Kaspar Blankenheim

"Lord Caspar—  No, I wouldn't dare give him that respect. To be honest, that man was the lowest of men."

- Rita Flohn

Caspar Blankenheim, codenamed Second Dealer, was the Marquis of Toragay in Elphegort and the husband of Margarita. After facing financial trouble, he married the Felix Family daughter for her father's wealth. He later joined the criminal organization Père Noël as its black market dealer to maintain his affluent lifestyle and array of mistresses.

Early Life
Caspar was born in Toragay on August 30, EC 588, the eldest son of Marquis Karl Blankenheim. During his youth, his father arranged for him to meet many girls as potential marriage candidates; he romanced each of them over the years and promised to marry them. Among those candidates was Margarita Felix. Whenever the Felix daughter visited the Blankenheim Mansion, Caspar played with the girl, showing her how to capture insects and birds, climb trees, and play by the water.

At some point, Caspar carved out a wooden ring and gave it to Margarita, making the same promise to marry her when they grew up. As the two got older, Caspar became more intimate with the girl and the two began to hold hands and eventually kiss. At some point, the young Blankenheim befriended Cle Mence, son of the Marquis of Nianemu.

Marriage
"Yes. Things like my favorite tableware, everything. My glasses, spoons... Has just my mirror not been sold yet? Thankfully, I don't use much makeup either."

- Margarita regarding her personal items Caspar sold off

Following his father's death, Caspar inherited the family title of Marquis and wasted his fortune on fine cigars from Maistia and other luxuries. As his fortune began to deplete, Caspar decided to marry Margarita and acquire her father's 29 million evu fortune for himself. Around EC 608, he and Dr. Marx agreed to a political engagement between their two families through him and Margarita.

In June of that year, Caspar married the child at the local Levin church with the entire town and King Soil Elphen celebrating the occasion and providing them many gifts. During their subsequent honeymoon, Caspar bought Margarita a bed for her new room in the Blankenheim manor.

Shortly after, Caspar discovered Margarita's sleepless condition and then began sleeping in a separate room from her. Soon after, the Marquis began taking on numerous mistresses, including Kriemhilde. Afterward, he periodically invited his mistresses to his home and showered them with expensive gifts, affection, and sex.

Whenever the women stayed with him overnight, Caspar forbid Margarita from entering his room. When Margarita asked about their childhood promise, Caspar made it clear he had forgotten whatever it was. As time progressed and their finances began to dwindle, Caspar sold off many of Margarita's personal possessions to help recuperate their losses; he also began firing many of their servants to cut costs.

Père Noël
Sometime in EC 609, Caspar was approached by a woman calling herself "Elluka Clockworker". Claiming to be the leader of Père Noël, First Santa Claus, Elluka asked the Marquis join the organization as their black market dealer in Elphegort; in exchange, she offered to give him a vessel of sin and the ability to use some of his illegal earnings for himself.

The Marquis accepted the offer and joined the organization, codenamed Second Dealer. Setting up the market in his mansion's basement, Caspar donned a mask and began buying and selling products to patrons. As he acquired numerous goods through his illegal channels, he began storing the products in the basement's warehouse.

Raking in major profits, the Marquis secured his luxurious lifestyle while sharing his earnings with the whole of Père Noël. Over time, First Santa Claus periodically visited to Caspar and checked in his operations, the Marquis politely thanking her for coming to see him all the way from Calgaround. He later introduced his "business partner" to Margarita and his wife joined the organization sometime after. Around that time, Caspar acquired a new mistress, Eleanor, and she became his new favorite.

Later that year, Santa ordered him to help enact a single operation: monopolize a cure for an airborne Gift epidemic that they would create and release for the organization's profit. Once Margarita developed an incomplete variant of the cure, Caspar began selling the stimulant on the black market before it or the actual Gift epidemic were complete. He eventually began keeping all his profits from his shady dealings for himself, claiming to be First Santa Claus.

Downfall
"And why'd you kill Caspar? Was there an internal dispute?" "Margarita did that without my permission... But yes. He broke the organization's rules and tried monopolizing the underground market's profits for himself. It certainly couldn't go ignored."

- Elluka Clockworker and Fourth Shadow

On August 24 of that year, Caspar and Margarita attended King Soil's birthday celebration at his castle in Aceid before returning home late that night. The next day, Elluka visited and quarreled with Caspar over his apparent betrayal of Père Noël and monopolization of their underground market before leaving. Sometime after, Caspar gave the Freesis Fairy Tale "The Flower of the Plateau" he acquired from his dealings to Sixth Venom.

On August 30, EC 609, Caspar celebrated his birthday with Eleanor at the mansion. Late that night, Margarita offered her husband some toast covered in trauben jam as a gift. Accepting the present, Caspar shared it with Eleanor and they consumed the toast. The two then went to bed together and succumbed to the hidden Gift poison shortly after, dying as a result.

Legacy
"Anyhow, if I dispose of you two, I'll become the next Second Dealer...I was promised that."

- Bruno Marlon to Hanne and Heidemarie Lorre

Caspar and Eleanor's bodies were discovered by Dr. Marx and Margarita the next day. After a quick diagnosis, Marx covered for his daughter and claimed it to be a result of Caspar's smoking habit. After the World Police's subsequent investigation and Dr. Puerick Rogzé's own autopsy of the corpse, Marx's diagnosis was accepted as the Marquis' official cause of death. When Dr. Marx was found in a coma with the same symptoms less than a  month later, the police reports changed his cause of death as being the result of an unknown disease.

His funeral held at Toragay's church nearly a month after his death was attended by the entire town and royalty from both Elphegort and Marlon; Margarita served as his chief mourner. In response to the alleged tobacco causes, Elphegort entered a joint agreement with Lucifenia and Marlon to limit imports of the product despite facing opposition from many aristocrats and businesses. The first in a multi-part tribute to Caspar and his life was published in the Shuburke Newspaper's 61st issue, though subsequent parts were delayed and inevitably cancelled due to the current events.

Shuburke Newspaper reporter Hanne Lorre continued investigating Caspar's mysterious death and alleged connection to Père Noël. The reporter's investigations soon uncovered much about his past and shady dealings, although she was unable to confirm all the facts surrounding him. The vessel of sin Caspar had kept was eventually recollected by Père Noël. Julia Abelard later criticized Caspar among others' self-serving actions in Elphegort, lamenting how his murder by Margarita had lost her a valuable pawn.

Personality and Traits
Caspar was a selfish, conniving, and hedonistic man. Since childhood, Caspar Blankenheim prioritized his own physical needs over emotional relationships, becoming close with multiple women as potential marriage candidates and yet selecting them for their financial prospects over any romantic sentiment. Continuing into adulthood, Caspar partook in illegal activities in Père Noël to fund his addictions despite the risks and any moral implications of his actions, while also thinking nothing of selling off his wife's possessions for more money.

Driven by desire, Caspar lived largely for pleasure and would make liberal use of his own fortune, and then the Felix fortune, to fund his pursuits. Deeply disturbed by Margarita's Sleepless condition, Caspar refused to bed his wife and instead took on several mistresses, buying them over using money and gifts. He also frequently smoked despite the expense and the respiratory problems it gave him, so addicted that it was at first believed as his cause of his death.

As part of this, he held a disregard for other people's opinion of him and felt secure in his social standing as he pursued his own pleasures. While he openly philandered about with several mistresses, he made no attempt to conceal their visits from the public or even Margarita, merely forbidding her from interrupting their activities. Despite this, he was able to put up a polite front when the situation necessitated it, and was able to become friends with a select few, playing with Margarita in his youth and befriending Cle Mence among others. As well as this, he was able to romance women for his own needs even when he was young.

Though able to form such relationships, Caspar was only loyal to himself and looked after his needs before others'. Becoming Second Dealer in Père Noël, he cared little for the sanctity of the organization and instead monopolized its black market for himself, even arguing about his activities when confronted. In addition, he was disloyal to Margarita while having romanced her in their youth, forgetting about his childhood promise to marry her with the wooden ring. Despite this, Caspar expected no retaliation for his misdeeds, trusting Margarita not to do harm upon him and being careless to let his monopolizing be discovered by calling himself First Santa Claus around customers.

Skills and Abilities
"I lost valuable pawns, Caspar and Mayrana, thanks to Margarita."

- Julia Abelard

As the feudal lord of Toragay and head of the Blankenheim house, Caspar had a great deal of influence within the town and an impressive affluence inherited from his father. However, due to his spending habits, much of his family's fortune was depleted within a short period, forcing him to rely on Margarita's dowry to maintain his rich lifestyle. After becoming Second Dealer, Caspar became very successful in making illegal transactions within Toragay's black market and obtained products from all over the world for himself and his clients.

Character Connections
Margarita Blankenheim: Caspar's wife. Caspar played with Margarita often as a child, although in the end only saw her as a means to remain rich compared to his other marriage candidates. Disturbed by her Sleepless condition, Caspar preferred the company of more beautiful women to her and gave no consideration to the girl's feelings. Despite this, he trusted Margarita, letting her with meet his business partner "Elluka" and accepting her birthday gift to him with no suspicion of foul play.

Mayrana: Caspar's partner in Père Noël. Understanding her to be First Santa Claus and Elluka Clockworker, Caspar eagerly worked with her in the underground market to line his own pockets, often polite and cordial when she visited and introducing her to his wife. Despite this, he had no loyalty to "Elluka" or Père Noël and monopolized the black market against her wishes.

Eleanor: One of Caspar's mistresses. Caspar often invited Eleanor over to his mansion and enjoyed her company, showering her with many gifts as well as considering her his favorite. As part of this, Caspar invited Eleanor over on his birthday and even shared his wife's present to him with her.

Kriemhilde: One of Caspar's many mistresses. Caspar often invited Kriemhilde over to his mansion and enjoyed her company, showering her with many gifts.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Caspar's name is derived from the Hebrew word for "treasurer"; traditionally, the name is assigned to one of the biblical Three Magi and translates as "Master of the Treasure".
 * His surname, Blankenheim, is the name of two German municipalities; Elphegort, Caspar's native country, is inspired by Germany.
 * In numerology, the name Blankenheim is associated with being emotional, sentimental, inquisitive, independent, and ruled by love, needing encouragement or affection when unloved and feeling unhappy when there is a lack of harmony.
 * Caspar's name is partially inspired by the name of his representative Vocaloid, KAITO, with Caspar's romanization beginning with the letters "ka".

Curiosities

 * Caspar, portrayed by KAITO, references his Vocaloid's other characters and their connection to Greed due to his name's meaning and the economical motivations behind his marriage to Margarita.
 * In the first print of Deadly Sins of Evil: Gift from the Princess who Brought Sleep, Caspar's birthdate was mistakenly labeled as year "508" rather than "588".

Gallery
Concept Art=