 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
|
| “ | I admit my actions may have been unbecoming of royalty. But I swear I did all for the sake of my beloved country and my family. That was the only reason I was trying to eliminate the Shield! | „ |
| ~ Aultcray confessing about his crimes and why he did it (during the trial). |
Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, born Lüge Lansarz Faubrey and later known as Trash is a major antagonist in the Rising of the Shield Hero franchise. Aultcray subsequently redeemed himself and returned as a supporting protagonist for the rest of the story.
He was introduced as the King of Melromarc, although his title would later be rescinded. Aultcray is the husband of Queen Mirellia Q. Melromarc who according to tradition is the real power behind the throne. He and his wife have two daughters: Malty (the series main antagonist) and her younger sister Melty.
Aultcray is the one responsible for summoning the Cardinal Heroes to defend his country from the Waves of Calamity. Initially perceived as a kindly old gentleman, the King, like many of the citizens in Melromarc, is in-fact a human supremacist and holds a deep hatred for the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani. Unlike most of his people, however, Aultcray is not motivated by religious reasons but the experiences of his early life.
Due to this personal vendetta, the King set out to make the newly chosen Shield Hero's life as difficult and miserable as possible, hoping that Naofumi would either eventually die or be killed off during the Waves.
He is voiced by Yutaka Nakano in Japanese version of the anime series, and by Jamieson Price in the English dubbed version, who also voiced Edmond Dantes a.k.a. The Count of Monte Cristo.
Appearance[]
Aultcray is a middle-aged man with the first trace of wrinkles forming on his face. He has a short grey beard, but no moustache and long shoulder-length grey hair. He appeared to be taller than Ren and Itsuki, but shorter than Motoyasu and Naofumi.
Before the loss of his status and power, Aultcray maintained a well-groomed appearance befitting of a monarch. He wore fancy purple gold-trimmed robes, to match his eyes, adorned with expensive golden buttons. Beneath this, he wore white underclothes. Many rings adorned his fingers, he also wore a golden livery collar and an ornate bejewelled crown rested on his head.
Prior to his redemption, however, Trash's appearance changed significantly. Reduced to the rank of a common soldier he was forced to wear civilian clothing, his appearance becoming noticeably more dishevelled and scruffy.
Aultcray was shown to smile affectionately in the presence of his daughters and he looked towards the favoured heroes with warmth and reverence. In contrast, he frequently scowled and looked upon Naofumi with open hostility (which the Shield Hero gladly returned). Whenever the two men met, Aultcray generally maintained an authoritative tone although he did show genuine fear on one occasion in the anime. Although the pair love each other very deeply, Aultcray is also shown to be afraid of getting on his wife's bad side.
Personality[]
Despite his status as a villain, Aultcray genuinely does care about his wife and two daughters, loving all of them very dearly. Unfortunately, this affection makes him blind to the sociopathic behavior and manipulative nature of his eldest daughter, a fact that Malty frequently exploited. He also had a very strong relationship with his little sister Lucia, as it was her "abduction" that influenced his later actions and desire to protect his family. The anime highlighted this, making it clear that King Aultcray only wanted to protect his family from harm due to his past trauma and that he genuinely believed the Shield Hero was a demon. The Queen also pointed out that his idiocy might be due to a decade of peace and also because of his spoiling of his first daughter, Malty.
Although he originally hailed from the Kingdom of Faubley, a country that treated all of its citizens equally, the murder of his parents and several other relatives caused Aultcray to develop a deep hatred for Demi-Humans and Beast-Men. Whilst it is never confirmed or implied that Aultcray converted to the faith of the Church of the Three Heroes, for a considerable amount of time, he shared in theirs and The Kingdom of Melromarc's human supremacist views. This hatred for Demi-Humans was also carried over to the Shield Hero since the Demi-Human's worshiped the wielder of this weapon as a living God, and the previous Shield Hero (the one before Naofumi) was known for their kindness towards Demi-Human's. However, his wife Mirellia claims that despite his treatment of Naofumi, Aultcray used to aid anyone, no matter how much hatred he bears towards them if it brought some sort of benefit or debt to himself.
Aultcray is later revealed to be a masterful tactician and extremely capable soldier. Many people in-universe have stated that in his glory days, the former King commanded a lot of respect amongst both his friends and enemies. He wielded one of the Vassal Weapons, the Staff and his mere presence was capable of turning the tide of a battle. Some have even stated that the Kingdom of Melromarc would not be in the position it is today, had it not been for Aultcray. For much of the story however, Aultrcray's actions seem to contradict this assessment. It would not be until the death of his wife and witnessing Malty's evil first hand that Trash would reveal just how powerful he really was and start to redeem himself.
Like almost everybody in Melromarc, Aultcray originally gave preferential treatment to the Spear, Bow and Sword heroes (Motoyasu, Itsuki and Ren). He treated all of them with warmth and kindness, investing large amounts of money towards their training and going out of his way to find companions for them. In accordance with an earlier promise, he made sure to reward the trio for their efforts and did everything in his power to ensure they succeeded in their quest to stop the Waves of Calamity. However, he did show the Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kitamura, slightly more favoritism because his daughter Malty was in this particular heroes party.
In contrast, Aultcray's relationship with the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani was one of mutual hostility. Aultcray initially ignored Naofumi upon meeting the new Cardinal Heroes, but the Shield Hero still spoke kindly towards him, thinking this was just an oversight. However, after realizing that the King had helped Malty set him up, with the intention of seeing him killed, the Shield Hero fully returned Aultcray's loathing. The King would continually misuse his power in order to keep Naofumi weak so that he could either die due to his lack of experience and allies, perish during a Wave or, if necessary, could be killed by the other heroes. This plan failed, as Naofumi not only survived, but gradually started to surpass the other heroes. In the anime, the King eventually crossed the line by threatening the lives of Raphtalia and Filo, prompting the Shield Hero to threaten the King in turn. To illustrate his hatred, after learning the truth Naofumi refused to address Aultcray by his name or title. Instead he referred to the monarch by the degrading title of "Trash".
When the Kings crimes were eventually exposed, leading to his deposition, Naofumi felt no sympathy for Aultcray. Under the Queen's authority, he had Aultcray's name legally changed to his humiliating nickname, Trash. The pair's relationship remained one of dislike, with the former King still blaming Naofumi for his own downfall.
Things began to change when Trash started to undergo his redemption in Vol. 11, after learning about the existence of his sister's children (Atla and Fohl). This character development was solidified in Vol 16. following the death of his wife Mirellia, at the hands of Tact Arusahorun Faubley and Malty. After witnessing his eldest daughters actions first hand, Aultcray finally realized his mistake and completely renounced his prejudice. Accepting his new name, Trash repented and became an ally to Naofumi, intending to make amends for his crimes. Following this atonement, he slowly began to morph back into the wise Staff Hero that he was once revered as.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Quotes[]
| “ | King Aultcray: My queen, what brings you to commit such an outrage? This isn’t like you! (Soldiers restrain him with their tridents) Queen Mirellia: With the four cardinal heroes in attendance, this trial seeks to punish the ones responsible for shaking the country to its core, and I the queen shall be its judge and executor. |
„ |
| ~ Mirellia to her husband as she is having him and Malty on trial for their crimes against Naofumi and the kingdom. |
Trivia[]
- Aultcray Melromarc is one of the oldest characters in the Rising of the Shield Hero franchise.
- King Aultcray was once hailed as a wise King and despite his fall from grace, many people throughout the world still look up to him. This reverence and the potential ramifications forced Naofumi to spare the fallen King's life once the latters crimes were exposed.
- Unlike Malty and the Church of the Three Heroes, Aultcray's hatred for the Shield Hero was not motivated by spite or ancient scriptures. As stated in the synopsis page, Aultcray Melromarc suffered several tragedies early in his life due to the actions of the Demi-Humans. This does not excuse his actions towards Naofumi however, as Aultcray had already taken revenge upon those who wronged him at the time. In contrast, Naofumi did nothing to warrant his mistreatement and Aultcray simply put the new Shield Hero through hell because he was petty.
- Trash/Aultcray's religious views are never stated. Despite his association with the Church of the Three Heroes, there is no indication that he ever converted to their faith.
- It was later revealed that Aultcray is descended from a previous Spear Hero. This, in addition to Malty's presence within the party, may be why he favoured the Spear Hero above the other Cardinal Heroes.
- At the end of Volume 1/Episode 4, when Motoyasu demanded the duel for Raphtalia's freedom, King Aultcray vilified the Shield Hero for owning/using a slave. This statement was completely hypocritical on his part. Not only is Demi-Human slavery permitted within Melromarc but Raphtalia was originally a citizen of Seatto, a region within Melromarc put under the crowns protection in a bid to better their relationship with Siltvelt. After the region was devastated by the First Wave of Calamity, a group of adventurers/nobles attacked the region selling many of the inhabitants into slavery. It is heavily that Aultcray knew about the attrocity but did nothing about it, which means that he is essentially responsible for Raphtalia being a slave by proxy and inaction.
- It is never stated how involved Aultcray was with Malty and the Church's plans for Naofumi. The Shield Hero himself is completely convinced that the false King was involved in all of the schemes against him, even though Melty, Aultcray's youngest daughter insisted that he would never harm her. Indeed, the anime made it very clear that whilst he agreed to help frame the Shield Hero as a villain and seperate him from his partner, Aultcray had no idea about Myne or the Church's plans to kill Melty. When he learnt about what they had planned to do, he was understandably shocked and horrified.
- In the Popularity Poll of 2019 Aultcray was ranked second last, beating Van Reichnott by only 8 votes.
- Naofumi Iwatani (The Shield Hero) - 24,782 votes
- Raphtalia - 21,088 votes
- Filo - 6,198 votes
- Erhard (the Weapons Shop Owner) - 3,850 votes
- Fitoria - 1,386 votes
- Melty Q. Melromarc - 1,149 votes
- Mirellia Q. Melromarc (The Queen) - 936 votes
- Ren Amaki (The Sword Hero) - 845 votes
- Glass - 695 votes
- The Pope - 625 votes
- Malty S. Melromarc (Myne) - 551 votes
- Itsuki Kawasumi (The Bow Hero) - 342 votes
- Motoyasu Kitamura (The Spear Hero) - 231 votes
- Aultcray Melromarc (The King) - 103 votes
- Van Reichnott - 95 votes
- Aultcray can be considered a foil to his nephew Fohl. Their backstories are nearly identical with them both being fallen nobles, orphaned by war, forced to take care of their younger blind sisters. They are also similar enough in appearance that Atlas (Aultcray's niece) mistook Aultcray for her brother.
- However, the loss of their younger sisters had completely different effects upon them. Whilst Aultcray was driven into hateful and vengeful racism against the Demi-Humans, Fohl adjusted his significantly better and never acquires a hatred for demi-humans like his uncle.
- As of Vol. 16, Aultcray, now known as Trash is the only one of Naofumi's original enemies to have undergone redemption. Pope Balmus is dead, Malty (now known as Witch) has descended further into villainy and the surviving remnants of the Church of the Three Heroes have formed an underground separatist movement in opposition to Melromarc. Following the death of his wife, Trash accepted that he had been wrong both in his willingness to support these characters and his previous treatment of Naofumi. Although Naofumi has not forgiven him, Trash did eventually apologize for his actions and is now helping both Melty and the Shield Hero in whatever way he can.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Melromarc Kingdom Glass' World Legendary Heroes Former Companions Medea's Reincarnators Vanguards of the Waves Army of the Waves Church of the Three Heroes Faubley Siltvelt | ||