Ah, thank you for the encouragement. And the artwork was actually commissioned by a friend of our artist who also happens to like Frederique. Our artist sent it over and explained her friend had given us permission to use it in the update posts, so a big thanks to both of them, as well!
It means the nine personality traits as defined by the three choices early in The Rose of Segunda. They were, as I recall, "Scholarly, Roguish, or Slovenly", "Cunning, Witty, or Diplomatic", and "Commanding, Strong, or Lecherous".
Thank you for your kind feedback - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed his route. And yes, the sequel will be released on Steam, too, once the game is completed. Fred's route is being worked on right now, and then comes Charlotte, so you will not have too wait much longer.
And Nightshade is one of my favourite visual novels ever - I love Hanzo's route ^_^
I am still here and the current word count is about 60,000 words, but my focus has had to shift of late. My mother has broken her hip and is currently bed-bound, which means I have had to move back to my childhood home to take care of her. I hope this allays your worries and I appreciate your patience going forward.
Many thanks for your ongoing encouragement and support ^_^
If you have downloaded v2.7, then the Loveless route can be accessed via Guillaume's route.
After clicking on his portrait, at the prompt 'who did King Auguste want to become queen?' click on 'Me'. And then choose the last option, "No, I behaved as instructed and King Auguste chose me".
This will get you onto the Loveless route. I hope this helps
Thank you for the kind feedback - I hope you enjoy The Rose of Segunda.
Once Thorns of War is finished it will be released on Steam and anyone who purchased a copy on itch will get a free key, but we have still two routes to finish before that can happen. ^_^
UPDATE: I have found and fixed a coding issue that was added by the Loveless Route (it is part of Guillaume's route and unfortunately seemed to cause some trouble with the existing code), so thank you for bring that to my attention. If you wish to redownload the game and see if this is now working for you, the version you are looking for is 2.7.
However, I have been unable to replicate the issue with the Sofia and Etrillard scenes being mentioned. This might be because fixing the code issue has fixed that as well, or it might be that I am not making the specific combination of in-game choices that lead to the issue. Please could I ask you to send me details of the line/lines where they are mentioned erroneously and I will try to investigate further.
Hello and thank you for the feedback. Do you think you could give a more detailed list of where bugs are occurring, please - either here or sent to support@blackcross-taylor.com - it can very very hard to find specific bugs without the reports owing to the number of variables defined as you play the route. I would be grateful for any help you can provide.
Ah, thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the route - particularly Mathys's path. And you managed to impress Mother - you are truly worthy of the crown! ^_^
If you are looking for the loveless route, you will find it under Guillaume's route.
After clicking on his portrait, at the prompt 'who did King Auguste want to become queen?' click on 'Me'. And then choose the last option, "No, I behaved as instructed and King Auguste chose me".
This will get you onto the Loveless route. I hope this helps ^_^
Thank you for your kind feedback. I am happy to hear you enjoyed the loveless route.
All the game paths are fundamentally the same, but I do try to make them feel different each time, so I am glad that you feel I have succeeded there. ^_^
For Leopold, if you want to romance him you can't have jilted him in the previous game. The logic being that Leopold is a proud man and he no longer trust the MC after she abandoned his love and married his mortal enemy.
So if you pick any other background, it should work fine.
Many thanks for playing - I hope you enjoy Leo's route.
Ah, many thanks for the review and I am glad to hear you found the route enjoyable - especially getting one over on Leo and Guillaume ^_^
Oh, and there is a kiss CG with Guillaume, but it only appears if you managed to succeed with the Auguste plot. I just double checked and it should be working, but please let me know if you are still having trouble getting it to appear.
To answer some of the questions you raised. (Spoliers)
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There is no mechanic for Leopold’s trust. How I envisioned it was that the MC actually aiming for the throne herself – not just the act of it, but being the kind of person who would even think of it – is just impossible to consider for a lot of the characters.
For her whole life, the MC has done nothing but submit and she has spent the last two years being the court’s doormat. Whether what she says is insightful or stupid, that does not change the fact that, in people’s minds – be it for duty or her own spinelessness – she is resigned to her lot.
Segunda is closer to an Elective monarchy. While it is preferred, from a stability point of view, to have heirs, so they can be trained for the role of sovereign from birth (and be a shoo-in as a candidate for the throne), it is not necessary. No one will be forcing the MC to have a child.
That said, Mathys and the MC would not be allowed to marry – the difference in their rank is too great. Even after making Mathys a noble, it would be frowned upon, and he would refuse to be made a noble anyway.
“Why is Frederique so helpful/supportive this time round, but not in the romanced Guillaume route?”
In the Romance Guillaume route, the MC chooses to be with Guillaume, something Frederique was doing his best to protect her from. He feels he no longer knows who she is and it alters his view of her and leaves him feeling confused as to his role in their relationship.
In the Loveless Route, MC is still, in his mind, the same person she has always been – their mother’s unwilling pawn, so Frederique can still remain in his role as ‘brotherly protector’.
Anyway, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the route overall, and thank you very much for playing.
Ah, I am glad you managed to get the ending you were hoping for after all that worry! Many thanks for your kind words - I am always grateful for your encouragement.
And I would be interested to hear what you think of Guillaume’s route, if you manage to brave it. ^_^
Many thanks for the detailed feedback. I am glad you’ve enjoyed the game so far and I hope you find the other love interests just as interesting. And speaking of your hunt for more endings, the ending list is up on the website now, in case you get stuck and need a hint. ^_^
The thought behind the decision was that, whatever Iolanthe's feelings, she has already rejected Leopold once in order to marry his most-hated enemy. Leopold is a proud man and, after such a betrayal, he no longer loves or trusts her. He would not accept her backing.
Oh dear! I hope the ending you get is worth all this stress!
The walkthrough is coming, but if you want something Leo-specific just to ensure you're on the right track, email me at support@blackcross-taylor.com and I can give you some feedback without any worries for spoilers.
(Just adding here - you sound like you're on the right track to me. There is a decision coming up - just pick the option where you don't actively work against Leo and you should be fine going forward)
Yep, I am honestly so excited to be working on Frederique's route again. I wanted to do some today, but I forced myself to focus on the Loveless walkthrough instead. ^_^'
Ah, thank you for the kind feedback. I was a little worried people would not like the direction I took their romance, but I didn't want to just write Leo Route v2.0, so I am glad that you enjoyed it.
Good luck and please let me know if you need any tips. I think it's pretty straightforward, but that's easy for me to say. ^_^
