Philip du Paix
A rather shady nobleman, Philip du Paix is the heroes' employer and a fixture at Le Labyrinthe, the diplomatic complex in Paix. He is thought to be an agent of L'Empereur in some fashion - a spy, or some other low employee - and while he pretends to gentlemanly airs his nobility is in fact in doubt. The surname "du Paix" is taken by those nobles who have been disowned by their family, but no one knows from what family Philip actually hails - and some bastards, too, take on the du Paix name. It's even possible that Philip is some jumped-up peasant who has just learned a thing or two about etiquette.
One of Philip's associates is Lucien du Lac, who appears to be a Porte adept. Lucien is legitimately noble, if from the now-landless du Lac family, but it is clear that Philip is master and Lucien subordinate. This strange arrangement - which surely must grate on Lucien, if he has any honor left - serves to underline the point that there is something going on behind the scenes with Monsieur du Paix that is more than meets the eye.
Outside of his mysterious past, Philip is an ordinary courtier-feature of Le Labyrinthe. If he is notable for any vice, it is a penchant towards rakishness - he seems to flit from woman to woman, often foreigners, and the fathers of daughters often warn their girls away from "men like that Philip du Paix." He has fought only a few duels, and won and lost them in nearly equal amounts.