Ever notice how Olivier’s paladin title is obsidian?
Every other paladin’s title (jasper, bloodstone, sphene, diamond) is a crystal. Contrary to what certain people might think, obsidian is NOT a crystal. It’s an amorphous glass. The magma it’s made of cools down so quickly that there’s absolutely no time for crystals to form.
Now, let’s see what we know about Olivier :
He has a complicated relationship with his father
He expects to eventually be in a marriage of convenience
He could relate to Astolpho’s most rebellious phase of sneaking out and disobeying their parents because he used to do the same
According to Ogier, he doesn’t even try to act like he wants to be a chasseur
When Roland befriended a vampire, he couldn’t care less about his loyalty to the church or his faith. The only thing he was concerned about was Rolland’s safety
All in all, Olivier seems completely indifferent to his position as a paladin, probably even dislikes it. He has no particular faith or an opinion on what he does as a chasseur. Every other paladin has a strong motivation of some sort, be it vampire eradication for Gano, his “role” for Ogier or his faith for Roland. Olivier doesn’t have any. His only reason to be in the church at all seems to be the pressure from his family and the people his attached to (Roland, Astolpho, maybe also Mira). This effectively makes him the odd one out of the paladins, the one who doesn’t belong.
But interesting enough, we seen on Astolopho’s example that titles within the church are inherited. Which means it’s not only Olivier bearing the Obsidian title but probably his whole family. Why would a whole noble family be quite literally exposed as “fakes”? Unfortunately, we don’t know enough to understand what exactly that would mean but for those who read Pandora Hearts, the Nightray family comes to mind.
I find it really great, the way Olivier’s nicknames characterise him. Mira calls him “Romeo” but while the romantic aspect is the most obvious (and while I absolutely adore rolivier) I don’t think it’s what we’re being told with this name. Romeo is a character who was caged by his family and its rivalries, which eventually caused his death. For some with a backstory like Olivier’s it’s definitely not reassuring. It’s like an arrow pointing at him going “your family is not yet done with failing you”