Like I'm —

[For a second, his extensive vocabulary fails him; his calm confidence fumbles, and he has to search for the words he wants, unsure of how to properly articulate the thoughts stirred up inside him as he tries to find a way of expressing a feeling he knows, but somehow finds so difficult to name.

He'll get it wrong, he thinks uncertainly. He'll get it wrong, it won't come out right, but they're both baring their bodies and souls at this point, so how can he do anything less but try?]

Like I'm a person.

[It's a start, but it's not right; he closes his eyes, reaching to hold on to Noctis, like he's suddenly concerned that if he doesn't, his fumbling words will make his prince disappear.]

Like I'm more than someone else's this or that. Like who I am isn't defined by a relationship to someone else. Servant of the crown, hand of the king, advisor to the prince — my worth has always been in how valuable a tool I am to someone else.

[He draws in a shivering breath.]

Except when you look at me. In your eyes, I'm only...myself. Because that's all you ask me to be.