A small, sturdy seven-year-old with pale skin that reddens quickly in cold weather. Her light blond hair is cut unevenly at her jaw and keeps slipping out of its pins. She stands squarely when asking a question, then rocks from heel to toe while waiting for an answer. She repeatedly presses two fingers to the stitched cuff of her dress, checking a loose thread she has been told is secure. The skin over her knuckles is dry and rough from winter air and helping with household chores.

Edelweiß is earnest and persistent, but not fearless. She asks bold questions while an adult is present, then privately worries over the answer. She is protective of Veilchan and sometimes resents having to be the sensible one. With familiar people she can be brisk and funny; when she feels patronized, she turns literal and relentless.

Edelweiß is the eldest daughter of Anja and John Kauffman. Her parents married before she was born. In the hidden world, her father is Bruke Von Braken, a Redcap of the Autumn Court, and her mother is Fantasia Von Braken, a Sluagh of the Autumn Court. Edelweiß has grown up with the household's silences and half-explanations, but she knows her father leaves for work with the U.S. Army and does not accept that this is a sufficient answer. Her mother sewed her an older German-style dress, which Edelweiß treats as both her best clothing and a kind of armor. Her younger sister Veilchan is still young enough to be distracted by games; Edelweiß is not. The change came when Bruke left for an extended stretch and Edelweiß waited at the door with her small coat on, certain he would take her if she asked often enough. He did not. Since then she has tried to learn the exact reasons adults leave, and the exact conditions under which they return. In 2026, she is still asking, and her parents have not found an answer that satisfies her.