Reinhard van Astrea/Relationships

Family

Heinkel Astrea

Reinhard and Heinkel used to share a very close and intimate bond, even more so due to Louanna's mysterious illness which had struck her when Reinhard was just two years old. For the next three years, Reinhard and Heinkel were inseparable, with Reinhard viewing his father as a hero, and doing everything in his power to help him or make him feel better. One time, he even received a Divine Protection, just so he could help out his father in a matter. At age five, however, Reinhard received the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint, which was the main catalyst for his relationship with his father spiralling into darkness.

On the day when Reinhard received the aforementioned Divine Protection and his grandmother was killed, after he was publicly blamed by his grandfather for her death despite Reinhard's words in an attempt to appease his loss, Heinkel kept Reinhard away from Wilhelm after telling him off. Following this, however, their relationship also began to deteriorate, and Heinkel resorted to heavy drinking, which further ruined his relationship with his son. Later, Reinhard spoke with the Six Tongues, resulting in Heinkel's promotion to Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard, to which Heinkel was suspicious and questioned him, but in the end accepted and told Reinhard to join when he turned fifteen. After Reinhard joined the Royal Guard, Heinkel stopped using Reinhard's name, and he even went as far as using his son's title as the Sword Saint to retain his position as Vice Captain of the Royal Guard. Despite the strain in their relationship, it has been noted by both Marcos Gildark and Belmont that his adoration of his father is still quite strong.

In Arc 5, when he met with his father and son again, Heinkel interrupted their heartwarming time together, claiming that the Astrea family did not deserve peace. He even took Felt hostage in order to have Reinhard protect him. Towards the end of the arc, when Reinhard was forced to slay the revived corpse, Heinkel claimed that he would ruin the Sword Saint's reputation. However, Heinkel has still shown to be concerned for his son's safety. In Arc 9, when Al revealed that Reinhard was engaging in a battle with the Witch of Envy, Heinkel became severely agitated and concerned, and he did not relax until Al assured him that Satella would not devour Reinhard, showcasing that his love for his son has not truly diminished despite his attitude towards him. Furthermore, after stabbing his father, when the man stated that his actions would not sway Reinhard's decision to remain the Sword Saint, those words hurt him greatly.

Louanna Astrea

As Reinhard was only two years old when his mother, Louanna, fell into a coma, it is unknown what kind of relationship the two used to share. However, he does continue to visit her and entrust her care to Grimm and Carol in the absence of his father and Wilhelm.

Felt theorizes that Reinhard somehow caused his mother's coma.

Theresia van Astrea

Theresia was possibly the closest relative Reinhard ever had. He worried about her greatly and became despondent when he learned of her death, going as far as claiming responsibility for her demise, due to the fact he had unknowingly wished for the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint for the sake of his father and accepted the blame he had received from his grieving family members. Many years in the future, after the Witch Cult resurrected her, Reinhard was forced to face her and cut her down in order to save Heinkel and Wilhelm. Despite lifting his sword against his beloved grandmother, however, Reinhard showed neither emotion nor remorse, as he did not consider her reanimated corpse to be anything more than a walking hunk of flesh. This decision sadly backfired on Reinhard, as neither Heinkel nor Wilhelm took Theresia's second demise lightly, completely shattering their already strained relationship.

Wilhelm van Astrea

Wilhelm's relationship with his grandson is very tense. Following Theresia's death, Reinhard spoke to his grandfather in an attempt to assure him that despite her death, she did not lose as the Sword Saint, and he instead received it just before her passing. Despite Wilhelm pleading to say no more because he did not want to blame his grandson, this marked the start of the strain in their relationship, and after laying the blame of her death on Reinhard's shoulders, Wilhelm avoided his grandson, leaving the Astrea family behind. Nevertheless, Wilhelm regretted this, and he wished to fix their relationship, intending to apologize to his grandson. However, because Heinkel had heard that Wilhelm blamed Reinhard, he refused to allow the two to meet and said that he didn't deserve the right to apologize, stripping Wilhelm of the chance to.

Nevertheless, Wilhelm did want to fix their relationship after the White Whale was successfully killed. He professed guilt to Subaru over unfairly blaming Reinhard for Theresia’s death. However, his worry over how Reinhard may think of him made him incapable of doing so, only adding to his shame due to being unable to communicate with his grandson. Despite this, in an effort to do fix their relationship, they were able to share a warm moment together in Priestella with the help of the other Royal Selection camps, but this was unfortunately interrupted by Heinkel. Later, after Reinhard was forced to kill Theresia's resurrected corpse, when Wilhelm asked Reinhard if he had any regret doing so, upon hearing Reinhard's answer, he began calling the current Sword Saint by his full name, as if to show that he was a stranger instead of his grandson.

Despite this, Wilhelm did not want that last reunion between him and his family to end in such a tragedy, and instead of attempting to change their relationship verbally, he decided that he, as he did with Theresia, would use his sword to dispossess the Sword Saint of his sword.

Felt Camp

Felt

After the events of Arc 1, Reinhard took it upon himself to make Felt the 42nd King of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica. Ever since the Royal Selection Ceremony, the two of them are inseparable, partially due to the nature of their relationship - Reinhard being Felt's knight. The two of them engage in one-sided banter which often starts due to trivial reasons such as "Reinhard not being human" or "Reinhard being too perfect for a man". Naturally, Reinhard happens to be the one that she shifts the blame onto. She also finds his composure disconcerting because of his tendency to conceal his true emotions behind a veneer of logic, which infuriates her. They're well-known throughout the Kingdom for having a very unorthodox relationship which breaks the bounds of normality, however, Felt doesn't consider the idea of "normalcy" as something one should bother with, hence she usually meets such observations with an air of hostility, which usually forces Reinhard to intervene and quickly resolve any potential disputes.

Despite such treatment, Reinhard displayed extreme devotion and affections towards his young mistress, always putting her before himself or anyone else. He disregards orders if they don't align with Felt's and is even prepared to forsake his duty as a knight, if the situation calls for it or if Felt is in danger. Sadly, this was sometimes used against him, as seen when his father Heinkel Astrea used Felt for his own advantage and forced Reinhard to guard him in order to make sure nothing bad happens to Felt. Felt's influence over him has also gradually changed his priorities and reasoning, as she often encourages him to be more true to himself when it comes to pursuing his desires and act on his feelings instead of worrying about the greater good. As of Arc 9, he has become notably more willing to take risks to achieve the results that he personally desires in contrast to what is pragmatic and optimal, a change that Al himself thought was unprecedented in the Sword Saint and attributes it to his mistress.

Rom

Due to both Rom and Reinhard being overly protective of Felt and deeply caring for her, the two ended up forging a rather amicable and friendly bond. According to the author, they mostly talk about different ways to raise Felt properly.

Rachins Hoffman

Reinhard met Rachins for the first time when he, Gaston and Camberley were attempting to rob Subaru shortly after he had arrived in Lugunica. Upon appearing before them, the trio, aware of Reinhard’s reputation, instantly fled.

Following the events of Felt-chan Gathers Thugs side story, Rachins, Gaston and Camberley joined Felt in her endeavors to win the Royal Selection. Reinhard was tasked with training the trio, successfully developing their individual strengths. Rachins had potential with Fire Magic, hence Reinhard primarily focused on that aspect. Though nowhere near as powerful as even moderately strong Fire Magic users, Rachins is able to cast basic fireballs thanks to Reinhard's help.

Furthermore, Reinhard and Rachins often engage in somewhat hostile banter, with Reinhard usually being on the receiving end of his insults, and being blamed for most problems that arise in day-to-day life–primarily due to his gallantry and perfection in every and all aspects of life. Despite such rough treatment, Reinhard considers Rachins a valuable ally, and someone who is more than capable of protecting Felt if he himself isn't around. However, Reinhard still recognizes Rachins’ delinquent behaviors, and will criticize him if he feels it is necessary.

Anastasia Camp

Julius Juukulius

Having known each other for years, Reinhard and Julius share an incredibly close and friendly relationship, both considering each other one of their closest and best friends, alongside Ferris Argyle. The two first met when Reinhard was around eight years old, though he himself remembers his first interraction with Julius taking place when he was around fifteen years old. In the following years, the two served together in the Royal Guard, and developed a close bond, with mutual respect and admiration towards each other. Despite that, however, Julius has been shown to harbor some sort of an inferiority complex towards Reinhard, as can be seen in Ex4 spin-off side story. Following the events of Arc 5 and Julius' fight with the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Julius had his name eaten which resulted in Reinhard no longer remembering him.

Emilia Camp

Natsuki Subaru

Due to Reinhard's friendly and accessible personality, he easily befriended Subaru without thinking of him as inferior to him, despite himself being better than Subaru in every aspect imaginable. After Subaru's impressive feats of defeating the White Whale and the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Reinhard started thinking of Subaru as his equal and was perfectly fine with relying on him, despite Subaru majorly lacking in strength, speed and battle experience. That said, thanks to some harsh words that Subaru doled out to him and the entirety of the knights before this, Subaru was unsure of whether they had remained friends. Fortunately, his worries were quelled when a year later, Reinhard claimed that he still considered him a friend.

While Reinhard was missing through the majority of Arc 5, many people would become frustrated with Reinhard. However, it would be Subaru who would break the ice and make it easier to broach the topic, even poking some fun at the Sword Saint. After this, Reinhard would listen to Subaru’s orders. Together, they were able to defeat the Sin Archbishop of Greed, whose Authority of Greed made him immune to outside interference, rendering even Reinhard unable to harm him. Similarly, Subaru would trust Reinhard to watch his back when confronting “Anastasia” after the Battle for Priestella was over, and Reinhard would even keep the secret of her identity and the conversation they had at Subaru’s request.

Emilia

Reinhard holds great admiration and respect for Emilia. In the Epilogue of Volume 1, after the fight with Elsa, he bowed down to her and acknowledged that she was extremely magnanimous. According to Reinhard, he believes Emilia to be a "chosen one,” feeling a pressure from her that he attributes to her status and presence as a royal selection candidate.

Garfiel Tinzel

During the year following the conclusion of Arc 4 and Garfiel's initiation into the Emilia Camp, Reinhard had heard a great deal about him and his abilities, wishing he could meet the one known as Emilia's Shield. Luckily for him, not even a year later, that chance appeared in the Watergate City of Priestella–though it didn't go as smoothly as Reinhard hoped. Immediately upon appearing before the Emilia Camp, Garfiel, who had been startled upon sensing Reinhard’s immense power, attacked him with his full might. Reinhard effortlessly countered his attack, unknowingly and unintentionally scarring Garfiel through the sheer gap in their strength. By the time Reinhard realized this, it was already too late. Garfiel showed fear towards Reinhard following this, which somewhat saddened the Sword Saint.

In spite of the massive divide in their power, Reinhard still respects Garfiel, commenting that he was remarkably strong for a boy his age.

Meili Portroute

The two would first meet in the Royal Capital, where she was being entrusted with the task of helping the second expedition team to reach the tower. Meili would instinctively fear the young man, similar to Garfiel, but unlike him, she would freeze in front of him. Reinhard, familiar with this reaction, paid no mind to it, instead focusing on the task she had been entrusted with. In fact, he didn’t mind that Meili was a former assassin, his ideals somewhat aligning with the likes of Subaru and Julius. As the two would travel to the tower, she would come to grow used to him, though she would still somewhat fear his strength.

Priscilla Camp

Al

Although the two have barely interacted, as of Arc 9, they are at odds due to Al’s actions in the Pleiades Watchtower. After Reinhard knocked him and the controlled Divine Dragon out of the sky, Al claimed that he would still defeat Reinhard.

Lugunicans

Carol & Grimm Fauzen

This couple is a pair of loyal Astrea family servants, and their loyalty extends to Reinhard as well. Though the relationship between them has not been expanded on yet, Reinhard trusts them with the care of his mother when he cannot tend to her.

Nine Divine Generals

Cecilus Segmunt

Before the start of the main story, Cecilus arrived uninvited in Lugunica and wished to challenge the Sword Saint to a duel. During the duel, in which Reinhard drew the Dragon Sword for the third time, the two found a newfound respect for each other’s strengths. In fact, Cecilus even saw the duel with Reinhard almost like a message saying that he’s not alone nor the only monster in the world. In the end, they declared the match a draw, and they remained on friendly terms when parting.

Gustekans

Elsa Granhiert

Reinhard would face the infamous Bowel Hunter in the Loot House in Arc 1, recognizing her as the dangerous serial killer. Though Reinhard had no true difficulty in handling her, Elsa would grow frustrated with her efforts to take him down, and she would be forced to retreat after receiving a deadly blow.

Witch Cult

Regulus Corneas

Along with Subaru, Reinhard would confront Greed in Priestella, where, as Subaru had warned him, he would discover that having a conversation with Regulus would serve to be a pointless endeavor. Still, during his negotiations, he would allow Regulus to kill him once, allowing him to catch him by surprise. As the two would clash, he would grow frustrated with his sword’s decision to remain sheathed, believing Regulus to be too dangerous. Regulus would end up tossing Reinhard to the moon in his frustration of not being able to kill him, but when Reinhard came back down, he would dislike Regulus’s decision to disregard the standards of a proper duel. As punishment, he would slam Regulus into the sky, now having been drastically weakened by Subaru and Emilia’s efforts, and slam him back down into the ground at a tremendous speed, leading to Regulus’s slow and painful death.

Sirius Romanée-Conti

Though the two would confront each other during a failed loop, in the main timeline, Reinhard was responsible, alongside Felt, for escorting Wrath to the Prison Tower in the Royal Capital. On the way, he would find Sirius’s problem of attracting trouble rather tedious. By the time Reinhard would take her up into the tower, their relationship would seem to be rather neutral.