Ghislaine Dedoldia

Ghislaine is of the Dedoldia clan, a special people among the beast races of the Great Forest; in her generation she was the clan's “princess” (alongside the “prince,” Gyes). Failing to find her place in her homeland, she set out into the wider world and attained the rank of Sword King — one of the highest in swordsmanship.

She is well acquainted with Rudeus's parents: Paul fought her more than once and, by his own admission, never once beat her — “except in bed.”

A tall, dark-skinned beastfolk woman with sculpted muscles, animal ears, and a tiger's tail. Her body is covered in scars, one eye is patched, and her expression is stern and commanding. A true warrior straight out of dark fantasy.

She is noticeably taller than most humans, and at first meeting she gives the impression of a fearsome amazon.

Direct, taciturn, and literal-minded — she barely understands jokes. At first she is illiterate and ashamed of it; she is aware of her own strength, yet she takes praise with a dog-like devotion. Paul Greyrat flatly calls her a “doll made of muscle,” whose brains seem to be made of muscle too — but at the same time he vouches for her skill.

Despite her fearsome look, she is loyal, dependable, and kind in her own way; having lived through what it means to be illiterate, she later impresses upon Eris that without literacy a person is easily deceived and even sold into slavery.

Ghislaine serves as a bodyguard in House Boreas and as a mentor to the unruly Eris Boreas Greyrat. When the seven-year-old Rudeus is hired as Eris's private tutor, it is Ghislaine who delivers him (bound) by carriage and reads Paul's letter aloud to him — admitting along the way that she was never taught to read. Rudeus undertakes to teach both Eris and Ghislaine herself reading, writing, and arithmetic; thus she gradually becomes literate.

She comes from the Great Forest and recalls her homeland reluctantly. Later Ghislaine is among those who aid in Rudeus's war: in the struggle for the throne of Asura she remains the bodyguard of Princess Ariel — effectively for life. In the decisive battles, her Sword King's blade is one of the few that is actually put to use.

Ghislaine is a Sword King, a master swordsman of the highest order and one of the strongest warriors in Rudeus's circle. As a beastfolk of the Dedoldia clan she possesses heightened agility, strength, and a natural aptitude for combat; alongside the sword she also wields her clan's “Voice Magic.”

Paul ranks her above anyone to be found outside the Holy Land of Swords, and vouches for her skill “on his father's name.”