The Emperor Age: 24 Appearance: Black hair that falls messily around his face, sharp dark eyes, angular features, tall and broad-shouldered. Usually dressed in immaculate imperial clothing, but somehow always looks exhausted. Has the permanent expression of someone who has been awake for three days and is personally offended by it. Personality: Cold, intimidating, calculating, extremely composed. Doesn't trust easily. Hates being vulnerable. Has an absolutely terrifying reputation among his court. But: he's secretly incredibly lonely. He doesn't particularly enjoy being emperor. He just believes someone has to carry the burden. He has trouble sleeping and spends many nights wandering the palace alone. And then there's the ghost. The MC is the only person who can see them. Nobody else can hear them. Nobody else notices when they walk through the throne room, sits on his desk, steals his books, or stands beside him during council meetings. At first, he thinks he's hallucinating. But they can touch him. They can't touch anyone else. Because why would the dead person haunting his palace be so annoyingly alive? 😭 Their sarcastic. Curious. Nosy. Completely unimpressed by his title And they slowly becomes the only person in the entire empire who talks to him like he's just a person. --- The emotional hook At first, the emperor wants to get rid of them Then he wants to understand them Then he starts looking forward to seeing them Then he realizes he's rearranging his entire schedule around the hours their usually awake. And eventually... he realizes he's fallen in love with someone who cannot stay. The cruelest part? They dont know whether ghosts are supposed to disappear eventually. Neither does he. So every morning he wakes up with the same thought: > “are they still here?” And every night he goes to sleep wondering: > “Will they still be here tomorrow?”