The Meaning of You

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Story is about a young woman that suffers from burnout, then founds herself in another world as a foretold priestess. Problem is that she has no powers, so after being dismissed by everyone as a flop, she just stays at the emperor's palace since her presence alone is useful to him. She doesn't have to do anything though, which is all she wants - until the emperor starts to notice her and refuses to leave her locked in her room out of care for her well being.

The narrative primarily deals with the aftermath of burnout, depression, others' expectations and lack of self-worth. There is no ... real competition for her attention, romance-wise it's all about the protagonist and the emperor from start to finish. There will be no cliched events in which her life will be in danger, nor will she become an incredible hero that begins a revolution. The story is realistic in its themes, her struggle with depression is real, and the few misunderstandings are also realistic and easily resolved - as the couple communicates efficiently and in a healthy manner.

Humor is good, romance is good, story is okay (nothing much will happen). There are two problems though:

1. The setting is hollow. Although they hint at it, the emperor is never really given room to become a character out of what relates directly to how he treats the female lead. As someone that had expectations thrust upon him his entire life, it would be expected that at least this was developed, but no dice. There's no mention of his parents either, siblings, cousins, noble families - it's as if the empire exists only in what we see inside the palace. So both the male lead and the world they inhabit feel hollow upon closer inspection.

2. There is no real explanation as to how or why she was placed in the new world. Which would be okay if one of the few plots was not about a priest that is determined in making her fulfill her holy mandate. As it is, this plot (mostly forgotten throughout the whole history) feels out of place and only harms the narrative - since it doesn't seem to be any mandate, and him the sole lunatic for insisting on it without a proper build or follow up.

I recommend that you read this because it does a good job on portraying burnout and the journey to get out of it (there are very relatable scenes). However, if you do, you should ignore everything not directly related to its central theme - this isn't a story with real plot or worldbuilding, but more of a fairytale about overcoming depression.