The death of Fortuna, Emilia's adoptive mother, in Season 2 of Re:Zero was a heartbreaking moment for fans. It impacted us as much as it impacted Emilia.
Her tragic end comes at the hands of Petelgeuse, who is manipulated by Pandora's twisted plans. As the story moves into new parts, it seems like we are moving away from her.
However, a peculiar figure has emerged—Sirius Romanee-Conti, Archbishop of the Sin of Wrath—who may have a surprising connection. connection to Emilia's past.
Given the strange similarities between Sirius and Fortuna, it is possible that Sirius is a puzzling reincarnation of Fortuna herself. This theory is very convincing and it is even quite popular in the fan community.
In fact, there are several hints that point to this possibility.
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Is it Sirius Romanee Conti Fortuna?
While it hasn't been confirmed, there are plenty of signs that Sirius could actually be Fortuna. At this point, there are many who believe that it would be surprising if these two did not share the same identity.
Well, without further ado, here's what we know so far:
Physical similarities
Sirius and Fortuna have outstanding physical characteristics. Both have long silver hair and amethyst eyes. It is also speculated that both are of the same height. But that's not all.
It was true that her body was wrapped in bandages, making it difficult to clearly distinguish her features. However, in Re:Zero Season 3 Episode 1, despite being bandaged, we can see that Sirius's ears are clearly shaped like those of an elf.
Sirius is also noted to be one of the physically strongest Sin Archbishops, a trait uncommon in normal humans but more typical in elves, such as Emilia and Fortuna.
This, along with her elf-like ears, makes it plausible that Sirius may actually be an elf, giving her a closer connection to Fortuna.
One could argue that gray hair and eye color are not big factors to support the theory. However, in the world of Re:Zero, these specific traits, combined with the fact that the person is an elf, only indicate that they are connected to Emilia's lineage.
And the apparent hiding of the identity with the bandages points to the fact that it could very well be someone we know – hinting at the possibility that the Wrathful Archbishop of Sin is actually Fortuna.
Love for Petelgeuse
Both Sirius and Fortuna are closely linked to different versions of Petelgeuse.
While Fortuna shared a romantic relationship with Petelgeuse before he became a member of the Witch Cult—depicted in Emilia's past in Trial of the Sanctuary Part 2—Sirius displays an obsessive attachment to his current form as the Sin of Sloth Archbishop.
This strong emotional bond, spanning different timelines and forms, hints at a shared history between them.
Additionally, the Re:Zero light novel covers for Volumes 14 and 16 also support this theory.
Episode 14 depicts Petelgeuse, Emilia, and Fortuna bonding as a family, reflecting their past connection.
In contrast, Episode 16 depicts Sirius Romanee-Conti embracing the deranged Petelgeuse after he joined the Witch Factor of Sloth and became a member of the Witch Cult.
These covers mirror each other in composition and tone, suggesting a deliberate comparison between the old and new versions of these characters— potentially indicating that Sirius may actually be Fortuna again. born or revived in twisted form.
Same type of magic
If I said both Sirius and Fortuna have the same type of magic, would you believe me? Well, we see Fortuna use Ice attacks, while Sirius is seen using Fire as her primary attack element (in addition to her Witch Factor, of course).
But, if you are an avid fan of Re:Zero, you will know that both fire and ice are the same type of magic in this universe created by Tappei Nagatsuki.
So naturally, both Sirius and Fortuna have the same preference for the same type of magic, with the only difference being, Fortuna chooses to attack with ice, which reduces the temperature, and Sirius chooses to attack with with fire, possibly symbolizing her burning passion!
A hint from the past
There is another interesting detail revealed in a side story accompanying Episode 23: Sirius mentions that her hometown was destroyed by the Witch Hunt in the past.
On the surface, this may seem insignificant. However, connecting it with the fact that Sirius was an elf and that the elves were used as bait to kill Minerva—the Witch of Wrath herself—we can draw some conclusions.
Consider how Minerva behaved towards Emilia during the tea party, many speculated that she might be Emilia's mother. Putting that theory aside, it's very possible that the village where Minerva was taken down was actually Fortuna's village.
In this context, Sirius is most likely recounting this tragic story to Felt and Reinhard.
All of these hints certainly point to the possibility that Sirius may actually be Fortuna.
However, one detail that challenges this theory is that the voice actors for Sirius and Fortuna are different in the Japanese anime version.
While Sirius is voiced by Chika Anzai, Fortuna is voiced by Haruka Tomatsu. If the same voice actor had been used, it could have clearly confirmed their connection.
Since this theory has not been confirmed even in Re:Zero's Web Novels, this could be a deliberate choice by the production team or author Tappei Nagatsuki to keep the mystery intact.
Now, if Sirius is indeed Fortuna, another important question arises: How did Fortuna become Sirius?
How did Fortuna revive and become the Archbishop of Sin?
Fortuna's death is deeply engraved in Refans' hearts. So how could someone who was dead and most likely buried in snow return to be the Archbishop of Sin?
The simplest answer is Pandora—the Vainglory Witch.
Pandora was present during that time. Fortuna's death made her involvement highly suspect. With her ability to alter reality, it makes sense that she could bring Fortuna back to life and force her to become a puppet of carnage.
We already know that Pandora can revive people or reanimate corpses almost perfectly. accuracy, thanks to a harrowing example in Part 5.
The fact that these events are mentioned in the same section in which Sirius is introduced adds further credibility to the theory that Pandora intervened in the incident.
Once revived, simply infusing the Witch Factor can drive Fortuna insane, much like what happened to Petelgeuse when he became the Sin of Sloth Archbishop.
Sirius's heavily bandaged body did a good job of concealing her identity, also hiding possible frostbite from his actions of freezing the entire forest during his rage. Emilia after Pandora's manipulation. That would be a sweet excuse for her appearance!
Or maybe Pandora is just toying with everyone.
Fortuna's unresolved narrative potential
No matter how we look at it, Fortuna's narrative potential was not fully realized. Her death has a purpose, but she's at the center of so many unanswered questions that it seems premature to write her out of the story entirely.
Why was she guarding the Seal in Elior Forest? What important task did Emilia's parents give her?
These lingering questions suggest there may be more to Fortuna's story. Even Tappei Nagatsuki, who live-tweeted during the airing of the episodes, posted a cryptic post during the episode where Fortuna died.
Even though he said that Fortuna’s “story” ended in Episode 19 of Season 2, he hinted that the unanswered questions would be addressed in the future. And what better way to answer them than to reintroduce Fortuna to the series?
Maybe I'm going too far, but Nagatsuki's way of talking about the ending of Fortuna's story is almost like a question, leaving room for her return and further development.
I'll end this post with a translation of his tweet!
Fortuna's words sounded like delirious mumblings.
It will be a long time before we know exactly what Emilia's parents entrusted to her and the promises they exchanged, but her story ends here… it?