Arte

**Arte**, born as **Artente d'Autriche**, was the older twin sister of Pollo and a loyal servant of Banica Conchita. Meeting Banica as a child, the wicked maid served her for over a decade. To prevent the duke's death, Arte and her brother kept the Glass of Conchita in their possession, giving Banica the opportunity to forge a contract with the Angel of Temperance.

## History

### Early Life

Artente and her brother Pollogenes were born in EC 298 as the children of Leto d'Autriche. With their mother being murdered in EC 306, the two were adopted into the Conchita household by the current duke and his head chamberlain, Ron Grapple; they were also given the new names "Arte" and "Pollo". Drawn to their new master, Arte and Pollo met Banica Conchita as she holed herself up in the mansion's basement, depressed due to her mother's death. After a couple months, they became close friends, with both twins seeing Banica as their new mother.

### Peculiar Engagement

In June of EC 311, Arte accompanied Pollo, Ron, Banica, and her personal chef Josef Cucino to Marlon to meet with her betrothed, Prince Carlos Marlon. After Banica finished dining with Empress Juno Beelzenia, her Beelzenian ministers, and the Marlon Royal Family in February of EC 312, the twins approached the dining table and began clearing away the dishes. They then saw as Banica suddenly began "purging" the little food she had already eaten, the twins quietly giggling as they watched. Afterwards, the furious King Charon broke off the engagement and the Conchita staff returned home with their mistress.

### Noble Gourmand Banica

In January of EC 316, Arte, her brother, and Josef joined Banica for her travels abroad, journeying through Elphegort, Asmodean, Holy Levianta, Marlon, and Lioness over the next two years. As Banica researched new cuisine, Arte studied how to cook the exotic meals. After the four returned to Beelzenia in EC 318, they took a carriage to Gasto but were troubled when the horses suddenly collapsed. They then traveled to the Conchita mansion on foot, reaching it by late evening. After rudely greeting Ron and demanding he make her a snack, Arte hurried to the dining hall.

Later on, Arte and Pollo brought in the foreign ingredients Banica discovered to her meeting with Empress Juno in the imperial palace's throne room, standing by as she related her travels. At Banica's request, Arte borrowed the imperial kitchen and prepared a dish using the meat of a ziz tiama, returning to the throne room with it. After explaining the benefits of the dish, she handed the dish to Banica and watched as she offered it to Juno, convincing her to begin importing the octopus and support her endeavors to improve the empire's food culture.

After Duke Muzuri Conchita died in August of EC 321, and Banica was appointed as his successor two months later, Arte continued serving her as she traveled to various foreign nations across the Evillious and Akuna regions. During this time, they came into possession of a red wine glass and became aware of the angel inhabiting it; Arte then stored the vessel in a secret compartment per Banica's wishes.

### Blessed Saintess Conchita

In July of EC 323, Arte and Pollo planned to accompany their master on a journey. They returned soon after and spotted Ron cleaning their room, holding the wine glass he found. Stopping him before he could leave, Arte and Pollo ominously insisted that they needed the glass and that Banica would someday decide if she would use it or not. The twins shortly after murdered Ron, using the Angel of Temperance's powers to curse him, turning him into a vampire. Later on, when the angel attempted to convince Banica to forge a contract, one of the twins brought the glass filled with blood for their master to taste.

After Banica made her contract, Arte continued serving her master's needs and later accompanied her to the banquet Duke Victor Oruhari held in November, carrying out an appetizer made from insects that Banica had prepared for the other guests. A year later, Arte and Pollo were given the responsibility of managing the noblewoman's territories in her place. Around the same time, Banica also gave them control of her vampiric staff.

As Banica went through a number of cooks in EC 325, including her former personal chef Josef, the twins gladly used the wine glass to murder them. While preparing a meal for Banica's next party, the twins spotted the thief Platonic skulking around the mansion. When the twins got into an argument over Pollo's new laugh, Platonic threw a smoke bomb and managed to get away, stealing Josef's corpse in the process. When Karl Lions was hired as a chef in EC 325, Arte recognized him as looking similar to the man who had murdered her mother and immediately disliked him; she then began harassing him with her brother and, on one occasion, explained her reasoning to Karl while the two cooked together. After Karl spent the night with Banica, Arte and Pollo made breakfast with him the next morning.

Later that year, the Beelzenian Imperial Family sent a messenger with an escort of twenty soldiers to the estate, doing so in response to Banica repeatedly ignoring their summons. After Pollo killed the messenger, Arte led Banica's vampiric hordes against the soldiers, riding atop the undead Ron's shoulders. Afterward, Karl attempted to flee the estate and the twins tracked him down to a neighboring town, dragging him back to Banica. After his failed murder-suicide with Banica, they followed her orders to cook him and serve him as a special meal for her. Around August of that year, Arte was killed and cooked by her curious and hungry master.

## Skills and Abilities

Unlike her brother, Arte emphasized quality over quantity when preparing dishes, although she sometimes cut corners due to her unpredictable personality. She was also more capable than Pollo when it came to her overall work and was rather intelligent. In spite of her lack of strenght, she was more than capable of restraining and killing people when required.

## Character Connections

Banica Conchita: Arte's master. Arte had a close friendship with her stemming from their childhood; due to this, Arte was fanatically loyal to her and demanded that others respect the duke. The maid would strive to follow Banica's every order, no matter what. This included both acting on what she perceived that Banica wanted and obeying her direct orders.

Pollo: Arte's twin brother. Arte was very close to him and always stayed by his side, eerily in sync with his words and actions. The two shared their duties as Banica's servants in equal measure, both of them later overseeing the operation of her territories.

Josef Cucino: A fellow servant of Banica. Arte begrudgingly respected the cook for his skills in preparing dishes, though hated how close he acted with their master. Despite this, she was not above killing Josef when he stepped out of line.

Karl Lions: A fellow servant of Banica. Arte saw the chef as reminiscent of the mage ABELLONE and disliked him as a result, with her and Pollo constantly harassing him. After Karl attempted to betray their master, Arte was eager to follow her orders to cook him.

Ron Grapple: A fellow servant of Banica. Arte and her brother disliked him and disapproved of the chamberlain's interference in Banica's negotiation with the Angel of Temperance. Seeing him as a threat to her master, Arte aided in Ron's death and resurrection without remorse.