Fran

Fran (フラン Furan) is a character that appears in the Ascendance of a Bookworm series. An orphan, he works as a grey-robed priest in the temple.

Fran used to serve Ferdinand as his head attendant, however when Main joined the Temple he was assigned to her instead, and quickly took up the role as her head attendant, keeping the others (and her) organized.

Initially, he resented the role, believing that it meant Ferdinand no longer trusted him; in time, he learned that in actuality Ferdinand did so because he was the most trustworthy attendant Ferdinand had. Although he never shirked on his duties before that, finding out how strong Ferdinand's trust in him was made him thoroughly recommit to serving Main.

When Main "died" and became Rosemain, he immediately transitioned into becoming her head attendant, and ensured that all the other attendants treated Rosemain as a proper noble.

Before becoming one of Ferdinand's attendants, Fran was an attendant of the previous director of the orphanage, sister Margaret, alongside Arno. Sister Margaret used her position to exploit Fran sexually in her secret room, which gave him trauma; the reveal of her having had sex with a grey robed priest was considered scandalous enough in noble society that she committed suicide. Arno, who became Ferdinand's new head attendant once Fran became Main's, held out continuing animosity toward Fran because of feelings he had for sister Margaret that went un-reciprocated due to her illicit contact with Fran, and therefore he felt Fran was responsible for her death.