Revision 4

Overview

Roselle Gustav (罗塞尔·古斯塔夫) is a historical figure in the world of Lord of Mysteries and the most consequential transmigrator (see Transmigrators) before Klein Moretti. He died over two hundred years before the events of the campaign, but his legacy permeates the world: he sparked the industrial revolution that gave Loen and Intis their gas lamps, steam engines, and modern weaponry, and his influence is woven through every major faction the player encounters.

Historical Role

Roselle Gustav transmigrated into the Northern Continent in approximately 1143 of the Fifth Epoch, over two hundred years before Klein. The world he arrived in had no industrial revolution: gas lighting, locomotives, telegraphs, and mass-produced firearms were unknown. Roselle introduced or accelerated all of them. He is credited with inventing the steam engine (or its closest cultural equivalent), improving sailing-ship rigging, popularising scientific method as an institutional practice, and indirectly causing the formation of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery as a religious movement around the new mechanical god.

Roselle led a revolution against the monarchy of the Kingdom of Intis, overthrowing it and establishing a republic. His political legacy splits along faction lines: Intis and progressive Loen circles revere him; the conservative Loen aristocracy and the older Seven Orthodox Churches view him as a destabilising figure. The world's geopolitics still echoes Roselle's revolution.

Roselle's Diary

Roselle kept a personal diary throughout his decades in the world. The diary is one of the source material's most consequential artifacts: it mixes everyday banalities (recipes, weather, court gossip) with hints toward higher-Sequence Beyonder mysteries that Roselle pieced together during his lifetime. After his death, the diary fragmented across several owners and a single intact volume eventually passed to Klein. The game references the diary in multiple Mr. Fool visions; specific in-game fragments serve as quest-locked Beyonder ingredients in later Acts.

Pathway

Roselle's Pathway is deliberately ambiguous in the source material. The game's stance follows: Roselle is treated as a mythic figure whose Pathway is not a player-facing concern. References position him as having claimed multiple Sequence 0 seats over his lifetime; specifics belong to later spoiler content and are not relevant to the Crimson Test beta scope.

In-Game Role

Roselle is not a living NPC during the player's campaign. He is encountered as:

Mr. Fool visions: cinematic flashbacks during specific main-campaign beats, often paired with Klein discovering or referencing Roselle's diary.

Historical NPCs and buildings: Roselle's name appears on monuments in Backlund and elsewhere; some side quests revolve around investigating Roselle-era artifacts.

Faction context: the Machinery Hivemind, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, and several Beyonder underground rings trace their lineage directly to Roselle's revolution and his post-mortem influence.

Player rituals: certain advanced rituals in the Tarot Club structure invoke Roselle by name; performing them carries a significant Acting reward for players in the related Pathway.

Why He Matters to the Player

Roselle is the world's framing device for the player's relationship with Klein. The source material repeatedly draws parallels: Roselle was a transmigrator who reshaped the world; Klein is the next transmigrator following in his footsteps. The player's original Beyonder is in turn the third major figure walking that path, with their own choices echoing forward through the same mythic structure. Recognising Roselle's role is part of what distinguishes a player who has read the source material from a player who is encountering the world fresh through the game; both audiences can engage with the campaign, but the layered echo lands harder for those who already know the source material's references.