Elias Brandt Dale Raeven

Full Name: Elias Brandt Dale Raeven

Gender: Male

Title/Rank: High Marquis of the Re-Estize Kingdom (one of the Six Great Nobles)

Faction: Re-Estize Kingdom (pro-monarchy, covert royalist)

Residence: Raeven estate in the city of E-Rantel

Birthday: 30th day of the month of Waning Fire

Apparent Age: Late 30s (just short of 40)

Occupation / Classes: High Noble (general) – level unknown; Sage – level unknown; Charisma (general) – level unknown

Hobbies: Anything related to his children; child-rearing and family matters

Nickname / Epithet: “Ultra Doting Great Noble” (for his devotion to his son); “Bat” (for his political maneuvering between factions)

Elias Brandt Dale Raeven is the most influential of the Six Great Nobles of the Re-Estize Kingdom, heading the largest political faction among the high aristocracy.

While publicly mocked as an untrustworthy “bat” who flits between the royal and noble factions, in truth he is the shadow leader of the royalist camp and a loyal supporter of King Ramposa III.

His power does not lie primarily in land or armies but in political finesse and networks.

By maintaining ties with both royal and aristocratic factions, he has constructed the single largest web of connections in the kingdom, making it effectively impossible for any noble or royal to ignore him.

Originally a calculating schemer with ambitions of usurping the throne, Raeven abandoned those dreams after the birth of his beloved son.

From that moment on, his goals shifted toward preserving the kingdom so that his children could one day rule their lands in peace.

Raeven is an extremely intelligent, far-sighted, and calculating politician who constantly reads the balance of power around him.

He excels at compromise, mediation, and behind-the-scenes manipulation, all in the service of keeping the kingdom’s internal balance from collapsing.

He was once a classic ambitious villain: cold, pragmatic, and ready to aim for the throne itself.

However, the birth of his first son, whom he affectionately calls “Lee-tan,” completely transformed him into an overprotective and overwhelmingly doting father.

This change was so drastic that his wife initially wondered if he had gone insane.

He now prioritizes his family above everything else and is willing to discard his own pride, reputation, and even his country if it means keeping his children safe.

His talent has an unintended side effect: all the competent young nobles tend to gravitate to him.

As a result, other factions, especially much of the aristocratic one, end up filled with sycophantic fools and second-raters, which in turn become unstable and prone to reckless behavior—something that gives Raeven a permanent headache.

Behind his serpentine appearance and reputation, he is actually earnest about the kingdom’s future and deeply troubled by its decay.

He genuinely worries about the fate of Re-Estize, works to push reform from the shadows, and sees King Ramposa III not as a target, but as someone to support.

His biggest emotional weak point is his family, particularly his son.

When his child is threatened, Raeven can lose his usual composure and is ready to sacrifice almost any other value to keep his family alive.

Raeven is tall and slender, with a lean, somewhat gaunt build.

He combs his blond hair straight back, giving him a slicked-back style that emphasizes his sharp features.

His eyes are long, narrow, and a striking shade of blue-green, contributing to a cold, snake-like gaze.

He has thin lips and carries himself with a composed, aristocratic air.

Because he rarely goes out into the sun, his skin is an unhealthy pale white, making him look older than he actually is.

Combined with his gaze and pallor, most people who see him instinctively associate him with a snake.

He dresses in richly decorated, exquisitely made garments befitting one of the Six Great Nobles.

His clothing is always of the highest quality, carefully chosen to project status and control.

Among the Six Great Nobles, each marquis or lord excels in a different domain.

Marquis Boullope dominates military might, Marquis Blumrush controls economic power, Marquis Pespea commands charisma and popular support, Margrave Urovana has strong foreign connections, and Baron Ritton is known for his ruthless methods.

Raeven’s specialty is pure political power and strategic intelligence.

He is unmatched in the realm of internal politics and long-term planning, making him the cornerstone of high-level governance in the kingdom.

Though his domain is not the largest in territory—that honor belongs to Marquis Boullope—Raeven’s network spans both the royal faction and the aristocratic faction.

This dual connection grants him the greatest overall influence in the kingdom.

His classes, implied to be something like High Noble, Sage, and Charisma, reinforce his role as a statesman rather than a frontline warrior.

He is not known for martial prowess but for his ability to move armies, laws, and opinions with words and information.

Even individuals who personally despise him, such as Gazef Stronoff in the early days, cannot ignore his clout.

Over time, once his true intentions become clear, those same people often come to respect him.

With King Ramposa III

Raeven began his career eyeing the throne as an ambitious noble.

However, over time—and especially after becoming a father—he came to truly care about the kingdom and shifted into the role of a loyal, if secretive, supporter of King Ramposa III.

He acts as a shadow leader of the royalist faction, protecting the king’s position and keeping the noble faction from running completely out of control.

His reforms, influence, and back-channel negotiations all aim at strengthening the kingdom without shattering its fragile internal balance.

With Gazef Stronoff

At first, Gazef Stronoff hated Raeven, viewing him as a duplicitous “bat” who played both sides for benefit.

Raeven’s polished, snake-like aura and political slipperiness made him the embodiment of everything Gazef disliked in nobles.

Over time, however, Gazef would come to learn Raeven’s true motives and hidden loyalty.

With a princess mediating between them, Gazef and Raeven eventually reconcile as comrades who both seek to protect the same king and kingdom, albeit in very different ways.

With Princess Renner

Raeven recognized Princess Renner’s true nature early on, having glimpsed a shard of her genuine personality when she was still a child.

Later, before the great demon incident connected to her, he directly confronted her about this hidden side, and she revealed more of her true self to him.

Far from being horrified, Raeven was deeply impressed and even moved, almost to the point of joy, by what he saw in her.

He considered her brilliance and ruthlessness extraordinary, and she made a strong impression on him as someone who understood the kingdom’s rot at a deep level.

That said, his devotion to his son has clear limits when it comes to Renner.

When she suggested a potential engagement between herself and Raeven’s son, he flew into a blazing anger and refused the idea outright, demonstrating that no matter how highly he rates her mind, he does not want her anywhere near his child in that way.

With His Wife and Children

Raeven is married and has at least one young son, fondly called “Lee-tan,” whom he absolutely dotes on.

His behavior around the boy is almost comically soft and affectionate, sometimes in stark contrast with his normally cold and calculating demeanor.

He is known to say things along the lines of:

“Sorry, Lee-tan. Daddy is so silly, he forgot. So could you teach me?”

This kind of baby-talk from such a fearsome political operator is shocking to those who know his public image.

His wife, initially baffled by his personality shift, feared that he might have lost his mind due to how drastically he changed after their child’s birth.

However, their relationship is now said to be very good, and family life has become one of his greatest sources of happiness.

By the time of the war with the Sorcerer Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown, his wife is expecting their second child.

News of this pregnancy becomes a rare bright spot in a time of overwhelming dread and despair, giving both Raeven and surrounding nobles a brief moment of warmth amid ruin.

Raeven’s greatest wish is that his children can grow up in a peaceful era and someday administer their lands under stable, safe conditions.

This desire drives many of his decisions and is one of the main reasons he abandoned his old ambitions and tempered his ruthlessness.

Raeven throws his weight behind Prince Zanac during the royal succession struggle, aiming to maintain the delicate balance between royal and noble factions.

He sees Zanac as the best chance for gradual reform and stability.

Because of Raeven’s competence, promising young aristocrats tend to gather around him, seeking mentorship and backing.

This concentration of talent leaves other noble power centers, such as Marquis Boullope’s camp, filled mostly with flatterers and inept yes-men like Baron Ritton and Baron Cheneiko.

These fools frequently overreach and behave recklessly, complicating any effort at meaningful reform.

Raeven spends a great deal of time trying to neutralize their blunders and keep their actions from plunging the kingdom into chaos.

His ability to move between the royal and noble factions earns him the derisive nickname “bat.”

To simple-minded warriors or straightforward nobles, he appears opportunistic and untrustworthy, always hovering at the edge of each side.

In reality, Raeven carefully adjusts his stance to prevent either faction from completely crushing the other, preserving a precarious equilibrium.

His “betrayals” of one side are often calculated measures to stop greater disasters.

Early Activities and the Gehenna Operation

Raeven’s first significant on-stage appearance is around the time of the Gehenna operation launched by Ainz Ooal Gown.

During this crisis, he calls on the adamantite-ranked adventurer Momon and the magic caster Narberal Gamma for aid, trying to save as many people as possible from the unfolding catastrophe.

Even in emergencies, Raeven’s instinct is to coordinate and delegate to the most capable individuals available.

His call for outside help underlines his pragmatic willingness to rely on non-noble forces when needed.

The Great Massacre

During the Great Massacre, when Ainz Ooal Gown uses the super-tier spell that summons the terrifying “Black Young Goats,” the Re-Estize forces are devastated.

Raeven attempts to coordinate a response and shore up the collapsing front, but the monsters are simply beyond what the kingdom’s army can handle.

An ex-Adamantite-class adventurer team sacrifices themselves to buy crucial time, and Ainz briefly halts his attack after spotting Gazef Stronoff.

This pause, combined with the heroes’ efforts, allows Raeven to narrowly escape with his life.

The experience leaves a deep scar on Raeven’s psyche.

He realizes that opposing Ainz is essentially equivalent to choosing certain death, and the full weight of the kingdom’s helplessness settles on him.

After this defeat, his will to directly oppose Ainz breaks.

He withdraws to his own territory despite Prince Zanac’s attempts to keep him engaged, effectively going into a kind of political retirement from the royal capital.

In the web novel version of the story, Raeven is not so lucky.

Because Gazef’s interactions with Ainz are weaker there, the attack does not pause, and Raeven fails to escape, dying during the same cataclysm.

Life After the Great Massacre

Following the massacre, Raeven spends a period of time away from center-stage politics.

He remains in his lands, seemingly broken and unwilling to deal directly with Ainz ever again.

Prince Zanac expects that Raeven will never return to the royal capital.

From the prince’s perspective, Raeven’s morale and fighting spirit as a defender of the kingdom have been completely shattered.

Nevertheless, Raeven does not stop caring about the kingdom or his family.

He simply chooses to focus on survival and the protection of his domain, keeping his head down while the storm gathers.

When Ainz Ooal Gown and the Sorcerer Kingdom decide to formally punish the Re-Estize Kingdom, Raeven’s political and administrative skills come back into the spotlight.

Albedo, who is evaluating which human assets are worth preserving, recognizes Raeven as one of the most valuable human politicians, rating his political mind second only to Princess Renner’s.

To secure Raeven’s cooperation, Albedo has his beloved son taken as a hostage.

Faced with the prospect of his child’s death, Raeven capitulates and agrees to betray the Re-Estize Kingdom, a decision that tears him apart internally.

He then uses his influence to help the Sorcerer Kingdom’s war effort from within.

He cooperates with a domestic information blockade, slowing down the kingdom’s mobilization and response to Ainz’s invading forces.

By ensuring that the Sorcerer Kingdom’s advance meets minimal organized resistance, Raeven significantly contributes to Ainz’s swift victory.

In exchange, Raeven secures guarantees for the safety of his own family, his lands, his subjects, and eleven other capable nobles plus their families and domains who chose to side with the Sorcerer Kingdom.

While he understands that his actions are strategic and forced by circumstance, the betrayal weighs heavily on him.

He is acutely aware that he has abandoned his homeland and former comrades to annihilation in order to save his child.

After the fall of the royal capital, Raeven travels to the conquered city alongside other nobles who have submitted to Ainz Ooal Gown.

On the way, despite the heavy mood and guilt, talk turns to the fact that his wife is pregnant with their second child.

This news, though seemingly ill-timed and even inappropriate amid such tragedy, becomes the only real source of joy on their journey.

The nobles walking with Raeven gladly latch onto this sliver of happiness, discussing the baby and future family life as a way to distract themselves from the horror around them.

When they finally reach the ruined capital, they discover a city turned into a landscape of corpses and rubble.

A grotesque throne made from the debris towers over all, and atop it rests the crown once reserved solely for the king of Re-Estize.

Ainz sits on this throne, casually presiding over the ruins that were once the kingdom’s heart.

The sight crushes any lingering illusions Raeven might have held about resistance or recovery.

There, Raeven and the other nobles kneel and swear their loyalty to the Sorcerer King.

Though they have already agreed to terms, seeing Ainz in that setting makes the reality of their submission fully sink in.

Because the long-term administrative structure of the former kingdom is still undecided at that moment, Albedo orders Raeven and the others to temporarily continue governing their own territories under Sorcerer Kingdom supervision.

Raeven, trembling with a mix of fear, despair, and resignation, accepts this new role as a vassal lord to inhuman overlords.

Deep inside, Raeven still harbors a wish for some future hero to appear and defeat Ainz Ooal Gown.

Yet at the same time, he recognizes this hope as nothing more than a convenient fantasy, a dream he clings to while knowing it will never likely come true.

His focus returns once more to what he can realistically protect: his children, his wife, and the fragile peace of his lands under the shadow of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

For Elias Brandt Dale Raeven, survival in this new world and ensuring that his son and unborn child can live at all has become both his burden and his only remaining purpose.