Wilhelmina Carmel (ヴィルヘルミナ•カルメル,Viruherumina Karumeru?) (spelled Wirhelmina in the anime translation by Geneon) is the Flame Haze of the title "Manipulator of Objects" or "Manipulator of Ten Thousand Ribbons" (万条の仕手,Banjō no Shite?). She is bound to "Crown-and-Sash of Fantasies" Tiamat, whose will resides in the divine vessel Persona, which has the form of a headband.
Wilhelmina is a young, beautiful lady of Dutch descent who wears a maid outfit consisting of a purplish dress with puffy sleeves, a white apron and a yellow ribbon tied on her neck. She also wears a petticoat and a pair of knee-high boots. When Yuji Sakai asked her why she chose that outfit, she said she asked around about what outfit befits a person serving royalty, and the maid outfit was the answer.[1] After finding it really practical, she has worn it ever since. The vessel of her contracting Crimson Lord Tiamat assumes the form of a maid's headband.
In the Great War, she wore a long yellow gown.
Personality
Wilhelmina always speaks in a monotonous, overly formal and polite manner and has nearly no expression, although that is not to say that she herself is devoid of emotions. She actually cares a lot for her close friends, especially Shana, and there are actually a lot more going inside her than her expressionless manner which she hold herself with would suggest.
She's very skillful in many things, like singing and house chores, and is the one who took care of Shana during the girl's training at Tendōkyū. Cooking, however, is one of her weaknesses. Because of this, she usually prepares dishes which do not require cooking like instant noodles and pre-prepared dishes. In her attempt to please Shana by cooking food personally for her, she ends up trashing Chigusa's kitchen.
Wilhelmina always uses de arimasu, the uncontracted form of desu normally seen only in writing, to end her sentences. In the English dub, this is translated as "Indeed".
Background
Wilhelmina's past prior to accepting the contract to being a Flame Haze has not been revealed, but her Crimson Lord once referred to her as "Princess", implying that Wilhelmina was born into royalty.
Participation in the Great War
Wilhelmina during the end of Great War.
She is one of the great Flame Haze from the Great War, fighting alongside her friend, Mathilde Saint-Omer against the Crimson Denizen organization known as Töten Glocke. Together, they are considered to be the counterpart of the "Pair of Wings", a partnership between the Crimson Lords Merihim and Illuyanka; two of them were said to be the strongest of Töten Glocke, serving under Asiz, their leader. Wilhelmina fought Illuyanka in many battles but avoided confronting Merihim whom she had feelings for. Wilhelmina is also known as "Dancing Princess of Peerless Combatant Skills" (戦技無双の舞踏姫,Sengi Musou no Butouki?) for her elegant and unparalleled techniques and movements in battles.
During the Great War, after fighting Illuyanka and defeating him, she lost her right arm in the later battle with Chernobog but recovered thanks to the Flame Haze's ability. Asiz's attempt to conjure his child (or the "Heir to Both Worlds") from his deceased contractor's and his own existences was thwarted by Mathilde who triumphed over Merihim, cutting his limbs apart. She decided to use Tenpa Jōsai to interrupt Asiz by summoning Alastor to this world. The ceremony took Mathilde's life in the process. Wilhelmina and Merihim were left with Mathilde's final request for her: to search for and train the successor of the title of "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter".
Solitary Travels
Wilhelmina traveling alone in the desert.
With her friend and constant partner gone, Wilhelmina began her quest to look for Mathilde's successor. In one of her travels, she encountered the reckless "Scatterer of Sparking Light" Rebecca Reed, who eventually became Wilhelmina's traveling partner for some time after saving Rebecca from an ambush from a Rinne.
Plot
Mathilde's Successor
Wilhelmina, Merihim (as Shiro) and Alastor eventually stay in the Tendōkyū, a large floating piece of land which also acts as a refuge for Flame Haze. There, they continue the search for the next person to possess the title "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" previously held by Mathilde. After hundreds of years, an unnamed girl is discovered to be a "Great One" and thus, a viable heir to the said title.
The orphaned girl is then taken custody by Wilhelmina, who later doubles as her trainer and guardian. When Tendōkyū falls for the first time, Wilhelmina parts ways with the girl, who later travels around the world to learn more about her duty as the newest "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter".
Meanwhile, she goes around the world in a different journey, cooperating with Outlaw with investigations regarding incidents regarding the Crimson Realm. Her duties in Outlaw is put on hold when she arrives in Misaki City and returns to her duties as the guardian of the girl who is later known as "Shana".
Relationships
Yuji Sakai
Wilhelmina at first dislikes Yuji as an overprotective mother might dislike her daughter's boyfriend, and constantly refers to him as "the Mystes", though later on, she occasionally refers to him by his proper name. She has once advocated killing him so as to keep the Reiji Maigo out of the hands of Bal Masqué and had to be stopped from performing the deed herself twice by Shana.
Later on, Wilhelmina has begun to, more or less, accept Yuji's presence, if not his influence on Shana, and, on Shana's request, becomes Yuji's training partner when Shana is otherwise not available. Wilhelmina, while intitially disapproving of Yuji, has grown to acknowledge his worth, and even begins to have (to some extent) great expectations of Yuji and his analyses. Wilhelmina, after the death of Bifrons, admits (albeit reluctantly) that Yuji is a suitable partner for Shana due to his keen deductions.
In the light novels, Yuji retaliates and nearly kills Wilhelmina with the Blutsauger in a wild rage, because she tried to make Shana give up on Yuji by force.
However, in the anime, Yuji shows no such hostility towards her, and treats her with respect, referring to her as "Carmel-San".
Shana
Wilhelmina has taken care of Shana ever since she was young. Attending to her needs and helping her train as a Flame Haze.
Tiamat
Tiamat is the Crimson Lord bound to Wilhelmina by contract, and they have been partners for a very long time. Not much can be inferred regarding their relationship due to Tiamat's taciturn nature, however, they appear to be rather close. Wilhelmina and Tiamat have even been known to finish each other's sentences. Despite their somewhat similar personalities, Tiamat would appear to be the more level-headed one, not acting on a deep affection for the current "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter", and even reminds Wilhelmina to focus on the "here and now" when her contractor loses her will to fight on. Tiamat even expresses regret, in conversational sentences, that she could not do more for Wilhemina during the battle in the Saishuku no Shadan.
Powers and Abilities
Manipulation of Ribbons: As described by her Flame Haze title, her primary ability is the power to control an infinite number of ribbons which appear from around her. She uses this in a variety of ways acts as both defense, offense, and an aid for movement.
Persona: In battle, the vessel which Tiamat resides in, Persona, is able to change from a headband to a mask which has an incredible number of ribbons extending from it, making it easier for Wilhelmina to battle, simply because Wilhelmina doesn't have to summon the ribbons herself, instead using the ribbons from her mask, these ribbons can create powerful explosions and summon giant fireballs.
Unrestricted Spells
Stigma-breaking Insignia (スティグマ破りの自在式,Sutiguma-yaburi no Jizai-shiki?): Wilhelmina inherits the Unretsricted Spell that was originally developed by Johann, to combat Sabrac's Stigma.
Her title's meaning is like the term for a player (in chess) who can predict moves far ahead. "Manipulator" (仕手,Shite?) is also the term for a protagonist in Noh, a classical Japanese music drama which is notable for performers wearing masks.
