Melinda Desmond

"I know I asked you to come see us again, as if it were no big deal... but if there are any, say, political considerations that make it uncomfortable for you, I understand. That said… If it's still possible… I do hope you and I can be friends, Yor."

- Melinda Desmond in Chapter 66

Melinda Desmond (メリンダ・デズモンド) is the wife of Donovan Desmond and mother of Demetrius and Damian Desmond.

Appearance
Melinda is a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and fair skin. Her eyes are narrowed and droop slightly, with visibly long lower eyelashes and short, thin eyebrows above. She wears dangling triangular-shaped earrings with an inscribed circle and a small black dot in the middle.

When going incognito, she wears a bandana around her head, sunglasses, a dress, and high heels. She appears to be athletic and organizes the Lady Patriots Society she is a part of to play sports like volleyball.

Personality
Melinda is very energetic and is quick to make friends with others. After meeting Yor Forger and seeing her skills, she instantly asks her to be the ringer for her volleyball team. She seems to enjoy shopping, as seen when she was at a department store with her butler, Nola, who was carrying everything she bought.

Being a part of a family with lots of money, she seems to pay no mind giving large quantities of goods as presents to others. When Yor messes up something, Melinda encourages her to do better and explains where she went wrong. She does not worry too much about status, and simply wants those around her to be themselves.

Just like Donovan, Melinda does not bother to communicate closely with their children and intentionally neglects Damian. In addition, she is also a rather secretive person who does not shine in public and communicates mainly only with friends whom she knew before her former status as First Lady.

History
Before becoming First Lady, Melinda, like Donovan, kept a small and exclusive social circle. As Donovan's wife, Melinda became the First Lady when the National Unity Party rose to power in Ostania. After their party lost power, Melinda stopped involving herself in politics. At some point, Melinda gave birth to Demetrius, and six years before the beginning of the story gave birth to Damian. However, she is seemingly estranged from her husband and sons and appears to spend most of her time with the Lady Patriots Society, an elite mothers group in Berlint.

Friendship Schemes Arc
Melinda and her servant, Nola, go to the department store to buy lots of cakes for the all-mothers volleyball league game. Climbing up the stairs, Melinda tells Nola to go faster, but Nola replies that she bought too much and cannot see where she is going. Melinda tries going ahead but loses her balance and falls down the stairs. Luckily, Melinda gets saved by Yor Forger, who also catches the cake boxes. Amazed by her moves, Melinda asks Yor if she is an athlete, but Yor explains that she is a housewife going to buy cakes. Melinda then asks Yor to join her for something, offering some of the cakes she bought as a token of her gratitude.

Melinda takes Yor to a sports hall and dresses her up in sportswear. Then, she tells her volleyball team that Yor is their ringer for the game. Despite having no experience playing volleyball, Yor agrees to help them win. Melinda decides to give Yor a quick rundown of the rules, then asks for her name. At the start of the game, Yor struggles to play properly, but Melinda encourages her and teaches her to play with the team. Throughout the rest of the game, Melinda, Yor, and the other women have fun playing together.

After the game, the mothers go out to have tea and cakes together and talk about how much they enjoyed the game, despite losing. Melinda hopes Yor will come over again to join them for other activities, and Yor promises that she will, saying there is so much that she wants to learn from them and will not waste this opportunity. A mother then mentions her son receiving a Tonitrus Bolt. Yor reveals that her daughter also attends Eden Academy and is in first grade. Melinda realizes who Yor is and formally introduces herself as Melinda Desmond.

Upon realizing who Melinda is, Yor immediately apologizes for Anya Forger's actions toward Damian at orientation. Melinda laughs and brushes it off, but when Yor insists, she repeats herself more seriously. The ladies explain to Yor the Desmond Family's "hands-off" parenting philosophy and say she was lucky to be invited by Melinda to a get-together, as most of them were already friends before Melinda became First Lady. Melinda explains how she thought she and Yor could become friends without preconceptions about her political position. She hopes Yor will, if possible, come over again and become friends with her. Melinda then wraps up the conversation and gives Yor a ride home. In the car, Melinda mentions Damian, having overheard from the household staff that he is enjoying Eden Academy, and suggests that he may have been getting along with Anya lately. Yor enthusiastically agrees, saying that Anya brings him up all the time and seems happy when she does. Melinda mutters that she hopes they can get along while making a strange face.

Red Circus Arc
After all the students are saved from the hijacking, Eden school calls the parents so they can pick up their children. Melinda arrives, rushes over to Damian to hug him, and apologizes for her lateness. Melinda expresses how worried she was but is grateful he is safe. Damian starts to cry but starts acting as if he was not scared. Melinda tells her son not to act so toughly for her, so Damian asks her not to tell his father that he cried. Melinda's face darkens at the mention of her husband as she thinks about how she should not have come. As she agrees to Damian's request if he agrees not to let Donovan know she was there, Melinda's mind goes back and forth with thoughts of motherly affection and absolute disdain towards Damian.

Donovan Desmond
Based on Loid Forger's observations, Melinda seems to have an estranged relationship with her husband. When Damian mentions him after the Red Circus incident, her thoughts and demeanor abruptly change negatively as she refers to her husband as "that man," although earlier she mentioned him cheerfully and without hidden aggression in front of Yor.

Damian Desmond
According to both Loid and Melinda's friends, Melinda - like her husband - practically does not communicate with her sons, instead opting for a hands-off parenting philosophy. She learns about Damian mainly from the servants and was seemingly indifferent to the fact that Anya had once hit him. Melinda periodically has a frightening way of talking about Damian. For example, when Yor was too insistent in apologizing for Anya hitting him, Melinda's face darkened as she shut her down and said she did not care.

In truth, Melinda very much cares for Damian. While driving Yor back, Melinda brings up Damian again and expresses the desire that he and Anya would stay as friends, while making a face with a strained smile. When Anya reads Melinda's thoughts later on, she hears her adoration for her son. However, Melinda suddenly starts feeling disturbing contempt for Damian at the mention of Donovan. These feelings for her son appear to fluctuate in an unsettling manner as she flips between calling him her treasure and curse, to the point that Melinda even thinks of wanting to take care of him but also wishing he died in the bus hijacking.

Yor Forger
Melinda was deeply grateful to Yor after she expertly saved her from falling down the stairs and asked for her help in a volleyball match. There, the two bonded together while Melinda was continuously amazed by Yor's immense physical abilities.

Chapter Appearances

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Anime Appearances

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