Hänsel

"Hey father, praise me, I've defeated her henchman as well."

Hänsel is the male twin kidnapped and raised by Eve Moonlit and the brother of Gretel. Along with his sister, he murdered their parents and later split Eve's Original Sin into the Seven Deadly Sins.

Project 'Ma'
Hänsel was born along with his twin sister, Gretel, in the Levianta Royal Institute as part of Project 'Ma'. After birthed by his mother, Meta Salmhofer, Hänsel and his sister were placed in vitro conditions. Celebrated by the people of the Magic Kingdom, their births marked the first year of a new calendar, EC 0. Some time later, they were taken by their mother from the laboratory and hid in Elphegort.

Original Sin
After a year of being hidden by Meta, she carried them to Eldoh's Forest for a stroll. While there, Meta settled them near a tree and left them. Soon after, he and Gretel were discovered by Eve Moonlit. Believing them to be fruit, Eve took them and carried them through the forest as she fled from their mother and eventually killed her. After being greeted by her husband, Adam, he saw the twins in her hands and became horrified by Eve's action. With Meta dead and the twins orphaned, the two woodcutters adopted the children and raised them as their own.

In EC 013, Hänsel and his sister were led by their parents deep into the forest on a moonlit night. The curious twin asked his father if god was waiting for them down their path and later wondered why their parents were looking at them with such gloomy expressions. Eventually, Hänsel and his sister realized that they would be lost if they continued on the path and were soon after abandoned by their parents to die, unable to find their way home.

While wandering the dark forest with his sister, holding hands, the two stumbled upon a small glass bottle illuminated by the moonlight and used it to light their path, not knowing whether the direction they headed in was right or wrong. At last, Hänsel and Gretel arrived someplace, recognizing it as "the witch's house". They decided to murder the witch, believing they would become happy if she was gone. While Gretel threw the "witch" into the oven, Hänsel killed her "henchman", gleefully asking his father if he was proud of him for doing so.

Watching Eve, the witch, burn to ashes in the oven, they witnessed her body become the embodiment of her Original Sin. Splitting it into seven fragments, they scattered it across the world so that it could be eventually cleansed. Hänsel and his sister enjoyed the confines of the witch's house, feeling as if they themselves lived their long ago, and then decided to go out and search for their "real" mother and father.

Legacy
After his death, Hänsel's soul reincarnated with his same visage every few centuries. In several cases, his reincarnations maintained some of Hänsel's memories and characteristics, including loyalty to matriarchal figures who resembled his mother, Meta. At some point after EC 611, Hänsel's soul merged with the Glass of Conchita and later awakened as the male Servant to the Master of the Graveyard.

Character Connections
Meta Salmhofer: Hänsel's real mother. Hänsel didn't remember Meta, growing up in Eve's care, but he later expressed a wish to go find his "real" mother after Adam and Eve were dead. He passed on a fanatic loyalty to Meta to all his reincarnations, showing this loyalty to anyone resembling her.

Eve Moonlit: Hänsel's foster mother. Hänsel grew up thinking of Eve as his mother, however he became convinced she was a wicked witch after he and Gretel were abandoned by her. He later considered her to be a pretentious and troublesome woman, discovering her Original Sin among her ashes.

Adam Moonlit: Hänsel's foster father. Hänsel grew up thinking of Adam as his father, however he became convinced he was the wicked henchman of a witch after he and Gretel were abandoned by him. He gave him no more consideration after discovering Eve's Original sin.

Gretel: Hänsel's twin sister. Hänsel loved his sister and was always beside her if he could help it, holding her hand while lost in the woods and helping her to defeat the wicked witch and her henchman. He continued to stay with her after Eve's death and would usually be by her side in their reincarnations.

Stupid Butler: One of Hänsel's reincarnations. Hänsel's appearance and soul passed on to the Stupid Butler, and with it he passed on his loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as Conchita.

Lemy Abelard: Another of Hänsel's reincarnations. Hänsel's appearance and soul passed on to Lemy Abelard, and with it he passed on his loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as Julia.

Servants: Another of Hänsel's reincarnations. Hänsel's appearance and soul passed on to the male Servant, and with it he passed on his loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as the Master of the Graveyard.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Hänsel is inspired by the character from the Brothers Grimm's tale "Hänsel & Gretel".
 * In the original story, Hänsel is depicted as a gluttonous child, strengthening his link with the Demon of Gluttony.
 * Hänsel's name derives from German, meaning "Little Hans"; the name Hans derives from the Latin name Johannes, meaning "graced by God".
 * A German proverb is, "What little Hans doesn't learn, grown-up Hans will never learn."

Curiosities

 * Similar attire to Hänsel is worn by a young Alexiel and, to a lesser extent, the male Servant in Evil's Theater.
 * Hänsel's reincarnations tend to be more innocent or oblivious compared to his sister's reincarnations.
 * Elluka Clockworker noted that Queen Anne's child, Alexiel, resembled Hänsel.
 * It is assumed that Levia and Behemo successfully reincarnated as humans and are the stimuli behind Hänsel and Gretel's cycle of reincarnation in the series.

Gallery
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