all disappear in a wisp of smoke at any time.
Sweet Tooth: She adores sweet foods.
Teen Genius: Although the Speràdo household has done everything in its power to make her look and feel stupid and useless, the fact is that she's a true genius, fit for university-level studies, at 12 years old.
Took a Level in Badass: Before the series starts, she's a weak, pathetic, helpless girl who was continually mistreated and didn't have the courage to say anything about it lest she get punished. After she nearly dies in the fire pit and learns the true motives behind her mistreatment and her family's deeds, she decides she's had enough of their crap and begins taking charge of her life, finally gaining the courage to call out her family for all they put her through and leaving.
Trauma Button: Fire. Being thrown into a fire at the start of the series is the event that triggers her powers to awaken. She later expresses fear in front of fire, prompting the Marquis to try to trap her in fire a second time to confirm the existence of her powers by forcing her to use them. That event causes Leslie to experience nightmares as she recovers.
True Blue Femininity: Most of her best outfits are predominantly blue and she's extremely effeminate.
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: As sweet a child as Leslie is, several characters notice behaviors that are the result of her abusive upbringing. For example, a distrustful Ruenti's attempts to intimidate her go completely unnoticed by Leslie because, Ruenti realizes, she's used to being treated roughly; her manners are more like a maid's then a noble's despite Leslie's high birth. Leslie's maid at the Salvators', Madel, lays it out to the Duchess in detail, describing how Leslie is frightfully intelligent yet ignorant of things like Pinky Swears and hot chocolate, that she handled disappointment far more maturely than a twelve year-old would be expected to, yet still lights up like a little kid when she eats. Leslie's driving ambition, though only Duchess Salvator knows it and tries to sway her from it, is to wipe the Speràdo family off the face of the planet in vengeance for herself and the many, many children they used as Human Sacrifices over the centuries.
Wise Beyond Her Years: As a direct result of having to do Ellie's homework for her, as well as her own, she's surprisingly very savvy for a 12 year old.
Workaholic: When she's in the Salvator home, Leslie is so, so eager to please Duchess Salvator and complete the tasks given to her that she studies until the crack of dawn then goes on with her day, hiding her fatigue. This causes her to have nosebleeds, something she says happened at the Speràdo house, where she was frequently made to study to a similar extent. The moment Salvators find out, the Duchess orders Leslie's room be cleared of all candles and books, the library be locked, and poor Leslie herself be forced on a vacation to rest. They relent only on letting her have letter writing materials so she can write her uncle and Sir Konrad.

Salvator Household

Salvator Family

Duke Aleca Benkan Salvator

Aleca Benkan Salvator

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aleca_benkan.jpg

The matriarch of the Salvator household.

The Ace: She's the greatest warrior in the empire, a powerful mage, great at politics, rich... there's nothing that Aleca can't do.
Battle Couple: Formed this with Sairaine during the era of confusion and they’re still just as capable now.
Beneath the Mask: Quite literally. She wears an air of quiet dignity and is very meticulous, but she's really a prankster who loves to give her family a ribbing every now and then.
Big Damn Heroes: When the rafters of restaurant Lia fall down atop Leslie, Amroa already buried by timbers trying to save her, along comes Aleca and smites the flames with magically summoned ice, then proceeds to carry off Leslie and Amroa to safety.
Boxing Lessons for Superman: True, Leslie does have enough power to blast the entire Speràdo mansion to sawdust, and maybe the entire estate, but her long abused and malnourished body is very vulnerable. As such, Duke Salvator wants to build up Leslie's stamina, teach her control over her power, and swordsmanship, so she can defend herself if the Speràdos try something again, and neither rescue nor Leslie's power is an option.
The Chains of Commanding: She wishes to help personally train Leslie in swordsmanship, however her duties as a Duke and keeping the estate and their enterpises in order takes much of her time, and so must leave that to others.
Commonality Connection: She bonds with Leslie when she learns that Leslie knows what it feels like to be burned alive.
Declaration of Protection: At the end of the Noble's Trial, she tells Marquis Travis Speràdo and Ellie that she will never forgive anyone who brings further harm upon Leslie, as she's crushing the Marquis' arm with her bare hands.
Facial Horror: Has a massive scar on the right side of her face, which causes adults to recoil in disgust and children to cry, flee, or at worst, faint, in terror. When Leslie sees it and goes "that must have hurt," it shocks Lady Salvator.
The Gadfly: She loves to tease her relatives, just to get a reaction.
Godzilla Threshold: While equally proficient in both swordsmanship and magic, she generally prefers to just use her sword finding that to usually be enough but when she finds herself facing a particularly dangerous opponent like Debiene or Sairaine back in the era of confusion she’ll bust out her magic.
Made Out to Be a Jerkass: Marquis Speràdo has openly tried to paint her as the villain in the court of public opinion by spreading rumors that the Salvators kidnapped Leslie against her will, rather than rescue her from a fire, threatened him with violence for objecting, and then breaking his arm when he came to her for aid in dealing with Leslie's poor constitution. To add injury to insult, Marquis Speràdo didn't have to do this. Even if he openly admits that he's straight-up tried to murder Leslie, by setting her on fire, twice, and is an abusive asshole who terrorized her her whole life, the law would still have given him custody of Leslie, her well-being be damned, purely because he's her biological father.
Magic Knight: It is noted that Salvators are either born a Squishy Wizard, for their given size and strength, or Magically Inept Fighter. Aleca is the rare one born who isn't just capable in either area, she excels in both and is all the more stronger and dangerous of a fighter.
Malicious Slander: The Salvator family is often slandered. In her case, it's rumored that she has monster blood and that her mask is used to hide scales. In truth, it's just an old, ugly injury.
Mama Bear: Mess with any of her children, by blood or adoption, and she can, and will, tear through an army to get at you.
Marry for Love: Because of her position as matriarch of one of the highest ranking houses, anyone short of marrying the Emperor would be marrying to a level below her noble status. This allowed her leeway to marry whomever she wished, and she chose her husband out of love.
Muscles Are Meaningless: Despite being slender in comparison to her husband’s bulk, she’s a lot stronger than him.
Nice to the Waiter: When one of her Knights has a child, she grants them leave to be with the child.
One-Woman Army: Marquis Speràdo rounds up a literal army, including professional kidnappers, and storms the Salvator household while Leslie is recuperating and the Duke was at home alone. The Duke, armed with only a bamboo sword, tears through the entire army, single-handed, to then grab Marquis Speràdo, and, as promised, breaks his arm, warning that the next time he tries something like that, it will be his neck!
Only Sane Woman: She tends to keep this role when her sons and husband are getting overexcited and emotional. One instance is a 25-year old son of a noble merchant sending a marriage proposal to the then 12-year-old Leslie. Her husband and sons are furious and plan to hunt down the perpetrators. The Duke is calmly feeding breakfast to Leslie on her lap and stops the men with a simple sentence.
She Is the King: The official English translation gives Aleca the title of Duke rather Duchess. The Korean title uses a phrase which literally means 'Duke' and technically the term 'Duchess' is usually reserved for those who marry a Duke. Aleca didn't marry a Duke, she inherited the title, so it is actually more appropriate that she holds the title 'Duke' rather than 'Duchess.'
Silver Fox: She seems to be in her early to mid-50s with some facial wrinkles, but is still a beautiful woman.
Single-Target Sexuality: When asked by Leslie, she confirms that if she had never met Sairaine, she would have remained unmarried.
Statuesque Stunner: She is exceptionally tall for a woman, and aside from her scar is drop-dead gorgeous.
Tough Leader Façade: She wears a mask and has a cold, demanding facade, but she's really a good and loving woman who treats her friends, family, and servants with genuine kindness and affection, and is well-liked as a result.
Unfriendly Fire: A victim of it. That scar on her face? An ally did that to her on the battlefield. What became of this "ally" is unknown, but it's not likely to be pleasant.
Uptight Loves Wild: She's very methodical and rigid. Her husband? A very rough and tumble mercenary who's loud, proud, rude, crude, and occasionally quite vulgar. They've been Happily Married for decades.

Sairaine Delpa Salvator

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sairaine_delpa_7.jpg

The Salvator patriarch and a former mercenary.

Battle Couple: Formed one with Aleca during the era of confusion and are still just as capable nowadays.
Big Damn Heroes: He chances upon Travis throwing explosive gems at Leslie in the final arc, with Leslie hesitant to use her dark magic for fear of unleashing the plague Travis is carrying. Saraine sends her off to find Bethrion and then deals with Travis himself.
Birds of a Feather: With Leslie, believe it or not. His childhood was neglectful and abusive too, until he had enough and fled the abuse, taking up mercenary work in the process.
Boyfriend-Blocking Dad:
- While Leslie is being tutored by Konrad, he stands just outside the room, sending Konrad a perpetual Death Glare.
- When a 25-year-old son of a noble merchant sends a marriage proposal for Leslie, then age 12, he comes to the dining room with an axe in hand and plans to work with his sons to murder the man and his father.
- He has to be physically restrained by his sons when he tries to outright attack Konrad while he’s dancing with Leslie.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: A hardcore mercenary and powerful warrior, who goes absolutely gaga over cute little things, and always dreamed of having a daughter to dote on. He's tickled pink at having Leslie in the house.
Commonality Connection: One of the reasons Sairaine wanted to take in Leslie, besides being a doting daddy desiring a daughter, is that he, too, encountered abuse as a child in an Orphanage of Fear. He withstood it for a year before leaving, and respects Leslie being able to stick it out for much longer and break free of it herself.
Cuteness Proximity: He practically melts into a puddle of sparkly-eyed, adoring goo around Leslie.
Dark and Troubled Past: The reason he's so protective of Leslie is because he himself was a war orphan that was abused by his caretaker, not to mention having to witness it happening to the other orphans once he was too big to beat around. As a result it's downright ingrained within him to protect abused children.
Family of Choice: His band of mercenaries when he was young were made up of his fellow orphans and they became mercenaries to provide for the younger ones. When he and Aleca asked the previous duke to let them marry she would only accept if he disbanded his group. While he had no personal problems with giving up being a mercenary he worried that he’d be turning his back on his friends. They then came up to him and told him they wanted to disband, not to let him marry but because the youngest they had provided for had finally gotten a job and all the others had and they were ready to live their own dreams.
Fee Fi Faux Pas: He's the one who unwittingly introduces Leslie to the term "fucking massacre" when describing what happened to Marquis Speràdo's ill-fated kidnap attempt.
- It's not the first time either, there's a Noodle Incident where Bethrion wound up repeating the term to the royal household after hearing it from him.
Kill It with Fire: Tosses Sperado into his burning mansion, both because he deserves it and to stop Sperado's Ephialtes terminal infection from spreading.
Henpecked Husband: He takes his wife's word as law, and he should. Not only is she of higher social status, she can break him like a twig if he steps out of line.
Orphan's Ordeal: He comes from an orphanage, where the director lived in luxury while letting the orphans go without, and would happily beat them for the slightest offense, real or imagined. After enduring three years of that crap, he beat up said director and took his closest friends with him, becoming a mercenary band.
Papa Wolf: Mess with his children, real or adopted—especially if said child happens to be a cute little girl, like Leslie—and he will find a way to kill you, first chance he gets. He makes sure Travis literally burns for what he did to Lesile.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: He does not like Konrad because he's a Boyfriend-Blocking Dad who is terrified at the prospect of any guy being too close to Leslie, even if he has just cause. It just happens to turn out that Konrad is not entirely trustworthy... though subverted when Konrad is eventually revealed to have good intentions for Leslie in the end.
Scars Are Forever: Has a scar on his face he received from his wife when they first met on opposing sides during the era of confusion.
Unfriendly Fire: He repeatedly asks his wife if she can arrange for the Imperial family to bring Marquis Speràdo to the front lines, and he shamelessly admits that should the Marquis and he be on the same battlefield, the Marquis will meet an "unfortunate accident" at his hands.
Wanted a Son Instead: He was certain his first child would be a girl only to get Bethrion instead (it's why he has such a Gender-Blender Name, for "Elizabeth"). Unlike his sons, Sairaine took zero convincing to adopt Leslie and immediately became a doting father.

Bethrion Lahen Salvator

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bethrion.png

The eldest of Aleca Salvator's children. He is Grand Master of the Imperial Knights.

Big Brother Instinct: Mess with Leslie, his adopted sister, and know that you're risking your life, as he has the strength, the desire, and the authority to kill you, being the man in charge of the imperial knight order, Rinche.
Embarrassing Nickname: "Beth". He shows frequent embarrassment whenever his mother uses the nickname.
Gender-Blender Name: Bethelrion's nickname, "Beth". His father was hoping for a baby girl when Aleca got pregnant the first time. Out came a son, so the name "Elizabeth" had to go flying out the window, as well as poor Sairaine's plans to dress up his daughter in cute dresses. However, while he was given a more masculine name, his mother uses its feminine form as a nickname.
Generation Xerox: Really takes after his mother's personality.
Magically Inept Fighter: While Beth is physically incredibly strong, he has little to no aptitude for the magical arts. This is typical for Salvators who are either this or magically strong but aren't that way physically.
My Sister Is Off-Limits: Has this reaction to anyone who proposes to Leslie. Even Konrad who he likes, his response when Konrad and Leslie have a Relationship Upgrade, is to suggest they spar.
Sherlock Scan: When the Speràdo servants arrived to "rescue" Leslie from the burning carriage, he was able to deduce that they we actually lying in wait nearby, hoping to catch her in the act of using Dark Magic, to report to Marquis Speràdo, and were the ones who set the carriage alight in the first place.

Ruenti Aduel Salvator

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ruenti.png

The second son of Aleca Salvator and an accomplished mage.

Affectionate Gesture to the Head: As he's comforting Leslie, and praising her genius level IQ, he frequently rubs her head. She loves it!
Big Brother Instinct: Like Beth, Ruenti has developed a strong protective drive towards Leslie. When a 25-year-old son of a noble merchant sends a marraige proposal for the currently 12-year old Leslie Ruenti is more than willing to join his brother and father in hunting these people down and killing them.
Cloud Cuckoolander: Duke Salvator does not know where he gets his personality from, as he doesn't take after her or his father, but he's found to be quite odd.
Commonality Connection: As suspicious of Leslie as he is initially, constantly reminding himself to not "fall for Speràdo tricks," he can't resist bonding with Leslie when he realizes she's a fellow fan of his favorite philosopher.
Defrosting Ice King: He is initially quite hostile and suspcious of Leslie being adopted into their family due to being unaware and disbelieving of the conditions she grew up in and thought she was a Speràdo spy. However, after they bond over their shared intellect and love of philosophy, he warms up to her very fast.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: Played for laughs. When he meets Leslie, he keeps pointing at her and going "What is that?" and getting smacked upside the head by Bethrion in response.
My Sister Is Off-Limits: Has this reaction to any marriage proposals that Leslie gets. He will frequently burn proposals calling it “trash disposal”. and two families that proposed marriage which Leslie rejected ended up suffering misfortunes that Ruenti is implied to be behind. Even Konrad who he likes. His response to when Leslie and Konrad have a Relationship Upgrade is to say he’s going to start quizzing Conrad about a bunch of difficult subjects.
The Smart Guy: His role within the Salvator family. He knows he can't physically be as powerful or as good a warrior as his parents or elder brother, but his talent for magic and extensive knowledge allow him to support them in other ways. That being said, he is still a Salvator. As he says himself, he gets tired of people assuming he's weak because he excels in magical arts. His mediocre is still a lot stronger than a lot of people's best, purely from genetics.
Smart People Wear Glasses: Top scores in magic academy, wears glasses, and is Leslie's tutor.
Squishy Wizard: By the standards of his family. He could never match his brother or mother in pure physical prowess, but he does surpass his brother in the magical arts.
Stern Teacher: When he's tasked with teaching Leslie to control her power, he's strict, but fair.
They Just Dont Get It: Bethrion has to hit him on the head three times before he stops pointing at Leslie and going "What is that?" rather than asking "Who is she?"
What Were You Thinking?: Due to not knowing Leslie's circumstances, he voices the trope word for word in regards to his mother agreeing to adopt a daughter from the Speràdo household, since he knows how despicable they are.

Salvator Servants

General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/servants2.jpg

That smile, We must protect it!

Battle Butler: And Ninja Maid, and even some Chef of Iron. They may be servants, but they are still in the Salvatore household. When Medea sends a group of Etai kidnappers into the main house to target Leslie, they subjected the scoundrels to well orchestrated guerrila warfare!
Cuteness Proximity: Leslie's arrival took the house by storm, as they've never seen anyone so cute before, and when she smiles, they go totally gaga over it!
Gossipy Hens: The maids just love to gossip, but they're scared if Ms. Salvator ever finds out...
Undying Loyalty: Completely loyal to the Salvator family, unto death.
When She Smiles: Inverted. They will literally bend over backwards to see Leslie's smile, especially the head chef, who cried Tears of Joy, finding his 16 years of unflinching loyalty rewarded when Leslie praised his dishes as something one would be served in Heaven.

Jenna Dorantes

The family butler.

Boyish Short Hair: Wears her hair short, and is the Salvator's head butler, a traditionally male job, which she lampshades.
Reasonable Authority Figure: When a cup of hot tea slips from Leslie's frost-bitten hands, rather than the scolding Leslie expected, Jenna collects the dropped cup, has the carpet cleaned, and brings Leslie a fur coat to warm herself, before bringing out another cup. Leslie is stunned into silence.
Undying Loyalty: To the Salvator household.

Madel

Leslie's maid in the Salvator house.

Cute Clumsy Girl: Flashbacks have Leslie describing her as tripping over her own feet.
Locked Out of the Loop: As a new maid, hired to be Leslie's personal maid, she's not aware of Leslie's circumstances as much as the rest of the household. She still does her job with strict professionalism, and treats Leslie kindly, to the little girl's delight.
Malicious Slander: She testifies that when she was a child, she was the target of vicious and completely untrue rumors. She tracked down the source and found out that they came from a friend she's known for years. This so-called "friend" tried to turn the blame around back to her by spouting "We're friends, aren't we? I can say whatever I want about you, right?" Madel broke off all contact with the little viper and made it a point to never befriend someone who happily speaks ill of others again.
Meal Ticket: In the last few arcs, she goes out with a man who turns out to be using her as a way to get the Salvator's business while in a relationship with another woman. Leslie and the servants expose him in front of said other woman, who throws his things out the window and tells him to get lost.
Meido: She is a skilled professional maid, even if Leslie confuses and flusters her.
Undying Loyalty: To Leslie. Madel is badly wounded when the Speràdos and their assassins spring a final trap on Leslie and trap her in a burning restaurant. When Konrad arrives outside of the burning restaurant, Madel, despite her wounds, only has Leslie's safety in mind and instead of asking Konrad to save herself, asks him to save Leslie.
Parental Substitute: When Duke Salvator can't tend to Leslie herself, Madel is there to dote on her.

Parlon Anton

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spy_6.jpg

The Salvator servant who has been leaking information to the Speràdos.

Blood from the Mouth: Exaggerated. He is magically compelled to cough up so much blood that he dies almost instantly.
The Cake Is a Lie: A victim of it. He was promised a noble title by his "sponsor" if he was successful in his role of spying on the Salvators and bringing down the family. He found himself being slowly poisoned to death.
Explosive Leash: Internally. He was compelled by magic to die if he ratted out his "client."
Fatal Flaw: Arrogance. He was so certain he'd become a noble after his stint as a spy that he was all but insufferable as a Salvator servant. This made him stick out like a sore thumb, and he was easily caught, once the Salvators had reason to suspect there was at least one spy in their midst.
His Name Is...: Barely gets the words "Speràdo F—" out before he dies by violently coughing up blood.
It's Probably Nothing: He's been coughing up blood for a while, not just in his final moments, but he was so convinced that his "backer" would make him nobility that he completely ignored it, until he died.
Laser-Guided Karma: It doesn't take long for the Salvators to find out there's a spy, he's caught almost immediately after the suspicion is raised thanks to his Fatal Flaw, and he expires very shortly after thanks to the dark magics killing him mid-interrogation when he willingly tries to rat out Marquis Speràdo to save his own skin.
The Mole: Worked as a Salvator servant to sell secrets to the Speràdos.

Commander Hart Roen Berebien

Hart Roen Berebien

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hart_berebien.png

The captain of the Salvator knights.

Bruiser with a Soft Center: Despite his gruff and at time direct words, he does have a caring heart underneath and wishes Leslie to know just how high a bar her goal of being like the Duke is, and how many have failed and succumbed to jealousy and hatred.
Commonality Connection: He bonds a little with Leslie over the fact that both are outsiders who have been accepted into the Salvator family. She is their adopted daughter, while he is a knight from a one-time enemy nation of the Empire but has been accepted into the Salvator house he now serves.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He keeps his men in line, but will also talk with the Duke when she practices with her knights not everyone is as strong as her or her family, and so she shouldn't judge them to her incredible power.
Speak Truth To Power: When he sees and assesses Leslie's limited physical capabilities because of years of abuse, he firmly but respectfully asks the Duke to lower the initial training regiment for Leslie.

The Speràdo Household

Speràdo Family

General

Aristocrats Are Evil: They're a Marquis house and they are all horrible people who will happily abuse anyone they have direct control over, the moment they think they can get away with it. In Leslie's case, they physically, psychologically, and verbally abused her for the "crime" of wanting to be loved by them, and tried to sacrifice her so her older sister could 'awaken' her dark magic abilities.
Big "NO!": This is their reaction to seeing Leslie escape the fire pit and falling into the river below.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: All smiles and affection in public, monstrously abusive behind closed doors.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: Their bloodline, for untold generations, has taught its children that blonde-haired people are the superior race, and everyone else, is, at best, a servant to boss around. Where have we heard that before?
Entitled Bastard: Almost every single member of the family is one. They all believe that the best things in life are theirs by birthright, and if what they want is in the possession of others, then they're in the right to try and seize it for themselves, no matter what it takes.
Fantastic Racism: Endemic. As is revealed in Chapter 34. From generation to generation, parent to child, the blonde-haired children would be praised as the strongest, smartest, and most deserving of the best life has to offer. The silver-haired children would be made a Human Sacrifice to so their dark magic would be bequeathed to the blonde, empowering them further. All others would be treated with abject derision and be constantly abused.
Hate Sink: Every single one of their on-screen appearances has them doing something entirely despicable. The only time they do anything with basic decency, it's because they're putting on a good face in public, or they're acting entirely in the interests of avoiding personal punishment. They have absolutely no redeeming features.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Their own spy in the Salvator household is how Leslie learns that Lady Salvator was looking for a daughter to adopt.
How the Mighty Have Fallen: After the Noble Trial, the house fell to ruin and lost their reputation. After a third failed attempt to burn Leslie just shortly after the Noble Trial, they officially lost their noble status, with Travis Speràdo running as a fugitive, Derrial Speràdo leaving the household, not wanting to get involved any longer, and Ellie demoted to a commoner for her involvement in the third failed burn attempt... and after the Time Skip and end of the story, they are officially eradicated for good.
Hypocrite: When Leslie survives the fire and begins standing up to them, every one of them, including the servants, feel she's insane, evil, or insanely evil... which is ironic considering they're the ones continually doing deplorable things not just to Leslie, but to others in order to maintain their status as nobles and the masters of dark magic.
It's All About Me: They only care about their own individual well-being, and will happily turn on each other the moment it's convenient, especially the patriarch Marquis Speràdo.
Never My Fault: They never, ever take responsibility for their actions. While waiting for whatever standards they use to set for a proper sacrifice, they use their intended victim as a scapegoat, pushing all the blame and consequences of their misdeeds upon them. Leslie gets fed up with it, and calls them out on it, to their face.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Public reputation, wealth and noble power can only hold on so long against mounting evidence and the cracks in the facade. Leslie just happens to be the catalyst that causes the Speràdos to go absolutely apeshit and unwittingly destroy their own reputation with their obsessive, unrelenting desire to terrorize her for resisting them. In only a scant few months, the Speràdo family is all but torn down near-entirely as a consequence of their own crimes.
Stupid Evil: If the Speràdos were simply tormenting a lone Leslie, their plans would've worked without a hitch unless she lashed out with her Dark Magic. Once the Salvators, the direct right hand and number one enforcers of the empire, get involved in adopting and protecting her however, the Marquis' plans and Ellie's arrogance quickly fall apart because of the complete and utter lack of any measures taken; their laser-guided focus on Leslie causes them to arrogantly and repeatedly ignore the Salvator's capabilities and refusal to let go of the Idiot Ball, even having their spies focus on when the girl's vulnerabilities more than figuring out how to counter the family.

Marquis Travis Speràdo

Travis Speràdo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/travis_sperado.png

Leslie's and Ellie's father.

Abusive Parents: In every manner imaginable, except perhaps sexual abuse, upon poor Leslie. He has the gall to be enraged when he gets called out on it. At one point in chapter 28, he had planned on marrying Leslie off to some poor mercenary hoping she'd starve to death.
Assumed Win: His default position, especially at the Noble's Trial. He's seldom right.
Ax-Crazy: Downplayed. He gets his way through force and terror, and is unafraid of getting blood on his hands to do it if he wins. Multiple characters as well as several circumstances demonstrate just how volatile his violent side is, to the point that he tried to raid the Salvator estate to kidnap Leslie. But he's not so insane as to demonstrate it openly and readily. Usually.
Bad Boss: His servants, wife, and even Ellie, the daughter he dotes on, all live in abject terror of him. The story even starts with him threatening to throw his own servants into a fire, if they can't manage to do the same with Leslie, his own daughter, before sunset, despite the fact that she is desperately begging and struggling for her life right in front of them.
Big Bad: Ultimately the single most antagonistic individual in Leslie's childhood as nearly everything bad that happens to her traces back to him, and he's also the number one obstacle to the Salvator's adoption of her. Becomes a Big Bad Duumvirate with his daughter Ellie in their final combined attempt to murder Leslie.
Bullying a Dragon: When he's demanding Leslie be returned to him, despite his multiple attempts to murder her, he threatens Lady Salvator. She crushes the headrest of the chair he's sitting in, while daring him to actually carry out the threat, promising to break his bones with her bare hands. Then he brings an army and storms her home when Leslie is incapacitated, and Lady Salvator is alone. She tears through his army, and makes good on her promise, by breaking his arm with her bare hands.
Contrived Coincidence: He is able to deduce Leslie's ability to use Dark Magic after literally stumbling over a book in his library that landed at his feet after one of his bouts of Tantrum Throwing when Leslie had the gall to tell him to go jump in a fire himself if he liked it so much.
The Determinator: In his quest to take back Leslie and wrangle her back into a tool for the Speràdo house, he will not give up, regardless of the setbacks, costs, or pitfalls, to the point that the rest of his household wonders just why the hell he's so obsessed. It's actually deconstructed, though; his determination gives him tunnel vision, and he already was prone to taking stupid risks, so by the time he has utterly failed, his house is so poor that Ellie needs to sell her jewelry for them to buy groceries. It's only then when his will truly breaks. On one hand, it's a shame Ellie that had to step in and coerce him to go straight for killing Leslie again- but on the other hand, that reinvigorated determination ends up being his final downfall.
Did Not Think This Through: The rest of his household openly wonders why Marquis Speràdo is so determined to go through with a Noble's Trial against the Salvators. In this setting, a Noble's Trial is "winner take all," and the Speràdos have far more to lose, and many, many more skeletons in the closet than the Salvators, with the Salvators having a much stronger case as well. The moment word comes to the estate that the Emperor gave the okay, rather than being overcome with ecstasy, everyone but Marquis Speràdo is overcome with despair.
Dirty Coward: Didn’t participate in the era of confusion having cited a “weak constitution” and hired a mercenary to fight in his stead. He trembles in fear whenever he is confronted with someone who demonstrates how outclassed he is.
Dragged Off to Hell: After Sai tosses him into his burning mansion, he takes refuge in the basement, planning to wait out the fire. Then the spirits of the children murdered by the Sperados appear to drag him off to who-knows-where, but when they next contact Leslie he's heard screaming in the background.
Drowning My Sorrows: Shortly after the Noble's trial, Ellie stumbles upon him lying down on a sofa surrounded by empty bottles of wine and glasses, with another bottle of wine in a bucket, waiting to be drank. Ellie takes the wine out of the ice-cold water and splashes the water over his head in a rage.
Even Evil Has Standards: As big an abusive asshole as he is, even he thinks Medea's fate is unjust, and he genuinely wishes he had a way to help her. Unfortunately for him, she doesn't want his help, as she's aware of just how Stupid Evil he is.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Since everyone calls him Marquis Speràdo, the audience doesn't learn his real first name until chapter 28, which is Travis.
Fatal Flaw: Impatience and overconfidence. He may think he's a master schemer, but he really just goes with the first hair-brained scheme that flies through his head, certain things are going to go his way, without thinking through the costs or pitfalls. Then he throws an epic fit when it blows up in his face.
"Fawlty Towers" Plot: Throughout the Noble’s Trial, he is forced to pile lie upon lie at every countermeasure Ruenti presents making his claims sound more and more ridiculous and outlandish as it goes on.
A God Am I: In chapter 28, he tells himself that "a daughter should listen to her father's words as if they're the words of god" especially in regards to Leslie.
Hair-Trigger Temper:
- Should things stop going his way, in even the tiniest, he completely flips his shit and starts lashing out at everyone and everything around him. The family servants, and even his wife and "beloved" daughter are terrified of him as a result. Even when Leslie starts standing up to him, and refusing to take his crap anymore, he still terrifies her because she's well aware how unstable and murderous he is.
- In the Noble's Trial, this trait bites him in the ass when he's the one that violently reacts at every countermeasure and upset the Salvators bring up against him. Were he able to keep his cool, he could at least pretend that claims were just claims, but when he starts shouting out at witness testimonies and threatening his wife in anger, all it does is cause the rest of the court to immediately turn on him.
- Ellie proclaiming their final plot to kill Leslie was all the Marquis' idea and that he had threatened and abused her into doing it, causes him to utterly go postal and start kicking the crap out of her while screaming she betrayed him. Problem is that yet again his indignant rage blinded him to his situation - and he just gave Ellie's lies merit by physically abusing her in front of the Emperor of the entire country.
Hate Sink: The one time, one time, the Marquess seems like he's going to Pet the Dog, it was all to get Leslie on his side and manipulate her emotions while loathing her very being for every second of it. The man does nothing good, his own family fears him to some degree or another, his Ax-Crazy tendencies really start to shine once everything is against him, and the reader is intended to enjoy every waking second of his failures because he is that irredeemable a person as the single-handedly worst human being in the entire story.
I Control My Minions Through...: Terror, abject terror. His servants and relatives, are all terrified of his wrath as he will go into an Unstoppable Rage and destroy everything he can get his hands on, even shown throwing a cup of hot tea in Ria's direction on screen. Had it hit, the chances of permanent disfigurement are high, considering the clay cup shattered on impact, and the tea was boiling hot.
I Have Your Wife: More accurately, "I have your husband and daughter." He secures the cooperation of Amroa in the plot to try and set Leslie alight a third time, by burning Amroa's restaurant down, with Leslie and her inside, by promising the well being of her presumably dead husband and young daughter.
Implausible Deniability: When he's caught by Konrad, red-handed, setting an occupied restaurant on fire, with his knights attacking anyone who got close, including Konrad himself, he tries to beg for leniency by claiming he wanted to spare his biological daughter Leslie endless suffering due to her poor health. This motivates an already enraged Konrad to stab him with a sword in such a way that the next time he's seen, his hands are heavily bandaged to the that it's impossible to tell if he still has all his fingers.
It's All About Me: He couldn't personally care less about Leslie as a person, much less his own wife or even his first-born daughter he was sacrificing Leslie for in the first place. All he wants is the dark powers of the Speràdo family to stay under his thumb for him to maintain his position or even expand it, and anything else can go rot for all he cares. It's implied that he even "convinced" his wife to give birth to Leslie after two years of pestering her despite Marquese nearly dying in labor for Ellie, solely to fulfill the second-born quota without even letting her know why.
Karmic Death: At the end of the novel, he dies in his own house that is burning in flames... the same way he attempted to kill Leslie at the start of the story. Made even more karmic in the manhwa, as the spirits of the children who were sacrificed in the Speràdo family's rituals hold him in place while he's consumed by the black flames.
Laser-Guided Karma: During the Noble's Trial, everybody he abused turned on him, including his wife, daughter, and presumably dead younger brother. The only reason Ellie begged Duke Salvator to spare her father's arm is that she feared she'd be next.
Malicious Slander: During the trial, he not only insults the character of the Salvators, which the emperor cautions him could result in his death if proven false, but he insults the magician's guild by claiming Ruenti, with their sanction, magically enslaved Leslie to testify against him, and then goes on to try and discredit a magical recording showcasing Leslie's carriage being set alight despite Ruenti stating that said recording was authenticated by the temple. He's shocked that this turns around to bite him. It's especially jarring when one considers that he opens the trial showing a recording of Ellie and Leslie playing happily as children.
Miles Gloriosus: Chapter 28 reveals that he loves to boast his family knights can match the Imperial knight group Rinche. The fact that his entire army, including hired professional kidnappers, were routed by Duke Salvator alone has been a huge subject of ridicule from the masses and other nobles.
Never My Fault: In spite of all the shit he goes through because he refuses to let sleeping dogs lie with his harassment of Leslie, he never admits any culpability because he's so mentally removed from the mere concept of consequences. The moment anyone manages to get the upper hand and call him on it, he practically becomes a Psychopathic Manchild and refuses to buckle. Even after the Time Skip, seeing his own wife and daughter at least vaguely accepted back thanks to Medea keeping them under her thumb while he was abandoned to be a destitute alcoholic has him begin planning to incite hell and death upon everyone for his state rather than realize why he was tossed to the side so readily.
Oh, Crap!: At the end of the Noble's trial, he grabs his head in horror, wondering how the heck he's going to pay all the costs and fees, especially if the Emperor decides to tack on Leslie's abuse compensation to the list.
Percussive Therapy: A firm believer of it. He vents his rage by destroying every inanimate object he can get his hands on.
Rejected Apology: The moment he concludes that Leslie's powers might have awakened, he starts doting on Leslie, putting Ellie down, if need be, and (insincerely) promising to try and make it all right, though even he admits it's suspicious for a father who's been terribly abusive to suddenly begin acting decently. Leslie, not being a complete moron, sees through it, and states This Is Unforgivable! concerning all his past actions, including throwing her into a fire, and she will never, ever forgive him, so he shouldn't even bother trying to beg.
Small Name, Big Ego: While a Marquis is not small, he has bigger sense of self-importance than he actually has since the Salvators far outrank him.
Seriously Scruffy: Being homeless was not kind to him, giving him a scraggly beard and a nearly skeletal appearance.
Smug Snake: Happily thinks he's the most clever schemer in the empire. In truth, everybody is playing him, one way or another. The only exception, ironically, is the Salvator family that's straight with him.
The Sociopath: He fits all of the traits, from his self-importance and lack of human empathy towards even his own blood family, to attempting to manipulate and lie to all of those around him basically non-stop. When his plans all fall apart, he makes it clear that he blames everyone but himself for it.
Spanner in the Works: Medea wasn’t expecting him to steal the box containing Ephialtes from Ellie, out of anger at being ignored and swept aside. Nor did she expect that his twisted nature would make him such a good sacrifice that the locks on the box would open faster than she intended. She admits that had she known that the Speràdos would make too good of sacrifices, she never would have included them in her plans.
Spoiled Brat: Flashbacks of his childhood show him being praised for the "accomplishment" of simply existing, while his two younger brothers lived their lives in fear and abject deprivation.
Straw Misogynist: Accused of this by Medea offhandedly, about how he missed the days where women were just men's properties but groveled before her feet for her aid. Considering he forced a second child out of his wife in a context that borders on rape for a chance at a silver-haired child without regard for her health, and his willingness to disregard Duke Salvator as nothing but a woman that should've been bowing to him, it's likely not an incorrect statement. This isn't even getting into his literal dehumanization of Leslie for his own gain.
Stunned Silence: When Konrad turns his own testimony about Leslie having a "poor constitution" around to explain a condition where a High Priest's magic would give her pain, all he can do is grunt in horror as he tries to process just how bad he's screwed.
Stupid Evil: Although he calls himself "righteous" and genuinely believes it, he does evil things purely because they are evil, no matter how short-sighted and self-destructive they are.
Suicidal Overconfidence: He has a terrible habit of counting his chickens before they've hatched and then getting mad when it turns around to bite him.
Tantrum Throwing: Notorious for this. Whenever he gets mad, which is pretty damn easy, he throws whatever he can get his hands on, in any random direction, caring not a whit about the aftermath. The only reason he doesn't try this around Lady Salvator is that she pointedly demonstrates that she can easily break him like a dry twig, using her bare hands.
They Just Dont Get It: Every time he hatches a scheme to go after Leslie, it goes badly, yet he never learns his lesson and keeps on going after her, damn the consequences.
This Cannot Be!: When his "perfect" plan to attempt setting Leslie alight a third time backfires, he can't bring himself to understand how it could have gone wrong.
Too Dumb to Live: Once all of his plans have yet again gone up in smoke as his and Ellie's plan to burn Leslie to death ultimately fails and they're caught red-handed in the act before being brought before the Emperor himself, the Marquis simply cannot hold his temper in one last time. The very thing that has destroyed his reputation utterly flares up when Ellie sells him out to save her skin despite the fact that he was likely about to do the same to her, and he physically assaults her for it. Right in front of said Emperor.
Underestimating Badassery: Although the timing was the best possible, tactically, he brings his entire army, including professional kidnappers he hired, through the Salvator front gate, facing Lady Salvator head on. He learned first hand why she's called "The Monsterous Duke", when she breaks his arm with her bare hands.
Unwitting Pawn: For Medea, the queen dowager, who calls him an egotistcal moron behind his back.
Wound That Will Not Heal: Chapter 28 reveals that when Lady Salvator broke his arm, she used some otherwise harmless enchantment to prevent priestly magic from healing it, so he has to tolerate the pain of having the bones knit back together the slow and natural way. Rather than learn his lesson, he just grows more vicious and entitled.
Wrong Assumption:
- Combined with Psychological Projection. He presumed that the rest of his household would be as thrilled as he was when learning that the emperor granted the request for a Noble's Trial against the Salvator house that he's been pushing for and had his family push for too. They're not, because they realize the odds are against them.
- When he's stealing the box containing Elileptis, he presumes it's some piece of jewelry, or some sacred item because of how much Medea wants it, never realizing that it's a deadly disease.
- When Saraine catches up to him and punches him in the face, breaking his nose, he Feels No Pain. He thinks the crate he stole is giving him super-powers. In truth, he's actually in the terminal stages and is a dead man walking, forcing Saraine to throw him into a fire to keep the disease from spreading.
You Have Failed Me: At the start, he threatened the family servants to throw them in a fire if they failed to throw Leslie in. This is a threat he intended to carry out. During the Noble's trial, one of the servants who trapped Leslie in the coach that was set on fire steps forward and shows his hand being mangled with black magic so badly, he's stuck in a hospital bed waiting to die, because Leslie was rescued by the Knights Rinche, rather than Leslie either using her dark magic, or being burned to death.

Marquese Derrial Speràdo

Derrial Speràdo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marquese.jpg

Ellie and Leslie's mother.

Abusive Parents: Of the emotional variety. At her most benevolent, she punishes Leslie by dragging her into a room full of mirrors and forcing her to say "you're useless" to her reflection.
Death by Adaptation: In the novel version, she is never seen again after she heads back to her home family. In the manhwa, Medea's group of thugs, Etai, drag her back to the capital to be at ground zero when her husband Travis opens the box containing the deadly disease Elileptis, right in her face, giving her an instantly lethal dose as well as being cut down by an etai immediately after.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Chapter 37 and 38 reveal that her first name is Derrial, though she is always referred to as Marquess Speràdo.
Failure Is the Only Option:
- To reinforce her mindset that Leslie is useless to the family, she has the tutors question Leslie on stuff, not even covered in class yet, and then turn around and punish Leslie for not being able to answer the question. Upon this being mentioned, she cries out, loudly "ANSWER, don't talk back."
- A flashback also shows the hired tutor whipping Leslie for failing to be able to answer a question concerning subject matter she hasn't covered yet, and berating her for failing to support her elder sister and being an embarrassment to the family.
Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She wears various elaborate purple dresses as her eyes but avoids the elegant part, with its pettiness and selfishness.
Karma Houdini: The "punishment" Derrial ultimately gets is the mental turmoil over the Speràdo's fall, and having to go back to her blood family with her reputation in tatters as well as having wasted many valuable years of her adult life. Considering her desire for the Marquis to make her happy for her own selfish desires and her knowing mistreatment of Leslie to continue that, however, that dream going up in flames is the best the heroes can manage lawfully.
A Lighter Shade of Black: She was present and just as outraged as the others over the failure of Leslie's becoming a Human Sacrifice, and it's incredibly obvious that she's as vain and self-centered as her husband and daughter as well as arguably the worst emotional abuser of the three towards Leslie growing up. However, she's also the only one not involved in trying to torment or kill Leslie repeatedly after that, having tried to move on with her life rather than obsessing over the matter. It's the Marquis' refusal to let Leslie go that drives Derrial into despair because she knows it can't end well for them whatsoever.
Nervous Wreck: After the Time Skip, she appears at a party publicly but is clearly a shadow of her former pride; whereas Ellie was just about ready to pick a fight with Leslie minutes prior, bumping into Aleca has Derrial trembling nonstop and looking like she's ready to break into tears at the mere thought of punishment for the incident.
Oh, Crap!: In the middle of the Noble's Trial, she's fully aware that the Marquis is not only lying rapid fire almost immediately after an oath to god, but is horrified to have herself used as an example for sympathy points by way of claiming that she was wholeheartedly expecting a second child but suffered a miscarriage on Leslie. The fact was that she nearly died giving birth to Ellie, and the Marquis had exploited her into giving birth to the second-born for his own schemes against her wishes. A Death Glare forces her to corroborate this lie much to her displeasure.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Probably by prospect of being the only person not actually carrying Speràdo blood in her veins, she has enough sense to realize how bad everything's gotten and leaves the Speràdo family once Ellie and the Marquis are finally caught red-handed in trying to murder Leslie. It helps that she also had no direct involvement in any of the family plans, thus avoiding culpability.
That Thing Is Not My Child!: Though she never says it aloud, she clearly does not consider Leslie her daughter. When she chances upon Ellie running from a pissed off Leslie, she turns and goes "You! What did you do to my daughter?!" and has the gall to be angry at being ignored.
Villainous Breakdown:
- If Ellie's telling the truth, seeing her husband, the Marquis, return home humbled with a broken arm after foolishly storming the Salvator household, she locks herself in her room, refusing to leave, even to eat at the family table, for fear of receiving rightly earned ridicule. Leslie sees this as Laser-Guided Karma for all the times she locked her in her room, starving her and denying her food.
- Chapter 32 has the breakdown on-screen. When word comes back to the household that the emperor granted the Marquis request for a Noble's Trial, she buckles to her knees, begins loudly wailing and wondering why her husband's promise that if she gave him at least two children, he'd make her happy, isn't going to come to pass, because she knows full well that their family title is on the line, and the Salvators don't care about their own.

Ellie Darren Speràdo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ellie_sperado.png

Leslie's older sister.

Ambition is Evil: The only motivation she has for her vileness is becoming the next empress, by marrying the crown prince. She sees the Noble's Trial as a major impediment towards that end, and blames Leslie's mere existence for it, more than she blames her father's Stupid Evil.
Armor-Piercing Question: Subverted. When her father's villainy becomes public, and the visible consequences, a broken arm, cause her family to be openly ridiculed by the masses, she cries out to Leslie "Aren't you worried about Mother's health?!" Leslie immediately responds with a Breaking Speech and then an Armor-Piercing Question of her own that has Ellie slink off in silence.
Arranged Marriage: She is very proud to say she is Prince Arlendo's fiance. That said, with the disgrace befallen her and her household after the Noble Trial, Arlendo is giving her one more chance or he will annul their engagement.
Asshole Victim: The Marquis losing his patience with her to verbally and ultimately physically abusive extents veers from Kick the Dog straight over to the opposite end of the scale as she grows to become the same sort of monster as himself. Some of it was unwarranted on his part, but the majority was brought upon herself.
Big Bad Duumvirate: Ends up leading her father for one final act of petty vengeance on Leslie's life. Of course, it's this point of finally participating in the Speràdo's crimes directly that finally causes her karmic comeuppance.
Blackmail: A rare case of being on the receiving end from a heroic character. Leslie makes her well aware that the Marquis would have a very strong probability of swapping their roles if he learns that the younger sister is the one with the greater power over Dark Magic.
Blatant Lies: She doesn't fool anybody when she tries to say she was helping Marquis Speràdo burn Leslie alive under duress, because her life was forfeit if she didn't comply. She does manage to win some leniency because the Marquis himself adds truth to her words by openly attacking her in front of the Emperor and many witnesses.
Cheaters Never Prosper: Averted. High Priest Debaine rigs her candidacy test in her favor, allowing her to pass. Of course, this rears right into Pyrrhic Victory territory: yes, she passes the test, but she's still a criminal, meaning for the next four years until the next test, she has to live exactly the same way Leslie herself lived, stuck in a small, nondescript room, with a maid who doesn't care about her and treats her like dirt, so there was a definite cost for cheating.
Dirty Coward: Her cowardice is shown when fleeing from the burning restaurant Leslie is in, she refuses to help her father who tripped causing her to flee and encounter an angry Konrad on the way.
Did Not Think This Through: On several occasions, out of force of habit, she tries to drag, hit, or pull Leslie by the hair, after Leslie's powers awakened, or in public, where there are witnesses, even once revealing Leslie's burn scars by tearing the sleeves of the flimsy dress Leslie was wearing, right in front of the crown prince. All of these have gone wrong for her.
Dumb Blonde: Unlike Leslie, Ellie is not very well educated or intelligent despite being the favorite (or thanks to that), her ignorance is such that she is not even able to answer the candidacy test because she does not know the language ancient of the Empire, which Leslie masters perfectly.
Evil Is Petty: She physically destroyed her old clothes, when they no longer fit, right in front of Leslie, purely to deny Leslie the opportunity to wear nice things, even if they are hand-me-downs.
Fantastic Racism: A truly unusual case. She believes having blonde hair and green eyes automatically makes her better than everyone else, on all points, without exception, especially against those with silver hair. She has a breakdown when Leslie calls her out on it, and points out, with laser guided accuracy, how ridiculous such a stance is.
Leslie: "If I was born like that, would you have asked to share this power you want so badly?... LIAR."
Fate Worse than Death:
- During the Time Skip and her imprisonment under Medea as an Arabella of the Church candidate that got her leniency, Ellie was trapped in an isolated room being treated like waste by what limited exposure to life she has, all to destroy her pride and will as a human being so that Medea can trick her into sacrificing herself for the queen dowager's plans. Essentially, everything the Speràdo family inflicted on Leslie has been reversed onto Ellie, but she eats it up thanks to the false pleasantries Medea gives her in her hopeless state.
- At the end of the novel, Ellie is not only orphaned and lost all her birthrights, with Leslie abdicating her birthright and involvement as a Speràdo, she is disfigured and imprisoned for her involvement with Empress Medea's plot. If Ellie's final appearence in the manhwa is any indication, she might have lost her sanity as well.
Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence:
- She spent her entire life treating Leslie with abject disgust and would throw a fit if Leslie so much as walked too close to her in the Speràdo house. Even in chapter 20, she grabs Leslie upon seeing her head to the washroom in a fancy dress-shop, proclaiming "It seems I will have to go to another store next time! Someplace that has more elegance and understands what a good customer looks like."
- This reaches its zenith in chapter 32, with abject lampshading, where Ellie explicitly states that the mere thought that Leslie could have a happier life than herself means Leslie should not exist.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: True, she may have been raised with extreme Parental Favoritism, and taught from an early age that Leslie's sole role in life was to be her substitute in a Human Sacrifice ritual, but that doesn't explain or justify all the other cruelty she inflicts on her younger sister, especially once she starts being scared of facing the same treatment when she realizes that Leslie's power has awakened, and that her own father, Marquis Speràdo would happily flip their roles without warning if he figures it would be in his best interest to do so.
Green-Eyed Monster: Ellie has green eyes and envies Leslie's power of darkness, leading her to try to sacrifice her just to gain her power.
Green and Mean: She has green eyes, often wears green clothes, and is a mean and cruel villain without redemptive qualities who mistreats and conspires to kill her sister, for no other reason than to obtain her powers or to take revenge on her for make "his life difficult", regardless of the means to achieve it.
Hate Sink: Again and again, Ellie is given proof that her little sister's life has been crappy largely as a result of Parental Favoritism and occultic powers on the part of their parents, and again and again Ellie refuses to show Leslie any sympathy. At multiple points, she even actively participates in making Leslie's life a living hell. Once brought into the Salvator family, Leslie even gives Ellie multiple chances to apologize and mend their bonds, but Ellie stubbornly refuses, burning every bridge possible simply to make her little sister suffer for daring to make her life 'difficult.' Eventually, she spearheads an attempt to burn Leslie alive while holding a former maid's daughter hostage out of the belief that her life would be so much better if Leslie were dead. Suffice it to say, even Leslie eventually stops extending an olive branch when confronted by the depths Ellie will sink to.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: She openly calls Leslie "that thing" in front of others, unless she's sucking up, for the sake of appearances.
A Lighter Shade of Black: Make no mistake, she is still a horrible, horrible person who deserves no pity, but she can occasionally be reasoned with, unlike the rest of the Speràdo household, which does evil things, purely for the sake of being evil while having the gall to call themselves "righteous." Though, not so much after the Noble's Trial, where being denied the things she thinks she rightfully deserves causes her to target Leslie personally as revenge.
Like Father, Like Son: She really takes after her father, Marquis Travis Speràdo. When the crown prince breaks off the engagement in the wake of the Noble's Trial, she goes full-tilt Tantrum Throwing, beating up the servants, even assaulting the Marquis himself. And then taking up his own sociopathic tendencies to try to target and kill Leslie herself.
Never My Fault: As she's facing the consequences for her crimes and the fact that she can't pass the first screening of the Candidacy test without Leslie's help, that Leslie is absolutely not going to provide, she angrily proclaims that it's all Leslie's fault. Until she realizes that the test was rigged in her favor by High Priest Debaine.
Oh, Crap!: Ellie cannot comprehend the idea of being punished for something, so when the Marquis actually gets pissed at her in his attempts to get into Leslie's graces, she freaks out - and, of course, gets pissed at Leslie in return. She also has a spectacular freak out when she's finally confronted with consequences for her crimes.
Pragmatic Villainy: She will do heroic things, like spreading word to the Salvators that Leslie's in danger, if she believes it will save her own hide.
Psychological Projection: She's completely convinced herself that Leslie will happily treat her with the same contempt and abuse that she treated Leslie with, and is desperate to preemptively crush Leslie first.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: After Ellie has been imprisoned following the last unsuccessful attempt to kill Leslie, she gets on the receiving end of one. From Leslie herself, who calls her out on being ashamed at her unsightly appearence, but not at the abuse and crimes she committed.
Revenge Myopia: She repeatedly swears bloody vengeance against Leslie for all the suffering she's going through, despite the fact that Leslie has absolutely nothing to do with it, while angrily ignoring her many, many crimes she committed against Leslie.
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: When she gets Duke Salvator's attention as the woman is about to crush Marquis Speràdo's arm again after the latter tries to grab Leslie, in clear violation of the emperor's ruling, Ellie defends herself from the Duchess's righteous wrath by stating she's the fiance of the crown prince. The Duke points out that this is hardly a viable defense in response.
Skewed Priorities: When Leslie pays her a visit in jail the first time, she's not the slightest bit concerned about the fact that her crimes are public knowledge. She is instead ashamed that her fingernails are broken, and she hasn't had a bath so is covered from head to toe in dirt, dust, and other detritus. Leslie calls her out on it.
Sunk Cost Fallacy: The more things go badly for the Speràdos, due to attacking Leslie, the more determined she becomes to try and seize Leslie's power for herself.
Villainous Breakdown:
- The longer the situation with Leslie and the Salvators goes on, the worse Ellie becomes, taking a head after the sheer loss her family takes in the Noble's Trial when Ellie realizes that her family's wealth and name are crumbling apart before her very eyes - so she settles on trying to burn Leslie alive one final time.
- When brought before the Emperor for the Final Defense, Ellie is so completely and utterly desperate to save her own hide that she snitches out her father and proclaims feverishly that he had coerced her with violence into cooperation and that Leslie's lifelong abuse was her backstory - anything to get out of the worst potential consequences. It doesn't save her from a Fate Worse than Death.
Villainous Rescue: She's the reason Bethrion Salvator was aware that Leslie's coach was on fire, and Leslie needed rescue.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Attempts to win the emperor's sympathy by claiming she had suffered abuse under her father, Marquis Speràdo, and he threatened her into helping him burn Leslie alive, fearing for her own life.

Taryn Speràdo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taryn_sperado.png

Travis' younger brother. A former member of the Speràdo family.

Dark and Troubled Past: He was beaten and kicked by his biological family so hard that, even decades later, he still has problems with his spine.
Defector from Decadence: Considers working as a coal miner paradise compared to being surrounded by luxuries he can never touch in the toxic environment known as the Speràdo family.
Happily Married: He may have to work in a coal mine, but considers that paradise compared to his life in the Speràdo house.
Made a Slave: As he's testifying, we're given a bit of a peek into why the "Child Protection Act" was drafted. According to Travis Speràdo's memories, a flashback reveals that Taryn and his brother were outright sold to some unknown person(s), and their father, Rubertin Pirune Speràdo was furious that they apparently died in transit, calling them "useless until the end."
Rejecting the Inheritance: After the fall of the Speràdos, he ends up technically being next in line to inherit the title of Marquis. It's shown that during the Time Skip, Leslie did approach him about filling in the role but he emphatically declines, preferring to remain a simple coal miner and forget all about his time with the Speràdos.
Rescue Romance: On the receiving end. He married the woman who saved his life.
Resigned to the Call: Wanted nothing to do with the capitol or the Speràdo name, but came forward to testify when he heard his niece, Leslie, was being dragged to court for the "crime" of fleeing the same kind of treatment he received.
Sole Survivor: When he and his other unnamed brother were being shipped off in a cheap carriage, reason unknown, a genuine accident killed everyone on board, except for himself, thanks to being rescued by the woman who would become his wife.
Spell My Name With An S: Is it Theron or Taryn? The English scanlation goes with the latter.
The Un-Favourite: He and his other, unnamed brother were spurned and treated like dirt by their parents, who deliberately favored their brother Travis due for solely having been born with blonde hair and green eyes.
White Sheep: One of the few people with a Speràdo name who is a decent and upright individual.
Wound That Will Not Heal: His abusive childhood was so bad, the beatings have given him problems with his spine that even clerical magic can not heal, giving him tremors nervosa while testifying in Leslie's defense.

Speràdo Servants

General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/servants.jpg

Dirty Coward: They love to throw their weight around, but the moment they personally face even so much as a stern talking to, they knuckle under immediately. For instance, they loved to browbeat Leslie, even grabbing her by the arm when she tried to board a carriage to head to the temple, but when she turned around and slapped the grabber in the face, he let go immediately and obeyed her wishes as if she'd been his lord and master all her life. She's able to take command of them long enough to reach the Salvators by just facing them directly and aggressively.
The Dog Bites Back: At least one of them turns around and angrily decries Travis Speràdo during the Noble's Trial for ordering them to set Leslie's carriage on fire and then cursing his hand with black magic, to leave him in a hospital bed waiting to die.
Even Evil Has Standards: In chapter 1, they were hesitant to throw a desperately struggling Leslie into a fire, even though Marquis Speràdo was threatening to throw them in as well for failing to do so.
Just Following Orders: Their go-to excuse for being cruel to Leslie, and it does have some justification. Marquis Speràdo is an abusive Bad Boss who is a clear and present threat to all of them, and lashes out with violence the moment even the tiniest thing doesn't go his way.
Make It Look Like an Accident: On orders from the Speràdo head family, they have a long, long history of arranging "illnesses", "burglaries", and "accidents" that have laid claim to countless silver-haired Speràdo children for over 1000 years.
Moral Myopia: They are caught red-handed setting the carriage Leslie is riding on fire, and lying in wait in the nearby forest, waiting for proof of Leslie's Dark Magic, but they have the gall to call Bethrion, and the Imperial Knight order Rinche "kidnappers" for coming to her rescue, and refusing to hand the unconscious and grievously wounded Leslie over to armed men who are all clearly suspicious.

Ria

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ria.png

Leslie's previous nanny and top tutor.

Believing Their Own Lies: She tells everybody who will listen, including herself, that she always treated Leslie kindly, and believes it. She views Leslie leaving the Speràdo house as the act of an ungrateful brat, even though the Noble's Trial shows that for poor Leslie, it was, and still is, a matter of life and death.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: As a reward for scuppering the Speràdos' plot and rescuing Leslie, Ria is given a job by Aleca Salvator, bringing an abandoned Villa on Salvator property to par, hers to keep, if she will just maintain it properly. It just so happens the villa was abandoned for good reason. It's within shouting distance of the maximum security prison and the convicts' cries can be heard all day and night. Leslie gets a chuckle when she's told about it.
Entitled Bastard: She sees maid work as beneath her, even though a hired maid is precisely what she is, being a nanny was always a short-term gig, and she knew it.
Gaslighting: It's an open secret that Leslie had scars on her arms because she was thrown into a fire. When Ellie rips the sleeve of Leslie's dress in front of the crown prince, and Leslie honestly states that Ellie is responsible, as soon as she hears about it, Ria tries to drag Leslie out of bed to force her to apologize to Ellie because those scars came from Leslie herself being scalded by a kettle of hot water that Ellie warned Leslie not to play with. As Leslie staunchly refuses to accept such a ridiculous cover story, Ria honestly believes Leslie's gone insane.
Implausible Deniability: Deludes herself into believing that a kettle of hot water is responsible for burning Leslie on both arms, front and back, all the way to the shoulders, and it being a simple accident, rather than being an act of open malice aimed at Leslie.
It's All About Me: Only cares about her own well being in the Speràdo House. Cares not a whit about Leslie.
Jerkass: Comes with being a spiteful employee under the Speràdos, but even with her abuse of Leslie aside, she truly falls into this territory when she's forced to do maid work despite being a nanny and starts cursing out the maids and butlers for it rather than simply having the sense to quit despite seeing the writing on the wall.
Misplaced Retribution: As Marquis Speràdo is yelling at her, and going into a violent fit, for one of his own plans failing, she internally blames Leslie for putting her in trouble, as opposed to being angry at Marquis Speràdo for being such an abusive asshole.
Not Quite the Right Thing: She specifically raised Leslie to be meek and humble so she wouldn't be a raging brute like her father Marquis Speràdo. Of course, she completely blinds herself to the fact that the rest of the Speràdo household sees this meekness as an open invitation to abuse and bully her. When Leslie's had enough and starts to fight back, Ria deludes herself into thinking that Leslie's gone completely insane, and needs to be disciplined for it, even grabbing Leslie by the burns on her arms, and she has the gall to be shocked that Leslie yells Get Out!!
Parental Substitute: And yet another abusive one. Should Leslie ever deny the Speràdo cover-story for any and all signs of abuse, Ria immediately believes that Leslie's the one who's lying, and tries to beat the "truth" into her, requiring physical violence and another member of the Speràdo family calling her out to make her stop.
Reassigned to Antarctica: After she betrays the Speràdos to the Salvators in the hope of getting a cushy new position, Duke Salvator instead assigns her to be the only servant living in and cleaning the Salvator's "Ghost Mansion." A creepy Haunted House deep in the frozen south which is close enough to Raston that the prisoner's wails and moans can be heard across the lake at all times.
Selective Obliviousness: She's been Leslie's nanny her whole life, sees how Leslie is treated on a daily basis, but if Leslie ever gets mad, she honestly believes that Leslie is the one in the wrong, regardless of the circumstances, and wonders where she failed in raising the girl to be sweet, sensitive, and completely obedient.
Third-Person Person: When she's lecturing Leslie, she always goes "Ria taught you better than this" or "This Ria ..." Her internal thoughts; however, usually take the form of "I" when referring to herself. Presumably this is an aspect of her nanny training and not a personal quirk, as other maids in the series do similar things.
Turncoat: She may be deluded, and entitled, but not stupid. She does eventually see the writing on the wall and defects to the Salvators. Once she hears the other servants say that the Salvators pay better, among other boons. She not only goes to Aleca to plea for a job as a Salvator servant, but sweetens the deal by ratting out the plan to set Leslie on fire again by burning down a restaurant.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: After the Noble Trials go horribly for the Speràdos, Ria's called by a scheming Marquis and Ellie to discuss and identify a former servant, a woman named Amroa that was fired for treating Leslie nicely and giving her a healthy meal of bread. Ria is completely unaware that they used that info to exploit Amroa to kill Leslie until after the plan had gone into action, and it's this very event that stirs the final downfall of the Speràdo family.

Altera Family

Duke Altera

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duke_alterra_6.jpg

Konrad and Frit's father.

Abusive Parents: Slaps Konrad around, in the face, for coming to Leslie's aid, and it obviously is not the first time, as he doesn't even care when there are witnesses.
Ambition is Evil: Subverted. Medea believes she could get him to her side by promising him rank equal to the emperor. He refuses, and prepares to walk out of the room in a rage for her even suggesting it... until Medea mentions his wife and her ailment, and that she's the only one with a cure.
Aristocrats Are Evil: A duke and an abusive asshole who thinks it's the height of "intelligence" to slap his son around, in front of witnesses, and side with the clearly sociopathic Speràdos, whom the Empress Dowager is treating as disposable tools and is looking to cast off the moment it's convenient.
Get Out!: When he gets tired of slapping Konrad around, seeing that violence isn't causing the paladin to cower and back down, and realizing that Konrad has the logical and moral high ground, he resorts to calling Konrad an idiot and yelling "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
Hostage Situation: Chapters 46 onward show that he actually has a damn good reason for his on-screen nastiness. His beloved wife was sent by Medea as a relief worker to deal with the outbreak of a very contagious disease. Medea is holding hostage the cure to said disease in return for his cooperation, and he hates both Medea, and the situation.
Hypocrite: Calls Konrad an idiot, acting more and more stupidly for coming to Leslie's aid and siding with the Salvators, presumably for fear of alienating the Empress Dowager. Yet, he openly sides with the Speràdos, who are not only openly in decline, but even the Empress Dowager is looking to cast them off, the moment it's most convenient, not realizing how dangerous a position it is to side with the Speràdos, and overlooking the fact that the Salvators are closer to the throne than the Empress Dowager is.
Reality Is Unrealistic: His relationship with Konrad does indeed play out as shown way too often. There are many documented cases where the abusive asshole is also the family's major breadwinner. So the family, and the abuse victim(s), make up excuses, lie, ignore, and cover up the abuse to keep everything stable, appease the abuser, and in many cases, fear the abuse getting worse for daring to out the abuser or defend themselves.
Stupid Evil: Sides with the Speràdos, who wouldn't be grateful for his aid, even if things had gone smoothly, while being willing to alienate the Salvators, who are very close to the Imperial throne, and have very long memories. Yet he thinks Konrad is the idiot.
Virtue Is Weakness: He calls Konrad more and more stupid for siding with Leslie and the Salvators than with the clearly sociopathic Speràdos, for whom it's only a matter of time before their influence, title, and family completely implodes.

Konrad Alpe Altera

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/konrad.png

The paladin Leslie crashes into while searching the family register in the royal archives.

Anger Born of Worry: Expresses this for Leslie when she ends up running off without her guard to spy on suspicious and dangerous people.
Battle Couple: Eventually forms one with Leslie after she finally accepts his courtship offer.
Childhood Friends: With Ruenti and The second prince.
Determinator: The pain he takes in place of Leslie as part of his gambit is amplified because of the nature of the magic he uses. Ruenti notes that pain should be enough to knock a person unconscious, but Konrad is able to maintain his composure throughout the trial and after it.
Does Not Like Spam: He hates sweets, but fakes it convincingly to try and earn Leslie's trust.
Does Not Like Women:
- He's gynophobic and Leslie giving him a surprise hug, or holding his hand, makes him flinch, even when there's no magic involved. Unlike most examples, Konrad is only uncomfortable when he is in near physical contact with them but is otherwise alright with interacting with women.
- He explains this as being to do with his upbringing and the fact he really doesn’t have much experience being around women at all — he went to the temple to train as a paladin when he was just seven, and training groups are split by gender. Couple that with the fact that until Leslie was adopted into the Salvator family there were no other noble women even close to his age in the same social circles as him (the closest being Ellie, the daughter of a Marquis) and it’s not surprising he’s uncertain and uncomfortable around women.
Good All Along: During the Noble's trial, Marquis Speràdo's ally, later shown to be working under Medea, has Leslie subjected to Priestly magic, to proclaim she's under a spell, forcing her to testify against him. Due to the nature of Leslie's dark magic, this causes her terrible pain. Konrad debunks this, using his divine magic on her, but taking her pain into himself, with nothing to gain, and even deflecting her gratitude!
Hates Being Touched: Even before the Noble's Trial, he flinches when Leslie touches him.
Lady and Knight: As they grow up he and Leslie become this with her being a graceful lady with enough dark magic to level a building and him being a paladin with enough divine magic to contain her magic and enough swordsmanship to protect her.
Light Is Not Good: Is an official imperial paladin and wields holy magic, but he's not entirely trustworthy, seeming to have some yet unstated less than entirely wholesome interest in Leslie. Later subverted when he's found to be Good All Along, making this a case of Light Is Good.
Locked Out of the Loop: He doesn’t learn about Leslie’s dark magic until the second candidacy test where he finds a bunch of wolves killed by her magic and it would be easier to just tell him the truth rather than come up with a lie. He admits to being a little hurt but understands why the Salvators kept it secret.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: How does his father respond to hearing about the Noble's Trial? Smacking him in the face, and accusing him of doing stupid things, then yelling "Get Out!."
The Paladin: His role in the empire army and church.
Power Limiter: In addition to being hired to teach Leslie the holy language, he's also brought in to restrain her dark magic, should it go out of control.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: When he catches a fleeing Marquis Speràdo, he pointedly tells the latter that even wild animals do not attempt to harm their young, so Marquis Speràdo is even worse than wild beasts!
Refuge in Audacity: When the family butler brings him a letter from Leslie, his father shows up moments later asking "what's that?". Konrad responds that it's a letter from the temple and asks if he wants to examine it. Duke Alterra walks away without a second thought.
Ship Tease: With Leslie. Konrad has been nothing but kind to her, which helps her warm up to him and Konrad feels a need to protect her as she reminds him of his little brother. However, it wasn't until much later that Konrad finally sees Leslie in a romantic light.
Spanner in the Works: When the Noble Trials are about to come to a temporary break, under which the Marquis' final ace up his sleeve is to use the Child Protection Act to his advantage to be able to take Leslie home and never let her be seen again by using a Medea-supporting High Priest from the Church to make it seem like Leslie's being controlled by the Salvators, Konrad throws his own lot in thanks to his status as a paladin and blindsides that plan into oblivion due to his personal attachment to Leslie. All by effectively doing the same thing the Priest did, taking the pain that Leslie should be feeling onto himself, and proclaiming that the High Priest was likely overdoing it. This saves Leslie's life ultimately.
Think Nothing of It: When Leslie comes to him, thanking him for his aid in dealing with the Noble's Trial, he retorts that he did nothing worth being thanked for.
Tranquil Fury: When he catches up to a fleeing Travis and Ellie Speràdo, he doesn't raise his voice or rant and rave, he calmly and coolly tells them to give up all resistance and keep quiet, because if they don't, they're going to wind up missing some limbs.
Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: Has yellow eyes and isn't entirely forthcoming with the Salvators, regarding his intentions towards Leslie.

Frit Altera

Konrad's younger brother

Big Brother Worship: Never gets tired of singing Konrad's praises.
Cheerful Child: A very happy and energetic child.
Children Are Innocent: A sweet and innocent child who adores his big brother.
Innocent Blue Eyes: Blue eyes and an innocent child who adores Konrad.
Locked Out of the Loop: He's completely unaware of how abusive his father is towards Konrad, and that's deliberate.
You Remind Me of X: Konrad thinks he reminds him of Leslie, and vice versa.

Royalty

Queen Dowager Medea Cien Recardius

Medea Cien Recardius

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/medea_1.jpg

The queen dowager, widow of the previous emperor.

Altar Diplomacy: Was sent as an envoy to the previous emperor to plead for the continued existence of her country, that the previous emperor declared an eyesore. Her people were spared in exchange for two things: 1.) The country would be assimilated into the empire. 2.) She would become the Empress, by marriage.
Ambition is Evil: At the end of the day, there is nothing Medea won't do to rule the Empire herself, even if it means destroying many lives and her own family. Not even her actual son Arlendo was safe because Medea planned to gradually poison his mind with exotic flowers after he takes the throne and make herself Emperor in all but name.
Anti-Villain:
- Despicable though her methods are, Medea has every reason to do what she does given she was all but sold off for her country's continued existence after the rest of her family fell, only to be construed with great distrust and hostility by the empire and thrust into a position where she had to manipulate or waste away. Her ultimate goal is solely to have her son, the Prince Arlendo, become the heir to the empire so that at the very least she's done something for him and finally put an end to the emperor holding off on a heir's succession. She even goes out of her way to warn Aleca in particular about the secret deadliness of the Elpeltis and likelihood of Leslie dying if she becomes the Arabella due to it when she had no real reason to, albeit in her own methods.
- She also has some deep rooted resentment at Itwana and the current Empire's Heir Club for Men approach to succession, something that would have prevented her from ever being able to lead the country she loved. Part of her plans is to put Arlendo on the throne to at least provide something for her son, yes, but she's very open that she also wants someone on the throne she can control, as neither the Empire or Itwana would ever let her rule.
Benevolent Boss: Make no mistake, she is vicious and cruel, but unlike the Speràdos, does treat her servants with due respect, and they serve her faithfully in return. Though there is the case of the maid sent to be whipped for "embezzling money", which was false but done anyway to satisfy Ellie in Medea's continued exploitation of her. The implication was that that woman wasn't a personal servant for Medea, however.
Big Bad: Of the Arabella trials arc, using both Ellie and Leslie to her own ends to make at least one of them sacrifice their life for a particular weapon called the Elpeltis, sealed away by some rumored deadly illness left by the first Arabella. All so that her son, the Prince Arlendo, can then inherit that power and become the unquestioned ruler of the empire. While she can't operate directly upon this, she uses the High Priest Debaine to survey the work for her from afar, and Ellie as her personal candidate to sacrifice - but really doesn't mind if Leslie ends up dying instead.
Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Effectively what she puts upon Travis and Ellie Speràdo after they've worn out their welcome in the empire, entrapping them in her own plans rather than leaving them to rot. Of course, it also made them highly expendable if they screw up any more. Ellie learns this the hard way.
Everybody Has Standards:
- She may see the Speràdos, especially the Marquis himself, as useful tools, very useful tools, but is utterly disgusted by their short-sighted egotism and Stupid Evil tendencies. That's still okay though; the Arranged Marriage engagement between the crown prince and Ellie is very easy to annul, after all.
- It's to the point that she later outright admits to herself that even if the wedding had gone through, she was going to just release all of the dirty and horrible secrets of the Speràdos to the public afterwards to destroy them for just how monstrous they were - but Leslie threw that plan off when she ended up doing it herself, forcing some Xanatos Speed Chess that put Medea in conflict with the girl.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: She's not only been used as a pawn for a long time, but she's so accustomed to using people as pawns that the possibility of Aleca wanting to adopt Leslie purely out of genuine love and kindness never enters her thought process, and it baffles her.
Faux Affably Evil: Excellent manners and soft-spoken in public, vicious and contemptuous of everybody else, in private.
Flower Motifs: She is usually associated with Jacarandas, which seem like small unobtrusive flowers when they bloom, but when they spread their roots can devour an entire lake below the surface without anyone noticing.
Foreshadowing: In the midst of her machinations and planning in the manhwa's Chapter 83, she accidentally cuts her finger on her scissors while trimming thorns off a plant. The timing isn't coincidental, as it alludes to the slimmest of oversights causing all of her plans to inevitably fall apart.
Freudian Excuse: She was forced to throw away her country, her crown, her name, to save the lives of her people, and the nobles of the Recardius empire were loathe to recognize her as the new empress, despite what her husband, the emperor said, despite the fact that he forced her to marry him in the first place. Upon his death, she became a pariah. Small wonder she's vicious and vindictive.
Friendly Enemy: In spite of everything, in her own twisted way, she genuinely considers Aleca a friend, the feeling is not mutual.
Go Out with a Smile: After realizing that Duke Salvator stabbed her in the stomach, Medea gave the Duke a weak smile, perhaps thankful that she was killed by someone she considered an equal.
Greater-Scope Villain: She's manipulating the Salvators and Speràdos against each other, and has taken an interest in Leslie. Medea also leads a faction that is fanatically loyal to her, enabling her to manipulate politics within the Empire for her own benefit, whether the emperor likes it or not.
Green-Eyed Monster: When Medea was forced to leave her home and marry the previous Emperor, she viewed Duke Salvator with awe as the personification of what she wanted to become. However, over the years - despite their higher status - she grew to resent the Salvators freedoms and her respect twisted into bitterness. Although, to Medea's credit, she recognises this and still has enough respect to give Duke Salvator warning to get out the way of her schemes.
I Have Your Wife: She holds Duke Alterra's wife, or rather the medicine she needs, in exchange for his cooperation. Duke Alterra does not like this. Made worse by the fact it's eventually revealed the flowers she would give to Duke Alterra, alongside the medicine for his wife's illness, were what caused her poor health in the first place.
Laser-Guided Karma: In the end, she is stabbed in the stomach by Duke Salvator, who considered the Queen Dowager to be far too dangerous to keep alive. Considering that Medea has allies hidden throughout the Empire and likely has backup plans in the event she were arrested, the Duke made the right call. Made all the more satisfying by the fact she truly does not expect Duke Salvator to kill her, and believes her status as the Queen Dowager coupled with the Duke's role as the Empire's Guardian will keep her safe and give her enough time to regroup.
Make It Look Like an Accident: Implied. Her husband, the previous emperor, died of illness shortly after their marriage...
Mal Mariée: Her husband, the previous emperor, was so much older than her, that her stepson was also older than her, and it's rumored the marriage was not a happy one.
The Man Behind the Man: The Speràdos would never been such threats if she weren’t propping them up.
Manipulative Bitch: Don't let her smiles and pleasantries fool you. She's wrapping you around her finger, or trying to.
Meaningful Rename: She was known as Apellonia Artvana as the princess of the Kingdom of Artvana. She lost her name, her country, and her people when the emperor of Ricardius unilaterally demanded he marry her in exchange for their lives.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Her imperial name is Medea, and this name has some serious horrific connotations, in both fiction and real life.
Stepford Smiler: She smiles in public and when she has "esteemed" guests. In private, she is not a happy woman and almost constantly scowls.
Treachery Cover Up: After her death at Duke Salvator's hand, Medea was buried in a dark corner of the palace graveyard, with her attempt to overthrow Emperor Fieste now classified as a royal secret.
Underestimating Badassery: Privately, she has nothing but contempt for Emperor Fieste, whom she considered a weak-willed, naive fool who would be better off as a simple school teacher. After Medea was killed, Fieste personally charged all of Medea's allies for treason and sentenced them to death. Despite what Medea thought, Good Is Not Soft.
Villain Respect: Aside from herself, Medea considers her enemy Duke Salvator a more capable leader than her stepson Fieste, whom she thinks would be better off as a school teacher.
Villain Takes an Interest:
- When Marquis Speràdo comes before her, asking her to wage a Noble's Trial on the Salvators, Medea isn't fooled in the slightest. She's well aware of what an abusive asshole Marquis Speràdo is and his "concern" for Leslie is as fake as a $3 bill. The fact that he came begging for the trial, on the other hand, clues her in that there must be something special about Leslie, and now she wants to know what it is.
- Comes to a logical conclusion in Season 2, when she discusses with Arendo the possibility of securing Leslie as a more suitable future Empress than Ellie.
Virtue Is Weakness: Her idea of a proper ruler is someone who is aggressive, ambitious, and utterly ruthless, letting nothing stand in their way. Medea may have this belief partially because such a ruler would be easy for her to manipulate, unlike Fieste, who is only interested in keeping peace and order in the Empire after a recent war.
Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: She is illustrated with golden eyes and is always scheming. It is even implied that she's responsible for the spy that was feeding intel on the Salvators to the Speràdos. Chapter 41 confirms that she placed not one but two spies among the Salvator servants, the second of which testified on behalf of the Speràdos during the Noble's trial... Yeah, he's not likely to have a job now, considering how slanderous his testimony was.

Emperor Fieste Giles Recardius

Fieste Giles Recardius

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fieste.jpg

The current emperor and stepson of Medea.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Openly begs Duke Salvator to hand Leslie back to Marquis Speràdo, until he hears what the monster Duke is protecting Leslie from.
Everyone Has Standards: When Duke Salvator brings him documented hard evidence of the abuse Leslie endured under Marquis Travis Speràdo, especially the part where the marquis locked her in a carriage and set said carriage on fire, he's openly horrified.
Good Parents: Despite his own mistakes and his troubles concerning naming a successor, Fieste does love both of his sons. This is especially poignant considering he's known for quite some time Arlendo is actually his younger half-brother and yet he and his wife still view him as their son.
Know When to Fold 'Em: Realized there's no point protecting the Salvators from the Noble's trial if the Salvators themselves want the trial to go forward.
Lonely at the Top: He knows he can't trust his relatives, not even his own son, all of whom are pushing for Salvator to stand "a noble trial."
Nervous Wreck: Clearly at his wits end trying to keep the Salvator house out of a Noble's Trial, and fending off his less-than-wholesome relatives. Being in the presence of Lady Salvator, who once literally held him by the neck while they were on the front lines has not done him any favors.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Realistically portrayed as a noble, just ruler who made a mistake that he honestly regrets. He just wants to do right by his nation, and is despondent over the fact that everyone in his immediate family and quite a few other nobles are corrupt and ambitious. When he can use his authority to make a situation right, he does so quickly and decisively.
Secret Secret-Keeper: He is aware that his "son" Arlendo is really his younger half-brother, but keeps quiet out of fear of what Medea might do if she knew that he knew and to give Arlendo a stable life.
Spanner in the Works: Queen Dowager Medea names him as the reason she isn't already in charge. If he'd inherited any of his father's domineering and ruthless personality or wasn't so just and overly cautious, then she'd likely already have the empire in her grip. Instead, she's settled for making Arlendo his heir so she can use him to fulfill her ambitions instead.
Succession Crisis: Subverted. He's trying to avoid this exact situation by naming one of his sons as his definitive heir. However, he's taking a lot of time due to his cautious nature and that neither of his choices are perfect. Arlendo is a strong leader and talented but overly ambitious, greedy, likely to start another war and is being supported by Queen Dowager Medea. Meanwhile, his second son, Consten, is weak-willed but more likely to support the era of peace Fieste fought so hard to establish in his youth. In the end, he decides to name Consten his heir over Arlendo.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He wrote the "Child Protection Act" which mandates that children have to be raised by their parents until they come of age to deal with some unexplained off-screen nastiness. When he learns that Marquis Travis Speràdo is actively using this law as a shield to get away with abusing little Leslie, giving the poor girl no recourse or avenue to escape, he's mortified and despondent at having to revise the law and get it to pass through whatever bureaucracy his empire is saddled with.
What Were You Thinking?: Said to Aleca Salvator word for word in regards to trying to adopt Leslie. Then he reads about how Marquis Speràdo treated that poor little girl...

Prince Arlendo Perre Recardius

Arlendo Perre Recardius

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arlendo_recardius.png

The eldest prince of the kingdom and Ellie's fiance. He is the candidate that Queen Dowager Medea supports to become the crown prince and heir to the empire.

Ambition is Evil: Both his own father and Duke Salvator comment that Arlendo is overly ambitious and greedy. This quality is one of the things stopping his father naming him as his heir because he fears Arlendo would restart the chaotic wars the empire is still recovering from in a bid for more power.
Arranged Marriage: He is in one with Ellie Speràdo. He views the entire marriage as a political transaction and isn't sucked in by her honeyed words at all. When the Speràdo's lose the Noble Trial and the Marquis claims there is a history of miscarriage and genetic issues in his family during that trial, the Prince gives Ellie one final chance to keep her position as his fiance.
Break the Haughty: He's understandably distraught after learning about his true parentage and becomes more humble as a result, especially after learning that his family still loves him anyway.
Grey-and-Gray Morality: He wholly believes that every family has skeletons in the closet and dark secrets. So, what he loathes about the Speràdo's isn't their treatment of Leslie, but that they were exposed publicly and in a humiliating fashion. However, it's implied this is also a result of cynicism on his part given how people suck up to him for being royalty; he even calls Ellie out to her face, fully aware of the fact she only wants him for his power and money.
Informed Ability: He's apparently The Ace, having numerous skills that would make him an excellent leader. However, due to his limited appearances, the only actual evidence the reader has of this is his ruthless manipulation of Ellie.
Switched at Birth: He's really the son of the previous emperor and Queen Dowager Medea, making him Emperor Fieste's younger half-brother. At the time of Arlendo's birth, Fieste's wife gave birth to a sickly baby girl. With the help of a loyal maid, Medea switched the babies and allowed the girl to die, effectively making her own son an heir to the Empire under everyone's noses. Fieste eventually grew wise to his "eldest son's" true heritage, but kept quiet until Arlendo himself learned about it from the maid involved in the deed. After Medea's coup fails, Arlendo is stripped of his royal status and sent to the Holy Kingdom to live a quiet life in order to prevent a Succession Crisis, although he takes this rather well.
Unwitting Pawn: He's this to his true mother, Queen Dowager Medea, who hopes to use him in her bid to take control of the Empire for herself.

Clergy

High Priest Debaine

Debaine

The high priest brought to examine Leslie by the Queen Dowager.

Berserk Button: She will incinerate anyone who would dare to disrespect or insult Medea to her face.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Pretends to be a decent priest and member of clergy. She's really a sadistic bitch who enjoyed giving Leslie unprecedented pain.
Corrupt Church: She considers Queen Dowager Medea the only "god" worth praying to.
The Dragon: She's the one in charge of the Arabella tests post-Time Skip, which includes watching over Ellie and Leslie alike once they finally come of age to apply. And she makes her thinly-veiled hostility quite clear to Leslie after the sham at the Noble's Trial, while fulfilling the direct antagonist role of the arc for Medea's plans.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: She fully understands Konrad and Ruenti coming after her for her part in high treason against the empire, but learning they also want to retaliate against her for what she did to Leslie during the Noble's Trial and the Arabella testing has her thinking that they're insane.
Eyes Always Shut: As she's using her public "devout follower" face, her eyes look like slits, but when she's showing her genuine sadistic persona, they open.
Freudian Excuse: She comes from a bloodline that can use both wizard and holy magic, which oppose each other, a highly unstable condition, leaving those so afflicted with the prospect of very short and painful lives. Medea was the only one who helped her stabilize her condition and get through it.
High Priest: It's her title at the temple.
I Take Offense to That Last One: At a certain point when Debaine is trying to make Leslie doubt the Salvators, she refuses to listen and trusts them and accuses Debaine of being the Marquis’s puppet. Debaine remains calm but informs Leslie she doesn’t work for the Marquis and she actually took offense to that since he is so stupid.
Light Is Not Good: Dresses in white, wields divine magic, and is a corrupt sadist who enjoys tormenting children, and getting paid for it.
Public Execution: In the end, she is arrested and hanged to death along with many others who supported Medea's attempted coup.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Barely changes her expression as she's enjoying torturing Leslie with an overdose of Divine Magic mixed with Arcane Magic.
Squishy Wizard: As Ruenti points out she’s more of one than him. While he’s a Salvator in his early twenties, she’s a priest in at least her late thirties with the physique that it implies.

Others

Shuella Avon Tirayum

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shuella.jpg

Leslie's etiquette teacher.

Not So Stoic: Hearing Leslie ask if a serving of cotton candy was a lock of her hair had her guffaw with a full belly-laugh.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Does not scold Leslie for getting etiquette wrong, unlike the so-called Speràdo tutors, who taught her wrong on purpose.
Rose-Haired Sweetie: Has pink hair and is genuinely nice and friendly to Leslie.

Amroa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amorra1.jpg

A former maid of the Speràdo's who was kind to Leslie, and got fired for it.

Because You Were Nice to Me: Inverted. Leslie will never forget how she's the only maid in the Speràdo home who gave her actual food, some freshly cooked bread and fresh jam.
Easily Forgiven: Subverted, at the end of her arc she's sent to another country, and her last words from Leslie are a cold "Goodbye, Amroa".
The Exile: Normally, being part of a conspiracy to murder a duke's daughter merits death, but because her daughter was kidnapped by the Speràdos, and she had a change of heart, trying to rescue Leslie at the last moment, she was exiled from the empire. She's been given leave to head to a warmer and friendlier country the moment her daughter recovers from her illness.
Forced into Evil: With her presumably dead husband and ill daughter held hostage by the Speràdos, she was forced to keep Leslie restrained in her restaurant until the both of them were dead. Leslie manages to talk her out of it, but not before the Sperados set the place ablaze.
I Warned You: Though very subtle, she repeatedly tried to warn Leslie about the dangers of paying her restaurant a visit. Leslie had to learn the hard way.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: On the receiving end. She's glad the Speràdos fired her, as the pay was horrible, the nanny was ill-tempered and cruel, the Speràdos, save Leslie, were all abusive and violent, with many of the other maids getting frequently smacked around, especially by the Marquis himself, leaving her constantly stressed and scared. Soon after she got out of that hellhole, she met the man who would become her husband, got married, had a little girl, and got to build her own restaurant, which is obviously quite popular.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The other maids and butlers decided to haze her, after being with the Speràdos only one and a half months, by having her deliver bread that's burned black and hard as a rock to Leslie and telling the poor girl that's her only meal. Amroa would not stand for it, and delivered freshly baked bread with fresh jam, which Leslie ate with gratitude, as if it were a rare delicacy. In response, the Speràdos fired her, almost literally throwing her out into the streets.

Characters / The Monstrous Duke's Adopted Daughter
aka: The Monster Duchess And Contract Princess

Protagonist

Leslie Speràdo / Leslie Shuya Salvator

Salvator Household

Salvator Family

Aleca Benkan Salvator

Sairaine Delpa Salvator

Bethrion Lahen Salvator

Ruenti Aduel Salvator

Salvator Servants

Jenna Dorantes

Madel

Parlon Anton

Hart Roen Berebien

The Speràdo Household

Speràdo Family

Travis Speràdo

Derrial Speràdo

Ellie Darren Speràdo

Taryn Speràdo

Speràdo Servants

Ria

Altera Family

Duke Altera

Konrad Alpe Altera

Royalty

Medea Cien Recardius

Fieste Giles Recardius

Arlendo Perre Recardius

Clergy

Debaine

Others

Alternative Title(s): The Monster Duchess And Contract Princess

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Index

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Characters / The Monstrous Duke's Adopted Daughter aka: The Monster Duchess And Contract Princess

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Protagonist

Leslie Speràdo / Leslie Shuya Salvator

Salvator Household

Salvator Family

Aleca Benkan Salvator

Sairaine Delpa Salvator

Bethrion Lahen Salvator

Ruenti Aduel Salvator

Salvator Servants

Jenna Dorantes

Madel

Parlon Anton

Hart Roen Berebien

The Speràdo Household

Speràdo Family

Travis Speràdo

Derrial Speràdo

Ellie Darren Speràdo

Taryn Speràdo

Speràdo Servants

Ria

Altera Family

Duke Altera

Konrad Alpe Altera

Royalty

Medea Cien Recardius

Fieste Giles Recardius

Arlendo Perre Recardius

Clergy

Debaine

Others

Alternative Title(s): The Monster Duchess And Contract Princess

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / The Monstrous Duke's Adopted Daughter
aka: The Monster Duchess And Contract Princess