yes, finally my fix. i'll be back after extensively finishing this route (84 years later...)

Hello!

BEHOLD ALL THE SPOILERS

Definitely my favorite route overall, second would be Leopold's. 

I ADORE Iolanthe's agency in this route, how clever she is, how she uses her skills and uses the preconceived notions of what the princess should be to her benefit. I believe she is honestly at her best here, such, such fun.

Not only do I believe Iolanthe is at her best here, I think Guillaume shows the most opportunity for growth, and this is also the first time we can learn about Leopold without the lens of the devoted husband; it's quite a bit of different characterization that was interesting to see.

In part I totally understand why Leopold would avoid Iolanthe if they were previously lovers; because he knows she's smart; knows she has the capability of manipulating him; thus he won't give her the time of day, she's the enemy now, but GOSH it would have been so satisfying to work as allies alongside him with that romance in the backlog; wanting to be queen, even as he said; he'd make her queen; simply because she wants him to not get his revenge, perhaps in part thinking it's all consuming for him; in part because his thoughts of revenge have gotten in the way of considering how he'd actually be a good king, but I recognize, that's what fanfic is for! XD I did have moments though; where I was surprised Leopold didn't see through her, especially given how clever she can be at the early parties, before committed to his route. Is there a mechanic for this?

As per Guillaume, given the difference between his love route good ending of Iolanthe standing next to the throne and loveless with romancing Guillaume and good ending has them both with their own thrones, I do wonder if normal romance Guillaume will ever come around to the respect loveless Guillaume slowly can achieve. Indeed, I'd argue Guillaume has far crueler moments in his romanced route, because there he still believes he is acting with love; with care; it's not only cruel, but it's a lie. At least loveless Guillaume doesn't have those airs.

And in between all of this Iolanthe is staunch, she is clever, she does whatever she can.

Mathys' route is very satisfying, a believable not-so-slow-burn, especially with the interplay of Iolanthe potentially lying to him/manipulating him, I do wonder, with his pure romanced ending, how much long term power Iolanthe could have with him as her consort. She'd need to keep that military in place, she'd need to always keep control. Wouldn't the people demand she marry; have children, so on? Would she ever be able to actually marry him, would he ever want to be actually married to her; given what he'd be expected to do in that position? (Presumably as prince consort?)

I found Vesala's route a little less satisfying; while the manipulation of Ozol and following up on Leopold's backdrop was interesting, it felt in part that we were repeatedly seeing Vesala's faults, learning about her people, and less about who Vesala actually is. The romance itself; though not as romantic as Mathys', still felt very stilted, I think I saw Iolanthe pine for an off-screen Vesala a few times, there was the scene with the pastries, and then moving of the hair at one moment, and rescuing her, otherwise not much else. With Mathys, the interplay was 'is it manipulation, are you convincing him you care for the commonfolk, and do you care for him as well', and with Vesala it felt like 'look, Leopold's route from the other side, do you trust her, even though she's repeatedly shown to be naive and none of it seems to work, but she's a professional, don't worry!'

I think in part this is a little true for all the lesbian routes so far; Iolanthe is always rescuing them; Iolanthe is the politically savvy one, but their skills don't seem quite as equal in comparison to hers; or if they have skills of their own (Sofia), they don't really have a place in the game. 

Couple smaller thoughts:

SO SATISFYING TO GET TO ONE UP MOTHER DEAREST. Oh my gosh, so lovely.

Why is Frederique so helpful/supportive this time round, but not in the romanced Guillaume route?

Who was sending the false notes in the beginning of the route?

Your writing quality and the quality of the situation; the cleverness of Iolanthe's manipulations are on clear display, and have only gotten better with each subsequent route release; to the point I actually worry somewhat for the earlier routes; Bastien's route seems so tame and somewhat empty compared to this for example; different stakes, different situations, of course, perhaps Iolanthe can't always have her high drama.

Otherwise, thank you so much for such an amazing release, the Rose of Segunda is one of my favorite visual novels, and I do believe the Loveless route release has quality that competes with and occasionally exceeds the former.

Thank you for the amazing game!!!!!!

The Loveless route is so amazing!! I think it might actually be my favorite so far.

Went for the solo route first and damn, I remembered why I love Iolanthe so much as a protagonist. She's such a smart, strong, and relatable protagonist without being over the top. I've played so many commercial and indie otome games and she ranks among the best for me. 

I've just finished Leopold's ending and it was fantastic! I do wish there was a lovers-> enemies-> lovers route with jilted Leopold for angsty love/hate shenanigans but I can also understand that his personality probably doesn't allow for something like that...

Off to capture the other characters now!

It's also lovely to hear that you're working on Freddy's route. He (and Leo) are my favorite characters from the first game so I've been dying for his sequel. Thank you so much for your hard work, and I'm looking forward to your updates.

I finished my first playthrough and you were right dear author, the ending was worth the stress! I cried so much... (happy tears!) What a JOURNEY. 

SPOILERS BELOW AND LONG REVIEW (1 route)!!!

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I GOT THE HAPPY ENDING WITH LEO! 😭💕 I started crying when he said he loved her and keept crying till the credits rolled! I could barely read haha. It was such a relief, not only to go from "I could never love a woman like you" to "I already worship you" LIKE I know MC was pretending to be someone she's not and manipualting him like a pro, so obviously he wouldn't love the persona she created BUT I WAS SO WORRIED I HAD MESSED SOMETHING UP. But no!!! And at the very end, when MC says she feels peace... my ugly sobbing, ugh... I love our protagonist so much, always, but some routes make her go through so, so much hardship and pain and have people treat her so horrendously, that when she's finally free and happy it hits different. She deserves the world, truly my favorite character, I'd argue the BEST character objectively. 

I still have to get her an ending where she goes through with being the Queen, but Leo gives her all the power, freedom, validation and respect she wanted AND ALSO a wonderful marriage and equal! HIS ENDINGS ARE ALWAYS SO SATISFYING! Is there as husband out there who admires and respects his wife more than him?! I DOUBT IT! 

But even before Leo's route, before any romance, our protagonist was incredible and the plot and machinations! She's such a schemer, always 10 steps ahead, and I was so moved by how she could manipulate the entire court without sacrificing anyone... but herself. She breaks my heart in the best way. She's willing to get assaulted, to fall into the icy river, to endure all sorts of humilliations... but (in my playthrough) refused to ever be cruel to someone else. Especially her ladies. Albertine, Francesca, Charlotte, de la Tour... she helped them and never chose the easy, cruel path. I JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH! I'm always rooting for her, in awe of her and depending on the route, pitying her. But she always rises above her circumstances. Truly a Queen. 

Now... Guillaume. Oh, oh boy. Do we open that can of worms? I'm curious, in a masochistic way, about his route in Loveless. I'll do it. But what a bastard. I thought his normal romance route was already hard to stomach because of how he treated MC, and I remember saying after playing it I understood Francesca a lot more, because if that's how he treated the woman he loves, how would he treat a wife he doesn´t? NOW I KNOW. I commend you, though, because his writing and his relationship with MC is so realistic and well-written. Very compelling, in a horror kind of way. I'm always a bit scared for MC when she gets a happy ending with him, because I always wonder... how long will this last? But the concept of MC trying to love him in Loveless is too interesting for me not to try it! Your writing, especially for MC and her emotional journey is always top notch and I need to read what would happen! 

I'll be back when I finish Guillaume and Mathys' routes! But already 10/10, you ALWAYS deliver. I used to write years ago and what I wanted most was for readers to feel deeply, whatever it was, when they read my stories. You manage that. Every time. Next time I'll play I'll have tissues ready! 

Great !!! Congrats on get it done !!

Happy to follow this new route :-)

MY BABY FRED IS COMINGGGGG

I haven't finished a single playthrough yet because I keep going back between my Mathys save and what I BELIEVE is my Leo save 🤣 I'll be back with a lenghty review once I do most routes but damn do I need the walkthrough for one specific purpose. 

SPOILERS BELOW

I HAVE NO IDEA IF I'M DOING LEO'S ROMANCE PROPERLY OR EVEN IF THERE IS A REAL LEO ROMANCE 😱 He said he doesn't love MC and she isn't the kind of woman he could EVER love BUT he proposed AND MC has been playing him like a fiddle this whole time, she's pretending to be someone she's not!!! So maybe if she reveals her true self he could love her?! But does that mean allying with him or keep manipulating him and becoming queen?! I DON'T KNOW! Mathys on the other hand is giving puppy in love / will die for you (love it) SO MAYBE I DIDN'T TRIGGER LEO'S ROMANCE PATH OR MAYBE THAT PATH IS NON EXISTANT. 

I wanted Leo to be my first ending but I think it will have to be Mathys because at least I know 100% those 2 are head over heels, no just allies or friends. I'M TERRIFIED OF LEO'S PATH 😀 That "I do not love you" will HAUNT ME FOREVER. 

No more dramatics, sorry! I'm just VERY immersed. Will wait for the walkthrough! (And I'm LOVING this route. I have lots of thoughts I'll share when I'm done! It can be summarised as MC THE QUEEN THAT YOU ARE). 

I’ve been following ur progress for years and it’s so good to see!!!🫶🏽🫶🏽  I’m so glad ur feeling positive ab Frederique’s route again!!! (can’t wait to see my man again🙂‍↕️) 

I’ll be playing the loveless route this week, ik it’ll be as amazing as the rest of the game <3 

I just got to the point where the direction the loveless route is going to take is revealed and I'm SO excited! Thank you so much for your hard work!

So excited! Thank you for the update, and best of luck with your coming work!

FREDDY FREDDY FREDDY FREDDY FREDDY 

Awesome, can’t wait to play it!