Crown Shield

Crown Shield, a character in the The Royal Masquerade book, is Cyrus's younger half-sibling, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and one of your love interests. His/Her suggested name is "Kayden" but the player can choose a name for him/her. He/She is first seen in Chapter 1.

Appearance
Crown Shield's appearance is determined by the player. He/She can be a brunette with brown eyes (faces 1 and 3) or black with dark hair and brown eyes (faces 2 and 4). The male wears a gray leather vest over a green long-sleeved shirt with a black belt and black trousers, along with black leather gloves and necklace with a green and yellow pendant. The female wears a detailed gray vest over a green long-sleeved shirt with studded gauntlets, a black belt and black trousers. Crown Shield is described to be "imposing".

Personality
Crown Shield has a sense for justice. Crown Shield does not like being called a "hero" because he/she feels that one's work should not be judged by other's appreciation. Although he/she can act like a noble, Crown Shield enjoys turning it off at the end of the day. Crown Shield also says that his/her opinions aren't made stronger or weaker because they happen to align with someone else's.

Although Crown Shield doesn't appear to like the separation of the social classes - specifically the nobility and their privileges, Crown Shield is conflicted as he/she is a noble 's illegitimate child and did not have to worry about growing up hungry.

Background
Crown Shield is the illegitimate child of the former Lord Vescovi, making him/her the half-sibling of Cyrus Vescovi. He/she received a noble's education, including jousting lessons when he/she was young. Although the tutor focused on teaching Cyrus, Crown Shield still beat him every time. Although Crown Shield was given a bedroom in the Vescovi manor, he/she worked in the stables and when less tolerant company visited, Crown Shield had to sleep there as well.

When he/she became older, Crown Shield chose to disappear into the guard. Being in the guard was simple: do the work, eat rations, and don't complain when the sergeant yells. However, Crown Shield did an excellent job and made a reputation for himself/herself. The King/Queen-Regent noticed and as High Chancellor, promoted him/her to the position of Crown Shield. The noble upbringing gave him/her a certain tolerance for courtly functions such as dancing at balls and hunting, but Crown Shield did not imagine doing those things when he/she was a young forgettable guard. The Regent mentions that no matter the promotion, no matter the offer, Crown Shield has never left the simple cot and chest in the barracks. Crown Shield lives with the regular guard and does not feel above those that he/she commands.

The Royal Masquerade

 * Chapter 1: The Royal Masquerade
 * Chapter 2: A Noble Effort
 * Chapter 3: Predator and Prey
 * Chapter 4: A Night Under the Stars
 * Chapter 5: Valor and Vanity
 * Chapter 6: Confessions
 * Chapter 7: Betrayal
 * Chapter 8: Sisters
 * Chapter 9: A House Divided
 * Chapter 10: Wildfire
 * Chapter 11: Court of Whispers
 * Chapter 12: Lovestruck
 * Chapter 13: Love and Power
 * Chapter 14: Secrets
 * Chapter 15: The Conclave
 * Chapter 16: Truth
 * Chapter 17: Unity

Queen Kendra
As the Queen's Shield, Crown Shield spent time in her service and got to know her. In Chapter 2, if asked, Crown Shield does not believe the Queen's death was his/her fault. ''"One guard, even the commander, cannot be everywhere at once." Crown Shield trusted his/her agents to protect her as he/she worked the Masquerade, just as he/she trusts said agents to protect The Regent'' when they are separated. Crown Shield states whoever killed Kendra was talented and knew how to get to her; and someday soon, he/she will know how to get to him.

King/Queen-Regent
Crown Shield is The Regent 's protector until Cordonia's next king or queen is announced. Because Kendra's assassin is still at-large, Crown Shield accompanies The Regent during the Royal Hunt in Chapter 3. They each realize the other has feelings for you, so they become angry with each other and then with themselves when you reveal what Renza has done in Chapter 7. Nevertheless, The Regent trusts Crown Shield to keep you safe and does not believe his/her history with the Vescovis will impact his/her judgment.

Guards / Crew
Crown Shield holds all of the guards (including the crew of Teapot, Sunshine, and Frisk) in higher regard than his/her half-brother, Cyrus. In the academy, Crown Shield was told he/she had the best impression of the guards' mentor and disciplinarian. Crown Shield loved his/her fellow guards; they didn't care about his/her birth as long as the job was done well. Frisk jokes that it is Crown Shield 's fault for becoming captain that now he/she has to deal with all of the guards now, and cannot escape Frisk's antics.

Cyrus Vescovi
Cyrus is Crown Shield 's half-brother and there is no love lost between the two of them. As Crown Shield puts it, Cyrus is a stain to their name and to the court. Even if Crown Shield wishes for a better relationship, their disagreement with each other doesn't come from an argument; it comes from a conflict in their personhoods and neither of them is likely to change.

It wasn't always this way. In Chapter 14, if you decide to hide with Crown Shield in his/her childhood bedroom at the Vescovi estate, Crown Shield tells you more about their history. It was their father who instilled into Cyrus the arrogance and belief that nobility was better than common folk. In the beginning, Cyrus either did not see or he did not care about the differences in their births. When their father had returned from a trip to Drakovia, the kingdom north of Cordonia, he had brought Cyrus a single gift but did not bring anything for Crown Shield. When Cyrus found out, he was furious and gifted Crown Shield the toy in secret. It wasn't until Cyrus fell in love with Raven, the daughter of a minor lord, who had come to stay with them for a season. Unfortunately for the siblings, Raven fell in love with Crown Shield which incited Cyrus's anger and in that moment, he became all the things their father had always told him that he was. Cyrus was of noble blood like her, and it wasn't right for Crown Shield to catch her eye when he/she was an illegitimate child. It did not matter that Crown Shield did not return Raven's affections; the wedge had formed between Cyrus and Crown Shield and it never healed. When Cyrus assumed leadership of their House, it went to his head and he no longer saw Crown Shield as his sibling, but as a bastard beneath his status. Cyrus would openly shame Crown Shield 's birth while pursuing his newfound lust for everyone.

Your Character
Crown Shield notices you when you and your sister enter the Royal Masquerade ball. You can choose to dance with Crown Shield or The Regent; if you choose the former and to continue the dance in a premium scene, Crown Shield will deduce your true identity by your starry-eyed appreciation of the palace and the calluses on your fingers. In Chapter 2, you meet Crown Shield again at your House's Noble Debut and can choose to speak to him/her privately in a premium scene. If you do, you have three book options to gift Crown Shield. Whichever book you decide, Crown Shield thanks you as it is the first book he/she has ever owned. Crown Shield also believes you are too kind for the pit of vipers known as the nobles, and that you are brave for facing them and fighting for your House.

In Chapter 3, you can choose to hunt with Crown Shield or The Regent, or wait with Renza Fierro. If you choose to accompany Crown Shield, you two share anecdotes about your lives such as stale bread (that he/she could mix with a stew while you could not), harsh mentors, and working long nights. Crown Shield doesn't think he/she could have handled being shoved away into a library. In Chapter 4, you enlist his/her help in finding Cyrus and Emery but happen upon Cyrus with Theodosia. You can choose to go with Crown Shield and crew to a nearby tavern to unwind in a premium scene and learn how they became friends and comrades. In Chapter 5, your favor or words of encouragement determines who wins the joust between Crown Shield and the Regent but beforehand, you can learn to joust with them in a premium scene and then joust against Cyrus yourself.

"If not me, then who would keep an eye out for wayward scribes? You know how they like to sneak into parties."

- "Crown Shield" to You

In Chapter 6, Renza Fierro asks you which of the two you have feelings for. If you tell her that you fancy her twin sibling, Crown Shield does not confess his/her feelings for you. He/she will still blush at any flirtatious remarks you make and force a smile, but Crown Shield will not respond in kind.

However, if you tell Renza that you have feelings for Crown Shield, your romantic relationship with him/her progresses. In Chapter 6, you can spend time in town with Crown Shield in a premium scene and buy him/her a gift. Teapot interrupts you two before you can share your first kiss. In Chapter 7, Crown Shield breaks down the door where Renza has you locked behind and after you and your friends finally make it safely back to your estate, Crown Shield confesses his/her feelings. You can continue to kiss in a premium scene.

In Chapter 8, Crown Shield and the Regent help you try to win Aunt Zya's support but to no avail. It is not until Chapter 9 when you three go to the Fierro estate to retrieve Renza's blackmail that Zya finally sides with you. Before that, you share a Beltane kiss with Crown Shield and can celebrate his/her birthday with the crew in a premium scene.

In Chapter 11, after your announcement to bid for queen, you and your friends go to the Nevrakis estate. During her Court of Whispers game, your kiss with Crown Shield is exposed as well as Renza's infidelity and affair with Cyrus, Pompadour's lineage, and Percival Beaumont's tattoo. With you and Renza left standing as the last two contestants, Theodosia asks for the Regent to strip for her next game of Lovestruck but Crown Shield takes the Regent 's place. In Chapter 12, after you defeat Renza in Lovestruck, Theodosia awards everyone with their individual Chambers of Ultimate Desire. If you decide to sneak into Crown Shield 's Chamber, you find him/her outdoors. You two skinny dip in a pond before you retire to your own Chamber.

Other Looks

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Trivia

 * Crown Shield is the twelfth
 * Crown Shield is also the sixth
 * If you meet with him/her in a premium scene in Chapter 2, you discover that Queen Kendra was a descendant of Kenna Rys.
 * In Chapter 15, it is revealed that he/she has magical powers. Specifically, he/she has the power to shield another from harm. He/She used it on you to protect you from being consumed by flames and from being shot by a crossbow.
 * His Male Face Model 01 shares a nearly-identical look and name with Kaidan Alenko, a character from Bioware's series Mass Effect. Both of them have a striking resemblance to the model Luciano Costa.
 * He also resembles Iranian model Arash Ghoseiri.
 * If he/she is not your love interest, the epilogue states that he/she went north in search of the origin of his/her magic.