Gilbert Wolff

> “Werner, for saint’s sake!” the man snapped, shaking him hard. “I’ve been with you for too many years now! If you’re gonna be losing your mind, let me know, so I can lose my own before you!”
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> Gilbert, Part I, 4.3: Waltz Misfire

**Gilbert Wolff** is a Second Lieutenant under the Capricornian Army, and is Werner Waltz**'s** childhood friend. He is a Projector.

## Physical Description

Gilbert is described by Werner as a "man of average stature," who "stood a head shorter than Werner and had spiked brown hair that was barely tamed beneath his military cap. His jaw was square, his eyes gray, his brows thick. His smile, canine as always."

## History

### Early Life

Gilbert was raised by an unnamed father and his mother, Helga Wolff. Helga, who worked as a maid for the Waltz family, emphasized the importance of not accepting help when you didn't do anything in return, and thus he grew up to be a person who hated owing debts.

> "Whenever someone would offer to help carry his grocery bags when he was toppling around the streets with them at the age of six, he declined. Whenever his neighborhood school friends would offer to help him with his assigned after-school classroom-cleaning tasks, he waved them off. The only exception he made was with food."
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> - *Gilbert about debts;* (109) Part III | 18.1: Second Lieutenant, 0900 Debt
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### Pre- and Post-Academy Graduation

While he was in the academy, he though Werner was "a dick." However, Gilbert met Werner again when Gilbert's mother asked Gilbert to help out with her job at the Waltz family. Gilbert thought Frau Waltz (Werner's mother) was "pleasant and sweet," Herr Waltz (Werner's father) was "out on the field but was the pride of the town," Viktoria "cute and kind and good with her hands," and Ludwig's heroic gusto "the talk of the town."

However, these assumptions change when he broke a priceless antique vase during the visit. Gilbert was informed by Frau Waltz that he had just lost Gilbert's mother a year's salary, but Werner quickly took responsibility. It was then that Gilbert discovered the abuse inflicted on Werner, and, from then on, "did everything he could do repay that debt"; but could not find a single weakness in Werner.

After graduation from the Academy, Werner "showed up at Gilbert’s train station with a ticket in hand and news of a transfer from the capital to Gilbert’s division." While Werner efficiently set aside things like camaraderie, Gilbert thought himself the opposite, relying on interacting with his unit's people to keep his sanity intact. It has been mentioned that Gilbert has the habit of smoking.

## Personality

Gilbert, although seemingly "always a step behind Werner" in terms of capability, is a reliable individual with a "shameless" personality.

> Death was like a bad whiskey. Drink enough of it—get exposed enough to it—and you got used to it. Sometimes forgot about it. The weight of it lessened into something shrugged at, maybe grimaced at lightly in passing. The line, smudged. Until it was someone you knew. Someone you *really* knew.
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> - *Gilbert, about Otto's death*
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Gilbert is a very loyal person, and hates owing debts. He is surprisingly analytical while repaying what he seemingly owes, trying to find Werner's weaknesses in order to exploit them for payment for the vase he broke. He dislikes diplomats and politicians with their roundabout manners of speaking and "silver tongues." Although a seemingly straightforward character, he is extremely observant (being the first one to notice it was Cadence in disguise and not the real Werner), and is of high social intelligence; recognizing one's merits regardless of past prejudices such as in the case of Atienna.

> Gilbert honestly had no idea what was going on anymore. Everything and everyone kept flip-flopping. News and politics—this was why he *hated* these things. Right or wrong—whoever was still alive at the end of this mess would be the one to decide, so thinking about it didn’t matter.
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> - *Gilbert, about the situation in Capricorn.*
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He has an extensive vocabulary when it comes to profanity, and is shown to vigorously hate politics.