Count McGuire (マクガイア ) is the feudal lord of Valestein Castle and a materialistic nobleman from the Romun Empire. He levies heavy taxes on the people of Redmont for many years and is regarded as a despot.
In Games[]
Ys: The Oath in Felghana[]
In the game proper, he appears to be looking for the statues that house the power of the ancient demon Galbalan. To that end, he hires many mercenaries and sends out his top enforcer Chester across Felghana.
In reality, Count McGuire is nothing more than a pawn of the true mastermind, Bishop Nikolas. Count McGuire, who has always been a low-ranking noble, always felt that he should become a man worthy of his wife Elizabetha, who comes from a Romun noble family of very high status. This allowed the bishop to manipulate him easily, as shown in the case where he had the count construct the clock tower, a rare sight even in the Romun empire, in honor of Elizabetha so as to obscure its true purpose of channeling the power of the four statues back to Galbalan when they are placed at the key points.
Eventually, Chester, who secretly blames the count for the destruction of Chester's village and has been plotting to destroy him all along, releases the power of the statues in the Valestein Castle, which turns nearly everyone in the castle into mindless monsters. Chester tries to kill the count himself but is prevented from doing so by Adol and Elena. Then, when the earth begins to shake unceremoniously and Chester accuses the count of foul play, the count reveals the identity of the true mastermind - Bishop Nikolas - who proceeds to defeat both Adol and Chester and kidnaps Elena to use her as a final sacrifice for Galbalan.
After the shocking revelation, Count McGuire moves to Redmont with his family. Distraught at everything that has transpired, he nearly gives up hope, in sharp contrast to his wife Elizabetha who calmly accepts her own responsibility in the count's actions and promises to persuade the count to start making amends.
Once Galbalan is defeated completely, Adol can see the count one more time at the inn in the Redmont village. There, the count states that he will stay in Felghana and promises to work with the people of Redmont to make Felghana a better place.
Trivia[]
- His redeeming quality is his love for his family. He has a good relationship with them as they all think of him as a good person.