Willem Ehrenfried

Willem Ehrenfried (ヴィレム・エーレンフリート,) is a secondary supporting character in the 86 -Eighty Six- series introduced in Run Through the Battlefront.

Willem is the Chief of Staff of Western Army which is responsible for the Federal Republic of Giad's Western Front, as well as an old friend of Grethe Wenzel.

Appearance
Willem is a man in his late twenties with graceful appearance. As a pureblood Onyx, he has jet-black eyes and hair.

He typically wears the Federacy's military uniform. Unlike most officers, Willem usually carries his saber with him as part of his ceremonial wear. He also wears cologne.

Personality
Growing up as the heir of powerful noble family, Willem possesses a coldhearted and calculating nature, unafraid of sacrificing subordinates to complete an objective. Willem is also unabashed about reminding people of harsh truths if he deems it necessary. For instance, he frankly admitted to Shin that the Federacy might handed over the Eighty Six to the Republic if the situation demanded it.

Willem places importance on emotional control and hates nothing more than to have his emotions read. Only people close to him, like Richard and Grethe, have ever seen Willem display any strong emotions.

Underneath the cold demeanor, he actually has his own caring side. While he showed no concern over sending Nordlicht Squadron into the suicide mission, Willem did give the squadron assistance to increase their chances of survival. He also voiced his support of the Eighty-Six rehabilitation program, helping them integrate with a peaceful life after the war instead of eliminating them outright.

As mentioned by Grethe, for how coldhearted he is, Willem is never pointlessly cruel.

Volume 7: Mist
Willem discussed the current situation with Richard and another major general.
 * Chapter 1

Volume 9: Valkyrie Has Landed

 * Interlude 1

Abilities
Willem is described as a very capable staff officer. Having been received special education in his family’s field of study: combat leadership, since the young age. His level of understanding and experience in the field made most other officers seem unskilled. He used to be an armored infantryman capable of using CQC against the Legion, likely owing to his pureblood Onyx heritage. A testament to his monstrous strength was shown when he cut a Grauwolf in half by himself.

Grethe Wenzel
Grethe is an old friend of Willem. In the past, he once proposed to her but was turned down. He was also the one who gave her nickname, Black Widow, much to her chagrin.

Richard Altner
Richard is Willem's associate from the military staff college and a fellow officer in the Western Army.

Shinei Nouzen
Outwardly, Willem maintains a cold, professional relationship with a young captain. Behind of the scene, he is actually rather supportive of Shin and his fellow Eighty Six. While many high-ranking officers have considered using extreme measures to deal with the Eighty Six, for example, disposing them after the war, Willem supports the Eighty-Six rehabilitation program, helping them integrate with a peaceful life.

Despite being a pureblood Onyx, Willem does not discriminate against the mixed-blood like Shin, claiming that he is not such a narrow-minded person.

Gallery

 * Illustrations

Quotes

 * "'I feel nothing for that monster. But I hate the idea of seeing you cry again because of him. So in that regard, I don't particularly want him to die in battle.' — to Grethe, regarding Shin."

Trivia

 * Willem likes to pretend he is a comically evil character. He assumed Gendo Ikari's signature pose during the briefing for the Charité operation, confusing Lena and unamusing Shin. He continues this act when he, along with other high ranking officers, spoke as if they were plotting something malicious against the Strike Package's 1st Armored Group, when in actuality they were planning for their vacation in the Alliance of Wald.
 * The castle which served as the Western Army's headquarters previously belonged to Willem's family.
 * Despite the widespread use of electronic documents, Willem still often forced his subordinates to write paper reports. Grethe considers it as a form of bullying.