Roswaal L Mathers

Roswaal L Mathers (ロズワール・L・メイザース) is the lord of the Roswaal Mansion, a margrave of the Mathers territory and the Court Mage in the Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica. In actuality, though, Roswaal L Mathers' body is possessed by his ancestor, Roswaal A Mathers (ロズワール・A・メイザース), when he was 14 years old. He is one of the main supporting characters of Re:Zero, as well as the true antagonist of Arc 1 and Arc 4.

Although supporting Emilia's quest for the throne, he was actually using her, Subaru, and Ram for his own goals, which involved killing the Divine Dragon and resurrecting his mentor. However, in Arc 4, he made a bet with Subaru and subsequently lost, forcing him to truly support Emilia, though he hasn't given up on his ambitions.

Appearance
Roswaal L Mathers is a tall, rather handsome and well-built man with long indigo hair and heterochromic eyes, the right one being blue and the left one being yellow. His eyelids are decorated with purple eye shadow, though the left eye's is longer. He wears a lavender coloured make-up that accompanies his unusual outfit comparable to those similar to a clown or jester, consisting of a black hat, a top and bottom with different shades of purple, along with red and black boots and a cape. He also has a chain surrounding his right ankle.

Although rarely, Roswaal sometimes does make an appearance without his signature make-up. His face is noted to be very ghastly and pale and his eyes give off a gentle and rather welcoming expression, a polar opposite of what they give off when he's wearing make-up.

In the past, Roswaal's appearance was generally the same, save for his attire and makeup. He can usually be seen wearing rather well-suited black robes, befitting a noble.

Personality
He comes across as an eccentric due to his flamboyant appearance and odd speaking style, the latter which he shares with his grandmother. However, he harbors a more calculating and reserved side with a sharp political mind and gaze that reads others quite well.

Roswaal cares about Ram and Rem a great deal and holds them in high regard among his staff. However, he is unusual among the nobility for having such close relations with Demi-humans to the point that many are hired by him. This has led to unsavory rumors that have suggested he has a fetish for them. That said, Garfiel speculates this is actually because he's been gathering halfs to the Sanctuary.

In actuality, his body is possessed by his ancestor, Roswaal A Mathers, whose purpose is to meet his teacher Echidna again at any cost, even if that means sacrificing himself or those close to him, making Echidna describe him as being "a little too earnest." He has figured out that Subaru is looping through some method, causing him to challenge him, and subsequently lose. Though he has agreed to help him after losing, he has threatened to force him to loop if he makes a mistake.

In the past, Roswaal was bright and a little prideful, until his encounter with Hector, the Warlock of Melancholy. His psyche was greatly wounded, and he started mimicking Hector's mannerisms including his eccentric way of speaking and his clown makeup. He has stated to Beatrice that on the inside, he is a clown, even without his makeup.

After the events of Arc 4 and after losing his cherished Book of Wisdom and the bet he made with Subaru, Roswaal cast a Curse Seal on himself, which acted as a safety mechanism, making sure he couldn't just randomly decide to go against the bet he had lost. If he does so, his body and soul will be destroyed, permanently killing him. However, as his Book of Wisdom has been destroyed, Roswaal decided to follow Subaru's path, which will eventually allow him to accomplish his four centuries old goals. Accordingly, he stated he'll make sure that Subaru will uphold his part of the promise as well–in case one of the people he loves will die, Roswaal will burn everything and everyone dear to Subaru, forcing him to restart.

History
Roswaal A Mathers was born some time before the Great Calamity. He was blessed with great magic talent which made him very skilled and apt with every type of magic however, back then, magic was very misunderstood and shunned on. Roswaal was treated as a mistake and an annoyance; ignored by everyone he met, his childhood wasn't full of happy moments. Some time in his late childhood, young Roswaal encountered Echidna who immediately recognized his insane magical power and talent and decided to take him under her mentorship. Throughout the years, Roswaal slowly began to unravel his magical talent and honed his abilities to near perfection although he was never able to achieve the same magical prowess as his mentor Echidna. By the time he was sixteen, Roswaal was already considered to be one of the top mages in the kingdom. Soon after, the Warlock of Melancholy successfully located Echidna in her Cloning Facility located in the Kremaldy Forest. Roswaal confronted Hector in order to buy Echidna some time but he ended up swiftly defeated and almost killed. In the last second, Echidna came to the rescue, fending off Hector and saving Roswaal's life. But the defeat Roswaal suffered was demoralizing and he was never able to fully heal himself again. Instead of achieving the pinnacle of Arcane Arts, he spiraled down the dark path of sinister magic, and over time, his mind had utterly changed. After Echidna died, Roswaal started to possess his descendants, with the purpose of bringing her back. Shortly after his thirtieth birthday, Roswaal A Mathers died and posessed the body of his son, Roswaal B Mathers.

Roughly 15 years before the events of the main story, His Majesty Randohal Lugnica held a ceremony in honour of then-14 year old Roswaal L Mathers inheriting his father, Roswaal K Mathers's death, after the latter met a premature end.

Abilities
Divine Protection (加護 Kago): Roswaal has the Divine Protection of Sorcery (魔導の加護 Madō no Kago), which makes him compatible with all six magic elements, enabling him to use the magic perfectly. Using this Divine Protection, Roswaal is considered to be the best in the kingdom in terms of mana usage, power, and speed, and is recognized to be as strong as one army. This Divine Protection was removed from the Light Novel, however Roswaal still retains the power described.

Mage (魔導士 Madōshi): Roswaal is a mage capable of using magic of all six elements. He has reached the zenith of magic being on par with his teacher Echidna if not even surpassing her and there is no magic that he cannot use or has difficulties acquiring, with the exception of Healing magic, which he was unable to master. Despite being the original Roswaal, who was about as powerful as Emilia, he is mentioned to be much stronger than before, having been awarded the titles of "Red", "Green", and "Yellow" for having reached the pinnacle of Fire, Wind, and Earth magic respectively. He can also use a unique form of rainbow colored magic. His magical knowledge is so advanced, that he's able to cast six different spells at the same time. It was noted that the technique of conjuring three or more spells at the same time is something that verges on the real of gods.
 * Flying Magic (飛行魔法): Roswaal is able to float or fly through the sky. He can reach speeds over 100km/h which is faster than a ground dragon and roughly on par with a winged dragon.

Martial Arts: Roswaal is able to fight physically, using moves such as throwing techniques against opponents. He is still vastly weaker than some unarmed fighters like Garfiel, but he's non the less capable of holding his ground against very powerful opponents, as seen when Roswaal J Mathers defeated Sphinx using her martial arts since she was unable to use magic. During Arc 4, Roswaal was capable of piercing through both Ram and Garfiel's chests with his barehand, heavily injuring both of them. His kick was capable of crushing Garfiel's head. He has also shown to be able to easily destroy a multitude of giant ice spikes sent hurling towards him at breakneck speeds.
 * A Shockwave Strike: Long ago, Roswaal learned a highly powerful attack from a ninja from the west. With this attack, Roswaal can deliver powerful hits even if a hard object stands between his opened palm and his target. He does so by hitting his enemies with a shock wave, rather than with actual physical force. The strike is strong enough to break bones and rupture internal organs.

Yellow Eye: Roswaal is able to use his yellow eye to break magic apart. This was first seen when Roswaal J Mathers fought against Sphinx and destroyed her Magic Circles with her Yellow Eye.

Equipment
 * Book of Wisdom (叡智の書): Just like Beatrice, Roswaal was given one of the two complete copies of the Book of Wisdom Echidna created before her ultimate demise. It allows Roswaal to use a limited version of the original Book of Wisdom, as it shows him a detailed path to his desired future. For four centuries, Roswaal strictly acted upon the Book's writ, doing exactly as it was written. The Book was destroyed by Ram at the end of Arc 4. The ashes were later collected by Otto Suwen, in an attempt to repair the book and hopefully read about Roswaal's plans. Unbenounced to Otto, however, his actions would prompt the Witch Cult into action, in the very following story arc.
 * Roswaal's Black Gloves (ロズワールの黒手袋): The gloves are a special piece of equipment supposedly left behind by Roswaal's ancestors. They are said to be able to stop the cutting edge of a holy sword.

Trivia

 * Starting with his original body, Roswaal has been changing his middle initial every time he possesses a new descendant. His original initial was A, making his current body his 12th one.
 * According to the author, Roswaal's birthday is September 16.
 * All Roswaals' middle names follow the English alphabet thematically.
 * Roswaal L Mathers has no sense of taste.
 * He has a habit of putting the crest of his family, a Hawk, into possessions and in clothes of people who live with him. It can be seen clearly in the sleeves of Emilia's outfit and in the cape of Subaru's knight outfit.
 * According to Puck, Roswaal's power is on par with the Four Great Spirits.
 * In the novelization of Arc 4, Roswaal is crueler than in the Web Novel, according to Tappei.
 * Roswaal is said to be the strongest magic caster in Re:Zero. He also has one of the biggest mana supplies, most likely falling only behind Emilia.
 * Roswaal L Mathers was in fact created with the intention to make a child with the greatest suitability for magic. Apart from Healing Magic, it was a success as he is the most powerful mage in Re:Zero.
 * He read all the books in the Forbidden Library.
 * His goal of killing the Divine Dragon is not necessarily connected with his goal to resurrect Echidna as the author stated that even if he crossed paths with his mentor, he would not give up on his quest of slaying the almighty Dragon.
 * He's slated for an Arc 7 appearance where he's said to fully show how skilled he is in hand-to-hand combat.
 * Wilhelm van Astrea is one of the few people Roswaal harbours genuine respect for their way of living and their convictions.
 * According to Roswaal K Mathers, it's an unspoken agreement that after accepting the family name "Roswaal", the current head will not share their personal name with anyone.

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Roswaal L Mathers