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Quick Answer
The Blood of Dawnwalker has three romance options: Anca, Lacra, and Marat, who operates under the alias Crake. All three romances can be completed in one playthrough and are not mutually exclusive. There is no reliable gift system or hidden approval meter to grind; each relationship advances through its character questline and a clear final romantic response.
Anca is not the only or officially canon partner, and Mert is a separate character who is not romanceable.
Romance in this game is lighter-touch than in many RPGs. You will not be managing a relationship bar or shopping for gifts; the beats arrive through story choices and specific quests. The sections below cover each option and its key choices.
Romance Overview: How the System Works
- Three options: Anca, Lacra, and Crake / Marat.
- All three in one run: pursuing one does not lock the other two.
- No reliable gift system: romance is not advanced by repeatedly handing over items.
- No hidden approval meter listed: follow the personal quests and choose the final romantic response instead of trying to farm invisible points.
- Not every flirt is mandatory: relationship-friendly replies help establish intent, but the route-ending choices carry more weight.
Anca Romance Route
Anca’s route grows across her full personal chain rather than one early flirt. Complete Withering Away, Echoes of Silenced Bells, Between the Words, Where Old Devils Lie, Stronger Than Achilles, and Font of Life, then return to the inn for the final conversation.
Page-Turner is useful, not a proven hard lock
The optional Page-Turner sequence during Withering Away provides early relationship and flirt material, so it is worth doing. Skipping it does not appear to permanently block the romance; the later questline and final inn choice are more important.
Anca Quest Order and Key Choices
- Withering Away / Page-Turner: meet Anca, help with the medicine, and take the optional Page-Turner opportunity if you want the fullest relationship setup.
- Echoes of Silenced Bells: complete the convent story. The notes and ritual branch can change the scene but is not a confirmed romance lock.
- Between the Words: spend time with Anca and use affectionate responses; this is where her feelings can become explicit.
- Where Old Devils Lie: continue her personal story and answer with care. A confession-style response makes Coen’s interest unambiguous.
- Stronger Than Achilles: continue toward the Font and express commitment rather than distancing Coen from her.
- Font of Life: Coen can use the Font, Anca can use it, or it can be destroyed. All three branches can still lead to the romance.
- Final inn conversation: explicitly reciprocate Anca’s feelings, choose the romantic response, and accept the intimate moment. Choosing the friends-only response ends the romance scene.
The Font is not a romance payment
You do not have to give Anca the Font of Life. Its branches affect her outcome and dialogue, but the relationship can continue after Coen uses it or after it is destroyed. The decisive confirmation is the later inn conversation.
Lacra Romance Route
Lacra’s relationship begins in her ally chain and pays off in the optional personal quest The Night of Horrors. Progress through A Friend Like This, Song of the Mountain, Hive and Seek, and Our Rotten Roots; after Our Rotten Roots, wait one full in-game day and return to Lacra at night. Complete The Night of Horrors before Midnight Reckoning.
The Night of Horrors is the key personal quest
The documented romance route is: eat the Mandrake, follow Lacra, show clear interest, drink her blood, and accept the kiss. Refusing her final invitation, blood, or kiss prevents that scene.
What the Mandrake and Blood Choices Do
Eating the Mandrake on the documented route grants Mandrake Ward, which prevents one death per night. Drinking Lacra’s blood later in the romance sequence grants the vampiric ability Mesmerise. These are separate rewards: Mandrake Ward does not come from the blood choice, and Mesmerise does not come from eating the Mandrake.
Do not treat the Kobold outcome in Hive and Seek, viewing Lacra’s memories, or missing a single flirt as a universal hard lock. The Isbrand branch’s romance effect also remains unclear.
Crake / Marat Romance Route
Marat is his real name; Crake is the alias he uses. They are not two conflicting names or two different romance candidates. His relationship is the male romance route attached to the Manumit conspiracy storyline.
- Follow the conspiracy chain through The Firebrand and Shadows in the Woods.
- Continue with Where Loyalty Lies, What Hunts the Night, and What Moves the Dead.
- Complete Distant Shadows to open the final personal step.
- In A Closer Look, accept and return his kiss to trigger the romance scene.
Crake is not Mert
Mert is the miller, Vlad’s cousin, and a separate Manumit contact. He is not another name for Crake / Marat and is not a romance option.
Romance Scenes vs Ally Routes and Endings
A romance scene, a completed character questline, and an ending or epilogue are three different checks. Lacra’s core ally route can unlock The Patricide, but her romance is optional. Crake’s Manumit story completion can unlock The Knyazmaker and affect his epilogue presence, but kissing him is not the ending requirement. Anca’s personal route can change her character outcome and epilogue without making her romance a mandatory main-ending trigger.
Sources
Related Guides
Characters
Who Anca, Lacra and the rest are.
Quests & Rewards
The quests that carry romance beats.
Walkthrough
Where romance moments appear.
Endings Guide
How relationships shape outcomes.
FAQ
How many romance options are there in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
Three: Anca, Lacra, and Marat, who uses the alias Crake. All three can be pursued in a single run; they are not mutually exclusive.
Is Anca the only romance or the canon romance?
No. Anca is one of three romance options and is not a canon-mandated love interest. The idea that she is the only or official romance is a misconception.
Is there a romance approval meter or gift system?
No. There is no approval meter and no gift system. Romance beats are driven by story choices and specific quests rather than a tracked relationship or item-giving.
Do I have to choose one romance?
No. The three options are not mutually exclusive, so you are not forced to pick one and lock out the others in a single playthrough.
Is Mert a romance option?
No. Mert is the miller, Vlad’s cousin and a Manumit contact — a separate character from the romance candidates. He is not a romance option.
Do you have to give Anca the Font of Life?
No. Letting Coen use it, letting Anca use it, or destroying it can all preserve the romance. Complete her questline and choose the romantic response in the final inn conversation.
Is Lacra romance required for The Patricide?
No. The Patricide is tied to Lacra’s core ally route. The Night of Horrors romance branch is optional and separate.