Roswaal Mathers is more than the clown that Subaru supposes him to be.
I have plenty of unanswered questions about the resident clown, I mean the lord of the Mather’s domain. Despite appearances there is more at play than just a lord who simply supports Emilia as a candidate for the royal selection. What we know about him is already terrifying, his wish to destroy the dragon threatens the foundations for the kingdom of Lugunica. What would happen to the kingdom if its dragon protector was suddenly gone? Would the kingdom hold? Would it descend into civil war? Would another terrifying force take over the rule of the kingdom? I am very concerned about Roswaal Mathers who is concealing his true intentions. What we do know about Roswaal is that his intentions are traitorous, but we don’t know for what reason.
One of the big mysteries of Roswaal is why he is supporting Emilia as a candidate for the royal selection. It’s something that hasn’t been revealed to Subaru, so it’s not information that we the viewer know. It’s like he is actively attempting to divide the kingdom by presenting a candidate that has the appearance of the jealous witch, the very evil that was contained at the kingdom’s founding.
Another dark and dangerous element that presents itself is that when Ram and Rem’s village was destroyed he was present with the witch’s cult. This implicates him in larger issues such as is Roswaal actually a member of the witch’s cult? What is his association with the cult? If Roswaal is the one who takes Ram and Rem why don’t they hate him for it? Both Ram and Rem are antagonistic towards Subaru initially because he smells like the witch. It’s because they can’t trust him, and assume he is associated with the witch to some degree. Assuming this is the case, they know Roswaal is associated with the witch’s cult somehow. Why aren’t they more hostile to him?
Roswaal Mathers is also largely absent when his domain is under assault by the sloth faction of the witch’s cult. He is also not present to fight the whale, the feared beast, despite being one of the most powerful mages in Lugunica. It’s like he is purposefully absent, or if not on purpose what is more important to him than defending his own turf? He does retreat with the villagers to the sanctuary.
When confronting Mather’s at the sanctuary, he reveals that his family has overseen it for generations. He refuses to let others call Echidna the witch of greed. There is certainly more that Roswaal is planning, or at the very least concealing. I am very curious to see what his actual play is, and how he is attempting to slay the dragon protector. I wonder what his association with the witch’s cult is. All I can say with what I know about Roswaal Mathers is that he is up to no good. Keep your eye on him.
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Fortress William 
I find Roswaal incredibly suspicious. Recall that Beatrice said the legendary dragon, sage, and hero sealed the Witch of Envy (Jealous Witch is a bad translation given Beatrice said the witches bore the names of the seven deadly sins). Assuming the sage and hero died of old age, then the dragon is the last entity that is part of the seal on the Witch of Envy. Killing the dragon could very well unseal the Witch of Envy, bringing ruin to the world. If his goal is to bring back the Witch of Envy, the world would basically be doomed and would basically mean that he is a member of the Witch Cult.
Also recall that Ram said that ever since the night her village burned down that her body has BELONGED to Roswaal. I find that very unsettling. She indicates that she is his property now, and I wonder if this is because Roswaal actually has Ram’s horn. If you recall that Witch Cult members can phase through the ground, then maybe Roswaal cut off Ram’s horn, disappeared through the ground and came back with his regular clothes, pretending to be Ram and Rem’s savior. I speculate that the reason demons hate twins is because if you cut off one of the twins’ horns that he/she becomes a slave to the person who cut off his/her horn. I see no reason why demons would otherwise try to eliminate perfectly healthy baby demons. If Roswaal really is a member of the Witch Cult, then why do Ram and Rem not smell the scent of the Witch of Envy on him? Given that the Witch Cult had infiltrated the Merchant’s Guild in Season 1 and laid a trap for Emilia with the Fire Magic Stones, the Witch Cult has likely been deeply embedded in society. And assuming this is true, there has to be characters in the show who are making a strong deodorant and are selling it, perhaps unwittingly, to members of the Witch Cult. Or maybe the Witch Cult members are making the deodorant themselves and need access to the supply chain.
Recall that one of the merchants in episode 16 in Season 1 said that Otto was probably hoping to sell some of the oil he bought out of season. This might be relevant because in the final loop of Season 1, Otto was a prisoner of the Witch Cult. In that loop, Subaru had not bought all of Otto’s excess oil like he did in episode 16. I speculate that the reason Otto wasn’t killed even though the Witch Cult kills most people its members encounters is because of the huge stash of oil Otto had. Maybe the Witch Cult saw value in Otto because they usually buy oil from him, or he knows how to make deodorant with the oil he buys. In both cases, there would be a reason for the Witch Cult to keep Otto alive because they either need his oil to make deodorant or need the deodorant he can make assuming he can make deodorant.
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Very interesting points. You brought up some things I hadn’t thought about.
I did recall Roswaal telling Ram she belonged to him. If cutting a demon’s horn makes Ram his property that would throw in another interesting twist.
I haven’t really thought as much about Otto, I do remember there were some variants of buying the oil and not buying his oil. But I don’t recall the rest really about Otto. It’s a keen observation. At the very least its more to think about in the conspiracy web of Re:Zero. We still don’t know enough.
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