Master of the Court

"*She is the director of this movie theater. Elluka's most beloved "daughter".*"
―Gallerian

The **Master of the Court**, also known as the **Clockworker's Doll** and the **Director Doll**, was a spirit inside the Clockworker's Doll who viewed herself as the daughter of Judge Elluka Marlon. The Doll was taken to Evil's Theater after being seriously injured. Reinvigorated by Gear, the Doll took up her mother's place as judge and convicted any trespassers to the theater. She pursued Elluka's goals of utopia to eventually reunite with her. She was one of Irina Clockworker's reincarnations.

## History

### Miniature Garden Girl

"*I’m home, Nemesis. Were you lonely while Papa was gone?*"
―Gallerian talking to the Doll
In EC 978, Ma placed the curse of Irina Clockworker inside the Clockworker's Doll. Afterward, she gave the doll to Elluka Marlon and had her make a contract with Eve Moonlit in order to speak to the soul inside the doll, telling her the doll hosted the soul of her deceased daughter, Nemesis Marlon. Although hating the name "Nemesis," the doll accepted the name in fear that her "mother" would no longer love her if she told her real name. Unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair, the doll was kept inside her room.

Not long after meeting Elluka, she received a visit from her and Gammon, during which she chatted with her mother; during their conversation, Elluka declared she'd get her a wineglass, spoon, scissors, mirrors, and sword before they carried on their conversation. In the early EC 980s, the doll was attended to by Ma, before Elluka entered the room and the two conversed; her "mother" then spoke with her after the playwright left, promising to search for her "friends". Over time, Elluka decorated her room with some of the vessels she'd acquired and she became familiar with the beings inside. Sometimes, the doll would sing for her "mother".

During this time, the doll saw the bat Sickle always flying around her mother. Later on, Sickle greeted her and she greeted him in turn, chatting with him and introducing him to her "friends," which Elluka was continuing to collect. She then stated that she and her friends would be transferred to a theater in the forest due to bad people out to get them, looking forward to being able to watch movies. When Sickle called her Nemesis, she admitted how that wasn't her real name and, when asked, shared her real name with the him before conversing further with the bat.

In EC 982, the doll was transferred to Evil's Theater after its completion in December of that year. During the Leviantan Civil War the following year, the doll was summoned to Elluka's mansion by Eve, the doll confused to see what appeared to be a familiar woman. As Eve insisted she was her husband and Elluka insisted she was Nemesis, "Nemesis" learned that a citizen army was outside the mansion to attack Elluka, with war having broken out. Resolving to protect her "mother," the doll cast fire magic on the rioters, assuring Elluka that the fire wouldn't affect the garden or the mansion.

As Eve questioned who she was, the doll replied that she was simply Elluka's daughter, causing Eve to leave them in a rage. The mansion was soon set aflame; as Elluka brought the doll to the study, she brushed off her apologies for getting her involved and the two tried to comfort each other in the face of their oncoming deaths.

Elluka soon after held the doll during her confrontation with Michelle Octo; afterwards, Elluka was shot and the Doll was severely burned. She was later inherited by Gallerian along with the rest of the vessels of sin, and brought back to Evil's Theater several days later.

### Evil's Theater

"*Convict him, convict him, convict him anyway! Trial! Convict! Death!*"
―Master of the Court[src]
To sustain her life, the Clockworker's Doll was attached to the inner workings of Heartbeat Clocktower. Sometime afterward, the doll awakened and began singing the Clockwork Lullaby, attracting curious visitors to the theater who sought to attain Elluka's legendary fortune. In reaction to Gear's cold treatment towards her, the Doll gifted her a Black Box made with blueprints from her mind.

In EC 990, the deteriorating gears broke down and the clock stopped, threatening her life. Due to Gear's sacrifice, the Marlon Spoon's powers transferred to her, healing her burns and restoring her. The Director Doll then took on Elluka's title as the Master of the Court in respect to her mother. With Ma's encouragement, the new Master of the Court decided to pursue Elluka's plan of creating utopia by gathering the Seven Deadly Sins.

The doll established a courtroom in the theater's large hall and, using her power, put all visitors who got past the Master of the Graveyard on trial and would quickly find them guilty, sentencing them to death. With the entity Hänsel inside her "womb", she treated him like her unborn child and sang to him the Clockwork Lullaby to heal him in preparation for his rebirth.

Later on, the doll tried Gammon after the latter entered the theater and declared him innocent in recognition of his service to Elluka. After Bruno Octo managed to infiltrate the theater, he was captured and the doll swiftly trialed and convicted him. As the intruder was prepared for execution, the Waiter intervened, convincing the Master to spare Bruno by using him for chores; Bruno was then made the new "Gardener".

During this time, the Doll decided to have the song Red Shoe Parade play after her court adjourned before the convicted were executed. Afterward, the Master of the Court began investigating the past events in Evillious history that Gallerian and Bruno uncovered and wrote down. As such, she reviewed their intelligence on Clarith, the departed Held, Gallerian Chirclatia, the Levianta Catastrophe, Père Noël, and the Toragay Epidemic.

After reviewing Bruno's report on his vision of her future, and hearing of Bruno's pessimistic view of the world's end, the doll eventually decided to continue with their plan for utopia regardless. In EC 998, she called the inhabitants to a "trial" meeting to discuss their search for the vessel of Wrath. There the Director Doll questioned Ma and was told that the key was in the possession of the Master of the Hellish Yard. Later during the meeting, she gave the Cursed Gardener permission to speak about his reasoning for coming to the theater, where he explained he came seeking the Venom Sword.

Later that year, the Doll gave birth to the twins Hänsel and Gretel; in the process, her body was damaged. After Ma was killed by Michelle Octo in EC 999, the Black Box made by the Doll saved her, allowing her to harbor her will inside Waiter. Soon after, when Evil's Theater was destroyed by Punishment along with the rest of the world, the Doll perished with the rest of the theater's inhabitants, her spirit separating from her vessel.

## Personality and Traits

"*It seems as though the temperament of the corrupt judge Elluka has been inherited not by the "Marlon Spoon" collection piece but rather the "Doll Director".*"
―Bruno's writings about the Doll[src]
Due to her circumstances as Elluka's "daughter," the doll was naive about the outside world and therefore had a limited perception of right and wrong, struggling to develop a conscience. This caused the doll to become impressionable, particularly following Elluka's death as Ma influenced her actions in Evil's Theater. Despite this, she occasionally expressed concern with her inability to understand her own actions and questioned the morality of what she was doing.

Having an enormous adoration for Elluka, the doll based many of her actions around her, such as sparing those she cared for and taking up her role as judge in imitation of her. Emulating Elluka as "Master of the Court," the doll acted with a serious demeanor and blindly treated even mundane things as if they were a trial or judicial review. Despite this, she was impatient and rushed her "trials" for intruders so that she could quickly convict them, holding no notion of justice or a proper judicial process.

Aside from this the doll was generally pleasant in personality, trying to make friends with all of the demons inside their vessels and similarly acting polite when talking with Sickle; she was even capable of innocent crushes, having a crush on Gammon. Despite this, she seemed disturbed by the idea she was the same as the vessels of sin and took comfort in any differences she had from them. The doll also had musical interests, singing the Clockwork Lullaby both before and after Elluka's death; she also took a liking to the Red Shoe Parade song, finding it to be a fitting means for the convicted to enjoy their execution and trip to Hell afterward.

## Skills and Abilities

"*Due to the "Marlon Spoon" becoming a gear of the clocktower, the Doll Director’s burns disappeared, and she obtained a new power. But the purposeless power began a meaningless rampage. She’s become a means by which visitors receive nothing but the death sentence.*"
―Excerpt of Bruno's writings[src]
Because her vessel was made of Nechuha wood, the Doll's body was durable save for her legs, which were made of softer material at the joints. Unable to walk as a result, the Clockworker's Doll was often confined to a wheelchair while in Elluka's home. The doll was capable of performing magic, however, apparently able to occasionally present the illusion that she was Nemesis, the illusion being so strong that few could see through it. She was also able to summon a type of fire magic which would only burn humans.

After being severely burned, the Doll was permanently connected to the theater clock tower as a form of life support and was unable to survive without it. However, Gear's later sacrifice rejuvenated the Director Doll and gave her the capability to walk, as well as freely use the magic of the Marlon Spoon. Her body was also able to store the black box containing Hänsel. The doll could also sing and was knowledgeable about how to perform the Clockwork Lullaby.

## Character Connections

Elluka Marlon: The doll's perceived mother. The doll cared for Elluka deeply and wished to please her, completely loyal to her wishes and singing for her often. Although aware that she had mistaken her identity, the Doll nonetheless considered her to be her mother, becoming dependent on her love. Following her death, she continued to look to her for guidance and maintained a hope of saving her from Hell.

Ma: The Master of the Court's partner. The doll looked to Ma for guidance on how to gather together the Sins and acted on his theory that utopia would be created from assembling them. Despite this, the Master of the Court expressed uncertainty over whether Ma was right or not, and was initially reluctant to trust him.

Bruno Octo: A fellow member of the theater. She initially saw Bruno as a trespasser to be judged and executed, but after Waiter's intervention she became interested in his motives for coming to the theater. She expressed uncertainty over whether his vision of the end times was right or not.

Gear: The Master of the Court's caretaker. She acknowledged the role Gear had in her survival, but disagreed with her view on what would happen when the Seven Deadly Sins were reunited.

Hänsel: The Master of the Court's son. While he was still unborn, she treated Hänsel with motherly affection, such as in singing the Clockwork Lullaby to heal him, and maintained high expectations for the results of his birth. She gave birth to him together with Gretel in EC 999.

Gretel: The Master of the Court's daughter. She gave birth to her together with Hänsel in EC 999.

Irina Clockworker: The creator of the Clockworker's Doll and the first incarnation of Master of the Court. She did not seem acknowledge Irina as either her creator and her true self.

Held: A god who was also referred to with the title "Master of the Court."

Aron Moonlit: The Master of the Court's eventual past self. As part of the Court ending, Irina traveled back in a loop and reincarnated as Aron, losing all of her memories as the Master of the Court. Aron appeared to retain some of the Master of the Court's personality, specifically him looking to his "parents" for help.

## Trivia

### Conceptualization and Origin

* The type of wood the Doll is made from, Nechuha, spells ハチュネ (*hachune*) with its characters reversed; this is likely a reference to Hachune Miku.
* The Master of the Court's relation to the Court is connected to the event of Judgment in Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things.

### Curiosities

* She is the only known awakened vessel of sin with the powers of two of the vessels of sin.
* While Elluka states that the Clockworker's Doll is unable to walk in Judgment of Corruption, she is shown standing several times in the PV for Miniature Garden Girl.
* The Master of the Court shares the same title as the one attributed to Held.
* Her profile on the Evils Kingdom website suggests her disability is due to the leg joints being made of a weaker material than the rest of the doll's body.

## Appearances

* Judgment of Corruption
* The Muzzle of Michelle
* Miniature Garden Girl (first appearance)
* Heartbeat Clocktower
* Capriccio Farce
* The Karma of Evil Will Not End (mentioned only)
* Master of the Court (song)
* Master of the Heavenly Yard (mentioned only)
* Madam Merry-Go-Round
* Ending Boy Hänsel
* Deadly Sins of Evil: The Lunacy of Lady Glassred
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Fifth Pierrot (mentioned only)
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Judgment of Corruption
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Master of the Heavenly Yard (mentioned only)
* Entr'acte of Evil: The Son of Evil Worldguide
* Epic of Evil: The Son of Evil Fanbook
* Waltz of Evil: The Deadly Sins of Evil Guidebook
* Outlaw & Lychgate (mentioned only)
* Deadly Sins of Evil (manga) (non-canon appearance)
* Judgment of Corruption Side Story: Elluka
* Quartets of Evil (non-canon appearance)
* Evils Theater
* Prelude to Forest
* Evils Forest
* Evils Kingdom
* Judgment of Corruption ~A Court of Greed~
* Evils Court
* The Muzzle of Michelle (album)
* Seven Crimes and Punishments (album)
* Clockwork Lullaby (album)
* Evils Extra