Tbh the pacing of the story would have been fine if we saw Maythan’s inner dialogue show hints that he was starting to fall for the Duke. Like they had enough interactions and there were enough flashbacks for there to have been a buildup of feelings developing on Maythan’s behalf (we saw the duke had feelings through his actions). It’s not like the author had to add any additional scenes but the ending would’ve not felt so sudden if some of Maythan’s scenes included his thoughts and feelings towards the Duke.
Tbh the pacing of the story would have been fine if we saw Maythan’s inner dialogue show hints that he was starting to fall for the Duke. Like they had enough interactions and there were enough flashbacks for there to have been a buildup of feelings developing on Maythan’s behalf (we saw the duke had feelings through his actions). It’s not like the author had to add any additional scenes but the ending would’ve not felt so sudden if some of Maythan’s scenes included his thoughts and feelings towards the Duke.