Spoiler warning: hidden candidate identities and exact heart, proposal, marriage, and family progression gates appear below
As of version 1.0.2, fields of mistria romance has 12 marriage candidates, with no gender lock on whom the player can marry. Choose Dating during a candidate's eight-heart event, reach ten hearts, receive the Engagement Ring recipe, and use the ring to begin that character's proposal event. Marriage and having a child are separate choices, and the child route remains optional.
The 12 eligible partners
NPC Studio's current homepage says that the game has 12 marriage candidates, while its FAQ confirms that every eligible villager is available regardless of the player's gender. Ten candidates are part of the town's public cast from the beginning of the relationship system. Two more become available through story progress, so seeing only ten early in a save does not mean the roster is incomplete.
The ten public candidates are Adeline, Balor, Celine, Eiland, Hayden, Juniper, March, Reina, Ryis, and Valen. Current post-launch reporting lists those same ten, and NPC Studio's update history accounts for the two later story candidates. The Social tab is the safest in-game check because an eligible character is marked as single before a route is chosen.
The story candidates are Caldarus and Seridia. Official version 0.13 notes say Caldarus and the Priestess gain heart levels at key story points, version 0.15 adds post-Mines schedules and dialogue for both secret candidates, and the maintained Marriage record identifies the Priestess as Seridia. Finish the relevant Mines story content before treating either route as blocked.
Hearts, route choices, and dates
Relationship progress comes from interacting with villagers and giving gifts. Use the Social tab and each character's response to follow how that relationship is developing. Each candidate has heart events along the way, and the eight-heart event contains the route decision.
After choosing Dating, use the available date options and continue normal interactions to build hearts. Version 1.0 states that taking a candidate on a date increases heart progress, without requiring the earlier Photo Card or Date Inspiration details for this route. Players may date multiple candidates before engagement, so reaching the eight-heart choice does not force an immediate marriage decision.
The date system and ten-heart proposal event serve different purposes. Dates continue the selected romance route and raise the character's heart level, while the proposal step appears only after that dating partner reaches ten hearts. Candidate-specific heart events can also have story or location prerequisites, so a full heart meter alone may not trigger every scene immediately.
Reaching ten hearts and getting the ring
Version 1.0 raised the relationship cap to ten hearts and added proposal events. The morning after a character you are dating reaches ten hearts, Elsie delivers the Engagement Ring recipe scroll. Read the scroll, craft the ring at a Forge, and hold it when speaking to an eligible ten-heart partner to start the future-discussion scene.
Using the ring does not commit the save at the start of the scene. NPC Studio says ten-heart events can be retriggered with the Engagement Ring until the player chooses the proposal option and becomes engaged. This lets you view each candidate's ten-heart event and collect its NPC Special Item before selecting a spouse.
After receiving the Engagement Ring recipe, read the current scroll and Forge menu before gathering materials. Keep the recipe visible while checking storage, then collect only the remaining gap. Use the game's own crafting prompt for the proposal item.
Engagement, breakups, and wedding planning
Confirming an engagement changes other active relationships by default. Every other character you were dating moves to Best Friends status, and the game can send breakup letters with follow-up dialogue that acknowledges the change. This status change occurs at engagement rather than waiting for the wedding.
The engagement tutorial exposes two separate gameplay settings. One hides the breakup letters and follow-up lines but still changes those relationships to Best Friends. The other prevents the Dating-to-Best-Friends status change, and NPC Studio warns that it must be enabled before the engagement is confirmed.
After the proposal, wedding planning dialogue appears with the fiancé during the days leading to the ceremony. NPC Studio specifically confirms choices for flower color, cake flavor, and the reception meal. Post-launch reporting also shows that the wedding presentation and involved townspeople vary by spouse, so event details are better experienced in the chosen route than copied from another candidate's walkthrough.
Married life and the optional child route
Marriage adds spouse dialogue and routines, and version 1.0 allows the player to kiss a character they are dating, engaged to, or married to. The wedding is therefore the start of a household state rather than the final relationship scene. The official patch notes also confirm events related to having a child.
In the weeks after marriage, a cutscene makes the Mystical Feather available. Holding that item opens an optional family-planning conversation with the spouse. NPC Studio's FAQ is explicit that the player controls whether to have a baby, so ignoring or postponing this step does not block married life.
Continue ordinary married life until the save presents the Mystical Feather and family-planning prompt. Choose the child route only when it fits the household plan, or postpone it without changing the marriage choice. Follow the current family prompts as they appear instead of counting toward a copied deadline.