Date of Birth: February 5, C.E. 55 Zodiac: Aquarius Blood Type: B Age: 20 Height: 170 cm A man serving as the Prime Minister of the emerging nation, the Foundation Kingdom. He is a member of Queen Aura Maha Khyber's personal guard, the Black Knight Squad, and holds deep loyalty to her. Alongside Shura Serpentine, he serves as Aura's closest confidant. He has a delicate, handsome face and carries himself as a calm, gentlemanly individual. However, he inherently possesses the same arrogant personality found in all members of the Black Knight Squad. He also displays a certain mental immaturity, losing self-control and exploding with emotion when faced with situations that don't go his way. Nevertheless, he possesses the skills to match his high self-esteem and pride. He commands the battleship Gurveig and is an excellent Mobile Suit pilot, while also being a competitive-level dancer. The Foundation's remarkable reconstruction was made possible by his administrative talent, which was recognized even by the late Chairman Gilbert Durandal. First person: I (watashi; formal/polite). Only when speaking with Lacus in the gardens of the Foundation castle does he alternate between "watashi" and "boku" (soft/boyish). He is addressed as "Orphee" by Ingrid Tradoll, "Lord Tao" by Kira and Hari Jagannath, and was called "Lord Orphee" by Lacus before she eventually switched to just "Orphee." His true identity is an "Accord," a being created by Aura. Accords were born to manage the Destiny Plan and lead humanity, and Orphee and Lacus were specifically designed as a pair of destined partners. Both wear different colored rings on their right hands; when they touch, they enter a private mental space shared only by the two of them. When they first touched, Orphee showed a look of surprise followed by a smile, suggesting he felt their fateful connection at that moment. He views Kira as an eyesore lingering near Lacus and does not hide his hostility. He doesn't just use his abilities to dismiss him as a "nuisance," but openly condemns him to his face. Ingrid, his administrative support, harbors secret romantic feelings for him, but he is so obsessed with Lacus that he doesn't notice her at all. That said, he doesn't hate her; he gave her a second chance by allowing her to co-pilot the Black Knight Squad Cal-re.A after she made a mistake. While it's never shown how the other Accords address Aura, Orphee calls her "Mother." Due to depictions such as having the same hair and eye color as Aura, and a scene showing a young Aura holding Orphee (while Lacus is held by her mother, and children resembling Ingrid and Shura are held by a male colleague), there is speculation they might be biological mother and son, though details remain unconfirmed. His cry during the final confrontation with Lacus—"Then why am I not loved?!"—can be interpreted as him realizing he was never loved by Aura. Furthermore, while the Accords felt superior to other races, they were also driven by a compulsion that their lives had no meaning if they didn't fulfill their roles. At his core, he suffered from doubt and frustration toward a life where he was only allowed to run on pre-laid tracks, and a loneliness born from being a top-tier Accord with no one to walk beside him. This suggests he desired Lacus because she was the only one who could stand on the same level as him. He is willing to use any means to achieve his goals, including nuking his own citizens and using the Requiem for massacre and intimidation. He possesses a mindset that never questions his actions or feels guilt. However, given the environment he was raised in, there is room for sympathy; his descent into passion after being rejected by Lacus at the Artemis fortress and his final screams have led some to view him as a tragic figure. "Why... you were born to rule the world with me! So why do you not accept me? My love!?" "Don't mess with me! Filthy! For a piece of trash like you to even utter Lacus's name is a sin that a million deaths could not erase! You should never have been born! Yet you live unbothered and are loved! Without even having the right!" "Then give that love to me! She was supposed to be mine! And you...!" "We were born because of human folly. You speak of peace and equality while demanding others change, yet you never seek to change yourselves!" "A leader is necessary! To end this history of division and bloodshed. That is the reason for our birth!" "I am Orphee Lam Tao. The one who is your counterpart, the one who can restore peace to this world."