Mole maybe with aspiration to be a ruler once (7)
I believe the answer is:
hadrian
'mole' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'maybe with aspiration to be a ruler once' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'maybe' could be 'i' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'i' is located in the answer.
'aspiration' could be 'h' (speech sound from a puff of breath) and 'h' is found within the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found in the answer.
'ruler' could be 'r' (abbreviation for regina, e.g. in ER ) and 'r' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ad' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hadrian that I've seen before include "Roman emperor who built the British wall" , "His wall crosses northern Britain" , "Roman emperor and wallbuilder" , "Imperial wall-builder" , "Wall-building Roman emperor" .)