Anastacius de Alger Obelia (2024)

Anastacius de Alger Obelia is the main antagonist of Who Made Me a Princess and the biological father of Jennette Margarita. He reigned as the emperor of the Obelian Empire until he was ousted from the throne by his younger brother, Claude de Alger Obelia, and seemingly murdered.

Appearance

Anastacius originally has short, straight blonde hair that is neatly parted to the right in a fringe falling over his eyes with the left side slicked back. Like the rest of his relatives, he inherited the imperial jewel-blue eyes. Since his return in the current timeline, Anastacius has been using magic to disguise himself from those who may recognize him, transforming the color of his hair and eyes to black.^[4] Occasionally, the magic in his eyes will slightly fade and subtly reveal their original jewel-blue color. In the middle of his chest is a large tissue scar, a souvenir from his fatal encounter with Claude de Alger Obelia.^[5]

Anastacius wears a variety of nobility outfits throughout the series, typically opting for dark colors such as grey and black.

Personality

As a child, Anastacius is depicted as an empathetic and kind-hearted person, denoted by his sympathy towards Claude de Alger Obelia's plight during their childhood.^[6] He undergoes a radical change as he grew older, eventually becoming a duplicitous, callous and sarcastic individual who regarded his younger, talented brother with open disdain.^[4]

Since returning and being possessed by Aeternitas de Alger Obelia, Anastacius alters his behavior depending on the person he interacts with.

• Towards Jennette Margarita, Anastacius exhibits a warm and amiable demeanor with an air of mysterious allure to him.
• To Roger Alpheus, Anastacius expresses himself using a very blunt, and occasionally insulting and vulgar, manner of speaking. He possesses a dark sense of humour, and typically takes on a nonchalant and laid-back approach to things.^[5]

Athanasia de Alger Obelia remains skeptical of his true personality, recalling his cold expression during her secret outing with Jennette^[7] and how suspicious his overly polite nature always seems.^[8] However, his temper occasionally breaks through his self-control, causing him to say things that he later regrets.^[9]

In stark contrast to Jennette who believes a family should have unconditional love for each other ^[10], Anastacius perceives familial bonds in a negative manner due to his difficult upbringing.^[9] However, he is capable of taking advantage of his own daughter's naïveté to further progress his plans. He demonstrates his ability to think tactically when he curses the blue ribbon gifted to his niece,^[11] which serves as a catalyst for his half-brother's memory loss.^[12] Despite his manipulative tendencies, he refrained at the last moment from cursing his own daughter after recalling her sincere joy at reuniting with those whom she believed were her family.^[13] In the past, he even faltered at the last minute at the golden opportunity to easily eliminate Claude’s mother, instead turning his back on her under the claim she was already dying.^[3]

Magic

Anastacius was able to wield magic, although his talents were not comparable to that of his talented younger brother. To compensate for his lacking ability, Anastacius dabbled with black magic, experimenting with his lover Penelope Judith's body to artificially create a child imbued with dark mana.^[4] He uses his ability to magically disguise his appearance, brainwash people,^[3] render himself invisible ^[14] and curse inanimate objects that incur devastating effects on those who come in contact with them.^[11] Roger Alpheus speculated that Anastacius may not have completely recovered his magical abilities since his return.^[9] As he is not fully recovered, using magic takes a toll on his health.^[15]

Plot Overview

Main article: Anastacius de Alger Obelia timeline

Quotes

Etymology

• The name Anastacius is derived from the Greek word ἀνάστασις (anastasis) and means "resurrection."^[16]
  • It can alternatively mean "undying" and "immortal."^[17]
• The last name Obelia is of Greek origin, meaning “pillar of strength” or “needle.”^[18]

Trivia

• Anastacius shares the same name as Anastasius I, a real life figure who was a Byzantine emperor from 491 to 518. He made his career as a government administrator. His religious tendencies caused tensions throughout his reign. He is often recognized as the first Byzantine emperor.^[19] He had one eye black and one eye blue (heterochromia), and for that reason he was nicknamed Dicorus, meaning “two-pupiled". Meanwhile, in the manhwa, Anastacius originally had jewel blue eyes, but they become black when he disguises himself using magic.^[19]
• When Anastacius first meets Athanasia de Alger Obelia and Jennette Margarita, he is surrounded by peonies, which symbolize nobility, honor and wealth.^[20] The peony flower is native to China and often referred to as the "king of flowers." The peony was the national flower prior to the 1920s, and were originally planted in the imperial palace during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.^[20]
  • At one point, Anastacius is depicted surrounded by red spider lilies, which is also known as ressurection lilies. The flowers originated from Korea, China and Nepal. In Buddhist culture, they are planted at graves to show tribute to the dead. They are described in Japanese and Chinese translations of the Lotus Sutra as ominous flowers that grow in hell, and guide the dead into the next reincarnation. As a result, red spider lily flowers are mostly associated with death and reincarnation.^[21]
• Anastacius’ facial expressions were created to be more sensitive and sneering than Claude de Alger Obelia’s.^[22]
• Anastacius first appeared at the debutante ball, using magic to alter his appearance and disguise himself.^[4] His identity was not revealed until the second season, during a flashback scene where he disclosed his existence to Roger Alpheus.^[23]

List of Appearances

References

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