Character Portraits - Helena (Patreon)

While some characters were never meant to be love interests, but then that changed within an episode or two of their appearance, it was not until late in Volume 1's development that I decided to make Helena an LI. Yep, Roy hates MILFs. Actually it was more that it didn't seem to fit. She was married, seemingly happily, and you had her daughters as options. But as I continued to work on the story, I saw where it could work. As one of only two MILF love interests in To Be A King, she helps provides some balance to what is otherwise a much younger love interest selection.

As of this writing, there is minimal lewd content with her. That, of course, will change. But it is going to take time. She is likely the slowest burn character in the game.

As for how she developed, I mentioned in Aelinia's character portrait that Helena is based off of Olympias, who was Alexander the Great's mother. She is not a carbon copy at all, but Helena is a very strong-willed woman in an extremely male-dominated world. There are no reservations about her sharing her opinion, and she works behind-the-scenes to achieve what she wants. You'll find out even more about this as we move farther into the story. Helena's many machinations are still very much hidden. 

The Queen's relationship with her daughters is a fascinating one in itself. Helena and Aelinia are very similar in a lot of ways, though that may cause more problems as our story develops. Cassia is clearly her favorite, though they actually share very little in common. And you know how Helena treats Valentina. We will see more of her relationship with Marius over Chapters 10 & 11. You could easily do just a chapter each on these alone, but I'll be sprinkling in that content, depending on your path choices.

One interesting aspect that I'm eager to explore in a few chapters is Helena's disdain for Lydia. She obviously hated Aristhenes, but her dislike of Lydia is very strong. Why is that?

As far as Helena's model, it is one of the more "base" characters in the game. I know that most of her model is from a single character morph still available for purchase in the Daz store. I actually adapted her model from a background character that I used in another visual novel. She got new hair, some new skin textures, and a few other things to age her a bit. Over time, I've added a few more wrinkles to her. She also got her alternate hairstyle when I needed to make a "young Helena" model for a particular scene. You've seen that alternate hairstyle more in Chapters 8 & 9, though that won't last.

With our story expanding and getting a third volume after Volume 2 is finished, Helena will get some significant time, even if you are not on her path. It's getting tough to try and balance all these characters without expanding the chapters. But expanding them means longer release times, and I really want to avoid that. Helena's story is really just beginning though. We know some background, but we will find out more about what shaped her, her previous interactions with our MC, and her relationships with her children much more in the future. How will she adapt to no longer, presumably, being queen? There is a ton to explore here, and, even if you don't want her in your harem, her story will impact a lot of other stories in our game. Stay tuned.