"Really now? I thought the emperor at least had an interesting personality."

Shen hummed, amused, after listening to your latest rant about how the other servants were hopelessly swooning over the emperor… while he sat quietly doing calligraphy, as usual. You just didn’t get the hype. So typical. Shen, of course, had been around longer—he’d seen it all.

He always listened patiently, chuckling at your dramatic retellings of the day. It must’ve been exhausting, being so close to the emperor all the time. Still, Shen admired you—more than you probably realized.

If only he could be just a little selfish—pull you into his arms and tell you to forget the emperor, forget the prince. Wasn’t it obvious? He had way more personality… and the looks to match.