Karasuki Ayame

Rio's mother was a princess from the Karasuki kingdom in the Yagumo region, after Zen becomes her bodyguard she would quickly get attracted to him as he would often tell her stories of the outside world. She would, along with Gouki and Kayoko silence the people against Zen being her bodyguard and would teach him all the necessary manners and etiquette for a royal guard. She would often ask Zen to be taken outside of the castle to places like his village, no matter how much he tells her that there wasn't anything interesting there. Her father realized their feelings for each other long ago and wanting to let them getting married wasn't able to because the nobles from other factions wouldn't allow her to get married with an upstart like Zen despite being famous as a hero of war throughout the kingdom and she herself having a low position in the succession list.

The night that the Karasuki kingdom was celebrating the end of the war against the Rokuren Kingdom, the prince of said kingdom was staying at Karasuki's castle as an ambassador. He would soon order her kidnapping, Zen apprehended the kidnapper while she was sleeping but the culprit committed suicide shortly after that. The prince from the Rokuren kingdom would make it look like his vassal's death was a personal attack against him and would demand her to become his wife and Zen's execution as a condition for not breaking the ceasefire with his kingdom.

Ayame's father would pretend to accept that demand while ordering Ayame and Zen to escape from Yagumo together while he was making preparations for winning the war to come while earning them time with his charade, after fleeing to the Strahl region Zen and Ayame would travel from place to place working as adventurers until they finally settled in Bertram's capital when she got pregnant with Rio.

Once in Bertram's capital they bought a cheap house in a district relatively good outside of the castle walls and began to live there. During the time when they were still adapting to their new land Lucius approached Zen and began to take on adventurers requests with him in Ayame's place as she was taking care of Rio, when Rio was still a newborn Lucius killed Zen while making it look like he messed up during the job.

Fortunately for Ayame Zen had already earned enough money for her to not need to work being able to pay for hers and Rio's living during his childhood, Lucius still making the acting like a good friend towards her extended a helping hand during the next five years, then the day when Lucius finally showed his real colors then raped her in front of a five years old Rio and killed her afterwards when he's done relieving himself.(The Rape/Assault differs from version to version with it being one or the other depending on what version u read it from Light Novel, Manga or Web novel)

Etymology

 * Karasuki means "Tang dynasty" (唐鋤).
 * Ayame means "iris" (あやめ).

Trivia

 * She dream to go back to Karasuki one day with Rio.