Sylvia Sherwood/Synopsis

History
Sylvia seems to have been involved in the war before as she angrily makes a speech about the consequences of war and experiences of soldiers to several university students attempting to start a war between the East and the West, berating them for learning nothing about war in their university.

In the past, Sylvia had a partner and a daughter, who was around Anya Forger's age. However, her daughter died, while the man's fate remains unknown, leaving Sylvia a widow.

Sometime during the war, Sylvia joined WISE and later became Twilight's commanding officer. With orders to whip him into a first-rate intelligence operative through the harshest means necessary, Sylvia began Twilight's grueling training.

Eden Beginnings Arc
After Twilight, now under the alias "Loid Forger," completes the first phase of Operation Strix by getting his fake daughter Anya enrolled in Eden Academy, Sylvia summons him for a briefing. When they meet, she angrily tells him about his recent expenses of renting a castle, which Loid used to celebrate Anya's admission. Loid explains that the private school is expensive and gives her even more expense reports. Sylvia moves on to brief him on phase two of the operation. Since their target Donovan Desmond is part of Eden's "Imperial Scholars" honor program, Anya will need to earn eight Stella Stars, awards for exceptional grades and contributions to society, to join them. However, she adds that there is also a demerit system awarding Tonitrus Bolts for poor grades and behavior, and getting eight leads to expulsion.

Shortly after Anya officially enters Eden Academy, Sylvia meets with Loid at a cafe and asks him if Anya will improve in her grades, hoping she can become an Imperial Scholar in four months. Loid claims it is no problem but is visibly tense, and she comments on how bad he has gotten at lying recently. Sylvia then informs Loid that they lost their informant in the city hall and warns him to be more careful as they know less about the enemy eyes both in the city and within Eden.

Stella Star Arc
After Anya earns her first Stella Star, a disguised Sylvia and Loid meet in a subway car to discuss it. Sylvia suggests using WISE agents to earn her more stars, but Loid rejects the idea as it would look suspicious. Sylvia then mentions that several businesses linked to Donovan have made suspicious financial transactions recently and tells Loid to quickly find a way to get close to Donovan, as the signs do not look good. She then suggests giving Anya something to motivate her.

Doggy Crisis Arc
WISE learns of the assassination plot against Minister Brantz, and Sylvia orders an emergency summons to HQ, bringing Loid into the mix. After the agents capture Kris, one of the members of the terrorist group behind the plot, a disguised Loid tricks him into revealing information about the group and their plan. Kris explains their use of bomb dogs, and Sylvia is astounded by the revelation.

Afterward, Sylvia orders all agents to stop the terrorists' attack. Loid proposes canceling the summit, but Sylvia shoots down the idea as it would look bad for Ostania's ruling party. Instead, she tells an agent to leak the information they have learned so far to officials of the ruling party to help avoid an incident. Sylvia apologizes to Loid for needing his help for a bit longer and says that if the public ever found out about this, it could break the peace between East and West, which is why they must stop the plan at whatever cost.

After getting agents to search through the hideouts Kris had told them about, Sylvia receives a call from Loid, who tells her about two vans rented by the terrorists and gives her the plate numbers. Sylvia informs Loid that they found the source of the dogs, Project Apple: a project by the Ostanian regime to create high-intelligence military animals. Apparently, instead of the research subjects getting destroyed, they got sold on the black market. She tells Loid to be careful because the dogs could still possess heightened intelligence.

A WISE agent reports to Sylvia that they intercepted a report about a terrorist sighting in an alleyway near Central Station. Sylvia tells the agent to try and figure out the route the terrorists are taking so they can position themselves along the way. She also warns the agent to be careful as they likely have explosives. WISE successfully intercepts a van with four terrorists inside, and they detain them with three dogs in tow. They also found a case of explosives but could not find their leader, Keith Kepler.

The agents attempt to interrogate the members about Keith's location and the bomb locations, but they refuse to answer. Sylvia enters the room to get the answers from them herself. One of the students says they want a war to exterminate Westalis and for Ostanian supremacy, and Sylvia responds by kicking him in the face. She begins to talk about experiences from the war, intimidating the students. Sylvia criticizes them for their ignorance and points a gun at them, asking if they learned nothing of war at their university. After learning the potential locations of all four bombs, Sylvia orders Loid and the other agents to locate them.

After taking care of the bombs, Loid goes to Minister Brantz to take his clothes as a disguise. Brantz calls Sylvia in a rage and complains about getting 'mugged.' Sylvia explains that they needed his clothes so the dog after him would pick up his scent, and she asks him to put some clothes on before he leaves.

After stopping Keith's plan, the agents reconvene at Kemono Park, the pet shop run by WISE. Inside, Loid, Sylvia, and the other two WISE agents discuss all that went down that day, and Sylvia states that they will let the Ostanian government handle the clean-up of this mess. One agent asks if that includes giving them the dogs, but Handler says they will keep them until they get further orders. Afterward, Loid takes his leave, telling them that he needs to get back to his family. Outside the shop, Loid runs into his family, along with a test subject from Project Apple, a big white dog. Loid looks in Sylvia's direction, both of them knowing they cannot let him run free.

Sylvia and another agent approach the family disguised as SSS agents for questioning. Afterward, Sylvia says they must take in the dog. Anya refuses the idea, telling them that she wants the dog. Loid and Yor attempt to convince her otherwise, but Anya says that if she cannot have him, she will never go to school again, shocking Loid and Sylvia. Sylvia relents and orders Loid to keep the dog under control under his supervision. Loid tries to change her mind, but Sylvia is set on the idea as she does not want to endanger Operation Strix. Anya asks Sylvia if they will treat the dogs well, and she assures her they will. After talking about Anya with Loid, Handler mentions having had a daughter around the same age and smiles, relieved that peace won the day. She tells the Forgers that they will take the dog overnight to examine him for any health issues and bring him to their home the next day if there are no other issues.

Midterm Exams Arc
Secretary Sylvia Sherwood an attaché at the Westalis' Embassy in Ostania, but she is secretly the Handler at Westalis Intelligence Services' Eastern-Focused Division, WISE. She commands a corps of intelligence agents, even under strict surveillance by the secret police. Due to her flawless performance under such harsh conditions, she is dubbed the "Fullmetal Lady" by her agents.

Sylvia walks down the street as two SSS agents begin to tail her. She swiftly identifies other people following her in the crowd. She heads for the public pool every Wednesday, maintaining the same clothes, errands, and route to lull the men into a false sense of security. The men tailing her are bored and decide to get something to eat while waiting for her to leave the pool. Sylvia quickly changes into a new set of clothes and a short black wig, leaving the pool without alerting the men. In her disguise, she meets with Twilight and briefs him on what they learned from the financial records of Donovan Desmond's partners. As she talks, Loid notices that Sylvia forgot to cut the price tag off her new coat but refuses to point it out to her out of fear.

At another time, Loid attempts to meet up with Sylvia and needs to help lose her pursuers. Sylvia looks into a nearby shop window, reflecting Loid, who signals the location of her pursuers. Loid asks if they should cancel through secret communication. Sylvia refuses and tells him to meet at Point C. At the meeting point, Loid reports that Anya can now jump over two vaulting horses stacked and jump rope five times in a row. Sylvia looks at him as she tells herself that he must be joking.

Campbelldon Tennis Arc
Anya does a job report on Loid, mentioning parts of his spy job and unintentionally giving him a bad look. While at a meeting with Sylvia, Loid suddenly gets a cold shiver, and she asks him if something is wrong.

At WISE Safe House G, Sylvia briefs Fiona Frost on Loid's upcoming mission. Sylvia is also assigning it to Fiona as per her proposal to make it a joint operation. Sylvia instructs Fiona to inform Loid of this development and to work out the plan together, warning Fiona to ensure it does not get in the way of Operation Strix. Fiona then asks about the progress of the mission, and Sylvia replies that it is proceeding slowly, but Operation Strix was always intended to be a long-term operation.

Fiona apologizes that she could have done more for the operation in the wife role if she had been available earlier and wonders if she could stand in as the wife if it is not too late. Sylvia rejects her, saying that changing wives now would draw scrutiny from Eden Academy and that the Forgers are in good standing with their neighbors, so they are keeping the family as-is. Fiona then mutters that there would be no choice if the wife were to abandon the role. Sylvia warns Fiona not to be plotting something as Fiona leaves.

Upon successfully completing the mission, Loid meets with Sylvia, who commends him for retrieving the painting with the secret code. Sylvia proceeds to brief their findings from the code and hands Loid the "Zacharis Dossier," in the form of Colonel Erik Zacharis' diary. Reading it, Loid learns that the "threat" Zacharis hid was his collection of starlet photos that he kept from his wife. Astounded at the revelation, Loid asks how the dossier rumors started. The WISE Agent explains that before the war's end, Zacharis hosted Western diplomats at a musical performance and made them swear to secrecy so his wife would not find out. Over the years, the story got embellished into the current rumor. Realizing that he went through all that trouble for some postcards, Loid tries to find a greater mystery behind it, but Sylvia assures him that there was no bombshell to reignite the war and to consider it a victory. The WISE Agent calls Zacharis a family man for keeping this secret to protect his marriage, but Sylvia criticizes Zacharis' decision, saying that if he loved his family, he would have gotten rid of the postcards, calling him creepy.

Imperial Scholars Mixer Arc
At the WISE Safe House, Sylvia and a rookie member review files containing attendees to the Imperial Scholars mixer, including Donovan Desmond. Seeing how the mixer is a treasure trove of intelligence, the rookie suggests sending more agents to back up Twilight. Sylvia advises otherwise, as sending in inexperienced agents would be giving their enemy easy prey. After explaining how quickly the agents would get captured, she reminds the young man that they are in enemy territory and Eden Academy is the front line of this cold war.

Some time after the mixer, Sylvia assigns Loid an urgent mission to obtain a new truth serum called "Gerrulimus" from Born Industries. Because he has no time to properly gather intel, Loid is forced to infiltrate their facility and almost ends up having to come home late.

Cruise Adventure Arc
After Anya wins a pair of tickets to a cruise vacation, Loid decides to ask if he can get time off his work to accompany her. To his surprise, Sylvia accepts his request and makes arrangements so he can get time off from Berlint General Hospital as well. She tells Twilight to consider the trip a part of Operation Strix and to treat it like he would with any other mission. This order sticks with Loid, who tries to follow it as much as possible during his trip.

Loid returns from his trip and reports to Sylvia, where they discuss the bomb incident on the ship, which has not been made public. She tells him of several missing passengers with fake passports and believes those people may have wanted to instigate a conflict between the East and the West. Twilight is ordered to keep an eye out on the extremist movements in Ostania, as it could affect Operation Strix. Handler asks about the vacation, and Twilight tells her that it was a grueling ordeal and was way more work than any other mission as he walks away. Sylvia smiles to herself, saying that she sometimes cannot tell if Loid is highly capable or completely incompetent.

WISE Arc
Sylvia briefs Fiona on a man named Sergei Ostosky, an executive on the economics committee who is unlawfully restricting strawberry exports to Westalis, causing a national strawberry shortage. As a result, there were no strawberries on Foreign Minister Brantz's birthday cake, and he went into a rage. Sylvia assigns Fiona a mission to deal with the problem before it causes a diplomatic crisis.

At WISE Safe House D, the rookie is in disbelief over the scandals about Jonas Wellman, a renowned former opera singer in Ostania who plans on traveling to Westalis for a cultural exchange event. As this event could improve East-West relations, Sylvia orders him to take whatever steps necessary to ensure the news of the scandals do not reach Westalis, but the rookie refuses. Sylvia walks up to him and slams on the wall, reiterating her order.

While they work, Sylvia asks the rookie why he is so upset about the situation. The rookie explains that people in both the East and West fought hard to make the cultural exchange happen, and he believes it will amount to nothing with the scandals. She asks the rookie if he hates Jonas, which he affirms and cites the tabloids. Sylvia explains that the tabloids were mouthpieces for the National Unity Party during the war and that the people claiming to be the sources of the stories are all suspect. Regardless, the rookie dislikes Jonas, and Sylvia tells him to act based on objective reasoning, reminding him that lives may hinge on any little scrap of information. A WISE agent reports to Sylvia a death threat sent to Jonas. Sylvia orders an investigation into everything the police know before leaving for the embassy to change plans for the event. On the way there, Sylvia is exhausted from training the recruits. She flashes back to when she instructed Twilight and wonders if she was being soft then.

A while later, the rookie shows Sylvia a new tabloid rebutting all of Jonas' scandals, which she already knows. The rookie arrogantly changes his stance on Jonas, and Sylvia punches his head. The WISE Agent says they do not have to worry about the death threat anymore, but Sylvia denies this, believing that the person who made the threat will go through with it. Watching the live news footage of people gathered at Jonas' office, Sylvia notices a guard who looks out of place. She calls a kebab store near the office and orders the kebab man to watch the suspicious guard. Sylvia and the other agents move out to interfere, the rookie asks if they should call in Twilight, but she says he needs to rest after he keeled over in his home.

As Sylvia and the other agents arrive, the kebab man reports that the guard is preparing to shoot. Sylvia orders the kebab man to keep Jonas away from the guard, which he does by approaching him and his guards with kebabs. Sylvia runs up to the guard and strikes his hand with her belt, making him drop his gun. The man tells Sylvia not to get in the way of his justice and pulls out a knife, but Sylvia strikes under his jaw, knocking him out. While the kebab man apologizes to the guards, Sylvia, and the other agents run off with the unconscious man.

At the airport, Jonas departs for Westalis in high spirits after being cleared of his scandals. Meanwhile, Sylvia's shoulder aches from the day before, for which she makes an excuse. Returning to the Safe House, Sylvia discusses the guard with the agents. Confirmed to have sent the death threat, Pance Karmer is a former soldier who bounced from job to job after the war, racking up multiple arrests for assault. Still affected by the war, he was obsessed with "punishing the corrupt" for the sake of the people. Sylvia says he took too much pride in having fought for peace, something they must watch out for.

The rookie vows never to be deceived by his ignorance and plans to see one of Jonas' performances as an apology, but the WISE Agent tells him that Jonas may be defecting to Westalis. He explains that one of Jonas' mistresses was the wife of an organized crime boss who might go after his life if he returns. The rookie is confused, recalling the article rebutting Jonas' scandals, while the Agent and Sylvia move on from the topic. The rookie asks for the truth, so Sylvia tells him to find it himself.

Red Circus Arc
At a WISE Safe House, the WISE Agent informs Sylvia about the bus hijacking and asks her if they will do anything. Sylvia initially refuses because it is the work of local police, but upon learning that Damian and Anya are among the hostages, she gives the order that they will help from the shadows. The Agent asks if they should call Twilight, but Sylvia declines as he is out on another mission. Later, Sylvia talks with the Agent over the phone about the bus Anya is on. However, because the other bus is missing, they are unable to act yet. The Agent reports that it was last seen heading through a route school buses do not go, so Sylvia decides to leak the information to the police.

In the morning at her home, Sylvia quickly goes back to sleep after shutting off her alarm, only to have her dog wake her back up. Heading to the Westalis Embassy in Ostania, Secretary Sherwood talks with her co-workers, who comment on her untidy appearance. Sylvia then takes the elevator down to a WISE office, where she greets her subordinates. As Handler, Sylvia receives several status reports and commands her agents. At her desk, she is confronted by the WISE Agent, who chastises her for slovenliness around the office. An annoyed Sylvia returns to the embassy and declines a lunch invitation to walk her dog.

Returning home, Sylvia calls for her dog, Aaron, for their walk (which, in truth, is her meeting with Twilight). Aaron excitedly runs over to her but slips on a piece of paper and hits his head on a cabinet. Sylvia apologizes for the mess and begins cleaning up but stops after reminiscing her past with her late daughter and unknown partner. Meeting at the dog park, a disguised Sylvia sees Anya playing with Bond, and Loid explains that Anya wanted to play after her half-day at school. As Loid greets Aaron, he obtains a note from the dog's collar and receives an extra mission for the following week. Sylvia then asks for progress with Melinda Desmond, to which Loid answers none.

As the spies talk in code, Anya approaches them to look at Aaron. Loid recognizes Aaron as one of the bomb dogs used in Minister Brantz's assassination attempt, which Sylvia confirms, adding that she took him into her care. Bond and Aaron get close until Aaron starts to angrily bark at Bond, and having finished their meeting, Sylvia decides to leave. However, Anya and Bond run after her, asking for Aaron's name and why she picked it. Anya then declares that the two dogs should have a showdown to see who is better. To Loid's surprise, Sylvia accepts and convinces him to participate by promising to remove his new extra mission if he wins.

The first event is the obstacle course, and whoever finishes it to the end faster wins. Determined to ensure that her leadership skills are superior to Loid's, Sylvia and Aaron earn a flawless 39 seconds. On the contrary, Bond stumbles across the course and finishes at over 2 minutes. However, Loid refuses to back down. The next event is "tracking and retrieving," in which the dogs must find their opposing owner's handkerchiefs, which have been hidden around the park. The dogs begin by familiarizing themselves with Loid and Sylvia's scents, who have wiped away their scent as much as possible. The dogs start tracking, and Bond quickly retrieves the handkerchief from Sylvia's jacket, although he was actually tracking the dried pasta stuck on it.

The final event is frisbee tracking and the dog who can catch a frisbee thrown the farthest wins. Loid and Sylvia throw their frisbees, and while Aaron runs after his frisbee, Bond stays in place, to Loid's confusion. As the sudden gust of wind comes, the frisbees fly back to Bond, who runs over to catch his. However, the frisbee hits him in the face, and he falls over, and Sylvia decides to call it a tie.

Afterward, Sylvia and Loid watch Anya play with the dogs on the side, where she informs Loid that there are rumors that some of the Project Apple research teams may still be operating and that WISE intends to find out if they are connected to Donovan Desmond. Sylvia prepares to leave with Aaron, and Anya accidentally strikes a nerve when she says that someone at her age had fun. Despite that, Sylvia confirms that she did have fun and tells Anya they should play again sometime. On their way home, Sylvia promises Aaron that she will tidy up their home when she returns from work.

Mole Hunt Arc
Sylvia gets word of the mole in Westalis' WISE HQ, Winston Wheeler, who is fleeing to Ostania with stolen top secret files, one of which includes their operations in Ostania. Wanting to prevent the information from falling into the SSS's hands, she dispatches several agents, including Loid, Fiona, and the WISE Agent, ordering them to recover the files and capture Wheeler.

The mission is a success, yet barely a clean win after Loid and Fiona were injured, and WISE lost their mole in the SSS. With Loid and Fiona unable to do their jobs at Berlint General Hospital, Sylvia decides to fill in for the day, disguising herself as a nurse. She visits Fiona in her hospital room, and when asked what she is doing there, Sylvia responds that she came to check on her and that she also wanted to wear the nurse uniform. When Fiona tells her to leave if she has no business here, Sylvia angrily reminds her why she is here in the first place.

Sylvia debriefs Fiona on her medical test results, revealing that Fiona's injuries are not as serious as they feared and that she will be able to resume work in no time. Sylvia congratulates her for a job well done but asks Fiona not to get herself killed as she cherishes and adores her, touching Fiona. Fiona assumes that this is because she obediently works herself to the bone for her, which Sylvia also does not deny. As she leaves, she tells Fiona to keep pushing but not too hard, not even for his sake. Hearing Fiona's panicking outside the room, Sylvia thinks about how adorable she is.