Herbert

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Herbert Albert (赫伯特) 22
Species/Race	Human; reincarnated from a previous human life and later acknowledged by the Dragon King’s bloodline inheritance 1 27
Gender	Male 1
Age	Eighteen 1
Family	Second son of Duke Albert; member of a hereditary ducal family among the Frost Crystal Kingdom’s founding nobles 1 25
Affiliation	Misty Monastery; Tribunal through his prison duties; secretly allied with Nenasya 1 10 22
Occupation/Role	Holy Knight of an ascetic order; warden of the Foreign Races’ Prison, tasked with reforming its nonhuman prisoners 1 2 22
Status	Alive; remains a Holy Knight while concealing his evil-god pact and monster-derived powers 35 48 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Holy Knight — Oath of Purity	1	Swears the oath the day before recovering his past-life memories. Receives divine power bound to justice, protection of the weak, and lifelong chastity; breaking the vow risks potentially fatal backlash.
Evil God’s blessing	5 6	Discovers pink, heart-shaped lines over his Holy Mark after Nenasya’s nighttime intrusion. Valentina becomes attracted to his scent, and her draconic pressure no longer overwhelms him.
Nenasya’s pact bearer	10	Formalizes his alliance with Nenasya. Gains no obvious immediate increase in physical strength; she identifies his gift as exceptional charm toward monsters and offers help absorbing power from monster materials.
Sea Monster Queen’s Longing	18 19	Absorbs Freime’s iridescent scale through a blood-mediated ritual. Receives underwater protection, resistance to mental manipulation and disorientation, affinity with water creatures, and talent for water-element techniques. His other blessings prevent the spell’s usual transformation into a Sea Monster.
Dragon King’s blood	25 26 27	Absorbs Valentina’s hair through his blood and enters the Dragon King’s inheritance space. Gains immunity to elemental flames and high temperatures, plus the ability to strengthen his body through fire exposure. Further Dragon materials can unlock additional inheritances.

Background / History

Previous Life and Reincarnation

Herbert’s previous incarnation was a corporate employee with two years of work experience. An overloaded truck carrying a hundred tons of steel coils killed him by crushing him. He left no loved ones behind and regarded rebirth as a human as preferable to his former fate 1.

His previous-life memories return when he is eighteen, after he has already entered the Misty Monastery and sworn the Oath of Purity. His experience of working life gives him a more skeptical perspective than the sheltered noble youth he had been 1.

Royal Accusation and Exile

The Albert family maintained close relations with the Frost Crystal Kingdom’s royal family and frequently intermarried with it. Herbert was the most gifted of his brothers and a childhood confidant of Princess Felia; many expected them to become queen and prince consort 1.

After Felia’s maid invited him to her bedchamber, waiting royal guards arrested him for allegedly attempting to defile the princess’s chastity. Felia never appeared to defend him. Disheartened, Herbert accepted exile to the monastery and voluntarily joined the Church, hoping the Oath of Purity would prove his innocence 1.

With his recovered memories, Herbert interprets the incident as a crude political trap. He believes its perpetrators left enough clues to investigate, but initially prioritizes supernatural power over returning to the capital. Felia’s knowledge of the plot and any involvement by his own family remain unresolved 1 2.

Appearance

• White hair: Repeatedly identified as a white-haired youth; his hair was already white before the monastery’s later accusations 22 33 36.
• Handsome features: Considers his appearance one reason he could become a target, and expects it to complement his supernatural appeal to monster women 32 48.
• Holy Mark: Bears a divine mark on the back of his hand that emits golden light. Pink, heart-shaped markings briefly appear over it after Nenasya blesses him 5 14.
• Clothing: Wears a white silk robe during his nighttime encounter with Freime 38.

Personality

Herbert is pragmatic, irreverent, and suspicious of authority. He resents his enforced chastity but refuses to risk an impulsive escape or a poorly understood loophole. His preferred response to being outmatched is to withdraw, gather information, or involve someone stronger 1 3 16 17.

His humor often conceals fear or serves as a deliberate distraction. He maintains a composed expression under Valentina’s oppressive aura, needles Freime to provoke a reaction, and presents theatrical religious fervor when he needs to conceal his resistance to a mental probe 2 14 23.

His friendliness combines genuine interest with calculated persuasion. He offers Valentina companionship rather than demanding submission, but also uses food and grooming to obtain materials. With Svanney, he sincerely wants to understand her research while recognizing that sympathy can help win her cooperation 13 17 21 49.

He strongly dislikes having his mind controlled and refuses to surrender his fate to an investigation merely because its authorities claim to represent justice. Nevertheless, curiosity, pride, and spontaneous confidence sometimes override his caution, as shown by his risky handshake with Valentina and decision to follow Svanney deeper into the prison 13 25 30 34 47.

His apparent detachment from his disgrace is not complete. The Rusty Nail Bishop detects buried resentment and interprets part of Herbert’s subconscious as seeking vindication through an honorable victory—or even death in battle 24.

Abilities & Skills

Oath of Purity and Holy Mark

• Charm immunity: The Purity Blessing prevents Freime’s enchanting voice from controlling his mind 7 8.
• Protective warning: The Holy Mark burns painfully when he nearly steps outside after midnight under an unexplained influence 3.
• Holy illumination: Can emit light, though it initially provides only about two meters of visibility in the Lightless Prison 16.
• Environmental protection: Suppresses his perception of the laboratory’s foul odors and their nauseating effects. Herbert suspects this might extend to poison, but poison immunity is not demonstrated 48.
• Binding obligations: The oath is also a restriction; Herbert hopes to become strong enough to survive its punishment and eventually gain freedom 1 3.

Nenasya’s Blessing and Contract

• Monster affinity: Makes him unusually appealing to monsters, with Valentina particularly attracted to his scent 5 6 10.
• Strengthened will: The Evil God’s Contract contributes to his resistance against mental interference 23.
• Material-based growth: Nenasya guides him in using his blood to absorb monster materials and acquire their associated powers 18 25.
• Limits: Attraction does not guarantee obedience or safety. Herbert remains physically outmatched by the legendary and epic prisoners, and Freime resists his usual social tactics 10 29.

Sea Monster Queen’s Longing

• Underwater protection: A forbidden royal spell obtained from Freime’s scale 19.
• Mental and navigational defenses: Protects against manipulation and disorientation; its strong sense of direction helps him navigate the Lightless Prison 19 23 29.
• Aquatic affinity: Makes water creatures naturally like him and provides substantial potential for learning water-element spells or combat skills 19.
• Suppressed transformation: Normally turns its bearer gradually into a Sea Monster, but Herbert’s other blessings prevent physical change 19.
• Limits: His layered protections do not prevent every initial intrusion. A covert probe still briefly affects him before he recognizes and shakes it off 23.

Dragon King’s Blood

• Fire immunity: Elemental flames and high temperatures no longer burn his flesh 27.
• Fire-powered body strengthening: Exposure to flames directly strengthens his body; even a candle produces a faint detectable improvement 27.
• Further inheritance: Additional Dragon materials can grant more abilities now that his bloodline has been acknowledged 27.
• Limits: Does not negate explosions, impacts, or other physical damage associated with hot objects. Nenasya specifically advises him to dodge incoming lava 27.
• Transformation distinction: His Dragon body and immense fire consumption occur within the inheritance vision, not as a demonstrated physical transformation outside it 26 27.

Prison Authority and Sealing Arrays

• Array intervention: Uses his Holy Mark to release Freime from the array’s silencing and magic-draining restraint 14.
• Temporary control: Admits that he cannot maintain array control for long at his current strength 15.
• Institutional leverage: Threatens to interfere with the formation when Svanney alters his route, persuading her to let him reach a cell 29.
• Warden access: Can pass through prison barriers and normally traverse its changing paths. Anyone entering other than the warden or Archbishop is classified as a prisoner 28 41 42.

Holy Blood

• Sanctified blood: Uses the Holy Mark to turn his own blood into a holy-water equivalent against the vampire Eliza 30 31 35.
• Visible holy effect: A spilled drop illuminates the great hall’s concealed patterns, reproducing an effect normally caused by holy water 35.
• Cost: Obtaining it requires injury; Kaplan later heals his reopened hand wound 30 35.

Observation and Social Strategy

• Testing divine limitations: Uses questions about his encounter with Freime to establish that Nenasya is neither omniscient nor able to read his thoughts, gaining leverage for negotiation 8.
• Building attachment: Deliberately gives Valentina credit for helping him, then reinforces familiarity through meals, conversation, and practical care 11 13 21.
• Detecting deception: Identifies Svanney’s avatar through her refusal to touch a skull, inconsistent behavior, and lack of scent 45 47.
• Improvisation: Recasts accusations against his purity as challenges to the deity behind his genuine Holy Mark 33 34.
• Practical grooming: Retains basic haircutting skills from his previous life and uses them to tidy Valentina’s hair 21.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sword and scabbard — Carries a sword at his waist; uses its sheathed length to pester Freime and its blade to obtain blood 14 18 30.
• Ancient lantern — Used while exploring the Lightless Prison, though its illumination is severely limited there 16.
• Earplugs — Prepared to block Valentina’s prolonged insults 5.
• Freime’s iridescent scale — Obtained as a reconciliation gift and consumed through a blood ritual to acquire Sea Monster Queen’s Longing 17 18 19.
• Valentina’s cut hair — Secretly collected during her haircut and absorbed to obtain the Dragon King inheritance 21 25 27.
• Sanctuary resources — Kaplan explicitly grants him access to whatever sanctuary supplies he needs after discovering his exclusion 35.
• Requested soul-protecting artifact — Asks Duke Albert to send one after the covert mental probe; receipt is not shown in the supplied chapters 25.

Relationships

• Nenasya — Secret divine ally and pact partner. Helps him absorb monster materials and wants him to gain enough power to free her. Their cooperation is marked by affectionate insults, manipulation, and Herbert’s distrust of her methods 10 18 25 27 40 43.
• Valentina Demonflame — Dragon prisoner who becomes his friend. Meals, a risky handshake, and grooming soften their relationship, while his teasing and concealed use of her hair repeatedly test her patience 13 21 28 36 37.
• Freime — Sea Monster prisoner who initially tries to charm and drown him. Their hostility develops into a guarded truce; she gives him a scale and later discovers he can hear her dangerous singing without apparent harm 14 15 17 38 40.
• Svanney / Svannie Moore — Dark Elf archmage prisoner. Herbert overcomes her obstruction, exposes her avatar, and earns cautious goodwill by listening to her research philosophy. He then proposes using her as an inside source against her would-be rescuers 29 47 49 50.
• Princess Felia — Childhood confidant and expected future spouse. Her silence after his arrest enables his punishment, but her actual role in the plot remains unknown 1 2.
• Duke Albert — Father. Herbert is uncertain whether he participated in the framing but still asks him for magical soul protection 2 25.
• Mother and brothers — His mother died of illness ten years earlier. Formerly close to his two brothers, Herbert now distrusts their behavior following his downfall 25.
• Bishop of Thorns — Chief Inquisitor and Herbert’s immediate superior as warden. Comes to regard him as a promising, self-sacrificing Holy Knight and objects to losing him to the knightly order 22 23 24.
• Rusty Nail Bishop — Secretly probes Herbert’s mind, declares him innocent and trustworthy, and intends to recruit him into the knightly order. Herbert instead views the intrusion as a serious threat to his autonomy 24 25.
• Kaplan — Defends him during the false-reporting incident, heals his hand, and ends his exclusion from sanctuary resources 35.
• The Destroyer — Dragon King encountered in the inheritance space. Crushes Herbert’s visionary Dragon body and promises another meeting; Herbert awakens physically unharmed 26.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Prison Reform and the Divine Pact

• Assigned to reform exceptionally dangerous nonhuman inmates as the difficult route to obtaining the monastery’s ancient Holy Knight teachings 2.
• Conceals Nenasya’s blessing rather than entrusting his life to the Penitents, then negotiates with her after identifying limits to her knowledge and power 5 8.
• Pursues monster-derived abilities while recognizing that Nenasya’s plan may lead toward his jokingly named “fated trinity” of religious offenses 10.

Lightless Prison and Institutional Suspicion

• Discovers that the Lightless Prison’s paths have become impassable and reports the anomaly rather than attempting to defeat its prisoners 16 17 22.
• Survives a concealed mental test and disguises his hidden protections through an exaggerated display of righteous ambition 23 24.
• Returns with the directional protection of Sea Monster Queen’s Longing and uses his limited array authority to force progress 29.

Murder Accusation and the Defiler

• Becomes a convenient suspect in a monastery murder and associated blasphemy allegations. Uses his genuine Holy Mark to turn the accusations back on Ivanka and Jeffs 33 34.
• Clears himself under Kaplan’s supervision, gains sanctuary access, and prioritizes reaching Lava Hell to strengthen his body through the Dragon King inheritance 35.
• Initially fears that the defiler is pursuing him, but discovers it is moving past him toward Svanney. After it collapses, he carries its skull onward and recognizes its host as a noble-backed agent who had worked against him 42 43 44.

Svanney’s Research and Counterplot

• Delivers the skull to Svanney and learns that her family’s dissatisfied elders intend to rescue her, despite her preference for remaining in prison 45.
• Exposes her projected appearance and enters her true laboratory, where he evaluates her research by its ethical boundaries rather than its gruesome surroundings 47 48.
• Clarifies that his proposed “escape” is an entrapment plan: he wants Svanney to cooperate with the rescuers outwardly while feeding them false information 49 50.

Notable Quotes

“Whatever else may be true, beauty is beauty. Being a monster doesn't change that.” 15

“I'm the warden. You're the prisoner.” 16

“I want to feed them false information through you and use it to screw them over.” 50