Gretto Avaro

"He was the kind of person who made me want to be by his side. I guess I’m trying to say that he was almost childlike, in a sense. In both the good ways and the bad."

- Sylvie on Gretto

Gretto Avaro, (グレット・アヴァーロ, Guretto Avāro) was Maiza Avaro's younger brother, Sylvie Lumiere's boyfriend, and a passenger aboard the Advena Avis. Prior to the Advena Avis' departure in 1711, he carried out several arsons against the aristocrats' estates in Lotto Valentino.

Maiza told him half of the recipe for the Grand Panacea on board the ship, which Szilard Quates obtained after mistakenly devouring him.

Appearance
Gretto has wavy brown hair, and brown eyes. Aboard the Advena Avis, he wears a brown vest over a white shirt with its collar popped up.

Most importantly, he looks just like his father did when he was Gretto's age. This is why Melvi Dormentaire looks just like Gretto in the 1930s, since his genetic material is derived from Gretto's father.

Personality
Gretto is remembered by his loved ones as a kind, if fainthearted, young man who was more someone to protect rather than a protector. Up until 1711, he sees himself as a coward, a passive idler who hopes that others will change without forcing him to act. However, his arguments with both his father and his brother in 1711 demonstrate that he has more of a backbone than even he himself had thought.

His frustration with his own passivity, combined with his forced house arrest and longtime disillusionment with his father, lead him to become excited at the sight of Lotto Volentino burning outside of his window and consequently commit a series of his own arsons in inspiration, perhaps inspired to instigate war between the Avaros and House Dormentaire and threaten society as a result.

Novels
(To be revised and expanded upon)

In the epilogue of 1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra, a young Gretto greets his brother, who at the time was going by the name "Aile."

In the novel 2001 The Children of Bottle, Sylvie recalls that sometime before the summoning of the demon she confided her dream of obtaining "eternal beauty" to Gretto, who told her that "appearances don't matter" and that he found her attractive as she was. During the same conversation, he asked her to marry him, and promised that they would live together for eternity if they ever gained immortality. This suggests that his attitude towards immortality is quite different in the novels than it is in the anime.

Gretto is present for the summoning ritual on board the Advena Avis, and is given half of the knowledge of the recipe for the elixir by Maiza. The following night, while the Avaro brothers are sleeping, Szilard sneaks into their room. He intends to devour Maiza, but can't tell the two apart in the darkness and accidentally eats Gretto instead. While this is happening, Maiza wakes up and manages to escape.

Anime
Gretto is first seen having a private conversation with Sylvie about Maiza's plans to summon a demon. He expresses fear at the prospect and doubt that humans really need to live forever, and declares that as long as he can spend his life with Sylvie he doesn't mind if his lifespan is finite. This is a contrast with the novels, where Sylvie's account suggests that he wanted to live forever as long as she was by his side.

Despite his doubts, Gretto stands by Maiza's side during the summoning ritual and reluctantly drinks the Grand Panacea. The following day, when Maiza announces his decision to keep the knowledge of how to create the Elixir to himself alone, Gretto is the first to declare his support for the decision. That evening, Maiza confides his doubts regarding the future of the immortals to Gretto, who seems unsure how to help him. Maiza gives Gretto half the knowledge of how to make the elixir, explaining that he wants a trustworthy person to help him find worthy candidates for immortality and to carry the knowledge if Maiza himself is ever eaten.

Gretto tries to refuse, saying that the responsibility is too much for him, but Maiza insists that there is no one else he can trust. Unbeknownst to either of them, Szilard is listening at the door. Sometime after Maiza leaves the room, Szilard arrives and devours Gretto despite his terrified protests, saying that this is Gretto's "punishment" for allowing Maiza to "play favorites" with the knowledge.

Trivia

 * In the original Japanese, Gretto calls out Sylvie's name before he dies, but the English dub cut this out for unknown reasons.
 * Gretto's name has sometimes been romanized as 'Gerd'.
 * In the English dub of the 2007 anime adaptation, Gretto's voice actor Jason Liebrecht also voices Luck Gandor. In the French dub, Gretto's voice actress Justine Hostekint also voices Firo Prochainezo.