Granne Barsburg

Granne Barsburg is a minor antagonist who only appeared in manga chapter 64. She is one of Roseamanelle Ouka Barsburg's aunts.

Etymology
'Granne' sounds like 'Gran', which can be an affectionate term for one's grandmother or an informal way of addressing an elderly woman, in the English language. This could be an allusion to Granne's old age.

Physical appearance
Granne is plump and tall. She has long, light-coloured hair tied into a bun, with several squarish locks of hair falling over her forehead and barely touching her eyebrows. Her eyes are narrow. She appears to be old, as there are wrinkles around her eyes and marionette lines around her mouth. Some of her most distinctive features are her large, hooked nose and overly full lips.

Clothing
As she is a royal, she wears elaborate and expensive clothing. She also wears lipstick and earrings, and carries what appears to be a paper fan.

Personality
Granne is apparently cruel and malicious, keeping human slaves to humiliate and dispose of when she feels like it, and making them fight each other.

Roseamanelle Ouka Barsburg
Ouka once told Granne not to do anything that tramples on a person's dignity, in manga chapter 64. From what little has been shown of their relationship, they apparently do not get along well. Ouka is respectful towards her on the surface, but it has been shown that they dislike each other. Both of them make no secret of their mutual dislike, and Granne has been shown to enjoy taunting or provoking Ouka. Despite their mutual dislike, Granne's son was going to be one of Ouka's fiance candidates at her Groom Choosing masquerade (possibly for political reasons), though he eventually could not attend the masquerade due to illness.

Kururu
Kururu dislikes Granne because of Granne's attitude towards Ouka.

Gyokuran
Like Kururu and Ouka, Gyokuran dislikes Granne.

Hakuren Oak
Due to his diplomatic nature, Hakuren manages to get along fairly well with Granne, though he apparently thinks that she is 'difficult'.

History
Little is known about her history. At some point, she became a member of the Barsburg family, whether by birth or through marriage is unknown.

Manga synopsis
She is first seen greeting Ouka as Ouka walks through Hohburg Fortress, and asking Ouka to look at a sklave of hers. Granne is visibly mistreating the sklave, causing Ouka to angrily remind her that she (Ouka) has told Granne many times, not to trample on a person's dignity. Granne responds by mocking Ouka, remarking that Ouka has not yet ascended to the imperial throne and has no right to give Granne orders. Gyokuran and Kururu are angered on Ouka's behalf, but Hakuren diplomatically intervenes and courteously reminds Granne that the weather forecast had predicted strong winds, prompting Granne to order that arrangements be swiftly made for her departure, and Hakuren agrees.

Granne is next seen taunting Ouka again, and asking her to look at another sklave. This time, Ouka is unfazed, and politely excuses herself, saying that she has to go to an art exhibition. Granne fumes as she watches Ouka leave and thinks to herself that Ouka is "shameless".

Granne does not appear again in the series, but is mentioned at Ouka's birthday ball, where it's revealed that her son, who was going to be the representative of District 1 at the ball, is unwell. Gyokuran makes a remark about how Granne is always trying to gain political power for herself.

Trivia

 * It is unclear whether she is Ouka's aunt on Dalia Barsburg's side of the Barsburg Family, or on Wolfram Eifeler Barsburg's side of the family. However, it is worth noting that her facial features more closely resemble Wolfram's, suggesting that she may be more likely to be Ouka's paternal aunt.
 * Granne has a son. He was suffering from an infectious disease at the time of Ouka's birthday ball, and Teito was his substitute as the representative of District 1.
 * Granne does not like men with pretty faces.

Quotes

 * 'My! Someone who has not yet officially inherited the imperial throne does not have the authority to give me orders. How worrisome... Because you kept saying such things, I grew tired of my last pet and I just had to dispose of him the other day.' (to Ouka, Kapitel 64, volume 11, page 7)
 * 'My...what a shameless young girl, honestly.' (to herself, about Ouka)