This page is about the character. For the anime episode, see Episode 64.
Theresia van Astrea (テレシア・ヴァン・アストレア) was Wilhelm van Astrea's wife and the previous generation's Sword Saint who fought and single handedly brought an end to the Demi-Human War roughly 40 years before the start of the main story. Though a minor character overall, she is pivotal to the character arcs of her relatives and later serves as a secondary antagonist in Arc 5. She also plays major roles in the SwordDemonTrilogy.
After dying during the Great Conquest 14 years before the story began, Wilhelm vowed to avenge her by killing the White Whale, which he does in Arc 3. Unbeknownst to everyone, though, the Witch of Vainglory was involved in her death. Following her death, the Witch Cult reanimated her as a corpse soldier and she was controlled like a puppet during the events of Arc 5. In the end, her grandson, Reinhard, put her out of her misery, an act that completely shattered his relationship with Wilhelm.
She was fairly short and had long red hair with flowers attached to it, tying it in two ponytails, while a big part of her hair stayed loose. She had blue eyes and a fair complexion.
When operating as a knight of the Royal Guard, she used to wear a short white dress with armor and a white cloak over it, with a pair of dark purple gloves and tights of the same color. In her uniform, she wore high white boots and tied her hair in a high ponytail.
In her free time, she wore a long green and white off-the-shoulder dress with shoulder straps decorated with flowers. Her common outfit had white trimmings and pink patches on the dress in a form of bows, with one of them being on her chest. Theresia also used to wear small red shoes.
Personality
Theresia was a very social, open-minded, overly kind person who often found herself very worried about others, to the point that she would push aside her own personal feelings in favor of others'. She loved flowers, and she cared very deeply about life, to the point that despite being the next Sword Saint, she could not bring herself to raise a sword to harm another. She was even fearful of her own ability to harm others. Thanks to one of her Divine Protections, these feelings were even greater amplified, and if she ever did hurt someone, she would cry and apologize profusely for having done so, even if it was reflexive. Oftentimes, she would find herself confused as to why she was chosen as the Sword Saint, and those feelings only grew over time. During the era of the Demi-Human War, these feelings were particularly relevant, as despite others wanting her to take up the sword and fight, she could not do so, resulting in the deaths of several family members who fought in her place, much to her terrible sadness, causing her to cry often and lose her smile for years.
After she met Wilhelm, her feelings began to change. She began to smile more often, looking forward to meeting him, despite his rude demeanor. Aware though she was that she had fallen in love at first sight, she did not fight these feelings, and as she met with him, she found herself influenced by the way he diligently devoted himself to the sword, often asking why he did so. Eventually, sometime after he claimed his reason to fight was to protect others, she started reflecting on the reason she was given the title of Sword Saint again. It wasn't until she learned that Wilhelm was in danger that she finally found the resolve to raise her sword and do harm unto others: to protect Wilhelm. Despite this, she effectively pushed aside all of her feelings and took part in the war, despite the fact that doing so hurt her terribly. This said, when Wilhelm took her reason to wield the sword away from her, she finally started acting like her true self in front of others again: cheerful, easily flustered, strong willed, annoyed by others' when they acted rudely or foolishly, jealous to and pouty of matters revolving around Wilhelm, who she trusted and loved implicitly.
Theresia was born to her father, Veltol Astrea, and her mother, Tishua Astrea. Since she was born with a Divine Protection, she refused to use a sword, fearing that she would hurt others. However, at the age of twelve, she obtained the powers of the Sword Saint from her uncle, Fribal van Astrea. Eventually, House Remendis offered Carol Remendis to attend her. Though initially she found herself dismayed by Theresia's attitude towards wielding a sword, after an incident where Carol found herself swiftly defeated by Theresia and caused the Sword Saint to cry, the two became much closer. In the following year, the Demi-Human War broke out, and in the year that followed, Theresia was taken to her first battle, where she was expected to draw her sword for the first time. However, she could not bring herself to do it, caring far too much for life to bring harm, and as a result, one of her brothers died, leaving Theresia heartbroken and unable to smile anymore. As the years passed, her other brothers and even her uncle were killed during the war, wounding her heart further, and because she didn't have the heart to raise her sword, Carol would take her place in assisting Roswaal J. Mathers throughout the war.
One day, Carol told her that instead of being stuck inside and having to deal with people trying to convince her to join the army, she should go outside somewhere, leading to Theresia finding an isolated spot in the slums where she could be by herself, and eventually, she planted flowers there. Later on, she one day met another young man who had come to this place to train on his own. Intrigued by the young man and having fallen for him at first sight, she spoke with him, showed him her flowers, and asked if he liked them, to which he replied negatively. Annoyed by this, she scared him off. Despite this, when Carol came to pick her up later that day, she was genuinely smiling, saying that she met a rude boy that day. For the next several weeks, the two continued to meet each other here, and Theresia would ask the same question, only to retrieve the same answer.
In the month following the Battle of Aihiya Swamp, during one of her meetings with the young man, they exchanged names for the first time, her lack of fear it his name surprising him, and she asked for the reason why he wielded his blade, which he replied to by saying that it was all he had. After this, those two questions would be something she asked every time they met, each with the same answers. He continued to ignore this request and kept one with his duties and training, answering the very same questions from Theresia every time. Sometime after this, he met with Theresia again, where he was once again made to question why he wielded his sword, even though he claimed that he would continue to wield his sword, even if it caused him pain, and she hoped to him that he would find that reason one day. After the Invasion of the Royal Castle was over, he went to meet Theresia again, where Wilhelm claimed he no longer hated flowers, and his reason for the sword was to protect others. At some point during or after this time, she learned exactly who he was and even congratulated him.
Within the following year, she and Wilhelm would meet more often, using their sword and flowers as excuses to see each other. However, one day, after Wilhelm learned that his lands were in trouble, he walked towards the flower garden that night and spoke with Theresia, who had been there all day. After a conversation and walking back with her in the direction of the main road, she inspired him to fight, albeit unintentionally. Later, having been told by Carol that Wilhelm had gone on his own to fight for his lands, Theresia, for the first time, willingly picked up the sword, and with the resolve to protect Wilhelm, she left with the Zergev Squadron to retrieve him. Upon arriving, Theresia began slaughtering the demi-human attackers who destroyed the Trias Domain, despite the immense heartbreaking pain it caused her, and after racking up over 1000 kills, everyone returned to the Royal Capital. A few weeks later, the two confronted each other in the flower garden, where she swiftly and easily defeated him. Saying that she would not return, she claimed to have found a reason to swing her sword, to protect others, and as she walked away, having borne a sad expression, Wilhelm claimed that he would take that sword away, as he regretted having given her a reason to have to swing her sword. Thanks to this, Wilhelm was not seen fighting with the Royal Army again until after the Demi-Human War was over.
Thanks to Theresia joining the war efforts, she was given the auxiliary Astrea Manor for her triumphs in the Battle of the Trias Domain, yet due to her fighting, she often did not find herself returning to the building. Though starting out on bad terms with Bordeaux Zergev, she fought together alongside him, and after two years, she managed to deal great damage to the Demi-Human Alliance, gathering more than ten thousand kills, much to her sadness. With the war over after Cragrell Dawson met with the king, Theresia was to be awarded for her contributions. After being given a ceremonial sword from Roswaal, she made her way to the ceremony hall, and soon after, Wilhelm, who had been training himself for two long years, appeared to challenge her. Happy to see him again and that he had gotten so strong, she displayed her immense strength to all of those present, completely erasing any doubts of her skills. However, she ultimately lost to Wilhelm. Claiming to be stronger than her, he said that she no longer had a reason to fight, that he would fight in her place in order to protect her. After sharing a kiss, he was reunited with the Zergev Squadron on one side and dealing with a pouting Theresia on the other, saying that he'd tell her he loved her when the mood hit him.
Following the ceremony, Wilhelm was taken to the Prison Tower. Meanwhile, speaking with the king about her reward, she decided to use it to free Wilhelm, and after that, they made a deal that Theresia would be allowed to retire from the military if she managed to marry Wilhelm. Shortly afterward, she reunited with Wilhelm outside of the Prison Tower. After dragging him to her mansion and forcing him to take a bath, Wilhelm spoke with Carol and Grimm, the former of which lashed out at him, and he learned of her position as Theresia's attendant. After this, Theresia informed him that he was technically unemployed, leading to him to go and find a way to get his job back. While he was gone, Theresia prepared food for him, Grimm, and Carol for that night, which he saw when he returned to the mansion. In the conversation that followed, he told her about how the only person he talked to during the two years he was gone was Roswaal, who would often find him, and out of jealousy and irritation, she threw him to the ground and locked herself in her room. Upon Carol and Grimm's return to the mansion, Carol chided him and went to speak with Theresia while Wilhelm and Grimm finished all of the food that Theresia prepared.
The next day, after an argumentative breakfast with Carol and Grimm, Wilhelm informed Theresia of where he was going and left her breakfast. While he was gone, though still pouting about his interactions with Roswaal, she prepared food for the two of them. When he returned to the mansion, he told her about his returning to the army and for her not to go to the castle the next day. The next day, after Wilhelm left, Theresia found herself fretting over whether or not to go to the castle. As she did, Roswaal appeared, assuaged her jealous doubt, and decided to bring her to the castle. However, after Theresia arrived and saw what was going on, she chided the king for allowing this, and it was revealed that she would have been let go of her position if she married Wilhelm, much to everyone's but the king and Miklotov's shock. Wilhelm accepted this, and they embraced, Theresia calling him Wilhelm van Astrea.
In the three months that followed, Theresia brought Wilhelm to meet her parents. However, thanks to Veltol, their upcoming wedding faced numerous setbacks and obstacles. Thanks to his interference, three days before their official wedding date, he used his authority to force the Zergev Squadron to patrol a few towns around the capital, knowing full well that it would take three days to accomplish. Suspicious that this was her father's fault, she asked Bordeaux to look into it. Later, despite her frustrations, Wilhelm decided to take on this challenge, and as he prepared to leave, Theresia, who had fixed him food for on the road, saw him off. Afterward, speaking with Bordeaux, he confirmed her suspicions, and she resolved to meet with and scold her father.
Two days later, she and Carol went to confront Veltol. When they met, Theresia was quick to chide her father for his actions, and she even threatened to leave House Astrea because of him. Even Carol and her mother joined in to chide him. However, she believed in Wilhelm, and she knew that he would arrive on time for their wedding, despite her father's meddling. The next day, wearing her wedding dress, she waited patiently for the return for the Zergev Squadron with Carol and her parents. Eventually, Bordeaux arrived and informed her of the squad's return, and soon after, her wedding took place. Despite Wilhelm being unable to clean himself off after the mess he went through, the wedding went off perfectly, and the two were married.
In the month that followed, Veltol made numerous appearances, much to Theresia's frustration, and eventually, he even suggested going along on the honeymoon as well, leading to another argument. However, with help from Tishua, they were able to get him to leave. Given two months for their honeymoon, they prepared to leave, taking Carol as Theresia's attendant, and they decided to visit the cities to the south of the capital. After first visiting Flanders and Theresia insisting they not visit her home in Hakuchuri, they made for Picoutatte, where her father was waiting, leading to another argument. However, with his reason for visiting to collect the present for his wife, they accompanied him to the Suwen Company. With Veltol asking Wilhelm and Carol to allow him and Theresia to shop together, they left to observe the town. Inside the shop, however, they were met by a disrespectful Stride Vollachia, who was targeting the Sword Saint. Leading Veltol to challenging him to a duel, he introduced Kurgan, who would serve as his champion, as Theresia had noticed Stride's apparent illness. After further insulting him, her, and Wilhelm, Veltol struck Stride for his remarks, leading Kurgan to ruthlessly beat him down and Stride to curse him. Taken to the hospital, she met with Wilhelm and was informed of Veltol's condition by the healer Garitch Fabless. Accordingly, the only way to remove the curse was to cut it off at the source. Soon after, Yaktol Suwen, who ran the shop, informed the group of the message given by the Stride that they would be waiting at a great bridge in Picoutatte's west district with the source of the curse. Impatient, Carol ran off with Yaktol in search of the man while Theresia resolved herself to go to the bridge with Wilhelm.
The next morning, Carol returned, unable to find Stride. After Yaktol then provided Wilhelm with his new sword that Veltol picked out for him, he and Theresia left for the bride where Stride and Kurgan were waiting. Despite Stride's annoyance with Wilhelm's appearance, Theresia challenged him, and the two chose their champions, Wilhelm and Kurgan, on their behalf. Stride was further annoyed at learning that the rumors of what happened at her ceremony were true and that Wilhelm showed as much dangerous fighting spirit as Kurgan. Soon after, the fight began on the bridge. Although both sides took great damage, Stride decided to step in when he realized that Kurgan was in danger. Not wanting to lose his pawn, he declared the duel his loss, tossed them one of his rings, and then used something to turn the bridge into sand, dropping everyone on it into the river and allowing for him and Kurgan to escape. Destroying the ring and allowing others to help the people out of the water, they left for the hospital where Carol informed them that Veltol was better, and Wilhelm was admitted. At some point after this, she informed her mother, who decided to visit Picoutatte herself, and she and Carol went and bought the accessory that Veltol wanted to buy her as a present. However, after getting into an argument with her father later, she went to go meet her mother alongside Carol.
Later, everyone was informed that the White Whale was approaching. Since Wilhelm was tasked with another mission, Theresia took the place of a fearful Heinkel to lead a group of knights to defeat the witchbeast. However, during the Great Conquest, she lost her powers as the Sword Saint, encountered Pandora, and passed away.
Abilities
Divine Protection (加護, Kago): Theresia possessed two Divine Protections: the Divine Protection of the Death God (死神の加護, Shinigami no Kago) she was born with and the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint (剣聖の加護, Kensei no Kago), which she gained when she was twelve. With the former, slashes imbued with the Divine Protection's power left curse wounds that were unable to be healed. It also increased the closer she was to the target and she could even reopen wounds others have if they were close enough and were originally inflicted by her. If the wound expanded, so did the effect of the protection. If the wound was a light cut on the finger and the target cut off said finger, this new wound became the target of the protection. The effects disappeared if she died.
Theresia's swordsmanship.
Sword Saint (剣聖, Kensei): The power of the Sword Saint gifted her with inhuman intuition and insight while maximizing her latent swordsmanship talent and knowledge of combat towards a level that only a few could reach. This allowed Theresia to break down any kind of technique or attack directed at her while simultaneously showing gaps in them for the most optimal counter. These manifested as spectral "white lines" that only she could see, which were implied to be guidance from the "Sword God". However, if someone possessed equal or greater skill relative to hers, the lines would distort, making her opponents attack paths difficult to read.
Master Swordsman: Theresia was highly skilled at using the sword. Contrast to Wilhelm's deftier and measured style, her swordplay was more momentum based, employing a lot of acrobatic flushes. It was described as if she was doing a beautiful deadly dance.
Equipment: As the Sword Saint, Theresia wielded the Dragon Sword Reid (龍剣レイド, Ryūken Reido). The sword could only be drawn against opponents it deemed worthy for it to be used against, and it was later given to her grandson, Reinhard. After her death and being revived as a puppet of the Witch Cult, Theresia used a different sword in combat.
Trivia
Theresia was born on June 12, Lovers' Day.
When she was younger, Theresia could not control the "Divine Protection of the Death God" and wouldn't be able to until much later in her life when she came to some terms with herself and that power.
The author had confirmed that Theresia, with her Divine Protection of the Sword Saint active, would still be unable to defeat the White Whale due to her having to look after her squad and protect them from the Whale's fog.
Theresia was said to be among the top Sword Saints who have ever lived in terms of power due to her Divine Protection of the Death God.[1]
When she was young, she never bothered with studying magic. However, the author has stated that she most likely had an affinity with Yang Magic.
Theresia's first words when she first met Reinhard were: "You are Reinhard, a child that's been blessed by your family. Please remember that before you learn about the world."
Theresia van Astrea killed roughly ten thousand people during the Demi-Human War.[2]
Theresia has her own named chapter in Arc 5 in both the web novel and light novels, as well as a named episode in the anime.
Theresia is one of the few people that Reinhard has ever drawn the Dragon Sword Reid for.
↑"Theresia had taken up her sword as the Sword Saint in the Demi-Human War and reaped countless lives. Hadn’t the number of people she’d killed neared ten thousand?"Sword Demon Battle Ballad: Act 7, Section 1.
