Adaline "Vanguardia" Hunt

Lady Adaline "Vanguardia" Hunt, daughter of SA South End President Rowena Molina Hunt and Gular-squerader Valiento "Anarchopian" Ricchison Hunt, is the first of the Gular Royals introduced at the beginning of *Hidden Genome: Gen New*. Seventeen years old and a senior student in Marevine Exchange School, Adaline is one of the top students and third-best of the Gular Royals, very narrowly being beaten out in intellectual knowledge by Jayden but compensating with far more practical knowledge in survival and weapon combat in exchange for her ignorance in bionics and firearms.

Adaline is also known by her Custom Suit Warrior alias, Vanguardia. By the end of *No More Evo* and entering into the *Worlds Apart* series, she (like Ichento) has adopted a new title, becoming Sapphire Beam as she embraces an updated set of diverse nature abilities due to her sister Willamenah "Willowburn" Semphina Hunt's death and transferance of power. Ichento soon thereafter changes his alias to Bronze Staff to align with her. She is also the only other major Gular besides Ichento who makes it past *Code of Life* (by this point Jeven, Emmeline, & Terra, along with other various semi-modded individuals, have reclassified themselves as Gamma Mistakes (GMs))

\* The name Vanguardia is a name chosen to represent her willingness and desire for change in a world she cannot bear to see suffer in the way she does, as well as a callout to her father that she wholeheartedly and openly opposes him.

*Hidden Genome: Gen New*

Debuting in *Gen New*, Adaline's initial appearance is one of little importance, seeming to be barely more than a rich girl who treats her servant like a cute pet and manipulates him for her own pleasure. As the chapter progresses, however, she reveals herself to be one of the most observant characters in this initial section. She is quick to notice the discomfort surrounding Esta and Nikolay, and does all in her power to fix said problem by distancing herself from Ichento and ordering Nikolay to eat lunch with her out of feigned concern. She is also usually the first person to comment on emotional changes about others, whispering to Nikolay to briefly discuss what to do when Melani breaks down after hearing news of her favorite uncle's passing.

Something of note here is that out of all of the Royals- and, for that matter, beneficiaries of the Assigned Beta Guard program in all other schools- she seems to have to the most normal relationship. Nikolay is not seen as free labor nor as eye candy (primarily, anyway) nor as a glorified legal means of prostitution or exhibition, which are some larger reasons for much Gular enrollment in the program. In the case of comparing it to the Royals, she still somewhat outs them. For her, Nikolay is not seen as merely a secretary the way Jayden treats Elanna and Regina (which, in her mind, is justified, because if he does not feel nervous around someone, she has seen that he immediately deems them as not superior, and therefore in need of being useful). In Ichento's case, he is by far the closest to having a normal relationship with his Guards, were it not for the fact that Tricia and Esta act more like Ichento's siblings rather than his Guards, reducing the formality in their relationship, as per Ichento. In comparison to Melani's relationship with Dyvone, while it is very true that she harbors romantic feelings for Nikolay and has even gotten him to sleep in her bed since they were younger (when he first started guarding her)...with Melani and Dyvone, it pushes past the boundaries of innuendos and hints, and even past those of romance. To quote a scene observing the audio their interactions produced:

"I *was* gonna ask you what you know about Dyvone and Mel, but..." muttered Adaline, chuckling sheepishly to herself as she sharply exhaled, tightened her eyes, gritted her teeth, and clamped her fingers around her kneecaps while attempting to drown out the muffled squeal coming from the room down the hall, "Nope. Don't want to know, don't care, not curious, not...why?"