Love the Guard, Be the King

***Two children raised together. One, a future King. The other, his whipping child. ***

Their relationship? It's up to you to develop.

Love the Guard, Be the King is purely a Fantasy Visual Novel game focused on Romance and/or Friendship, written and developed by solo dev Ligia Nunes, author of "Bear in Sheep's Clothing."

This is a game with extensive LGBTQ+ representation in which you can choose to play as straight, gay, bi, pan, ace, etc. In this first game of the series, you only have one Love Interest, Mathias.

✨Age suggested: 16+ for non-explicit sexual scenes, some soft swearing, and violence.✨

MATHIAS’S HEART HAS BEEN bleeding since his father, the former King, decided to punish you for his mistakes. As the youngest child of a lesser bourgeois, you were raised in the castle, between the King’s cruelty, the Queen’s friendship, and Mathias’s kindness (or supposed kindness?).

Now, more than twenty Carnivals since your arrival, the King is dead and the Queen’s sickness worsens each day. As the azure taint spreads in the kingdom and the Opalean Wars come to an end, it’s Mathias’s time to sit on the throne. Will the docile Prince become a kind King, a violent Monarch, or a ruthless Tyrant?

Will you have any say in it?

And how much will your relationship change? Develop your personality and see how your choices build and change your bond with Mathias. It’s time to help him choose. Will your monarch Love the Guard or Be the King?

FEATURES

• Create your Dragon Commander; choose their gender, name, appearance, and hobbies.
• Build your personality.
• You past helps you build your future: decide how you feel about your past and see how that develops your bonds with the other characters of the cast.
• 270K+
• Black & White aesthetic
• 24 black & white CGs + 2 colored illustrations
• One Love Interest with five possible types of branching relationships, non-romantic options included, and possible romantic rendezvous with other characters while in Mathias’s friendship route.
• LGBTQIA+ friendly + representation (you can choose your gender and your relationship with Mathias and Mandreis)
• Age suggested: 16+ for non-explicit sexual scenes, some soft swearing, and violence.

THE CAST

♥ Mathias Jan Yvanson (Love Interest) - The Crown Prince - 28 - He / Him - Bi/demisexual

You and Mathias were raised together. As you grew up, he would often read for you, treat your wounds, and he honestly thought he was protecting you while your whole life went up in flames.

Mathias is the future King of Opala, but something seems to be missing, and you're not the only one who sees it. With Mathias being the target of a ravenous court, it's up to you to give him the guidance and answers he needs—or to sit back and watch as the flames get higher. He may seem innocent and good, but there's an underlying layer of guilt shaping his personality. Will you enforce it, break it, or use it in your favor?

♥ Mandreis Jay Yvanson (possible fling) - The Grand General - 26 - They / Them - Pansexual

Mathias's sibling and the-one-who-didn't-have-a-whipping-child. Like you, Mandra was also a victim of King Elias's punishments, and it shows in the many scars they carry.

Everything Mandra does has a reason, and no matter how reckless, rude, or violent they may be, you can be sure of one thing: they'll have Mathias exactly in the place he should be, one way or another. Mandra was once the child who ran after you and Mathias. Today, they're the Grand General of the Opalean Forces, and the symbol of everything that could've gone right—but didn't. Their intentions? Not even the Goddess knows. Their heart? It belongs to only one person.

♥ Melike Jal Yvanson - The Ambassador - 22 - She/Her - Bisexual

Mathias and Mandra's younger sister and the child-who-was-sent-away. Melike has been living in Safira as a hostage and ambassador for the past five years. She is considered The Royal Flower of Opalean nobility, and despite having stayed almost a decade away from home, she is still loved by the nobles and the people alike.

Also known as the “Child of the two Queens,” Melike has always been a constant in the Opaleans' lives. When Queen Yvana lost control, Melike’s missives from Safira, read out loud by criers in the public market, were the only thing filling her people with hope.

Melike is a gifted Arcano, attentive, gentle, and terribly intelligent—but she is also dangerous. She likes the metaphor about flowers and thorns, but, as her namesake indicates, she prefers the idea of being poisonous.

♠ Queen Yvana Jal Yvanson - THE Queen - 53 - She / Her - Bi

The Queen was the one responsible for bringing you into the Castle, decades ago. She used to be sweet and good while you were growing up, but something changed and nobody knows exactly what. Now, as the Azure Taint consumes her, Queen Yvana seems to slowly go back to her former self. Be careful, though. Her gentle countenance hides secr