Dietrich Baudelaire is a man conflicted, though you would never know that to look at him. There is always a smile on his face, and a sarcastic quip on his lips. But the humor of his demeanor is an armor that he built up long ago. Having been raised in Bretonnia for the majority of his childhood, the more innocent, perhaps childish part of him, wants to believe in the romanticism and chivalry of his country of birth. However, living for the past decade in the metropolitan heart of the Empire has force him to take a more cosmopolitan and pragmatic view of the world, despite how that may tarnish his honor in his eyes. This habit of holding on to the idealism of his father has many a time put him at odds with his mother and his peers. As such, Dietrich will often use "jests" to act in the way that he wishes, in order to not be ridiculed by his fellow students and citizens of the Empire. For example, if drinking in a tavern after school hours with some friends, he might save a serving wench from being accosted by drunken sailors by first wiggling his eyebrows and winking at his friends before stepping in. As if implying that by rescuing her, he is merely seeking her affections. And to be fair, his fine manners and foreign accent do often make him appealing to the fairer sex, but that is not his primary motivation in such matters. He has to walk the line between doing the right and honorable thing, and doing the practical thing. With such tensions, is it any wonder he has chosen to adopt a smile and a laugh in retaliation? All to show the world that Dietrich Baudelaire cannot be cowed, and that a bright future awaits him.

As is often the case in the inscrutable machinations of noble families, a small House from Nuln decided that they wanted to expand certain opportunities in foreign lands, and as such married their youngest daughter, Yosefine, to an up-and-coming Knight of the Realm from Seyoux, Carcassonne. Brion Baudelaire was a powerful and beloved ruler of his people, and for a time, the two made a happy couple. They brought a son into the world, and in concession to her wishes, Brion allowed his son to have an Imperial first name.

Life at Château Baudelaire was an idyllic upbringing for young Dietrich. Theirs was a territory of gentle rolling hills, a single village of pleasant and contented peasants, and a castle with a small but loving staff of servants. And as soon as he reached the age of seven, Brion began teaching his son the Knightly Arts, as was the tradition of nobles of Bretonnia. Dietrich took to the sword and saddle with surprising grace, as if he had been born to them. And in a way, he had. Those years of riding the length of their lands with his father, settled and arbitrating some minor squabble between the peasants, driving off the odd emaciated Beastman, or simply hunting game and telling old tales, are some of the happiest memories of Dietrich's life.

But such happiness was not to last.

One harsh winter, Brion was called to drive off a small band of Goblin raiders from the outlying farmsteads of his land, a task that was a regular seasonal necessity, and not overly dangerous to one of his skill and strength. This year however, the raiding was different. Normally such bands were made up of half-a dozen-poorly armed and desperate Goblins, but this year there were more than a score, lead by a massive Black Orc. And though Brion was able to slay the beast and scatter his minions, he died of his wounds, all alone in the cold. Yosefine was devastated once she heard the news. Unwilling to stay in the Château that would daily remind her of her late husband, she named a steward to run Seyoux, and returned to her homeland with Dietrich. He was eleven at the time, and as such had no power to overrule his mother. She settled back into the family estate and became obsessed with "starting over" in a new life with her son.

She payed for tutors to educate him in the ways of the Empire, and bring his understanding of culture and science up to date. And though he absorbed the information with great enthusiasm, he grew increasingly angry about how the Empire was run, and how different the classes of society interacted. It seemed to him that there was more politicking in five minutes when the city guards caught a criminal then went on all year in Seyoux. Dietrich started getting into fights with other boys his age over what he saw were very important points of honor, and what they saw as foreign nonsense. By the time he reached the age of sixteen, Yosefine had endured enough. She sent Dietrich to the Aquila Academy on Nuln, in order to further his education, and "curb his wild spirit." That was five years ago. In that time Dietrich learned to hide his discomfort and pain with the guise of humor, which made his life infinitely easier. And through his studies he has discovered a path to knighthood, which he always felt was denied him by his mother leaving Seyoux. He is hoping that his grades and connections from the Academy will win him a commission in the Pistolkorps, and if he serves with distinction, hopefully get approached and inducted into one of the famous and influential Knightly Orders.

It is not the dream of his childhood, but it is the best that he has been able to forge out of the circumstances of his life. May the Lady guide his path.