Lucrezia de Dormentaire

Lady Lucrezia de Dormentaire (ルクレツィア・デ・ドルメンテル, Rukuretshia de Dorumenteru) is a member of the House of Dormentaire, a wealthy and powerful Spanish noble family. She fakes her own death in 1711, publicly detaching herself from her family and the rest of the European aristocratic scene.

As a complete immortal, Lucrezia is still alive as of 2003.

Appearance
Lucrezia is lauded by those she meets as exquisitely beautiful, slim with smooth skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.

In 1711, she wears a thin opulent dress that accentuates her curves and exposes her legs as opposed to the fashionable hoop skirt and corset of the 18th century. The dress was custom made for the Dormentaire family, and looks similar to a Chinese qipao – a style that would not come into fashion until a few centuries later. She owns a peacock-feather fan, and smells faintly of peaches.

Personality
Lucrezia is highly self-motivated, pursuing whatever catches her fancy or is advantageous to her own interests. In spite of her privileged position, Lucrezia has no interest in politics or warfare; instead, she is a hedonist who shamelessly embraces her greed and pursues her own pleasures. These include carnal pleasures, as she is openly sexual and extremely flirtatious with a sultry air, consorting with both men and women equally. Those who encounter her usually find her incredibly alluring and charismatic.

As someone who is unshakably confident in her own decisions to the point of narcissism, she has never been seen second-guessing herself or thinking that she might be in the wrong. Her self-absorption is also evident in her relentless teasing of her companions and the delight she takes in watching their reactions; as much as she appreciates seeing them happy, she is often eager to see them surprised, startled, vexed or otherwise off-kilter even if the context she creates for those emotions is not a positive one.

Ultimately, Lucrezia is not so much actively malicious as she is incredibly greedy, self-centered, and somewhat immoral, her hedonism and avarice enabled by incredible power and wealth that has allowed her to do and obtain whatever she wants since birth. With her upbringing almost certainly ensuring that she has never strongly felt or experienced the consequences of her actions, she is less-equipped to consider that her actions may have serious consequences for those she cares about. From her perspective, her schemes may as well be 'harmless' pranks because they are temporary; she has never known what it is like to not be in on the joke.

While her eagerness for her own entertainment and self-gratification often comes at the expense of others, she does genuinely delight in others' company and gives each and every one of her lovers equal affection. It is because she is a Dormentaire that she can afford to love so many people with equal passion, and it is because she is an unrepentant hedonist that she wants to.

In the original Japanese, Lucrezia often uses -chan - when addressing others. This habit has been translated as various forms of endearment, including "sweetheart," "dear," and "darling."

Pre-1710
Lucrezia is described as "perhaps in her mid-twenties" in 1711, so it is possible she was born in the late 1680s. In 1700, her brother Gardi Dormentaire attempts to rape and murder Maribel Boroñal, a young daughter of House Boroñal. He kills Maribel's parents when they come to her rescue, but she kills him before he can do the same to her. In the aftermath, the Dormentaires exile Maribel's older brother to Lotto Valentino as the city's new governor and give Maribel the new identity 'Monica Campanella' in exchange for the cover-up of Gardi's crimes.

At some point, Lucrezia introduces Victor Talbot to her bodyguard, Carla Alvarez Santoña. Victor is rather rude towards Carla's appearance and the idea of a woman serving as a bodyguard, and Carla 'trounces' him. Lucrezia takes great delight in mocking him.

At an equally unspecified time, Huey Laforet sneaks into Lucrezia's bedchambers and proposes an exchange: his counterfeiting methods in exchange for the support of the Dormentaire's alchemy workshop. Huey is also highly skilled with incendiaries and explosives, two weak areas in the Dormentaire household. Lucrezia instructs Dormentaire-sponsored alchemist Szilard Quates to keep quiet about the deal, since she wants to see Victor's surprised face.

1710 Crack Flag
Lucrezia (unnamed in the scene) strolls the grounds of the Dormentaire estate's gardens with Carla, her face veiled. She has received contact from their Dormentaire spy in Lotto Valentino, who has determined that Gardi's killer might be living in that city. At Carla's questioning, Lucrezia says that the House of Dormentaire wants to keep this incident out of the public eye, which is why they are planning on sending a delegation of Dormentaire soldiers down to the city – a delegation that Lucrezia wants Carla to lead.

Carla is taken aback, and Lucrezia vaguely explains that it is best to send a woman up against the Clown Count of Lotto Valentino. She assures Carla not to worry. Carla, as stoic as ever, confirms that she will contact the spy and either arrest or 'take care' of the killer.

Lucrezia titters that the killer is just a pretext for their real mission, and that if Carla does find the killer she should not actually accost them. Laughing at Carla's confusion, she continues that there are "all kinds of nasty rumors" floating around the city - rumors of immortality, drugs, and false gold. Their alchemist Szilard, she remarks, scoffs at the idea of immortality but seems curious about the counterfeit gold: at the moment, he claims that if he can just figure out the right formula he will be able to perfectly recreate the coinage.

Carla asks if Lucrezia wants her to find the formula, and Lucrezia praises her intuition before unabashedly announcing that she wants everything - the immortality, the drugs, and the false gold.

With a vain smile, Lucrezia remarks that the Lotto Valentino spy had once described the city as something contained in a "glass box made by the alchemists." Lucrezia would very much like it if Carla would smash that box into bits - no matter how many years it might take.

1711 Whitesmile
Lucrezia orders Victor and Szilard (both of whom are alchemists sponsored by the Dormentaires) to visit Lotto Valentino and investigate the counterfeit gold infecting the town, as well as the local alchemic research concerning immortality.

At some point, Lucrezia boards a Dormentaire ship and sets sail for Lotto Valentino. Her cabin is jaw-droppingly decadent, even when compared to the rest of the lavishly decorated ship. Surrounded by guards and servants (men and women of all ages), Lucrezia purrs that everything is all so exciting, and she cannot wait to see the looks on Carla's and Victor's faces as they confront the 'poor little rebels' in the city.

Then, addressing the others in the room, Lucrezia announces that based on the reports she has read, the attribute she loves most about Lotto Valentino is its toilets. At her servants' bewilderment, she impishly explains that Lotto Valentino's sewer system is so impressive that it allows even the public facilities and commoners the privilege of running water. The only other backwater town equipped with perfect sewage facilities – as far as she knows – was the hometown of famed artist Strassburg, although she cannot remember its name. Clearly, the Lotto Valentino alchemists are no slouches.

She continues to hold a one-sided conversation about trivial matters, only ceasing her chatter after checking the time. They have about an hour until arrival, and Lucrezia repeats that she simply cannot wait to see Carla's and Victor's faces.

Lucrezia proceeds to fake her own death, making it so that the Dormentaire ship explodes in full view of multitudes of people at the harbor. Donning different makeup and clothes, she spends the next few days hiding in the city – throughout which she complains about not being allowed to visit Carla and being unable to locate Victor anywhere.

In the harbor, soon after the Advena Avis departs (with Victor aboard it), Lucrezia stands on the rooftops alongside The Mask Makers, dressed in their trademark clothing. On the docks below, Carla and her soldiers confront Maiza Avaro, Nile, and Denkurō Tōgō, and Lucrezia's group interferes by throwing spheres filled with flammable liquid onto the ground. The liquid soon alights, creating a high wall of flames that separates the group below from the Advena Avis. Maiza and Denkurō hurriedly make their getaway onto the ship, dragging Nile with them. The Advena Avis pulls away from the pier.

Leaping lightly down from the roof, Lucrezia removes her mask and reveals herself to Carla, giggling at the 'adorable' teary expression on her face when compared to the characteristic stony expressions of her companions. The other Mask Makers on the rooftop also remove their masks, and Carla recognizes some of them as fellow bodyguards. Looking around, Lucrezia exclaims that she had been so looking forward to seeing Victor's face too and asks where he has gone.

Faced with a dazed Carla, Lucrezia fills her bodyguard in on what really happened; Carla, wiping her tears away, grows indignant. Lucrezia pouts as Carla berates her, asking if she had even stopped to consider the amount of collateral damage and injuries she must have caused with her schemes. Lucrezia protests; Victor had always spoken of the locals with contempt in his letters to her, so of course she thought she ought to give them just a teensy little scare. Carla points out that children or innocent foreigners could have been caught up in the blast, and that out of the injured the Dormentaire soldiers outnumber the locals.

When she asks if Lucrezia had any idea as to how anxious the fleeing alchemists were, Lucrezia smiles and replies that the alchemists were one of the House of Dormentaire's plans. Lotto Valentino was built for the alchemists, so House of Dormentaire decided that in exchange for taking over the alchemists' research, it would assist the alchemists themselves in their flight from the city – ensuring that no other noble houses or countries could seize them for their own ends. Carla knows full well that all the explosions around the city and the ship and the injured body count are all rather tame by the House of Dormentaire's standards, so there is no reason she should be so upset.

Carla argues that pillaging a city is not tame in the slightest. Though she will do anything to get a hold of whatever "Milady" desires, there was no need for Lucrezia to go so far as to turn herself into a villain while deceiving and worrying Carla in the process.

They hear a few low explosions from the city, which Lucrezia finds strange since the fortress was supposed to be their last target. Carla uses them as an example of how things do not always go to Lucrezia's plans, continuing to lecture her as the city burns.

Post-1711
Lucrezia orders the alchemists under her employ to obtain the Grand Panacea for her. Szilard ignores her, while Victor (who is still bitter over her deceptive death) sends her a snarky letter in lieu of the elixir. Fermet only sends her a sample several years later, but by then Lucrezia is already immortal thanks to Huey and Elmer C. Albatross, both of whom independently sent her half of their portions of the elixir. Realizing that even just one sip grants one immortality, Lucrezia claims Huey's portion for herself and has others of her entourage drink Elmer's portion. including Niki and the father of Maiza and Gretto Avaro.

As Niki imbibes the elixir when she is still horrifically wounded, her injuries are preserved the instant she drinks. This leaves her in constant agony and unable to look after herself, and Lucrezia appears to have taken her under her wing ever since.

In 2003, Lucrezia and Niki are walking down a street on the American east coast when a young man accidentally bumps into Niki. Lucrezia apologizes while the man gapes at her bandages, explaining that Niki has been out of sorts ever since her 'accident'. After the young man walks away, Lucrezia turns to look at a nearby parked FBI vehicle. Inside the car, Victor Talbot is bawling out his subordinate Inspector Jessica Sullivan so loudly that his voice carries though to the outside.

Lucrezia "exchange[s] a lustful glance with the world," musing that events are going to become exciting – especially since Fermet is up to something potentially interesting. She takes Niki's hand and giggles as they walk right past the car, telling Victor to do his best and make things 'fun' for her. Victor naturally cannot hear her, and he fails to notice her walk by.

100 Years War: Euro Historia
In 2014, Dengeki Bunko participated in a collaboration campaign with CAPCOM's online medieval simulation RPG 100 Years War: Euro Historia which proceeded as follows: Six Dengeki Bunko series were each given their own consecutive special quest-line which featured at least one character from their respective series as the quest's 'hero'. Baccano!'s special event went fourth and took place from April 24 to May 8, with Lucrezia serving as the playable character.
 * Quest Introduction: "In a newly distributed event quest, Lucrezia de Dormentaire--a unique personality even within Baccano! – appears in 100 Years War: Euro Historia. The wealthy Lucrezia arrives in the city incognito with her bodyguard Carla and seeks rather forcefully to obtain what she wants. After clearing the new event quest, The Liquor of Immortality and the Bewitching Young Woman, the player can obtain the hero "Bewitching Young Woman Lucrezia (*)" and the limited-time support soldier "Dengeki Soldier."


 * Character Introduction: "A bewitching young woman who wields the power of the House of Dormentaire. She is the direct superior of Carla, who works as the leader of the delegation, and also employs Victor and Szilard as alchemists. She has relationships with many men and women, creating her own personal harem. Ruthless in the pursuit of her goals, she obtains the liquor of immortality and becomes immortal."


 * Statistics and Powers: Lucrezia's base stats were as follows: Physical Fitness – 1129; Attack – 685; Defense – 1184, and Intelligence – 702. Featured below is an explanation of her powers and skills.
 * Liquor of Immortality: This ability fires if the front line of the player's forces has a lower attack power than the front line of the opposing forces. It adds 800 to attack strength and replenishes 600 HP.
 * Stupid Commotion: This ability fires if the player has more than two empty slots in their forces. The forces' regular attack power is increased by 11%, and "Pitiful Serfs" are Summoned to fill the empty slots.
 * Mead of Skill: Increases XP.

Trivia

 * Lucrezia's first name is Italian, and is thought to come from the Latin word for wealth.
 * When Lucrezia talks about Lotto Valentino's sewage system, she brings up "Strassburg's hometown." This is a reference to an island called Growerth, the setting of one of Ryohgo Narita's other light novel series, Vamp!. Carnald Strassburg is the island's only real celebrated talent, famous even in Europe.
 * Since Gardi is described as the 'eldest son' of the House of Dormentaire, it is possible that he and Lucrezia have at least one other brother. However, the kanji used to describe him could also be read as "only son."
 * Lucrezia faked her death in front of multitudes of people in a very eye-catching way (exploding her Dormentaire ship), suggesting that she wanted to be dead to the public eye. However that does not necessarily mean she has cut off all contact with her House.