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Caterina Sforza
Caterina-1
Personal information
Aliases: Cardinal Sforza
Lady Caterina
The Vixen of Milan (by enemies)
Miss Caterina
(by Abel Nightroad)
My Dear Caterina (by Francesco di Medici)
Sweetheart/Ma Chère ("My Dear") (by Antonio Borgia)
Residence: Vatican City, Rome
Status: Alive
Birth: 3036 AD, Milan
Age: 24 years old (beginning of RAM I)
28 years old (end of ROM VI)
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Occupation: - Cardinal
- Duchess of Milan
- Head of the Ministry of Holy Affairs
- Head of the Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section
Relative(s): - Pope Gregorio XXX (father)

- Pope Alessandro XVIII (half-brother)
- Cardinal Francesco di Medici (half-brother)
- Alfonso d'Este (uncle)

Affiliation(s): Catholic Church

Vatican Papal State

Other information
Novel debut: RAM I: Flight Night
Manga debut: Act. 7 Roselyne et les Lion
Anime debut: Flight Night
Japanese seiyū: Takako Honda
English V.A.: Lydia Mackay

Cardinal Caterina Sforza, Duchess of Milan, is the leader and founder of the Arcanum Cella Ex Dono Dei of the Vatican and the half-sister of Pope Alessandro XVIII and to Cardinal Francesco di Medici. Although part of the Vatican, an organization that is against the idea of co-existence with vampires, Caterina is willing to secretly collaborate with Methuselah Empire to bring down the Rosencreuz Orden, even if discovery of her deeds would result in her execution. Her actions have placed her in a very unstable political position ("Vixen of Milan"), as well as put her at constant odds with Cardinal Francesco di Medici, who does not believe in diplomacy and holds no regard for the Pope.

Lady Caterina is willing to die to protect Pope Alessandro XVIII (Caterina's brother), whom she loves dearly and her main motivation in the series is revenge on the Orden.

Her increasingly machiavellian nature is not seen in the anime, as were not her unrequited romantic feelings for Abel Nightroad and her hatred for Esther Blanchett.

Appearance[]

Caterina is a beautiful woman of grace and beauty with long tight-curled blond hair that has very long bangs swept to the left, blue eyes, pink lipstick and she is usually seen with a monocle over her right eye or holding a scepter.

She is seen wearing richly-embroidered red and white cardinal robes. When she was younger, her dress was similar to a Vatican nuns'.

Caterina's manga portrait features her with yellow lilies and her scepter. Yellow lilies represent high social rank, and scepter symbolizes power. Her arcana is in Thores' tarot cards is The High Priestess.

Personality[]

Caterina is a strong-willed and determined woman who shows no fear and she has a strong resolve in anything she believes in.

Synopsis[]

History[]

Act15-06-abel-caterina

In the October when she was fourteen years old, after skipping grades at Milan's Research Institute, Caterina was on vacation in the Vatican when both her parents were killed by the Orden in a plot involving Lilith Sahl's body. She was nearly killed herself, but incidentally ran into Abel Nightroad who was in the underground catacombs, who saved her life. After the incident, Georgio XXX (Caterina's biological father) formally acknowledges Caterina is his daughter.[1]

Caterina embarks on the road to priesthood. Eventually, she becomes the Head of the Vatican's Department of Foreign Affairs. [2]

Manga[]

Gunmetal Hound: Side Red: Hellhound Blues [The Rumors Surrounding the Disappearance of the Rabid Dog]

The HC Series (homo caedelius) or "Killing Dolls" were designed to replace the main infantry force of the Holy Knights. After ten prototypes were created, the project was terminated when voices within the Vatican accused it of being inhumane. In response, their creator, Professor Gepetto Garibaldi rebelled against the Vatican using his creations as his enforcers in the year 655. The Vatican's Department of Foreign Affairs was was given jurisdiction over the situation and Abel Nightroad was sent to deal with Garibaldi.

Abel destroyed nine of the ten cyborgs, and satisfied he could prove his creations were works of art, the Professor took his own life rather than submit to the Vatican's judgement. Tres Iqus, the only remaining Killing Doll, was given a chance to surrender by Abel, but Tres decided to attack. The attack proved futile however, and Tres was cut down just as his brothers had been reluctantly by Abel, confused why their blood was red. The cyborg does not recognize his blood to be his own, proclaiming he is a machine. As Tres sees nothing but his red blood, the Cardinal Caterina Sforza walks over to Tres, asking him to make a decision.

The scene abruptly cuts to the year 660. In Basilica of San Francesco D'Assisi, a man named Dr. Martini makes a confession to Tres. Martini knows Tres was one of Professor Garibald's Killing dolls, and adds he is a technical officer who admired the professor very much. Tres frankly states that Martini created not machinery, but cyanide gas. The doctor tries to argue that both are actually weapons, but changes the subject back to his true motives: the protection of the AX.  Confused, Tres replies that Martini is in the custody and protection of the Vatican Army and the Department of Inquisition. An enraged Martini replies that he is running from the Inquisition because he made the cyanide gas illegally at their request, but now they want him dead to remove evidence they were ever involved. Three of his colleagues have already died, yet Tres simply replies that is his own problem. Martini is not dissuaded, and pique's the cyborg's interest when he reveals that he has made a copy of the gas production log - a log which Caterina desperately wants for leverage over Francesco di Medici. Tres accepts Martini's request without much hesitation, but just as Martini remarks how ironic it was he was receiving protection from the AX, he is brutally shot and killed by an unknown assailant.

Alarmed, Tres tries to locate the killer, only to come with the conclusion that such accuracy can only be performed by one of the HC series. The priest wonders why he was not killed, but retreats after hearing the sound of people approaching the church.

Later at nighttime, Tres infiltrates a building under the guise of a normal soldier to search for all data associated with Rocca Maggiore. The cyborg sees rooms labeled 'poisoned water' and 'waste fluid', then begins to recite Jeremiah 8:14 in Latin. Tres approaches a suspiciously labeled barrel of "Hierem" isobutanol, a compound not dangerous enough to warrant the label of Hierem. The cyborg discovers Martini's files inside, but is quickly apprehended by the Carabinieri (special police). He drops his gun, but when the Carabinier's guards were lowered, the Gunslinger reaches for the gun behind his back and manages to shoot them before they could react. Tres demands an answer for why the Carabinieri were sent to a place not under their jurisdiction, to which the sergeant responds they were sent to capture Caterina's "mutt", to smear the Cardinal's reputation. Angered, the Gunslinger stomps on the sergeant once again, and asks who the killer of Martini was. The sergeant manages to say it was someone from the Department of Inquisition before he was shot and killed by an gun nearing Inquisition insignia.

Tres dodges the bullets from above. The subject reveals himself to be none other than Duo Iqus. Duo denies this, telling Tres that his new name is Brother Bartholomaios of the Department of Inquisition.

Gunmetal Hound: I Wanna be Your Dog [Wish Upon a Star[]

The inquisitor quickly overpowers a shocked Tres Iqus, explaining to him that his superior strength and speed is because of the precision level of their components are different. Duo implants a cord from his neck to Tres as he explains his body has been restored many times over the years ever since the rebellion. The Inquisitor plans on destroying Tres' body and absorb his combat memory to boost his own levels.

Tres tries to resist but Duo tells him he is nothing but a defective unit. The AX Agent argues he is a machine, but Duo counters a machine is something that destroys the enemy when asked, something that Tres has failed many times by now. In a moment of confusion over his self-identity, Tres remembers Caterina, and that he is her gun. The Gunslinger manages to pick up his gun and shoot Duo, much to his surprise. Duo argues it is futuile to fight him, but Tres shoots the hydrochloric gas and, unknownst to him, hydrogen peroxide that a great explosion occurs.

Tres wakes up and checks that everything is functioning as normal. He assumes Duo has fled, but begins to worry when he realizes he has not managed to retrieve what he was looking for. The cyborg believes he i affected by the virus and quickly dismisses those thoughts as meaningless intellect is a human prerogative, whereas he is a machine. Thoughts of his own existential crisis begin to creep into his head again, but Tres quickly remembers Caterina would suffer if he is caught.

Duo appears and begins to fight Tres all by himself. Cautious of the liquid oxygen surrounding them, Tres concludes he must stall Duo and escape, or the place will explode. The Gunslinger is stunned when Duo voices the exact thought out loud from Tres' mind, before he is held down and implanted with Duo's neck cord again.

Act34

Tres remembers seeing Caterina for the first time.

'''''Tres recalls back to the year 655 when Caterina first found him. As Tres lay bleeding on the ground, he was approached by Cardinal Caterina, who informed him that the wounds that Abel had dealt him would be fatal without immediate treatment. She wants him to make a choice: die here alone, or return as a human and continue living. Tres is perplexed, being born from machinery, and requests to be disposed of as a machine. Caterina kneels down in the pool of blood with Tres' head in her hands: in accordance to his wish, she will treat him as a machine. Every fragment of his being belongs now to her, and she orders him to continue living as a machine. Therefore, he is not allowed to be destroyed without her permission.

Act34

Tres destroys Duo.

Tres is thrilled to remember Caterina's words, but Duo interrupts him and dismisses it as nothing but meaningless data. The Inquisitor concludes prioritizing something so meaningless must mean that Tres is defunct (no longer existing or functioning). Outraged that Duo labeled his memory as "garbage", Tres attacks him without holding back. Duo observers Tres must have removed his limiter, greatly increasing his strength but limiting his duration to fight to about 38.1 seconds. Tres counters he did how own calculations, and that Duo cannot win over him, as his battle memories have all been wiped clean - which was why he was after Tres' memories in the first place. The Gunslinger fights Duo, keeping a record of exactly how long he has been Caterina's possession. Just as it seemed like Duo has Tres' hand behind his back, Tres fires his own gun though his own arm, wounding the Inquisitor. Duo is stunned Tres was able to perform a prohibited operation, to which Tres replies he has deleted that data a long time ago. Duo proclaims Tres is not a machine as Tres blows his head off, to which Tres corrects he is a machine - he is her machine.

The Star of Sorrow Arc[]

The Trip to the Vatican[]

Caterina is mentioned by Abel Nightroad as a "scary" boss and she is later seen to be glad to hear that Abel and Tres Iqus have returned to the Vatican.

The Iblis/ Angel of the Burning Sands Arc[]

Trinity blood vol3 ch9 18

Lady Caterina talking to Abel Nightroad

Caterina is first seen by Esther Blanchett and Tres Iqus while she is talking to Abel Nightroad where she mentions to him that she was trying to establish a secret alliance with The New Human Empire to defeat their enemies.

Abel turns around and remarks he heard a familiar voice. Caterina informs him that it was Sister Esther, who topped her training course class. Abel praises her skill, but the Cardinal asks Abel if she was acquainted Dietrich. She informs Abel, that the Rozenkreuch Orden is stubborn, but she is even more stubborn than them. The Cardinal reveals a deep secret: she is planing to make contact with the New Human Empire. Suddenly, Sister Loretta runs over to them as she is distressed about a vampire on the loose and Abel orders Loretta to head inside with Caterina.

The escaped vampire, under the disguise of a nun, attacks and nearly kills Esther after trying to find the location of Caterina. Esther manages to overpower her and leave her to be burned by the sun.

The chapter ends with Sister Kate Scott informing Caterina about the vampire's intentions to assassinate her and compliments Esther. The Cardinal downplays Esther's actions by sternly telling the nun that "sheer luck does not equate to talent". The Cardinal then tells Kate that she has told Abel that they are in negotiations with the Empire again, and that she will meet the Empire's envoys at the city of Carthage.

3ö7

Caterina appears later in Catharge, startled by an vampire, who she mistakes for an assassin. The intruder tightens his grip on her when he became offended at being called a "vampire" instead of a "Methuselah." His anger causes the Cardinal to panic, and just at this moment, Father Tres barges in and shoots the boy. The intruder escapes quickly, leaving the baffled Caterina to ponder if he was meant to be the messenger sent from The Empire.

The 'vampire assassination' attempt does not go unnoticed by Francesco di Medici, who sends the Inquisition to Carthage. Caterina is upset at the arrival, and fears the damage the organization might cause will damage the Vatican's reputation. Petros Orsini introduces himself and Caterina bids him good luck on his quest, while secretly wishing him to leave and never return.

Petros returns to Caterina to report on what happened and, after being berated for not being able to catch the vampires, asks whether the Cardinal knew about the human priest and nun accompanying the vampires. Caterina pretends to be offended and Petros apologizes for his straight-forward words, to which Caterina sharply replies she hadn't set high standards for him anyway. The Duchess asks what of the vampire that escaped, to which Petros replies his team are searching for them right at that moment. Caterina orders Kate to be on the look out for Abel and Esther from the Iron Maiden and rescue them before the Inquisition can find them, but Tres intervenes and explains this was a trap: The Vatican knows Caterina is collaborating with vampires, and wants to use Kate rescuing Abel and Esther as proof of that. However, Caterina does not change her order, as war would break out if an Imperial envoy was killed by the Inquisition.

Caterina later discusses with William Walter Wordsworth about how Abel will inevitably have to use his Krusnik powers to protect humans.

Later on, when the Iblis was about to destroy the city, Tres announces he will evacuate only Caterina, to the shock of both Brother Petros and Ion. Tres thinks of Caterina as the three of them fight off an army of Dietrich's autojagers together.

Mark of a Lady Saint/ Imitation Star Arc[]

Caterina meets Esther Blanchett and Abel Nightroad after their return from the Vatican and she thanks Esther for delivering her letter to the Empress. Cardinal Antonio Borgia arrives not long afterwards where he starts to admire Caterina's beauty and makes flirtatious comments towards her.

The morning after Esther is kidnapped, Archbishop Emanuele d'Annunzio reports to Cardinal Francesco di Medici for the previous day's failings. The Archbishop blames Petros' presence for causing him to let his guard down, and although initially stunned, the inquisitor relents and takes responsibility for his role in the previous day's events. Caterina steps in and defends Petros Orsini, arguing that his original mission was to guard the Pope Alessandro XVIII, and puts the blame back on the police.

Brother Matthaios shows up and explains that the weapon the vampire used last night. Archbishop D'annunzio asserts such a sophisticated weapon must be an indication that she was an assassin sent from the Empire, which she claimed. Caterina urges that he should not jump to conclusions as their nemesis has been diplomatic for over a century, but Cardinal Antonio Borgia points out the Empire may feel threatened after they lost Istvan to the Vatican. D'Annunzio tells everyone that all of his troops are already searching for Sister Esther as they speak. Unsatisfied at the lack of experience and proper equipment, Matthew proposes that the Inquisition should help this investigation as well. Although initially reluctant one man could do much, the Archbishop is graciously accepts the help as Brother Matthew explains that he will have three battle ships and five-hundred men within the afternoon. Caterina and Antonio both point out that it is almost as if he had planned an impending war beforehand. Petros pleads to help in order to redeem for his failings from the night before, but Cardinal Medici simply tells him to guard the Pope. Petros reluctantly agrees. Cardinal Medici ends the meeting with a warning that with the news of a Saint kidnapped by a vampire could spark a catastrophic crusade and to be prepared.

Caterina rhetorically questions Abel into making him stay with her and the Pope, claiming vampire could attack her or the Pope at their residence. She later coughs blood onto her glove after Abel walks away, berating herself for being a bad person.

Caterina startles the Pope when she makes her presence known. Alessandro, who was praying for Esther in the chapel, begging for her to not be taken away from him like someone else was. The Cardinal calls for him to go to dinner, but Alessandro is hesitant because he is worried of Esther. The Cardinal argues that that Alessandro should trust the local police and Inquisition, while following their own duties to prepare for the ceremony in two days time. Alessandro reluctantly agrees, all the while thinking there is nothing he can do.

Act

Alessandro and Caterina arrive at the dinner the Archbishop prepared in time, just in time to see D'Annunzio stabbed in the shoulder, with Esther and Shahrazad al-Rahman in the room. Esther tackles Shahrazad out of the way just as Tres Iqus fires a bullet at her. Tres fires again but Shahrazad manages to deflect the bullet with her glove ability. Abel appears and tries to apprehend Tres, but is pushed aside. The Gunslinger shoots again, but Alessandro seem to have ran into the bullet's path. Esther and Shahrazad quickly use this opportunity to escape while Abel examines Alessandro and confirms that he was simply suffering from a concussion. An infuriated Caterina orders people to go after the two, no matter what it takes.[3]

The pope wakes up with Caterina by his side and remembers he was shot. He apologizes to Caterina for taking her time, but the Cardinal smiles and says nothing else matters compared to him. The Pope quickly changes to subject to Esther and insists it might have been a misunderstanding, as 'The Lady Saint' would surely not betray the Vatican for vampires, and begs his sister to save her. To his relief, the Cardinal replies she will, but unknown to him, she does not plan to actually do so.

The moment is interrupted by a grumble from Alessandro's stomach. The pope declines the offer for someone to bring him food and instead, eats the apples on his bedside. Noticing the apples are peeled, he asks if Caterina peeled them herself. The embarrassed Cardinal hides her bandaged fingers and answers it was indeed her. Alessandro is surprised his very clever and capable sister was actually bad at something. Still embarrassed, Caterina tries to get Alessandro to hand the apples back to her, but he quickly consumes it.The Cardinal informs him she will leave now, but not before telling him there were going to be reporters tonight, and that he should attend for d'Annunzio because he saved his life. The Pope agrees and thanks Caterina as she leaves. The Cardinal apologizes in her mind to her brother in her mind, determined that Esther will die.[4]

The next day, Tres reads the news report that claims Esther has died from a brain infection. Abel begins to panic and demands an answer from Caterina, who does not reply and simply sips her tea. The Gunslinger orders the priest to calm down but adds he would also like to know why the Vatican has proclaimed Esther has died, considering little is known about the circumstances surrounding her abduction. 

Caterina explains it was the doing of the Department of Inquisition and Minister of Public Relations, who wanted to protect the Vatican's reputation - especially considering Esther's break-in last night and the subsequent injured archbishop made it undeniable that the nun has teamed up with the vampire. The Vatican would not allow that kind of scandal to happen, but Abel asserts the Vatican is essentially sending her to her death. The priest argues Esther only shielded the Methuselah out of her own gentle nature, not because she had turned against her comrades. The cardinal simply replies that even if it were a misunderstanding, the Inquisition would "take strong countermeasures" against her because of what has happened last night, and they had no way of stopping them. Abel does not take this well and is determined to find Esther before they do and protect her before the Inquisition can, but Caterina orders him to halt. The Cardinal says she will plan to convince the Archbishop and local police to help them, but it will not work if someone goes on a rampage and makes an enemy of both the Inquisition and the police. Caterina pleads for Abel to wait and guarantees that she will send him to Esther once she discovers where she is. Reluctantly, the priest agrees and leaves the room.

Tres asks Caterina what she is to do now and offers to go with her to persuade the Archbishop. The Cardinal simply replies that is not necessary, for she never had any intention of speaking to persuading him in the first place, for he is more stubborn than Francesco. Tres is stunned and does not understand why Caterina had lied to Abel, but the Cardinal explains she had to hold him back. In the meantime, she wants Tres to "secure the rebel" Esther, and destroy the vampire before the inquisition can. Tres comments that first, Esther may hinder the mission based on his observations of her yesterday, and two, it would almost be impossible for him alone to apprehend her before the Inquisition and police. Acknowledging all of this, the Cardinal replies she has prepared reinforcement for a mission like this. 

Tres understands and is vehemently against the idea of working with someone so dangerous, but Caterina Sforza is not dissuaded. Tres turns around and catches Monica with her daggers at his neck. Monica jokes that Tres being "a thickhead" and bows before Caterina. The Cardinal replies Esther has to be stopped by all means necessary, even if it would mean bringing her back dead. The two leave to gather information.[5]

Abel tries to reason with Tres, but the cyborg does not listen until he realizes Caterina, who was in D'Annunzio's mansion, is in danger. The three of them join forces and defeat the rest of D'Annunzio's police force before going to the mansion.

Caterina and Alessandro is lead by D'Annunzio into Gyula Kádár's mansion, where he promptly kills all of the Pope's guards before revealing he plans to murdering the Pope and Caterina. Shahra and Esther find the Archbishop as he is about to kill the Cardinal and the Pope. Having realized they were in another trap, Esther tells Shahra to escape with the Cardinal and Pope, but Shahra was frozen, having seen the dead bodies of her family. Esther screams at the Archbishop for having lied to Shahra from the very beginning, which the Archbishop replies it was obvious that he would have done just that. In the novels, Shahrazad tells Esther she now hates Terrans with all her heart before charging at D'Annunzio. The Countess remembers her deceased Terran family before leaping towards the Archbishop and murdering his guards, but is stopped by the UV-lights before she could reach D'Annunzio himself. The Methuselah lies on the floor in pain as she is shot by the police soldiers.

Abel, Petros and Tres show up just in time to save Esther, Shahrazad, Caterina and Alessandro from Archbishop D'annunzio. D'annunzio is surprised his large police force was taken down so easily, to which Petros replies it was not a contest of numbers. More police join the fray, but Petros remarks the Archbishop does not have the justice, faith, or fighting spirit to win. D'Annunzio tries to flee but he is stopped by Esther before he can escape. Petros is surprised when Brother Matthew suddenly appeared with his troops. D'Annunzio tries to lie his way through it all, but Matthew laughs at the 'scenario' he scripted, calling it cliched, and reveals Lieutenant Dobo has confessed to everything.

Esther informs Shahrazad that D'Annunzio has been captured, and they must run or the Inquisition will kill her. The nun proclaims she is on Shahrazad's side, just as her friend had asked her earlier. The Methuselah is stunned and smiles, stands up, hugs Esther and tells her she loves her. However, knowing there is no hope for her to survive from here, Shahrazad she takes the Pope hostage and declares she will kill him.

Shahrazad dictates for everyone to stand back except Esther, and orders the nun walk over to her. She places the nun's gun to her chest and orders her to kill her. Esther refuses and proclaims she would rather be killed as a witch by the Inquisition than to harm her friend. Touched by her words, Shahra cries and and thanks her tovarisch before pulling the trigger and killing herself. Shahra smiles as she dies and apologizes for pushing the task to her friend, but is glad knowing she was able to make Esther into a real lady saint to the people so that she can change the world. Esther grieves for her lost friend who passes away in her arms.

Act45-26-caterina

D'annunzio commits suicide at the end of this arc, reportedly by ingesting a poison he had concealed within him. Caterina remarks that this would be for the best. As the arc comes to a close, Abel questions why Caterina went behind his back and sent other agents after Esther. Tres covers for Caterina, telling Abel the Cardinal had not stumbled upon this information until shortly after he did. After Abel leaves, Caterina coughs out blood and faints, questioning what she means to Abel.

The Crown of Thorns Arc[]

Caterina is first seen in bed after she was given the unfortunate prognosis of her collagen disease by a doctor and she contemplates the irony of being able to escape countless assassins, only to be inevitably killed by her own body. Tres Iqus tries to comfort her, but to no avail as she begins to mourn her own mortality.

After she finds out of Abel Nightroad's death, Caterina orders Tres to go to the undergrounds of Rome and then go to Albion. Enraged, she crumples the letter and she curses Esther Blanchett's name.

Etymology[]

Caterina was named after a Italian noblewoman named Caterina Sforza, the Countess of Forlì who was famed for her bold and impetuous actions taken to safeguard her possessions from possible usurpers where she was to defend her dominions from attack. After Caterina arrives in Rome, she was admired as one of the most beautiful and elegant woman among any noble Roman women that she was welcomed everywhere, treated with great respect and lavishly praised by all of society including the Pope. She soon transformed from a simple adolescent into a refined and powerful intermediary between the Roman court and other Italian courts, especially Milan.

  • The name Caterina means "pure" in Portuguese.
  • Caterina's surname Sforza means "force" and/or "strength" in Italian.

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

Novel[]

Anime[]

Manga[]

Notes and References[]

  1. Trinity Blood: Canon.
  2. Trinity Blood: Canon.
  3. Trinity Blood Act. 38 The Great Escape.
  4. Trinity Blood Act. 40 The Postman Always Rings Twice
  5. Trinity Blood Act. 39 A View to Kill.
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