A Fairytale Like No Other - Ikemen Prince: Route Review
“I’ll never be the king. There’s no reason for you to get to know me.” - Licht Klein
You’ve always thought that falling in love would be like a fairytale, from meeting your prince charming to dancing in a palace ballroom, living your happily ever after with the man of your dreams.
Once you arrive at the palace as Belle, you realise you were wrong. As your romance with the 6th prince of Rhodolite forms, you realise that your fairytale is filled with not just happiness, but with tears and pain.
Route trigger warnings: explicit mentions of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, mentions of past suicide attempts, mentions of blood and gore
Licht Klein is the 6th prince of Rhodolite, a lone wolf who shares a tragic past with his twin brother, Nokto. Licht used to be a bubbly cheerful boy, but since that night before the twins’ 10th birthday, everything has changed.
Behind that cold exterior of his, you grow to realise that he was one of the most kind-hearted and gentlest people. Would you be able to break his walls down and get to know him better?
“The desire to save him is a self-serving one.”
Licht’s route starts off with a darker tone, showing a flashback to a burning battlefield where Licht questions why he was still alive. This sets the scene for Licht’s character, how he is suicidal and felt that he did not deserve to live. Back to the present day, Licht’s MC settles down in the palace as she tries to get closer to all 8 princes with the goal of choosing the next king of Rhodolite. This includes getting to know Licht despite him trying to push her away, with him claiming that he would never be the next king, and hence giving no reason for her to get to know him.
Throughout his route, MC pushes to understand Licht better, never backing down regardless of how hard he tries to push her away. Slowly, Licht opens up to MC as she catches rare glimpses of how kind he actually is. She finally understands that there was no way to save him, for he has fallen so deep into the abyss, and that he could never undo the sin he committed the night before his 10th birthday.
One thing I love about Licht’s route is that there isn’t a perfect happy ending for both the suitor and MC. While they do get together and become a couple by the end of the route, they acknowledge that their relationship would bring both happiness and pain to them. Unlike the other Ikemen Series games, the ending in this route does not magically solve all their problems. While Licht is no longer suicidal, he still gets nightmares of his sin, and still believes that he does not deserve happiness. Hence, the happier he was, the more pain he felt. MC knows that she can’t cure him of his pain, but she decides to still stay together with him to share his pain and nightmares with him.
Overall Rating
Personality: 10/10 - I might be biased here, Licht is almost everything I love in an otome game suitor, a shy lone wolf with a dark past.
MC: 9/10 - It takes a very strong and persistent MC to break Licht’s walls down. She managed to get close to him without overstepping any boundaries and without being pushy.
Romance: 9/10 - His small gestures of kindness will make your heart flutter.
Dramatic: 10/10 - Prepare your heart for the events of his route.
Angst: 10/10 - His past alone is enough to rate this route a 10/10 for angst. Bonus, read the dramatic end for extra tears.
