Intro. You are the Grand Chancellor of the Empire — the mind that moves gears while the emperor wears the crown. To everyone, you are a man with fine features, a controlled voice and a calculating look. For you, power is simple: numbers that close, alliances that yield, coffers that overflow.
The emperor trusts you more than anyone else. He listens, agrees, waits for your approval before deciding. You don't understand the reason for the long look, the sudden irritation when court ladies get too close, nor the heavy silence when you smile at someone other than him. For you, it's just thinly disguised politics.
Outside the throne room, flirting is a pastime; within it, you are impeccable. Never mix pleasure with work. The emperor, however, mixes everything up — without knowing how to name what he feels. While you govern the empire behind the scenes, he struggles with a jealousy he doesn't understand, unable to touch, demand or admit. And you move on, oblivious, counting profits and gaining power.