Opa is Amelia’s grandfather, the Third Count of Nerland, and a figure of immense bitterness and cold authority. He is introduced when Amelia first meets him at the palace in Rosenbach, and his reception is frosty: he criticizes her hair, demands she bring Lumina back, and says he doesn’t expect her to rule but wants her to prove herself. He insists she must be baptized as a Christian, revealing his preference for religious orthodoxy over the pagan traditions that also exist in Nerland. Amelia feels hurt and unwelcome, and only Lady Melusine’s comfort sustains her.
Opa’s bitterness stems from multiple losses: he lost his wife, his daughter (Amelia’s mother), and his son-in-law (Lumina’s father). He is a man who has been broken by grief and has hardened into a rigid, uncompromising shell. He opposes any positive relationship with the Bermuda Triangle, calling them pirates and bigamists, and he dismisses Amelia’s pleas about the K.A.V.E.M. District’s strategic importance. He tells her bluntly that they don’t need her or her deals.
However, Opa is not entirely without hidden depths. He secretly approves the peace treaty with the Bermuda Triangle and the military protection agreement with Antemidia—showing that he is more pragmatic than he lets on. The disappearance of his emerald ring causes panic among the staff, but Lumina later reveals that she orchestrated the theft through Lady Melusine because they don’t trust Opa’s schemes. When the enemy attacks Rosenbach, Opa is missing, and his absence forces Amelia to take command. He eventually appears with Lumina at the ceasefire, having gone to Rittertal, a dangerous region, and returned with a new ring. Lumina suspects the original ring had no real power and that Opa is bluffing.
Opa scolds Prince Xylemander at the ceasefire, threatening to summon Sambath allies with torture devices—a glimpse of the ruthless leader he once was. Despite his coldness, he is a survivor, a man who has navigated Nerland’s treacherous politics for decades. His relationship with Amelia remains strained, but he ultimately accepts her role in the K.A.V.E.M. District negotiations and the peace treaty. He is a complicated figure: a villain in many ways, but also a wounded old man who has lost everything and clings to power out of fear and grief.
Leave a Reply