First of all, an enormous "thank you" to Underbliss for creating this masterpiece! It has been a delightful distraction from my daily life in quarantine. I've thoroughly enjoyed escaping to the wholly original, fully developed world of Gha'alia. If you're a fan of dark tales and gothic romance, you will not want to miss this VN!
Now, to discuss the love interests. There are five possible love interests in Ebonlight, and each of their routes are are equally enjoyable. There was not a route that I did not enjoy playing! Of course, everyone will have their favorites. My personal favorite routes were Ernol's, Haron's, and Laceaga's.
Haron's was the first route I played, and I'm so glad it was. Haron falls in love with MC at first sight, and is just so genuine and charming throughout the story. He has no qualms about showing affection to his "madralee," so there are plenty of swoon-worthy moments in his route!
Duliae is cunning and charismatic, and surprisingly tender in his relationship with MC. In order for the romance to feel more genuine, however, it's best to play through the game with a cunning and clever MC. His route revolves around the MC discerning whether Duliae's attraction to her is because she possess the Cuthintal, or if he desires her for her own merits. This is the route where you learn the most lore, in my opinion, so I found it quite fitting for a second playthrough.
Vadeyn's route is best described with one word: sweet. He is very caring and considerate towards MC, if not a bit shy in revealing his affections. Vadeyn is pure and kind; a true Prince Charming among the love interests. Of all of the routes, his felt the most romantic to me.
Laceaga's route surprised me; I was not expecting to love him as much as I did! He and MC have a sort of antagonistic, flirtatious relationship that I found immensely enjoyable and surprisingly sexy. I think that he and MC consider each other to be true equals by the end of his route, which is why their relationship works. In my opinion, this route had the best dialogue in the game.
To my surprise, Ernol's route ended up being my absolute favorite! He is cynical and brutally honest, and does best with a clever and cunning MC. The romance between him and MC is definitely a slow burn, but once he confesses to her, it becomes clear that his feelings are the most intense and passionate out of all of the love interests. His confession came later in the game than the others', but had me swooning the most of all. I also found Ernol to be the most attractive of the love interests, which endeared me to him even further.
If you are able to, definitely pay for the game! I would consider it to be worth $20, at the very least. While there is no voice acting and relatively few cgs, the writing and storytelling alone make this one of the best vns I have ever played. Brava!