Ludmilla/Story

Spoilers!*"Your greatest villain Drake shall warn you, SPOILERS AHEAD!"*The following article or section contain **spoilers!** Viewer discretion is advised.

Overview**Story**VoicelinesGallery

## Behind the Scenes

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Bi Joo-eon

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Lauren Landa

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Ai Kakuma

## Profile

The leader of Unlimited, a squad based in the frozen north of the surface, charged with keeping an eye on Rapture incursions to the area and rescuing lost Nikkes. Ludmilla's imperious attitude is only emphasized by Alice gleefully calling her "Queen." Despite her frosty (pun not intended) demeanor, she is dedicated to her job and will guide lost Nikkes (and occasionally humans) back to the Ark.

Machinery tends to inexplicably break down when Ludmilla tries to use them or even get near them, leaving Alice to do everything from operating communications to opening doors.

### Nikke Backstory

A Nikke from Unlimited. She lives in the bitterly cold northern lands, where she saves Nikkes who have lost their way. Any machinery she touches will...

## Story

### Background

In her past life as a human, Ludmilla hailed from a sovereign family, the elites of the Ark. As a sovereign, it was her duty to maintain a noblewoman's appearance and bring prestige to her household. In order to do this, she contributed funds to Angel Orphanage and was proud to be helping a noble cause. Only a month later, allegations of abuse arose from the Orphanage with one child being reported as dead. Ludmilla's family immediately pulled their funding, without any regard to what this would do to the children there. This was enough to show her that her family were nothing more than embezzlers that extract from the poor to enrich themselves and to flaunt their extravagance over others.

Ludmilla had always admired Nikkes, viewing them as "Goddesses of Victory." After a chance encounter with the Goddess Squad, she chose to become a Nikke herself and left her old life and family behind without a second thought.

### Character Story

*Canonically set before the events of NEVERLAND*

#### Episode 1 - Letter

The protagonist's conscious is fading, his strength sapped by the northern chill. A voice remarks on how they always seem to find him like this before bringing him somewhere warm. The protagonist awakens to find Ludmilla keeping an eye on him. When asked why he's back north, the protagonist has a flashback.

A few days ago, Andersen gave the protagonist a letter, ordering him to deliver it to Ludmilla and not return unless she writes a reply to the letter.

Upon hearing this, Ludmilla immediately denies the protagonist's request, refusing to so much as read the letter, let alone write a reply. When she learns the protagonist cannot return to the Ark without a reply, she comments that this means he can stay with her and Alice for as long as he wishes. She then shows him a pile of letters addressed to her, of which she has responded to none of them. She asks why she should reply this time out of all others, to which the protagonist proclaims himself as Ludmilla's servant. Amused, Ludmilla challenges him to make her happy through his service. Only after she's satisfied with his work will she write a reply and let him go back.

#### Episode 2 - Servant's Obligation

Try as he might, the protagonist finds all manner of stumbling blocks in serving Ludmilla, from serving a subpar cup of tea to being unable to exert enough force to massage her shoulders. Ludmilla finds things more lively with the protagonist around, though she still refuses to write a reply and let him go back.

#### Episode 3 - Link to the Past

Despite improvements to his serving skills, it appears the protagonist still can't make a decent cup of tea. To lift his spirits, Ludmilla takes the protagonist outside to watch the aurora shining over the frozen land. Despite the beauty that can be found here, he still wants to go back to the Ark, asking Ludmilla why she can't write a reply. It turns out that Ludmilla's brain came from a member of an unspecified royal family, who are now demanding the brain be returned from the "Nikke in royal skin." Demanding correspondence is the only thing the royals can do, as not even royalty can defy the Big Three's authority when it comes to active duty Nikkes. While she could reply in the negative and end the hassle here, it would also mean the letters stop completely, severing the final tie she has with her past as the "human Ludmilla".

#### Episode 4 - Royal Ludmilla

In her slumber, Ludmilla dreams and remembers. As a human, she admired the Nikkes as "goddesses of victory" and chafed against the idea of being a parasite in an ivory tower. This, combined with the mockery she received as "crown jewel of the royal family" led her to become a Nikke herself. Ironically, with everything she went through as a Nikke, the royal family she was so eager to leave behind is now the only thing she has left of her past.

Ludmilla is woken up by Alice, having overslept for the first time ever. It's been some time since the protagonist left without a word, despite Ludmilla not writing the reply he was ordered to get. Shortly after, Alice answers a distress beacon they picked up only to find it's none other than the protagonist, who's returned from a brief trip to the Ark.

The protagonist pours Ludmilla a cup of tea, which she's shocked to find is jasmine tea, her favorite. When prompted on how he found out, the protagonist hands over a tattered old letter to her. The letter is actually the human Ludmilla's petition to undergo Nikke transplant surgery. The document lists her likes, dislikes, and her reason for undergoing the surgery; "To no longer be a parasite living off the sacrifices of others." While the protagonist still overbrewed the tea into a bitter mess, Ludmilla concedes and promises to write a reply so he can return to the Ark.

#### Episode 5 - Fragrance in the Snow

Andersen marvels at the protagonist's ingenuity of using the old surgical petition to persuade Ludmilla. Commending him for a job well done, Andersen tells the protagonist that Ludmilla will no longer be pestered with letters, though she should probably refrain from coming to the Ark for a while.

When the protagonist relays this to Ludmilla, she barks out in laughter. Whatever it was she wrote in the reply, it's triggered the royals into demanding she not return to the Ark. The protagonist is still brewing tea for Ludmilla, leading her to wonder if he intends to forgo his role as a commander to become a full-time servant, to which he responds that doing both is not beyond his reach. Ludmilla tries in her own way to dissuade him from this, but eventually relents, content to simply bask in the fragrance of jasmine tea as it permeates the frigid air of the north.

## References

Notes

References
1. ↑ Character Story: Ludmilla.
2. ↑ Character Story: Ludmilla: Winter Owner.
3. ↑ NEVERLAND