Rudolph von Liebknecht

**Rudolph von Liebknecht** is, by far, the main antagonist of the manga Gunka no Baltzar, and was a close friend of Bernd Baltzar. He is also the main character of the spin-off Gunka no Baltzar Gaiden: Yuukoku no Liebknecht.

## Background

Liebknecht comes from a Junker family with a long history in Schellbrunch, Weißen. Most of the family's wealth was lost when the family's late head (presumably Liebknecht's grandfather) failed in farming management and trading. Liebknecht's father, however, gave up on farming and instead joined the military after his wife's death. He soon became successful and was nominated for a spot in the Military University. Despite this, Liebknecht's father quit and became a congressman of the Weißen Progressive Party. When he was beginning to make a name for himself as a politician, he died a mysterious death. However, Liebknecht himself often claimed that his father committed suicide after failing a business attempt.

## Appearance

Liebknecht is a young man with brown hair and green eyes, with a black eye-patch on his right eye. He is considered handsome and appears to be popular with the opposite gender.

## Personality

Like Baltzar, he is cunning and scheming, but somehow he seems to be a better tactician than Baltzar, as he had outwitted him in the past. However, he rarely shows his true nature on his face, and most of the time bears an indifferent smile. From time to time, he has shown to be an ambitious man, as well as ruthless, ready to do anything to achieve his goal, even if he has to sacrifice his friends and colleagues.

## Skills

Liebknecht has acquired many skills in order to assist him in his plans:

* **Combat fighting**: Liebknecht is an excellent fighter, able to fend off both Yuri Heesen and Dimo Baumann when they came after him.
* **Eloquence**: This is Liebknecht's forte. He can, without fail, influence a mass number of people by grasping their hearts and then manipulate them for his own agenda. Baltzar is by far the only one who appears to be immune to Liebknecht's charisma.
* **Logic**: Liebknecht is an efficient tactician, often thinking a few steps ahead most others. On occasions, he has also outwitted Baltzar.
* **Piano**: Liebknecht is currently posing as both a colonel and a Hofmusik from Ezreich. He has demonstrated that he is good at playing the piano.
* **Technical knowledge**: Liebknecht shows in the spin-off that he is well-versed in chemistry and physics, which both come in handy at times.
* **Business**: Also in the spin-off, Liebknecht proves that he is more than just a military tactician, showing his understanding of the stock market and the ways of negotiating in business.

Other than the skills he has demonstrated, Liebknecht probably has all the skills of a standard soldier in Weißen.

## Relationship

### Bernd Baltzar

Baltzar was Liebknecht's closest friend and the only one he considered to be able to stand by his side. The coup d'e tat that he planned, however, strained their friendship and even now, although Liebknecht still wishes to see Baltzar as his friend (he did go out of his way to save Baltzar on several occasions), Baltzar refuses to go back to being friends like before. At the time being, Baltzar seems to be the person who understands Liebknecht the most.

### Maria Ludovica von Adorafestung

Also known as the Great Aunt of Baselland Princes or the Empress of the Republic of Ezreich, she appears to be on a friendly term with Liebknecht, sending him over to Baselland as "an important friend", as well as a Hofmusik (court musician). He is also serving a colonel in her country's military, despite the fact that he is a dangerous fugitive hunted by Weiβen. The exact nature of their relationship is unknown.

### Holst von Stauffenberg

While technically enemies, Stauffenberg and Liebknecht are actually closely related. Stauffenberg and Liebknecht's father were close friends in the Military University. Apparently, it was also Stauffenberg who released Liebknecht after the latter had been caught when the day of the coup d' etat, as well as deleted any record on Liebknecht's arrest. Whether or not they are conspiring is unconfirmed.

## Trivia

* The Liebknecht family is a Junker, which is often understood as a "country squire". Some Junker families are poor and politically unimportant. It is a common notion that Junker aristocrats occupy most of the highest positions in the military.
* His given name, Rudolph, means "famous wolf".
* He has the same last name with Karl Liebknecht, a German socialist who, together with Rosa Luxembuorg, led the German Revolution.