I've only just seen this update and the previous one. I just wanted to echo some of the others in saying that your transparency is admirable! I think it helps us all understand the background process of what goes into making a game and appreciate how difficult it can be.
I definitely agree that marketing might be an issue. I personally found The Rose of Segunda by searching through one of the tags on itchio (it might have been female protagonist) & it immediately caught my eye because of the royal/historical setting (my personal favourite!), but I ended up buying on Steam because I like to keep my games together. I'm not sure how many people find games this way though.
Increasing your presence on social media could help a lot. Tumblr, lemmesoft forums, twitter, etc. Tumblr would be great for showing off artwork, answering asks from fans (usually stuff like mini scenarios for the ROs ("how would the ROs react if x happened, if Iolanthe did x" etc), in-character asks (people ask the characters qs & you answer how you think they'd respond), or trivia about them (ideal first date, starsigns, nsfw facts, lol) are really popular, so it can be mostly text based), updates on the game & reblogging fanwork - this all helps keep potential customers engaged & coming back to your page regularly, keeping hype high for the next game. Check out the tumblrs of Seraphinite (currently doing COG/HG Wayhaven Chronicles but has done VNs too, has a v active tumblr) & Azalyne Studios (who did a successful kickstarter for Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem, but it was a few years ago so check newer Kickstarter campaigns too).
I'm not active on twitter but it would probably be a good place to give regular updates & network with other VN devs. Maybe offer to send free keys to VN lets play/review youtubers, VN tumblr bloggers, VN steam curators, VN twitch streamers, etc in exchange for a review? Or do some kind of key giveaway if people reblog you on tumblr/twitter? If you know any other VN devs you might be able to come up with an arrangement with them to both promote each others games (this can also work for the Kickstarter campaign). Make sure you promote other games/VN creators that you're a fan of too. You could do some cross promotion for your own games, like promoting HG on TROS pages on itchio, Steam, etc., nothing over the top but a simple update that you have another new game out for people that might enjoy it.
Kickstarter: I think this could work but it would require a lot of studying how other games did their marketing & what went right for them, comparing what went wrong with games that didn't reach their goal. Apparently the marketing for kickstarters can be time consuming so definitely be prepared to throw yourself into it. I think you have an advantage in that you're not a brand new random person, you have a proven track record of creating and finishing multiple games, so you should definitely highlight that because you'll be seen as more trustworthy.
One thing is that even if life gets in the way or things are taking longer than you expected with the game development, it's still important to give regular updates, even if the content is just "I didn't get as much done as I wanted, but I'm still working on it". I've seen backers get frustrated when devs disappear for months because the game has gotten stuck & they feel too guilty to be upfront about it.
Anyway I'll do my best to spread the word a little & I'll definitely keep a closer eye on any future updates you have, we're all rooting for you & I hope everything works out!