Louis

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Louis (路易)
Alias(es)	Second Prince; “Master of Gold”; Emperor Louis
Species/Race	Vampire; formerly human, having pursued Blood Race “evolution” 328 359 560
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Augustus Empire / Louis Empire; his Chamber of Commerce; vampire forces
Occupation/Role	Second Prince; merchant and political patron; usurper Emperor; military leader
Status	Alive; continues preserving and rebuilding his forces after losing his homeland 718 727
First Appearance	Chapter 299 — Master of Gold, Louis 299

Appearance

Louis is portrayed as a handsome, refined prince whose poised, smiling public manner contrasts with the extravagance of his private life and the ruthlessness of his actions. He maintains an unapproachable air compared with his siblings. 299 300 560

• His villa is filled with wealth and attended by beautiful maids who also serve as his messengers and spies. 299
• His eyes are described as returning to blue after his Blood Race activities are interrupted. 328
• He presents himself as a gentle, elegant imperial figure unless genuinely agitated. 560

Personality

Louis is calculating, commercially minded, and exceptionally careful about leverage. He treats negotiations as exchanges of interests: he seeks to understand what others desire, pays informants for useful reports, and uses money, equipment, or political concessions to secure loyalty. 299 308 560

He is also adept at maintaining a harmless façade. When Emperor Charles challenges him over his subordinates’ actions, Louis calmly professes ignorance, only returning to his underground base in anger afterward. 327 His restraint has limits; he manipulates the masked Devil Race spy for information before killing him once the exchange no longer benefits him. 314 317

Unlike Lothair, Louis prioritizes survival, resources, and preserving his own power over open conquest. He may accept responsibility for military failures and compensate soldiers’ families, but he also shifts blame in lesser matters and sacrifices ordinary troops when necessary. 403 440 487 Before Lothair, however, his confidence collapses into conspicuous deference, repeatedly presenting himself as the obedient younger brother to obtain aid. 512

Background / History

Commercial Power

Before claiming the throne, Louis established himself through wealth and commercial influence. He acquired land from bankrupt old nobles, resold it to them at low prices, and in return secured commercial contracts across their territories. This gave his Chamber of Commerce influence over pricing, transport, and merchant activity. 560

Louis used this financial base to pursue noble support during the succession struggle. He offered the West Grand Duke armor, grain, warhorses, and weapons for 100,000 knights in return for loyalty, while the East Grand Duke initially chose neutrality. 299 He later negotiated trade in equipment and military funding through Yuffie’s proposed arrangement between the Empire, the Northern Territory, and Lothair. 308

Blood Race Research

Louis pursued forbidden Blood Race knowledge while still a prince. He met a Bull-headed Skull Masked Man to learn about the Devil Race’s First Epoch history, the Black Crown, and the nature of Blood Demons. 314 315

He revealed that he had created Blood Demons—soulless creatures with concentrated demonic power—and demonstrated their rapid self-repair after gunfire. 316 After extracting the information he wanted, Louis used a Seventh Order Assassin Class Secret Technique to stab the masked spy and fed him to the Blood Demons. 317

Louis also used Blood Race research against Yuffie. He described the process as evolution from weak humans into a higher race, administering himself an “insurance” type while subjecting Yuffie to a more radical form. He intended to use Freya as a witness and remove Yuffie as a threat without openly bearing the charge of murdering his sister. 328

Coup and Civil War

Fearing that his vampire nature would be exposed, Louis launched a coup in the Imperial City. He bribed the Knight Guard commander, used Blood Demons to seize the city gates and armory, and moved against the Imperial Palace. 330

Louis became Emperor, absorbed Yuffie’s political influence, and gained the East and West Grand Dukes’ support. 359 His rule immediately faced civil war with Lothair: Louis’s 300,000 troops were routed by Lothair’s force of 100,000, including Vampire Iron Cavalry. 359

War Against Lynn

As Lynn’s forces advanced, Louis struggled to balance his mortal and vampire armies. He converted nobles into vampires to preserve a food supply, but many newly transformed nobles proved ineffective in battle. 359 He relied on mass mobilization, attrition warfare, and defensive fortifications, at one point fielding a total force of 500,000 men, including 200,000 assigned to logistics. 395 451

Louis’s forces employed night raids, guerrilla warfare, trenches, bunkers, reverse-slope defenses, and layered attrition tactics, but Lynn’s army continued forcing them back with heavier daily casualties. 403 Louis nevertheless remained concerned with maintaining his political base, attempting to appease dissatisfied nobles and local factions through emissaries and payments rather than indiscriminate force. 487

Alliance with Lothair and Retreat

Pressed by Lynn’s unconventional warfare, Louis sought aid from Lothair, the Khan, and the Eastern Nations. Lothair agreed to provide limited assistance but demanded information about Charles and Freya; the Eastern Nations offered weapons-production loans, while the Khan supplied horses. 488

Louis personally traveled by air to Lothair’s camp despite the danger. During their banquet, he abandoned his imperial manner and repeatedly emphasized that he was merely Lothair’s younger brother. 512 The brothers ultimately cooperated against Lynn, but Louis intended to keep Lothair’s influence out of the territories he still controlled. 516

After Lothair’s death and the collapse of Louis’s strategy, Yuffie publicly accused him of illegitimacy. Louis accepted that Augustus could no longer be held, appointed Jean Charles to command the Imperial City Guard, and prepared to move the capital. 556

Continued Resistance

Even after losing his homeland, Louis retained several hundred thousand soldiers and relocated forces toward island regions near the Devil Race. He and Mikhail continued studying Lynn’s methods, developing trenches, dispersing forces, researching explosives, and preserving elite troops rather than committing every vampire noble to battle. 718

By the Central Lands campaign, Louis remained aligned with Mikhail and Devil Race representatives in advocating a cautious strategy: avoid confronting Lynn without an overwhelming advantage and exploit any error rather than risking another annihilation battle. 727

Abilities & Skills

Blood Race Research

Louis possesses practical knowledge of Blood Race transformation, vampire organization, and Blood Demon creation.

• Developed Blood Demons with high concentrations of demonic power. 316
• Categorized his own transformation as an “insurance” type and Yuffie’s as a more radical type. 328
• Converted nobles into vampires while attempting to regulate their numbers and preserve mortal blood sources. 359
• Avoids indiscriminate vampire deployment in later campaigns, preferring to preserve noble vampire forces. 718

Blood Demons

Louis commands Blood Demons as shock troops and instruments of terror.

• Blood Demons rapidly repair damage from conventional gunfire. 316
• They can be killed only through decapitation or by piercing the heart. 316
• Louis used them to seize the Imperial City’s gates and armory during his coup. 330
• Their limited numbers and battlefield losses became a strategic concern during the war with Lynn. 359 403

Seventh Order Assassin Class Secret Technique

Louis can employ a Seventh Order Assassin Class Secret Technique in close quarters.

• He used the technique to stab the Bull-headed Skull Masked Man after deceiving him into revealing Blood Race information. 317
• The attack was followed by the spy being fed to Louis’s Blood Demons. 317

Commerce and Political Patronage

Louis’s greatest personal strength is his ability to turn wealth into political influence.

• Operates a Chamber of Commerce with extensive control over trade, pricing, transport, and merchant access. 560
• Uses maids as rewarded messengers and spies. 299
• Purchases noble loyalty through military supplies, money, and commercial concessions. 299 487
• Uses negotiations to gain benefits even when unable to secure direct military support. 299 308

Military Administration

Louis is a cautious wartime administrator rather than a front-line conqueror.

• Coordinated the rapid seizure of key Imperial City infrastructure during his rebellion. 330
• Ordered fortress construction and defensive warfare against the South Grand Duchy rebellion. 443
• Planned winter defenses around ice-free ports, snowfall, fortified towns, and expanded logistics forces. 451
• Recognized that his army could not match Lynn in grassroots warfare and repeatedly adopted retreat, delay, and attrition strategies. 403 451

Relationships

• Charles — Father and Emperor before Louis’s coup. Charles warned Louis to restrain his subordinates; Louis later claimed ignorance, while Charles’s disappearance became a major concern during Louis’s reign. 327 359 488
• Lothair — Elder brother, rival claimant, and eventual temporary ally against Lynn. Louis feared Lothair’s military strength, flattered him for support, and secretly sought to restrict his influence; Lothair’s death removed both an ally and a political threat. 359 512 516 556
• Yuffie — Younger sister and political rival. Louis subjected her to radical Blood Race evolution and planned to eliminate or confine her; she later re-emerged publicly to accuse him of illegitimacy. 328 556
• Freya — Intended witness in Louis’s plan against Yuffie. Freya’s unexpected reaction disrupted his attempt to frame Yuffie’s transformation as her own action. 328
• Mikhail — Senior military adviser and commander. He counsels Louis on retreat, force reorganization, attrition, and cautious defense; the two remain aligned after losing their homeland. 395 403 718 727
• Leon — Devil Race associate and strategic partner. Leon cooperates with Louis during the war, explains the Devil Race’s global commercial reach, and shares responsibility for military defeats. 395 440 560
• Lynn — Louis’s principal military and political adversary. Lynn’s offensives, guerrilla tactics, and industrialized army repeatedly force Louis into retreat, alliance-building, and defensive warfare. 359 403 488 727
• Bull-headed Skull Masked Man — Devil Race spy and source of information on the Black Crown and Blood Race hierarchy. Louis manipulated, assassinated, and fed him to Blood Demons. 314 317