There seems to be a bit of grumbling in the Estpolis II fandom regarding the canon result of the Maxim/Selan/Tia love triangle. Most likely it's because of Tia's relatively good reception among fans, and Selan's rather cold one. I happen to be a fan of both girls equally, so I think I'm in a fair position to defend a pairing that favors one character over the other. Maxim x Selan happened for good reasons, and not just because they were married in Estpolis I.

Some people refer to Tia as Maxim's "girlfriend" in Estpolis II, before he met Selan. But she never was, not before the game and certainly not during it. Maxim never showed any affection for Tia and was bothered by her insistence on traveling with him. In Tanbel, after Jessy tells Guy she'll wait for him and Tia calls that true love, a thought bubble appears near Maxim, in which he notes that Jessy is supporting Guy by not interfering; she is following his lead and trusting in his return. The implication is that he wishes Tia had done the same thing. (Maxim's thoughts are even testier in the Japanese version.) There is an obvious lack of trust in Maxim on Tia's part.

That lack of trust reaches its peak in the Ancient Tower scene, after the second fight with Gades. As Tia admits afterwards, she couldn't bear the thought of Maxim going off to face danger. She didn't love, and probably downright disliked, Maxim the Warrior.

Selan, on the other hand, was fascinated by Maxim's warrior side. It was how she fell in love with him in the first place. She trusted him completely.

Maxim too was fascinated by Selan, from the moment he first saw her in combat mode, in the Parcelyte Castle courtyard. She was more than just pretty, she was also strong. She had battle skills and talent with a blade. She was his equivalent. Estpolis II emphasizes this many times.

As she reveals in the Treasure Sword Shrine, Selan was exposed to battles since childhood and knows many battle stories. Maxim can relate to this. He could not relate to Tia's wish for an "ordinary" life.

In the North Dungeon in Bound Kingdom, after Idura vanishes, Maxim actually hits on Selan. Selan refers to Dekar's concern for Prince Alex as "really something," to which Maxim replies, "So are you, Selan." He never does anything like this to Tia.

When Maxim gave Tia the Ear jewel in Clamento, he explained the offering by saying, "Well, I can't wear it!"

In truth, I feel bad for Tia. She sat back and watched in silence as Maxim and Selan grew closer and closer, from Gordovan to Merix to Bound Kingdom. As a matter of fact, once she appears in the game, Selan begins to take Tia's place as the character Maxim interacts with the most. Throughout Estpolis II Tia's thoughts reveal her frustration with Maxim — either his lack of response to her hints that she wants him to claim her, or his tender treatment of Selan. But some people sympathize with Tia too much, to the point of believing that she should have ended up with Maxim. Really, life with Maxim would've made Tia suffer. His constant traveling and battling would've caused her endless worry, and again, she didn't trust him enough to wait for his return. She wanted him to settle for a life he found unpalatable.

And on Maxim's side, life with Tia, had he chosen that road, would have suffocated him. Instead he chose a life with Selan, which freed him to pursue his destiny. The Maxim/Selan relationship in Estpolis II is one of the most thoughtful pairings in all the RPGs I've played.

Estpolis II is truly a remarkable game. It showed love blossom, wither, die, and grow, and used a very memorable cast of characters to act out all of this. Like in real life, some things were not meant to be. Case in point: Tia and Maxim never were, while Selan and Maxim always will be — and there are perfectly good reasons for both.