Ferdinand/Relationships

The Sixth Aub Ehrenfest was Ferdinand's father. They rarely interacted while in Ehrenfest due to Veronica's interference. However, he fondly remembers being praised by his father after making first-in-class among the first years at the Royal Academy, when Veronica was absent. After that, he went all-out in his classes in hopes of earning his father's praise again on the rare opportunities they had to talk.

Shortly after his father's death, Ferdinand was forced to enter the temple to escape Veronica's persecution. He was not able to attend the funeral as his father's son, but rather in an administrative capacity as a blue priest.

Before taking Ferdinand from the Sovereignty to Ehrenfest, his father made Ferdinand give him his name, but returned it shortly before his death, so that his son wouldn't die with him.

Seradina was a mistress of the Sixth Aub Ehrenfest and Ferdinand's mother. Her identity also appears to be a mystery to Ehrenfest nobility. It is later revealed that she is a Lanzaneve Princess.

Followed Ferdinand to Ehrenfest, she was a mother-figure to him.

Rozemyne is Ferdinand's student and legal ward. They have a close relationship. Ferdinand is one of the few people who knows both her past as a commoner in the lower city of Ehrenfest and her life as Urano Motosu on Earth. When he realizes that her extensive mana capacity will put her in great danger from the nobility, he secures her adoption and fake background as a noble to keep her safe.

Many of Ferdinand's friends are dismayed when they learn he is taking care of a child, but they are surprised by how well the two get along. Rozemyne's quick learning ability, work ethic, and interesting viewpoints always exceed his demanding expectations. In turn, she is not put off by his strict teaching style and values his praise highly. Although they often bicker, and Ferdinand is frequently exasperated by her antics, they share a strong sense of affection and trust.

After sharing her memories using the magic tool, Ferdinand is convinced of her honesty and lets his guard down around her even more than with his retainers Eckhart and Justus, even eating her food without fear of poisoning. He does his best to listen to Rozemyne's viewpoints and values from her first life as Urano and tries to respect them, even when he doesn't share them.

They both tend to worry over one another and can be a bit overprotective. After coming to realize how frail Rozemyne is, Ferdinand routinely checks her health and prevents her from overexerting herself. She also keeps an eye on his workload, prevents Sylvester from assigning him extra tasks, and drags him out of his workshop to get sleep and eat food at least once a day.

Veronica is Ferdinand's stepmother, the first wife of his father, and the mother of his half-brother Sylvester. A paranoid woman who was determined to see her own son become the next Aub Ehrenfest, Veronica was convinced the young Ferdinand wanted to secure the the archduke's position for himself. She bullied him at every opportunity and refused to adopt him, which would have solidified his status as a legitimate archduke candidate. As a result, Ferdinand could only become the next archduke if every other member of the archducal family died.

After his father's death, Veronica's persecution of Ferdinand grew increasingly harsher, to the point that he felt his life was in danger. He ultimately followed his brother's advice to renounce his noble status and flee to the temple where Veronica could not touch him.

Unsurprisingly, Ferdinand loathes Veronica and her entire political faction. While in the temple, he works hard to gather evidence on her crimes to allow Sylvester to formally hold her accountable for her actions. They finally charge her with treason after she forges a permit for Count Bindewald at Bezewanst's request, and she is imprisoned in the Ivory Tower.

Sylvester, the Seventh Aub Ehrenfest, is Ferdinand's half-brother. Despite the harassment Ferdinand endured from Sylvester's mother Veronica, they had a good relationship as children and considered each other as siblings. It was Sylvester who urged Ferdinand to enter the temple to protect his life.

Sylvester is affectionate toward his little brother, although he often makes unreasonable demands and relies on him to help him manage his duties as an archduke. Because Ferdinand dislikes asking for help, he ends up overworking himself rather than tell Sylvester he can't handle it.

Georgine is Sylvester's older sister and Ferdinand's half-sister. Because she was so much older than him, they rarely met as children. She was married into Ahrensbach before his time at the Royal Academy. Ferdinand dislikes her for her similarities to Veronica and views her as a threat to Sylvester, Ehrenfest, and Rozemyne. He works to gather information on her involvement with the former Veronica faction and counteract her political schemes.

Florencia is Ferdinand's sister-in-law. He views her with respect, and she feels companionship and sympathy for him as a fellow victim of Veronica's abuse. While she finds him handsome, she is not as fascinated with his good looks as many of her fellow noblewomen.

Wilfried is Sylvester's oldest son and Ferdinand's nephew. At first, they share a mutual dislike. Ferdinand sees Wilfried as a lazy, irresponsible child who isn't worthy of becoming the next archduke. Meanwhile, Wilfried was raised by his grandmother Veronica to treat Ferdinand with disdain as a blue priest. At Rozemyne's request, Ferdinand frightens Wilfried into taking his studies more seriously.

When Wilfried enters the Ivory Tower, Ferdinand listens carefully to his explanation and apology. He compliments him for sincerely reflecting on his actions and accepts a softer punishment. While Rozemyne sleeps in her jureve, Ferdinand and Wilfried grow closer as family. Ferdinand also corresponds with Wilfried and advises him on how to best handle Rozemyne at the Royal Academy.

Charlotte is Sylvester's second child and Ferdinand's niece. When Rozemyne was asleep in her jureve, Ferdinand trained Charlotte to take over her Spring Prayer duties and to help manage the winter playroom along with her brother, Wilfried.

Melchior is Sylvester's youngest son and Ferdinand's nephew.

Karstedt is Ferdinand's cousin and close friend, as well as the head of the Knight's Order. Ferdinand trusts Karstedt as a person of "unshakeable character," to the point of asking him to accept Myne into his family.

Elvira is Karstedt's first wife and a dedicated supporter of Ferdinand in particular. She admires his looks and his talent and frequently gushes over him to her family and friends. However, she also feels a deeper affection for him as a fellow victim of Veronica's harassment, and she was resolute in her loyalty and respect for him even when he entered the temple.

For his part, Ferdinand respects and values Elvira's capabilities as an intelligent and influential noblewoman. He correctly predicts that she won't accept the "Rozemary's daughter" cover story, and opts to instead tell her most of the the true story to win her support.

Bonifatius is Ferdinand's uncle and the doting grandfather of Ferdinand's ward, Rozemyne. His enthusiastic love for his granddaughter often causes problems. When she slept in her jureve, Bonifatius pestered Ferdinand with messages and unreasonable demands, often disrupting him while he was already swamped with work.

Eckhart is Karstedt's eldest son and Ferdinand's loyal guard knight. He was devastated when Ferdinand entered the temple and refused to serve anyone else, even the archduke's son, until he returned.

Justus is Ferdinand's scholar and attendant who specializes in collecting information. Although often exasperated by his eccentric behavior, Ferdinand respects his ability to unearth difficult-to-find intel. Like Eckhart, Justus is highly loyal to Ferdinand and continued to serve him after he entered the temple.

Lasfam is a retainer who takes care of Ferdinand's estate.

Arno formerly served as Ferdinand's head attendant in the temple. When Ferdinand discovered that Arno's grudge against Fran led him to sabotage his fellow attendant and fail to report Count Bindewald's presence in the temple, he was extremely displeased. Arno has since been "distanced".

Fran formerly served as Ferdinand's attendant. Ferdinand values his skill and loyalty so highly that he assigns him to serve Myne when she arrives at the temple. Due to his position, Fran's loyalties are shared between both of his masters, meaning he often has to decide which information to report to Ferdinand and which to keep private.

Zahm is another gray priest who formerly served as Ferdinand's attendant. He now serves Rozemyne.

Benno is a merchant in the lower city who works closely with Rozemyne. Ferdinand has a camaraderie with Benno thanks to the archduke's unreasonable demands. He requests that Rozemyne send him a warning before being summoned abruptly, to spare him the pain of what happened with Haldenzel and Elvira.

Ferdinand's awareness of Lutz is that of someone Rozemyne relies on, as well as her only link to her lower city family.

Myne is Ferdinand's student and assistant in the temple. Impressed by her quick learning ability and mana, as well as her family's courage in defying the High Bishop, Ferdinand allows her to enter the temple as an apprentice blue shrine maiden and takes responsibility for her education and care. He advises her on how to navigate noble society and cooperates with the Gilberta Company and her family to keep her safe.

Although Ferdinand is a strict teacher and taskmaster, he is usually satisfied with Myne's quick learning ability and hard work. He is frequently baffled by her strange ideas and unpredictable behavior, but he is willing to support her as long as she thinks her projects through and explains them to him first. Over time, he becomes fond of her and even somewhat protective. When she is harmed at the trombe extermination, he is furious at the culprit and later apologizes for allowing her to be hurt.

After viewing her memories as Urano Motosu using the magic tool, Ferdinand is convinced that Myne is a sincere and honest person who cares for nothing but books and her family. With the knowledge that she is not a threat, he feels a deeper sense of trust toward Myne and lets his guard down more often. He admires the bond she shares with her family and admits that he is somewhat envious of her happy family life.

Although Bezewanst is technically Ferdinand's uncle by marriage, they do not see each other as family. Ferdinand views him with contempt and disgust. As High Priest, Ferdinand is responsible for nearly all the day-to-day management of the temple, while Bezewanst embezzles most of the temple's budget for his personal use. When given the opportunity to punish Bezewanst for his crimes, he does so without hesitation.

Kampfer is a blue priest who underwent Ferdinand's grueling training. He has since become a more competent at managing temple paperwork.

Frietack is another blue priest who underwent Ferdinand's training.

Christine is a former member of the temple. She left before Ferdinand's time at the temple, but he respects her love for music and recommends her former retainer, Rosina, to Rozemyne as a music teacher and personal musician.

Rihyarda was Sylvester's attendant, and is now Rozemyne's retainer at the castle. She raised Karstedt, Ferdinand, and Sylvester and holds a certain amount of power over Ferdinand. To his irritation, she calls him "my boy" as he isn't married yet, and Ferdinand goes out of his way to avoid her. She is one of the few people who can scold Ferdinand into doing things he'd rather not.

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