Benno, a shrewd merchant in Ehrenfest, transitions from leading the Gilberta Company to founding the Plantin Company, his sharp demeanor accentuated by curly milk-tea hair and dark red eyes. His formal noble-facing attire masks a calculating mind driven by ambition and merciless negotiation tactics, tempered by fierce loyalty to family and allies.

Orphaned early, Benno seized control of his family’s faltering business amid instability, relying on his aide Mark while resisting Guildmaster Gustav’s marital schemes involving his siblings. The Devouring’s fatal claim on his fiancée Liz fuels his resolve to secure life-prolonging magic tools for Myne, a fellow victim, leading to covert dealings with Gustav.

A pragmatic mentor, Benno grooms Lutz as a successor, valuing his adaptability, and intervenes in the boy’s family conflicts with an adoption offer. His partnership with Myne balances exploitation of her innovations—plant paper, rinsham, ink—with shielding her from temple politics and noble exploitation, treating her as kin despite exasperation at her naivety.

Expanding ventures define his legacy: founding the Myne Workshop, launching a noble-backed Italian restaurant, and brokering peace with the Parchment Guild to safeguard plant paper. He navigates noble alliances with Ferdinand and Elvira, blending deference with strategic collaboration.

Family anchors Benno’s ambitions. He elevates his sister Corinna and her husband Otto to helm Gilberta, thwarts Gustav’s plots to control her, and plans to mentor his niece Renate. Memories of Liz’s thwarted apprenticeship and death inform his stern yet nurturing guidance, blending opportunity with hard lessons.

Myne’s influence gradually unveils a guarded empathy beneath his abrasive exterior. Gambles on untested products, clashes with guild rivals, and defiance of short-term gains highlight a visionary striving to reshape Ehrenfest’s merchant world, intertwining legacy with the survival of those he shields.