☬♛ PART TWENTY SEVEN ♛☬

Sebastian was losing his mind.

It had been weeks since Alex returned to the palace, and in that time, Sebastian had fought battles within himself.

Not battles of war, no-

Worse.

Battles of the heart.

And he was losing. Miserably.

Because every single day, from the moment Alex reentered his life, Sebastian had been trying-pathetically, he might add-to impress him.

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"Your Majesty, you seem... different."

Sebastian shot a warning look at his councilor, who was watching him with amusement. "What do you mean?"

"Well... you've been spending a great deal of time sparring lately. More than usual."

Sebastian scowled. "A king should always be at his best."

The councilor hesitated. "Of course. But you also seem to... linger in the training grounds whenever Alex is around."

Sebastian froze.

Betrayal. From his own court.

"Do I?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"You do," the councilor confirmed, clearly holding back a smirk. "Quite a lot, actually. You even took your shirt off the other day. Which is odd, because it was rather cold."

Sebastian wanted to die.

He had thought it was subtle. He had thought no one noticed.

But the worst part?

Alex definitely noticed.

Because when Sebastian had "accidentally" trained shirtless in the cold, hoping to look impressive, Alex had walked by, taken one look at him, and kept walking.

Not even a reaction.

Not a single damn word.

Sebastian had never known true humiliation until that moment.

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But that wasn't even the worst of it.

Sebastian had tried everything.

He had worn his best outfits, hoping Alex would compliment him. (No reaction.)

He had subtly flexed his arm when handing Alex something. (Alex had blinked at him, unimpressed.)

He had even gone so far as to casually mention that he was technically still single, in case Alex cared to know. (Alex had only raised an eyebrow and said, "That's nice.")

Sebastian was suffering.

And Alex-

That damn man was just enjoying the show.

_______________________________________

One evening, Sebastian found himself in the library, pretending to read a book while secretly watching Alex organize the shelves.

He wasn't being obvious. He was casual.

Except-

"Sebastian," Alex said without turning around.

Sebastian flinched. "What?"

Alex placed a book back on the shelf, finally turning with a smirk. "Are you going to keep trying to impress me, or are you finally going to admit that you're a lovesick fool?"

Sebastian choked.

"I-WHAT?!"

Alex leaned against the shelf, arms crossed, clearly amused. "Come on. Even the castle staff has noticed."

Sebastian wanted the ground to swallow him.

"I-That's-You're imagining things," he stammered.

Alex laughed.

Sebastian glared. "It's not funny."

"It is," Alex said, eyes twinkling. "You're terrible at being subtle."

Sebastian groaned, rubbing a hand down his face.

Alex stepped closer, and Sebastian hated how his heartbeat betrayed him.

"You really are hopeless," Alex murmured, shaking his head fondly.

Sebastian scowled. "If I'm hopeless, then what does that make you?"

Alex tilted his head. "Patient."

Sebastian froze.

Alex's smirk softened, his gaze lingering on him for a second too long.

Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.

Leaving Sebastian standing there, heart in his throat, knowing one thing for certain-

He was so in love.

And Alex knew it.