Grifford

Grifford is a character from Kaori Yuki's Cain Saga.

Appearance
Grifford's appearance is dominated both by his height and the scars across his body. Though his height is not specified in the manga, he is shown to be about as tall as the average door frame (anywhere from 6 to 8 feet). The left side of his face is marred by a scar from a past accident. It can be assumed that most of his scars are the result of his rough upbringing.

Grifford wears a long black raincoat and top hat. His hands are wrapped in bandages, though this is never explained. His hair is dark and curly, falling to his shoulders. A mugshot shown in the third part of The Mortician's Daughter states that he has brown hair and blue eyes.

History
Grifford is the son of of a maid. While pregnant with him, she was wrongly accused of theft and imprisoned. She gave birth and raised her son while in prison, until she presumably died. Grifford has lived life in and out of prison since birth. A mugshot from the manga shows Grifford imprisoned at the age of twelve, with his left eye bandaged. His desire to have his revenge on London's upper class is likely what drove him to join Delilah. He serves the organization as the Minor Arcana card, the Ace of Swords.

Story (Spoilers Ahead)
Grifford is featured in the third volume of Godchild, in The Mortician's Daughter trilogy.

At some point prior to the beginning of the chapter, Grifford is sent by the Delilah organization to aid Marjorie Pereira, the daughter of a deceased mortician and owner of the Pereira mortuary. His orders, though not directly stated, are to help her complete a group funeral, after which Marjorie will kill herself and the property will be free for Delilah to purchase. He acts as an assassin for Marjorie, using scare tactics and discreet weapons to take down his targets. Grifford does not go by his name, stating that under Delilah, his card is his identity. Instead, the characters refer to him as "Mr. Coffin Maker", or simply the Coffin Maker.

The Mortician's Daughter, Part 1
In his quest to finish his mission as quickly as possible, Grifford locates the four men needed for the group funeral in a bar. However, he mistakes Oscar Gabriel, Cain Hargreaves' acquaintance, for the fourth man needed, Oscar O'Brien. He sends letters on black-bordered stationary to the four men, predicting their deaths, along with his card, the Ace of Swords.

The chapter begins with Grifford carrying out the final steps in the murder of his third victim. Having already killed the man without anyone's knowledge, he shows up at the estate to collect the body and transport it back to the Pereira mortuary, much to the shock and dismay of the dead man's wife.

Upon bringing the body to the site of the group funeral, he finds Marjorie's aunt trying in vain to convince the girl to sell the property and move out. Marjorie refuses, claiming that the mortuary holds too many memories for her to leave. Grifford shows concern for her, pointing out that she would be happier living with her aunt rather than in the mortuary, but again she refuses to leave.

After the three men Oscar was drinking with turn up dead, he turns to Cain for help, fearing for his own life. Cain is unimpressed and disinterested until Oscar shows him the tarot card attached to the letter. At the prospect of discovering more about his father's organization, Cain agrees to help Oscar.

The Mortician's Daughter, Part 2
Cain and Oscar investigate the home of the most recent victim, and are ambushed by Grifford. After a brief confrontation, Grifford realizes he is outmatched and releases a hand grenade, demolishing the room and providing a quick escape. However, in his haste, Grifford drops a handkerchief lent to him by Marjorie.

While fleeing the scene, Grifford is approached by White Owl, who taunts him for losing Marjorie's handkerchief. Owl points out that Grifford's personal feelings are getting in the way of his work, a fact Grifford may not have yet noticed until this point. He grows angry at the realization and chases Owl off. He then returns to Pereira mortuary, wounded and bitter over his failure to kill Oscar during the confrontation. Marjorie takes him in, tending to him and telling him the story behind her father and the mortuary. She reveals to him that she plans to take her own life after the mass funeral, so that she can stay with her father.

The Mortician's Daughter, Part 3
Grifford returns to the streets to seek out Oscar and finish his work. However, Cain has already worked out his plans and has set a trap for him, using Oscar as bait. While Grifford is tied down, Riff switches the blowgun he uses as a weapon with a poisoned replica. Oscar and Riff provide a brief distraction while Cain seeks out the Pereira mortuary. Once he realizes that Cain must have discovered the location of the mortuary, he breaks free and grabs the poisoned blowgun, not realizing it isn't his own.

He makes it to the mortuary just as Cain is revealing Delilah's scheme to Marjorie. He attacks Cain, and in the process knocks a lit candelabra onto the open caskets behind them, quickly catching the building on fire. He tries to shoot at Cain with his blowgun, but realizes too late that the mouthpiece has been poisoned. Cain offers the antidote if Grifford will give him information on Delilah, but he refuses to cooperate with Cain because of his grudge against nobility. Instead, he urges Marjorie to get out and save herself, pushing her to Cain when she refuses. He uses the last of his strength to hold up a fallen beam as the mortuary collapses, handing Cain the address of Marjorie's aunt's home, asking him to keep her safe. He dies in the fire, knowing that even if he had managed to escape, Delilah would have had him killed for sparing Marjorie's life.

In the last scenes of the chapter, a letter written before his death is delivered to Marjorie, in which he reveals his true name to her.