Wilhelm van Astrea

This page is about the character. For the anime episode, see Episode 20.

In his youth, Wilhelm fought in the Demi-Human War, where he earned the title of Sword Demon. Following the end of the Demi-Human War and Bordeaux Zergev’s resignation, he was given the honor of being the new Captain of the Zergev Squadron, and later, the Captain of the Royal Guard. After his wife was killed during the Great Conquest, he vowed to avenge her, and he left the Knights and the Astrea Family. Eventually, he joined Crusch in her camp for a chance to slay the White Whale, and sometime later, he achieved his goal during the Subjugation of the White Whale.

Appearance

Wilhelm is an elegant older gentleman with a rather tall and muscular physique which one would not expect from a man his age. Due to his age, he has long bountiful white hair, which is perfectly combed back, suggesting his refinement. On his gentle old and wrinkled face, one can see a pair of beautiful sky-blue eyes that reflect wisdom, experience, and above all else, elderly warmth. Coupled with his white beard, Wilhelm represents the very essence of a well-mannered and good-looking elderly gentleman. In keeping with his occupation as Crusch Karsten's butler, he's always seen wearing a primarily black butler's outfit which consists of a white shirt over which he wears a vest of also white color. Over both the vest and the shirt, he's sporting a black, long-sleeved coat with some blue finishing touches around the edges. Matching the attire, his elegant pants are purely black. As a finishing touch, Wilhelm can be seen sporting white gloves and an elegant yet normal black bow tie. Thanks to his long-lasting profession, he has mastered the art of good manners. Most other butlers of his age could not hold a candle to his refined and perfect posture.

In the Water Plumage Inn in Arc 5, he wore a yukata.

In the past, Wilhelm was a very handsome and tall boy with relatively long brown hair which he wore tied back into a tail, similar to how he can be seen wearing it in the present. He had a pair of sky-blue eyes and a stern expression, giving off an air of inaccessibility and sternness. As a member of the Royal Army, he could be seen wearing a uniform that greatly resembled the current uniforms of the Royal Guards. In his free time however, he dressed a bit more casually with a long-sleeved, high-collared white shirt and grey vest which paired perfectly with his ashen brown trousers. Accordingly, with his title of the Sword Demon, he was always seen wearing a sheathed sword around his waist.

Personality

Wilhelm is a refined man with a highly gentle and humble demeanor. He tends to maintain a calm expression, and he treats the people around him with respect. He will also teach others how to use the sword if requested, which he did for Natsuki Subaru and Crusch Karsten. Despite coming off as a gentleman most of the time, he does not seem to consider himself as such. During his bout with Yae Tenzen, he claimed that he was a swordsman and nothing else. Despite being one of the best swordsmen in the world who is willing to face most of his problems head on, he has shown no qualms in cutting someone down from behind. When Subaru asked him if he was fine with doing so in one failed loop because it might breach a code of honor, Wilhelm believed that while chivalry was something to respect, there were times when it was unnecessary. As the former Captain of the Royal Guard and Commander of the Zergev Squadron, he has a strong sense of duty alongside his protective nature. Should the people be in danger, Wilhelm will typically act quickly and fiercely, even should this include having to face off against the symbol of Lugunica, the Divine Dragon, if he needed to.

In his youth, Wilhelm was the very opposite of who he was in his later years: brash, afoot, short tempered, lonely, and often cold with others; of course, he also maintained a calm mind in spite of this, usually being able to analyze most situations he found himself in. He was a troubled individual, and instead of dealing with the people around him, he devoted himself to nothing but the sword, often going to train himself on his own in places that people would seldom appear. This being said, he started to change after he met Theresia. After meeting her, he started to become more sociable and protective. Though he kept a short temper and cold attitude at times, he was much easier to deal with compared to before. Still, after a brush with death when he went to fight during the Battle of the Trias Domain, where he discovered that Theresia was the Sword Saint, he quickly lost his temper, and when she decided to fight, despite her own gentle nature and despise of battle, he came to bear a hatred against the title of Sword Saint, and he became devoted to making sure that she would never have a reason to raise her sword.

When it came to Theresia, both before and after their marriage, he was always very awkward with his emotions, usually finding himself unable to put them into words, often to her annoyance. Whenever she asked if he liked flowers, he would often respond negatively, though his apparent hatred for them vanished, and later on, because of her influence, he came to love them as she did. He was extremely protective of her, and when she found herself put in dangerous situations, he quickly became aggressive and vengeful, going on to fight incredible beings of power to either rescue or avenge her. He was usually happy when he was with her and her family, and after learning that she was pregnant with his son, he was just as happy. Even after he was born, he showed this, and he even believed him to be blessed for the sword, even going on to later teach him. He also greatly respected Theresia's father, Veltol Astrea, and following his death, he named his son by one of the names that Veltol had picked out, Heinkel. He seems to bear a similar respect for both Subaru, who allowed him to finally achieve his goal of long-sought vengeance and sees like a grandson, and Crusch, who he decided to serve and greatly admired her goal.

This being said, he has shown to hold a rather strained relationship with his family. In grief, Wilhelm is willing to lash out, be unforgiving, and act rash toward people, and following his grandson Reinhard's statement following Theresia's death regarding their respective Divine Protection, he even ended up lashing out at him as well, openly and publicly disparaging him. Because of this incident and his inability to apologize due to Heinkel's refusal to let him see him again, topics centered around his family are often awkward for him, and he is left hard pressed for words. Because of the rift caused by his actions, instead of attempting to rekindle his relationships, Wilhelm instead prioritized his revenge for Theresia and became extremely hostile towards both the White Whale and the Witch Cult behind it, having later learned of their association with it and the resurgence of Theresia's Divine Protection of the Death God. However, both before and after the death of the White Whale, Wilhelm wanted to close that rift in his family and even attempted to do so shortly before the Battle for Priestella. He was unable to do so, though, due to Heinkel's interference and blaming him for his actions, which Wilhelm could not deny. The strain between them increased after the Astreas were forced to confront Theresia's undead form. Once again, his hatred for the title of Sword Saint surged, and like he did with Theresia, he resolved and devoted himself to the sword again in order to get through to his grandson, not with words but the sword, as that was the only way he knew how, and as such, he decided to refer to his grandson not by name but by his title for the time.

History

Early Life

Wilhelm was born the third son of the Trias family, who lived in the Kingdom of Lugunica's countryside. They were an old house of nobility situated in one of the Kingdom’s most remote northern provinces, which bordered with the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko, and had the responsibility of managing some of the territories there. Once a proud warrior family, their days of military glory were a thing of the past, and by the time Wilhelm was born, they were little more than a small barony running meager lands with a small population of serfs. Unlike his much older siblings, Wilhelm had neither the claim to inherent leadership in the family nor the knack for civil governance, leaving him with little hope in his own future prospects until the day he picked up his family's treasured sword. Enchanted by the blade, he would spend 6 years of his youth in the mountains near his home swinging it day and night as it gave him a sense of peace and purpose that his life had lacked up till then and each time he swung it, he felt himself growing stronger. By the time he was 14, he had become the most skilled swordsman in the domain. However, one night, due to a severe quarrel with his eldest brother over his future, he left his family and travelled to the Royal Capital to become a knight.

Sword Demon Love Song

At the time, the country had been going through a civil war for several years with the Demi-Human Alliance, a group of demi-human tribes, that began in its eastern region when Wilhelm enlisted. In his first battle, the Battle of Redonas Plateau, where a noble had sought to make a name for himself, soon after the battle began, that noble, alongside many others in Wilhelm's unit, were all quickly killed. However, Wilhelm was unfazed and proceeded to annihilate his enemies, which included two of the enemy captains. Eventually, he found an injured Grimm Fauzen on the battlefield and saved his life by slaying the demi-human attacking him before turning away. Grimm, wanting to survive, followed after him, and he bore witness to the mountain of corpses that Wilhelm had created. Shortly after, the army signaled their victory, due in no small part to Wilhelm's efforts. Because of his achievements during this battle, Wilhelm was awarded accolades, and soon after, he was placed in the same unit as Grimm. Later, while training behind the barracks, he met Grimm again. After a short conversation with Grimm, who claimed that he didn't understand how the others couldn't devote themselves to their training instead of pleasures and calling Grimm a coward for making excuses, Grimm left to sleep while Wilhelm continued training.

Shortly after this, the Royal Army was baited into Castour Field, where they found themselves handily dealing with the demi-humans that they had struggled with prior. While Wilhelm was cutting down his enemies and bringing awe to friend and foe alike, both he and Grimm, who was protecting Tholter Weasily with his shield as he fired his arrows, had a bad feeling. It wasn't long after that their premonitions came true and the earth shook through magic, causing chaos among the army. Realizing the plot, Wilhelm moved forward to fight his enemies while the others retreated, much to his chagrin. Grimm, having dropped his sword, chased after him to bring him back, and along the way, he damaged a magic circle. After speaking with Wilhelm, who appeared and dispatched an attacking demi-human, he was told what the idea, crafted by Valga Cromwell, was meant for and that retreating was part of the trap. Despite Grimm's misgivings, Wilhelm continued to fight, and Grimm chased after him. Witnessing his carnal display against his enemies, Grimm called him the "Sword Demon". Soon after, a massive cry from his allies could be heard as they fell for the trap, and the Battle of Castour Field ended in the army's defeat. After being taken back by the rest of the army and given treatment, Wilhelm met with the commander and vice commander of the Zergev Squadron, Bordeaux Zergev and Pivot Arnancy. After a few matches with Bordeaux, in which most of the wins went to Wilhelm, the two informed him that he and Grimm were both chosen as part of the Zergev Squadron, to which he warned that the previous units he was with were both completely annihilated, though neither man seemed to mind.

With the great defeat at Castour Field, the Kingdom decided to call in the magic specialist Roswaal J. Mathers to analyze the magic circles used. On the way there, Grimm and Wilhelm argued about when the latter called him a coward for his trauma, and before long, alongside the rest of the squadron, they arrived at Castour Field, where they officially met Roswaal and her bodyguard Carol Remendis. After once again getting into an argument with him, Wilhelm, Grimm, and a few other members of the squadron moved on as a group to the magic circle. Along the way, Grimm kept Carol company so that there would be any problems with Wilhelm, while Wilhelm himself spoke with Roswaal, who he was far more wary of than Carol. After arriving and allowing Roswaal to check the circle, after she claimed it would be a threat to the Kingdom, Grimm had a bad feeling that he thought Wilhelm might share. That feeling turned out to be correct when the undead Tholter fired arrows at them and corpse soldiers began rising. Leaving Grimm to cover Roswaal alongside Carol, Wilhelm went to fight the undead, where he met Sphinx. With Roswaal intending to join the fight, furious, Sphinx decided to retreat, leaving everyone to clean up the undead. With some help from Roswaal, Wilhelm realized that Tholter was the main corpse soldier to defeat, and after giving him the push he needed to overcome his trauma and fight, Grimm ran forward and put his old friend to rest. Afterward, meeting up with the Bordeaux and Pivot, Roswaal relayed Sphinx's identity and the threat she bore. Later, he, Grimm, Roswaal, Bordeaux, and Pivot all reported to the Kingdom's officials, including Miklotov McMahon, about the threat.

For 3 years, he and the other members of the Zergev Squadron, and often Roswaal and Carol, were sent to some of the most dangerous and brutal battles of the war, both losing some of the original members of the Squadron and obtaining new members, pushing their numbers upwards of 100. One day, being told to take a day off by his superiors, Wilhelm left to train in a place in the slums in solitude. However, after arriving in an abandoned construction site within the Royal Capital where he had come to train regularly, he met Theresia. Though initially annoyed with her presence and the fact that she seemed ignorant of his intimidating glare, she still spoke with him and showed him the flowers she planted, asking if he liked flowers, to which he replied negatively. Ever since, he would go to that place on his days off, and Theresia would be there to watch and ask the same question of him. Before long, however, it was time for him to raise his sword again as his next destination was Aihiya Swamp, where both Valga, Libre Fermi, and possibly Sphinx were supposed to be. He conversed with Grimm over it, comparing it to Castour Field, and Roswaal appeared, confirming Wilhelm's suspicion that their superiors did take the threat into consideration. After Carol appeared and handed Grimm a good luck charm, they met their new commander, Leip Barielle, who struck Wilhelm for being disrespectful. With Roswaal pacifying him, they and Carol walked away. Despite the others' worry, Wilhelm turned their concerns away, and soon conversation turned to Grimm's gift from Carol, where he showed the locket had contained a flower that Carol's master had given her, the same kind of flower that Wilhelm had seen when he met Theresia. Soon after, everyone left for Aihiya Swamp.

During the Battle of Aihiya Swamp, Wilhelm fought alongside the rest of the Zergev Squadron as the fighting progressed, soon deciding to move toward the center of the fighting to remove the root of the war itself. There, they came across Libre, who challenged Wilhelm to a duel. Although putting up a good fight, Libre was able to corner Wilhelm and push him back, and in response, Grimm, Bordeaux, and Pivot surrounded Libre to cut him off. However, they were all put under the effects of a wide spanning magic circle, left at the mercy of the demi-humans. With Libre pointing his blade at Bordeaux, Wilhelm attempted to fight him off, only for Libre to nearly kill him. Pivot, instead, jumped in the way of his blade, and as he lay on the ground, he yelled at everyone not to let Wilhelm die, rousing them to take arms against Libre. However, they were all nearly slaughtered, and Grimm, who was able to defend himself for longer than the others, sustained a wound to his throat. Before he could be finished off, Wilhelm pounced Libre and fell into away from the others. Separated from the others and enraged by their deaths, he and Libre fought against each other, with Libre noting that he was being reborn. Though Wilhelm managed to deal more damage here, Libre was ready to finish him off if not for Sphinx's interference. Sphinx killed Libre and turned him into a corpse soldier, and Wilhelm was ready to fight and kill her. However, she merely left with Libre, claiming that she decided to leave Wilhelm alive to observe him as well. Because of this battle, Wilhelm began to question his way of life and the very reason he wielded his blade.

In the month following the Battle of Aihiya Swamp, Wilhelm was placed in a unit to act as the capital's police force while the military was in the midst of reorganizing. In this time, in which he would dispatch random dissenters, he would find himself training in the ruins near the flower field, swinging his blade, talking to Theresia, and responding to her in the same way as before. However, during one of those meetings, 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. Following this, he met with Bordeaux, who had clearly changed and became more serious, and immediately after, Carol, who told him that Grimm wanted to speak with him and chided him for his behavior. He continued to ignore this request and kept one with his duties and training, answering the very same questions from Theresia every time. Though trying to remain detached, he found himself increasingly drawn to Theresia, who often rebuffed his crude manners and afoot persona. Unaware of the subtle changes in his heart at first, subconsciously he started looking forward to their ritualistic meetings, which eventually led him to question the real reason why he had continued to walk the path of the sword while he had been avoiding his life up until now. At one point following a conversation with her, still in turmoil over why the other squad members sacrificed themselves for him and his heart hurting every time Theresia asked why he wielded his sword, he met with Grimm, who told him that his ideals and sword were representative of the squad, and he represented hope as well. 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.

A little while after this, uprisings started all over the country, forcing the regional lords to take care of them on their own. With the Zergev Squadron rebuilt and left behind, they prepared to move as well when Wilhelm realized that the enemies' movement was a distraction so that the leaders could attack the castle and the king. With the rest of the unit, Grimm, who returned to duty, and Bordeaux trusting his judgment, they made for the castle, and with Roswaal and Carol's appearances, they were allowed inside. With the squad split up to cover the castle, Wilhelm took his group to the chapel while Bordeaux split off from them. Confronting Valga and Sphinx, the former of which had enhanced is size via a magic circle and his ancestors' bones, he had his companions chase after Sphinx while he battled Valga. Though he found himself cornered, after being protected by his allies, who handled the other enemies, he fought Valga and defeated him, coming to realize many of his roiled emotions as they fought. After the Invasion of the Royal Castle was over, he went to meet Theresia again. Coming to an epiphany, Wilhelm realized that he had been using it as an excuse to run away from his problems at home. He wanted to do something his older brothers couldn't and support his family in his own way as they did. Accepting this fact, Wilhelm found himself caring about things he hadn't in a long time, becoming less and less concerned with taking the heads of his enemies over prioritizing the safety of his comrades. For such an infamous figure in the royal military, his changes did not go unnoticed and was mostly welcomed among his peers. Wilhelm received calls and support for knighthood once again, but this time, he took it up because he found a new reason to wield his sword, no longer just for his self-satisfaction, but rather to protect the things he cared about and the happiness of one person who became irreplaceable in his life. Meeting her again, he claimed he no longer hated flowers, and his reason for the sword was to protect others.

Within the following year, having been knighted and being made the vice commander of the Zergev Squadron, Wilhelm started to become friendlier to his comrades, to the point that he would even share drinks with and tease Grimm about his relationship with Carol. He would also meet with Theresia more often, only using his swinging his sword as an empty excuse to go see her. However, one day, Roswaal visited his room to inform him that his territory was in danger. After she left, he spoke with Bordeaux about it, who left to confirm the situation. Unable to immediately go protect his lands, 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, he left everything behind to save his lands. However, upon arriving, the Trias Domain was already ablaze, and Wilhelm began slaughtering his enemies. Though managing to kill 300 of them, he was eventually brought down. Despite this, Theresia and the Zergev Squadron appeared and rescued him, and Wilhelm learned that she was the Sword Saint. A few weeks later, he confronted her 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.

In the time he was missing, he trained himself gruelly, to the point that his skills were unmatched except by only the best, and his only point of contact with the outside world as he traveled it was Roswaal, who would always manage to find him. With some help from her, who told him of the ceremony, Wilhelm appeared on the day of the ceremony to award the Sword Saint, and with his sword in hand, he challenged Theresia to a duel. The two fought each other in a dance so captivating that nobody around them could interfere, and to Theresia, she shed tears, her face red, as she got to see Wilhelm again. Eventually, the battle came to an end with Wilhelm's broken blade, her fallen blade, and her loss, his blade at her throat. 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.

Sword Demon Love Story

Following the ceremony, Wilhelm was taken to the Prison Tower, where he met and spoke with Orphe. Shortly afterward, thanks to Theresia using the award from the king for her contributions, he was let out, and the two reunited. After dragging him to her mansion and forcing him to take a bath, he 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, learning that he was technically unemployed, he spoke with Bordeaux, and he learned that rejoining the army would be difficult. Deciding to speak to Pivot in the cemetery, he met Miklotov, and the two set an appointment for the next day. Returning to the manor to find a table filled with food for four, he cursed that she had to fight, unable to even stay in this 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, he informed Theresia of where he was going and left her breakfast. At the castle, he spoke with Miklotov about rejoining the army, and though that wouldn't be a problem, what would be was Theresia's resignation. Telling him to speak with others about a solution to this problem, he went to speak with Orphe, who, after being told that Wilhelm would speak of his release, told him to make the situation something he could resolve with his sword. After speaking with the king and striking a deal with him, he returned to the mansion and told her about his returning to the army and for her not to go to the castle the next day. The next day, he found himself face to face with the best warriors the country had to offer, including Bordeaux, Carol, and Grimm. With Gionis and Miklotov overseeing the battle, Wilhelm fought and defeated all forty soldiers. However, after Theresia arrived and chided the king for allowing this, 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.

Within the following three months, Wilhelm and Grimm became the commander and vice commander of the Zergev Squadron, as Bordeaux had been promoted. Wilhelm also suggested to Bordeaux to release Orphe and make use of him. At some point, he also met Theresia's parents, Veltol and Tishua Astrea. However, thanks to Veltol, his upcoming wedding faced numerous setbacks and obstacles. Thanks to his interference, three days before the official date of their wedding, Veltol used his authority to make it to where Wilhelm would have to visit and patrol several small settlements around the capital, knowing full well that it would take three days to accomplish. Despite this, Wilhelm saw this as a challenge presented by Veltol, and despite Theresia's frustration, he took it on. After joining up with Grimm and the rest of the squadron, who all wanted to wrap up the patrols as quickly as possible to let Wilhelm make it in time for his wedding, Bordeaux and Theresia, who had made him food for the journey, saw them off.

Though they intended to pass quickly through the towns on Fleur, Millgray, Bonobo, and Cramlin, they faced a setback in Fleur due to Grimm's homecoming for the first time since he joined the army. Despite this, they managed to pass quickly through Millgray and Bonobo, but on the day before his wedding, the squad was tasked with finding the missing children in Cramlin. Though they found them inside the Nest of the Earth Serpent, a cave network beneath Mount Cordor, Wilhelm, Grimm, and the last child were all caved in. Trying to find their way out, the kid, who had passed out, eventually awoke and provided the two with a lagmite crystal, providing them light. However, shortly after, they were set upon by the Earth Serpent, a large earth sandworm. Being forced to confront it, Grimm, who was only able to block one of its strikes, was tasked with taking the kid and running while Wilhelm held it off. Despite taking some hits, Grimm eventually signaled to rush back to him, where a trap was waiting and triggered when the giant worm punched a hole into the outside world, where the rest of the squadron were waiting, and they successfully killed it. With it being the morning of the day of the wedding, everyone quickly rushed to return back to the capital, Conwood Melahau and the others feeling guilty for failing to recognize her as a regular girl during their time with her and saying that Theresia should not be on the altar alone, deciding to postpone their after-action report. Though unable to clean himself, he managed to return in time and change clothes, and afterward, he attended his wedding. With Veltol entrusting her to him, Wilhelm and Theresia were finally 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. However, when a commotion at the shop ensued, they returned to find a ton of blood and Theresia, and they were soon rushed to the hospital, where Veltol lay cursed and injured, as informed to them by Garitch Fabless, who attempted to heal him. 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 perpetrator of the incident, Stride Vollachia, 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 his champion 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. After Theresia argued with her father again, she and Carol left to go meet her mother, who was informed of what was going on and would be arriving soon, leaving Wilhelm to talk alone to Veltol. Despite their apparent rivalry, Wilhelm gave him advice of how to calm his wife down later, attempting to give him the accessory that Theresia and Carol had bought for him for his wife. However, he learned that Veltol's right arm was now unusable, and he was sworn to silence.

Sword Demon Battle Ballad

In the following months, Stride engaged in various deadly rampages across the Kingdom, prompting Wilhelm, and later the entire Royal Army, to search for him, but to no avail. Months following their initial meeting, Stride lead an assault on the Astrea Manor while Wilhelm wasn't home. Using his Authority, Stride enslaved Carol and made her kill Veltol against her own will. Then, using her to cover his escape, Stride fled the scene, but not before kidnapping Theresia as well, who was, at the time, pregnant. What resulted was a subjugation force of two hundred Royal Knights and the Zergev Squadron marching towards Picoutatte. Before arriving to the city, however, the subjugation force was assaulted by the summoned three-headed Dragon Valgren. What followed was an arduous and bloody battle for the city of Picoutatte that went down in history as the Subjugation of the Blight Dragon. The event concluded with the Blight Dragon tearing apart Stride, and the king successfully summoning the Divine Dragon Volcanica to the city, who killed the Blight Dragon and restored peace to the Kingdom.

In the months following the Subjugation of the Blight Dragon, Theresia gave birth to a boy, who they named Heinkel Astrea. Wilhelm was awarded for his bravery in fighting a dragon and freeing Picoutatte, with the role of the Captain of the Royal Guard. In the following years, the trio lived happily, though their happiness was far from eternal.

Years Following the Sword Demon Trilogy

Roughly fourteen years before Natsuki Subaru’s arrival to the world, the next king’s brother, Ford Lugunica’s youngest daughter was kidnapped by unknown thieves, who, according to the rumors, were brought into the Royal Castle by someone from the Royal Guard. Incidentally, right after the kidnapping, one of the Three Great Demon Beasts, the White Whale, made its appearance after years of inactivity. Wilhelm, as the Captain of the Royal Guard, was tasked with retrieving the kidnapped child, while Heinkel, who had by this point been promoted to Vice Captain of the Royal Guard, was tasked with leading a subjugation force against the White Whale and taking the giant beast down. However, Heinkel refused to participate, and instead chose to recommend his mother, Theresia, to lead the subjugation force. Despite Wilhelm being against it and offering to go in her place, Theresia agreed, and lead the subjugation force to the battlefield. She, like most of the Royal Knights present, perished in the battle that forever went down in history as the Great Conquest.

Following the loss of his wife, Wilhelm became distraught. As Reinhard had inherited the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint right amidst the subjugation, Wilhelm started blaming him for Theresia's death, shattering his relationship with the young Sword Saint. In the following weeks, Wilhelm left the Royal Guard, which almost caused the regiment to disband, until Marcos Gildark inherited the rank of the Captain of the Royal Guard and pulled the regiment out of peril. Wilhelm then left House Astrea, leaving the family in shambles, especially following Heinkel's wife Louanna Astrea’s mysterious disease, which she had contracted about three years prior and left Heinkel in a desperate state. Wilhelm, however, paid no attention to that, and turned his back on his family and friends, throwing away the Astrea name, returning to his old name of Trias, and vowing to himself that he would avenge his wife's death by slaying the White Whale. He gathered information on its appearances throughout all Four Great Nations for ten years.

Sometime after the Royal Selection was announced, Wilhelm attempted to convince Bordeaux to support his quest to end the White Whale’s life, but he was denied and thrown into the Prison Tower for the second time in his life for assaulting a member of the Council of Wise Men, albeit only for a day, as he had not hurt his old friend. Crusch Karsten and Ferris witnessed this incident, and in due time, Wilhelm asked the duchess for her assistance in hunting the White Whale in exchange for his support for her in the Royal Selection. Roughly two months following Subaru's arrival, Wilhelm successfully managed to slay the White Whale and avenge Theresia van Astrea.

Felt-chan's Job

On the day Subaru appeared in the world, Wilhelm confronted a thief and threatened him to return what he stole. Noticing Felt, who had the same intentions, he turned towards her, and he asked Felt to return the stolen purse to its owner. When Felt started objecting and stating she'll just scurry off with the purse, he calmly rebuked her and glared at her, prompting Felt to agree to his request in fear. Right after, Ferris called out to him, catching his attention, and Felt used the chance to escape to a back alley nearby.

Abilities

Master Swordsman: Although self-taught, Wilhelm is extremely skilled with the sword and honed his extraordinary talent for swordsmanship to superhuman levels to where he was able to barely defeat the previous Sword Saint in a duel. He was also considered to be a threat to the Demi-Humans during the Demi-Human War due to his menacing appearance and unparalleled skill that earned him the alias of Sword Demon (剣鬼 Kenki). After the Demi-Human War, he fought Vollachia's strongest warrior two times, their first duel ending in a stalemate, and their second ending in Wilhelm's clean victory. During his prime, he was regarded as the strongest swordsman the Kingdom had to offer.^[1] Following the events of Priestella, he has undergone rigorous training, and his abilities have been reinforced to be near their peak, in spite of his age. He also innovated his fighting style to incorporate dual wielding. He showed himself to be able to cut through fire and his strength became such that he easily carved through the claws of the Divine Dragon, which were said to be significantly sharper and more durable than most swords.

Enhanced Strength: Wilhelm harbors abnormal physical strength which, when combined with his swordsmanship, allows him to take on enemies of various sizes and builds, such as Kurgan, Yae, and even Volcanica. In fact, during his battle with Yae, when he landed a kick on her, not only had it left a deep impression on her, but had she not jumped back to dampen the damage, it was likely that she would have had a hole punched through her body. Furthermore, with a single stab of his sword, he could completely halt the momentum of something with roughly double to speed and strength of something he kicked, he could hold open the Divine Dragon's maw and prevent it from closing, and he could even slash straight through the breath of the Divine Dragon, which in itself is an immensely powerful torrent of mana that could erase another Dragon with ease.

Enhanced Durability: Wilhelm is rather tough, being able to withstand an entire onslaught of attacks from several powerful warriors and keep fighting. Even after being torn to shreds while chasing after Yae, he ignored the damage and continued fighting, and even when he was confronting the overwhelming might of the Divine Dragon, despite taking hefty damage from it immediately his battle with Yae, he did not stop fighting.

Keen Observation: Wilhelm has shown to be able to highly observant when fighting his enemies. During the Demi-Human War, he was the only one to realize the enemy's plan during the Battle of Castour Field, which is the reason he managed to survive the battle, and later on during the war, he was able to piece together Valga's plan to invade the castle while the country was experience turmoil from large scale chaos while nobody else realized it. In his battle with Yae, despite having never encountered it before, when he witnessed her use of the Steel Thread Technique, he noticed how she was able to utilize the thread without injuring herself and used that to his own advantage to catch her off guard.

Equipment:

• Twin Swords Trias (双剣トリアス, Futaken Toriasu): A pair of swords that were forged by the same blacksmith that made the Holy Sword Astrea. They are durable enough that even when they clash with the diamond-like scales of the Divine Dragon, they did not chip. After retraining his body and implementing dual wielding into his style, he began wielding both swords at once.
• Holy Sword Astrea (聖剣アストレア, Seiken Asutorea): A beloved sword that Wilhelm used in the past. It was given to him by his father-in-law Veltol Astrea, right before his first and now famed duel with the Vollachian War God Kurgan. With it, Wilhelm was able to cut two of Kurgan's eight arms clean off during their first duel and nearly managed to kill him during their second duel, roughly a year after. The sword is currently in the possession of his son, Heinkel.
• Numerous Regular Swords: Wilhelm used a variety of swords with protective hilts in combat after joining the Crusch Camp. All of his current swords belong to House Karsten.

Trivia

• According to the author, Wilhelm's birthday is May 7.
• Wilhelm was originally meant to be a simple coach driver. However, in the "reader feedback" column of Shōsetsuka ni Narō, the web novel's host site, a reader left a comment asking for explanation of Wilhelm's character. The author then decided to greatly elaborate and expand on his character.
• Aside from being her servant, Wilhelm acts as Crusch's sword instructor, both before and after she lost her memories.
• Out of all the swordsmen Wilhelm encountered, Veltol Astrea is the one he respected the most, despite the latter being below average with the sword.
• If Theresia and Wilhelm never met, he would have died sometime during the Demi-Human War.
• During his era, Wilhelm van Astrea was the strongest swordsman alive, a position currently taken by Cecilus Segmunt.
• According to the author in 2018, in terms of pure swordsmanship, he believed Wilhelm in his prime and Cecilus had about equal capabilities,^[2] while the latter's appearances in written Re:Zero material were still minimal.
• Wilhelm has his own named chapter in Arc 3, in both the web novel and light novel, as well as a named episode in the anime.
  • In a talk show held on April 6th, 2025, it was revealed that Wilhelm will receive another named chapter in the future using his surname, Trias.
• On June 9, 2022, the English voice actor for young Wilhelm, Billy Kametz, died of cancer.
• Wilhelm initially shared the same English voice actor, Marc Diraison, as Bordeaux Zergev.
• At a talk show with the author held on March 30, 2024, when someone asked who would make up the Nine Divine Generals of Lugunica if it existed, Wilhelm was one of the names he listed.

References

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