| “ | Oh, the tragedy! It moves me to the depths of my soul! | „ |
| ~ Simeon, revealing his true colors |
Simeon is the main antagonist of Primrose's story in Octopath Traveler and one of the two secondary antagonists of the game as a whole (alongside Mattias). He is the head of the Crow Men, the master of the Obsidians, and the bane of Primrose's existence as the murderer of her father. As master of his "Wings", Simeon has a hand in all forms of mass murder, assassinations, and human trafficking, all while eliminating anyone who could stand up to his organization's rule.
Biography[]
One hundred and twenty-six years before the events of Octopath Traveler, Simeon's family, the Ventus Dynasty, began to fight each other in a civil war over the throne, with Simeon defeating his older half-brother in combat for it. However, he would go missing later, and it is theorized that he met Lyblac who bestowed the power to slow or stop aging upon him. (This information is exclusive to the official guidebook for Octopath Traveler, and is not disclosed in the game itself.) He then met Mattias, who had also had the same power bestowed upon him by Lyblac, and together they co-established the Obsidians, of which Simeon became the leader.
Eleven years before the events of Octopath Traveler, Simeon becomes the gardener at House Azelhart, where he meets Primrose. Simeon's eloquent manner of speaking and talent for writing poetry charms the young girl, and she becomes attached to Simeon, enjoying spending time with him and listening to his poems. Unbeknownst to Primrose however, Simeon is secretly the leader of the Obsidians, a powerful criminal organization operating within Orsterra, and had taken the job as gardener at her home so that he could spy on her father, who was ignoring the persuasions of the Obsidians and so was considered a potential threat. Simeon's feelings for Primrose are twisted by an unhealthy obsession with wanting to see her suffer. One year after meeting Primrose, Albus informs Simeon that Primrose's father had investigated into the criminal organization he leads and discovered the relations between the Obsidians and Galdera. This information was considered classified by the Obsidians and strictly forbidden to outsiders, so Simeon, Albus and Rufus disguise themselves as mysterious figures with a black hood and black robes, forcefully overpower Primrose's father, and then murder him.
Ten years later, Simeon meets Primrose when the latter returns to Noblecourt in search of one of his associates, where he expresses his delight that she has become such a beautiful young woman. However, after Primrose successfully falls Albus in the Obsidian Manse and her late father's friend Revello Forsythe leaves the room, Simeon mysteriously appears in the room (supposedly by a secret entrance) in tenderness, only to suddenly stab Primrose and tell her the truth about his identity as her father's murderer, relishing in the emotional pain he inflicts on her while doing so.
Simeon then leaves Noblecourt and travels to his home of Everhold—where his castle once stood but has since been refurbished into a giant amphitheatre by Simeon himself—to create a satirical play about Primrose's life as an attempt to distract her from her goal to avenge her father's murder. Primrose, having recovered from her wounds thanks to Revello seeing Simeon leave the room where Albus fell and suspecting something is wrong, pursues and confronts him on a balcony overlooking the satirical play. Simeon tries to convince Primrose that her quest for vengeance won't please her father or bring her any happiness, but she ultimately ignores his words and fights the man, recognizing his words are spoken not out of concern for her wellbeing, but out of a desire to give himself a psychological advantage over her. Simeon loves the end to her story, seeing it as a beautiful tragedy, and accepts his fate to be defeated and fatally stabbed.
Appearance[]
Simeon has long silver hair in a braid and wears a coat and black cape. The mark of the crow is on his neck, which he conceals with a necktie.
Personality[]
Simeon initially appears to be a polite and considerate gentleman that Primrose is heavily implied to harbor feelings for. He was a close friend and confidant of Primrose since childhood, and after seeing her again for the first time in ten years, expresses his delight that she has become so beautiful.
However, it is later revealed that Simeon's kind personality was a façade all along to conceal a complete psychopath and sadist who gets the most joy out of life by hurting and tormenting others, having deliberately become close to Primrose in her childhood so that he could inflict deep emotional pain on her at a later time for the sake of his twisted idea of "drama". This is the main reason why he loves art and theatre, and is a passionate poet and playwright himself. He is considered to be the worst out of all the Crows.
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