Elias Brandt Dale Raeven


 * "Absolutely not! How could I turn my child over to a woman like you?!"
 * — Marquis Raeven to Princess Renner about his beloved son.

Elias Brandt Dale Raeven (エリアス・ブラント・デイル・レエブン) is a former noble of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Though he put on the guise of a sly opportunist, he was actually a patriot. However, he defected to the Sorcerer Kingdom after his family was threatened.

Appearance
Marquis Raeven is a tall, thin man with slicked-back blonde hair. He looks like a snake due to his pale-white skin and narrow blue eyes. As one of the six great nobles, Marquis Raeven possesses clothes of the highest quality.

He wears a doublet made from high-quality fur woven with golden threads. There are intricate patterns and small jewels sewn into his clothes.

Personality
His intelligent and careful nature makes him seem cold-hearted and is characterized as an opportunist by some, Marquis Raeven is a good father and a patriot in the Re-Estize Kingdom. He is a highly skilled noble and a master manipulator, being able to single-handedly keep the Kingdom united through his connections to both the Royalty and Nobility Factions.

However, he also suffers from great stress due to the sheer amount of influence and responsibility he has taken on his shoulders. While maintaining a cold and calculating demeanor in public, he vents out his frustrations while in private by criticizing those whose actions he views as foolish.

The only time when Raeven completely drops his act and shows his true feelings is when in the presence of, or discussing his son Rii-tan, whom he constantly dotes and spoils.

Background
Marquis Raeven originally aimed for the throne, but the birth of his son made him forsake this goal and changed him and his wife into a real loving couple. He now simply wants to give his son a better life.

On the other hand, Marquis Raeven commands the highest authority among the six great nobles. He is known to be an opportunist, cooperating with both Patricians and Loyalists from time to time and constantly switching between the two factions like a snake in order to further his own goals. However, Marquis Raeven is, in fact, the leader of the Royalty Faction, and his behavior as an opportunist is just a performance to prevent the Kingdom from splitting.

The Bloody Valkyrie Arc
Marquis Raeven first appears in Ro Lente Castle, where he discusses the plans to the King and the great nobles on the course of action against the Baharuth Empire and how many soldiers will be sent at Katze Plains.

The Men in the Kingdom Arc
and The Men in the Kingdom II Arc At Ro Lente Castle, Marquis Raeven is talking with Prince Zanac about their similar interests and meet Climb, who is on his way to Princess Renner's room. Marquis Raeven along with Prince Zanac is called by Princess Renner, who asks for his help for her operation against Eight Fingers. Marquis hired Darkness to enhance his estate's security in the wake of the recent disturbances, but he really wanted to suppress the criminal group known as Eight Fingers, and they hoped Momon would fight alongside them, against Six Arms.

However, their plan changed with the appearance of Jaldabaoth and his demon army, looking for a certain item in the Royal Capital. He and Prince Zanac support Princess Renner on defeating Jaldabaoth. After the Royal Capital's disturbance has been resolved, he thanked Momon for his cooperation and hope they will continue their cordial relationship in the future.

The Magic Caster of Destroy Arc
Marquis Raeven was given total command over the Royal Army in the Katze Plains. The Marquis was shocked and surprised after seeing Ainz Ooal Gown's army, he sought advice from one of his adventurer guards, the adventurers warn Marquis about the Soul Eaters that killed hundreds of thousands of beastmen in the past. After seeing such a terrifying army, he ordered the Kingdom's army in full retreat, but it was too late and the massacre began.

During the massacre, one of the Dark Young then started chasing Marquis Raeven and his adventurer guards. All of Raeven's adventurer guards are instantly killed, but it suddenly froze in its tracks, allowing him to escape and survive the massacre.

The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc
Although he survived the massacre at Katze Plains, Marquis Raeven was left traumatized by the experience. He abandoned his position as Prince Zanac's closest confidant and retreated back to his private territory, with seemingly no intentions of returning.

The Witch of the Falling Kingdom Arc
Sometime after the Massacre at Katze Plains, the marquis was contacted by the Sorcerer Kingdom and was coerced into co-operating with them under the threat that should they fail to comply his family and especially his son will pay the price. Since he witnessed the scale of power the Sorcerer King had unleashed and did not want any harm to befall his family he accepted.

When the war has started, the Marquis had used all of his resources to prevent information of the invasion from reaching the capital. This allowed the Sorcerer Kingdom to cut off all routes of escape as well as block any ally aid from the eastern and northern regions. After the Battle of E-Naüru, news of his treachery had finally reached the capital and Prince Zanac.

Renner and Zanac discusses about what might have been the reason why someone like the Marquis chose to side with the Sorcerer Kingdom by betraying his home nation for the enemy. According to Renner, she speculates the Marquis’s decision was based on the possibility that someone from the Sorcerer Kingdom has kidnapped his son. She thinks the Marquis was being blackmailed to help the Sorcerer Kingdom as the enemy is keeping his son hostage. If this was not the reason, she explains even further that he might have just chosen to betray the Re-Estize Kingdom solely because he thought that the nation has no chance of survival. Not only that, but the Marquis was believed by Renner to betray them for the sake of protecting the lives of the people from his city besides his son. Let alone that, it was said by Renner that the Marquis was probably given the order by the Sorcerer King to kill off any people who are seeking refuge in his city as a way to test his loyalty.

Abilities and Powers
Marquis Raeven is the most influential noble in the Kingdom and commands the highest authority among the Six Great Nobles. It is because of him that the Kingdom has not yet fallen completely into chaos and vanity. He is shown to have exceptional leadership skills and is praised as a great man.

Job Classes

 * High Noble (Common)
 * Charisma (Common)
 * Sage

Marchioness Raeven
Originally an engagement to increase his influence within kingdom politics, his wife is described to be a beautiful but melancholic woman. Their marriage took a turn for the better after the birth of their son, an event that changed both her and her husband. She became more involved in her duties as wife of the Marquis and seems to be primarily responsible for keeping him away from distractions at home.

Rii-tan
The catalyst for the Marquis' change of heart, Rii-tan lives a somewhat spoiled life, doted on by his father. It is said that his birth caused the Marquis to smile. It falls to his mother to discipline the son and to keep the Marquis from getting too distracted to manage the affairs of the Kingdom.

Ramposa III
Marquis Raeven, being the leader of the King's inner circle, is loyal to King Ramposa III. However, privately he criticizes him for letting his emotions cloud his judgment and stubbornly refusing to pass the throne. On the other hand, after becoming a father himself, he has become able to somewhat understand his favoritism.

Gazef Stronoff
Beneath his cold facade, Marquis Raeven admired the commoner, Gazef, and his talents. He even wished to petition to the king to grant him nobility status so that he would be on equal footing with the domineering nobles.

Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself
He and Prince Zanac share similar interests and cooperate with each other when necessary. He also supports the Second Prince's claim to the throne in return for him making him Prime Minister. However, privately, he criticizes him for further dividing the Kingdom through his rivalry with his brother.

Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself
Marquis Raeven is one of the few people who know that Renner is wearing a "mask" to hide her true self. He is terrified of her abilities and real persona. When she proposes to make his son her fiancé in a fake marriage, he was horrified.

Lockmeier
Lockmeier is Raeven's subordinate, tasked to help Blue Roses, Gazef Stronoff, Brain Unglaus and Climb in the fight against Eight Fingers. He was also charged to help protect the Royal Capital from the demons during the demonic disturbance. Following his retirement from politics, Zanac believed that Lockmeier's death during Massacre at Katze Plains was one of his reasons for leaving.

Ainz Ooal Gown
After learning of Ainz, the Marquis already considered him a threat on par with 10,000 men. However, upon witnessing his full might, he immediately ordered the Royal Army to retreat, claiming they never should have faced him in the first place. While running away from the Dark Young, Raeven claimed Ainz to be "a monster" and that the former needed to form a counter-strategy lest he will conquer all of humanity. Unfortunately, in the end, this never came to pass or fruition, since he was left deeply traumatized by the horrific experience from that war with the Sorcerer Kingdom. It was to the point where he has decided to retire from politics and cut off some connections with people like Zanac.

Unbeknownst when he sided with the Sorcerer Kingdom, it was presumed by both Renner and Zanac that he came to work under Ainz for many possible reasons at some point after the Massacre at Katze Plains. This was not revealed by Renner until after the Sorcerer Kingdom declared war on the Re-Estize Kingdom. The discussion between Renner and Zanac ended up turning into several speculations on why he made the traitorous decision of joining the Sorcerer Kingdom to begin with. One of which being that the Marquis was manipulated by Ainz to do what he did or done so to guarantee his family members as well as his people in the city to survive the next massacre that will conclude the fate of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

Trivia

 * In the Web Novel, Marquis Raeven did not survive the massacre at the Katze Plains.
 * Marquis Raeven was actually a cold-hearted person before the birth of his son.

Quotes

 * (To Renner): "Of course, Princess Renner. Those are the same eyes I had seen in the past. You've been putting on quite an act ever since then."
 * (To himself about his family and the Kingdom): "Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will protect all of this."
 * (To himself about his King): "The King's no better either! He's no fool and he's not drunk on power, but he isn't thinking at all! The way he's clinging onto the throne will only fan the flames of the succession crisis to greater heights! Princess Renner gave him a good opportunity by making things favorable for the Royal faction, so he should hurry up and transfer power already! It ended up like this because he pitied his first son. It's not like I don't understand his feelings, but nobody's thinking about what’s important! Nobody at all!"
 * (To himself upon witnessing Ainz Ooal Gown's Army): "...the Empire has enlisted monsters into their ranks, it seems. This is quite surprising. It's made me break out in goosebumps."
 * (To Gazef): "I'm returning to my unit. There's no more time to waste. Ainz Ooal Gown's power is immeasurable. Doing battle with him was a mistake from the start. All we can do is minimize the number of casualties, and at the same time we need to get back to E-Rantel as fast as we can. Gazef-dono, please protect his Majesty. After that, retreat without delay!"
 * (To himself about Ainz): "Ainz Ooal Gown, what kind of being, what kind of magic caster are you?!"
 * (To his Knights during the massacre): "This isn't a battlefield any more, it's a killing floor! Just run!"
 * (To himself about Ainz): "That magic caster's a monster! How can someone like him be allowed to exist in this world?!"
 * (To himself about Ainz): "Dammit! We have to do something! I need to think of some way to protect our world — our future!"
 * (To himself about Ainz): "If this goes on, all of humanity will be conquered...No, that's the best case scenario. In the worst case, all of humanity will become toys for Ainz Ooal Gown, to be tormented until the ends of their wretched lives."

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Elias Brandt Dale Raeven