"Hey, silly kid, don't be scared. I'm not going to eat you."
Liliana looked at the little brat in front of her and felt a headache coming on. She really didn't like kids, especially not teenagers.
The young boy in front of her had a youthful face, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes. Even though he hadn't fully grown up yet, it was clear he'd be the type to make young girls scream over him in the future.
But right now, those handsome and young features were covered in two long trails of tears, making him look very strange.
Liliana sighed helplessly. No matter how much she tried to talk to him, this young boy looked at her like he'd seen a ghost. Come on! When she was fifteen, she could surf the internet and argue with strangers online like a pro.
"If you keep crying, I'll eat you." She waved her hands like claws, making a scary face to frighten him.
Actually, he couldn't even see her face clearly. It was always covered in a thin layer of mist, making it impossible to tell what she looked like.
He thought, this ghost must be a beautiful woman, even though he didn't know what her face really looked like.
It was strange though. The palace, protected by strong energy and the dragon vein, was supposed to be the safest place. How could a ghost appear here?
Prince Allennon was supposed to report to his father that there was a ghost in the palace so a priest could be called to deal with it.
But for some reason, he didn't.
That day, he had sneaked off to the Cold Palace just to mess with the servants. Then this "person" started following him. At first, he thought she might be one of his father's former concubines. But that didn't make sense. His father only had one wife, the empress, and few children—only him and a younger brother who was ten.
Or maybe she was some concubine who had died in the Cold Palace ages ago.
Prince Allennon realized that he was the only one who could see her and talk to her.
Everyone in the palace was afraid of him. They acted carefully around him and complimented him with fake smiles. It was boring. But this ghost girl wasn't scared of him at all, and he couldn't do anything about her. She was already dead. He couldn't threaten her like he did with the servants.
If Liliana knew what this boy was thinking, she'd definitely roll her eyes and send him a "what is wrong with you" meme. What a weirdo.
She had been a ghost for a month now. At first, she thought she was still in her old world, just floating around a movie set or some historical tourist site, waiting for a ghost catcher to pick her up.
She waited and waited, but nothing happened. Eventually, she realized this wasn't a set. It wasn't a haunted house either. She had traveled to another world.
Yes, that's right. Her name was Liliana. She was 26 years old and had just been about to finish her PhD.
That day, she had been up for the seventh night in a row working on her thesis. She had been pushing herself for a week straight, trying to finish the paper and submit it to graduate.
Every night, she wanted to slap her past self for ever signing up for a PhD program.
To graduate, she worked hard every single day and night with almost no sleep. Just as the editor had finally replied with comments, she got too excited and didn't even get to open the email. She just dropped dead.
So, her old world lost a hardworking woman who died from overwork in the name of academic success.
And this new world gained a wandering ghost with a blurry face.
Liliana was always a patient and calm person. In her old world, she had no parents. She was raised in an orphanage by the kind director and had no other attachments.
So, she accepted her death pretty quickly. It was just a shame about the unfinished thesis. What a pity.
In this world, nobody except the young prince could see or hear her. At first, she thought she had ended up in some kind of haunted world. But no. Other than herself, she hadn't seen a single ghost friend.
She followed the people dressed like eunuchs and young servants, and found out many things.
This world had many more men than women. For some unknown reason, when babies were born naturally, most of them were boys. Because of this, women had become very rare and precious. A woman could marry several men if she wanted to. But since there were so few women, most of them were raised carefully at home, waiting to come of age, get engaged, and be chosen by suitors. The ones in power, those who worked as officials or went out to do business, were still mostly men.
Besides the fact that there were fewer women, life and emotions here felt very similar to ancient times in her original world. Liliana felt goosebumps all over her skin.
The boy in front of her finally stopped crying.
"Kid, you said your name is Prince Allennon, right?" She floated a little closer. The boy, who had been scared when he first saw a ghost, was now no longer afraid.
Just now, he had cried only because she had started paying attention to the little eunuch who brought the food. He had only pretended to be scared again to make her look at him.
His father had told him that one day, he would be the one to rule the world as the emperor. So, he must not fear anything.
The truth was, he just didn't want her attention on anyone else.
Teenage boys often had strange possessiveness.
"Kid, tell me, what does that dish in front of you taste like?" Liliana looked at the fancy food neatly arranged on the table.
Being a ghost was terrible. Not only could most people not see her, but she couldn't eat anything either.
Maybe she was hoping to feel something through him. Liliana stared closely at the dish nearest to Prince Allennon. The food looked beautiful and colorful, and it probably tasted amazing. Without noticing, she floated a little closer.
Prince Allennon watched the ghost girl come closer. It was strange. In stories, ghosts were always cold and scary, but she made him feel warm. When she was close enough, he could smell a light scent on her. It was like cedar, morning dew, and fresh mountain water. It smelled fresh and gentle.
His ears slowly turned red.
"Hey, kid, hurry up and tell me what this dish tastes like. Is it really bad?" Liliana saw him staying quiet and pretended to be annoyed. The dish must be terrible. That was why he didn't know how to describe it. Yes, that had to be it. She just didn't want to admit that she was like a fox calling the grapes sour because she couldn't eat them.
The boy heard the slight anger in her voice, but it sounded more like she was being playful.
"No, it's really good. Super tasty," he said, putting extra strength into his words.
"Hmph." Teenage boys really were annoying. Liliana didn't care if he could see her or not. She made a silly face at him.
Fine. If she couldn't see it, she wouldn't think about it. She turned around and floated away.
Prince Allennon felt a little panic inside. She was walking away. Was she leaving him? His heart started to feel uneasy.
But people couldn't move faster than ghosts. And he was a crown prince, so he had to always act with calm and grace.
By the time he opened the palace doors, there was nothing there but some confused servants. The ghost girl was already gone.
Prince Allennon stood at the entrance, thinking. Would she come back? She had to come back. After all, in this huge palace, he was the only one who could see her. When she came back, maybe he would apologize. But he was the prince. Why should he say sorry? Forget it. When she returned, he would just tell her how that dish really tasted.
He looked at the palace doors, feeling empty and lost.
The young eunuch beside him, Xiao Fuzi, seemed to notice something. "Your Highness, was the food not to your taste?"
He waved his hand, and the eunuch went quiet and walked away. The prince stepped back into the hall. But he never let the palace doors close again.