Life in Noir was harrowing for the handsome yet penniless Karl, who had to quit magic school and look for work in the city to feed his eight brothers and sisters.

But misfortune seemed to follow Karl wherever he went. His father was murdered, his mother abandoned him, all his siblings died in a burning building, and as his body matured into the strapping man you see today, he lived in fear of Noir authorities. Young virgins are a favorite of the princess; once she set her eyes on Karl's porcelain skin, ashen eyes and coffee hair, his fate as another member of her ridiculously beautiful harem was sealed.

He eventually stowed away on a ship, of course.

"A rich man tried to bed me, but the young master — he came to rescue me. No one had ever protected me like that before..." Karl narrates, color blooming in his cheeks. "He's saved me many, many times. I'm forever in his debt."