#he respects him so much and understands how much laurent values his privacy

[lamenrising]

I feel like people that call Damen dumb for not figuring out what happened between the Regent and Laurent need to understand that he did know. The hints are carefully placed throughout the books. Pacat mentions that Damen is written like this for a purpose. He's not stupid. He can deduce that something happened to Laurent but he doesn't push. Even when his thoughts head towards a darker path he immediately blocks it out of his mind because just the thought of it is so unthinkable for him. What makes it more clear to me is when the Regent reveals what happened and Damen, without hesitation goes berserk and doesn't hesitate to try and kill him.

It is so important that Damen is written this way because he never tries to intrude or push Laurent to reveal what happened, even though he has an idea already. He is very conscious of Laurent's privacy and will never get him to do something he's not comfortable with. I'm aware people think Damen is a bit stupid or naive when it comes to trusting people. Given how he was in denial for a long time about Kastor's betrayal but I want people to understand that this is a cardinal part of his character. In my opinion, it is the trait that Laurent fell in love with the most. His determination and readiness to give his whole heart for the people he cherishes the most.

One more thing, Laurent always acknowledges how intelligent and cunning Damen is, he trusts Damen's feedback more than anyone else's. Laurent, in my opinion suspects that Damen already has an idea of what happened. In Kings Rising, when Laurent confesses to Damen that 'there has only been one other person', we can see Damen starting to realise. Anyway, I feel like I went a bit off topic but I just wanted to say that Damen is intentionally written like this. He is very perceptive and has a good read on people. He knows that Laurent has suffered abuse in the past but he has no intention of invading his privacy and is instead, content to never mention it until Laurent himself is ready to tell him. Even if Laurent is never ready Damen would not push him. Damen fell in love with Laurent not because of his trauma but because he came to know him as a person. Nothing will ever change that.