Hertrude Sera Fanoss

Hertrude Sera Fanoss is the princess of the Fanoss Principality, the kingdom's southern rival and the antagonist polity of the first major arc. Trained from childhood to embody national pride, she is dignified, brittle, and aware that her country's military hardware is decades behind Holfart's.

Her arc is the arc of a young heir trying to keep a small nation alive against a much bigger neighbour. She underwrites a war her advisers tell her she can win; Leon Fou Bartfort, piloting Old Humanity weaponry, dismantles her fleet in a single afternoon. The surrender that follows is the first time she meets him face-to-face.

What develops from there is a wary, complicated diplomatic relationship in which Hertrude is forced into the role of hostage-prince in Holfart's court. She and Leon evolve from enemy commanders to grudging negotiating partners, and her presence on his side is one of the series' clearest signs that Leon is no longer just protecting his own country.