When I opened the door, what was revealed was a space filled with more expensive items than expected.
‘It wasn’t just logs that were placed?’
A rack with shovels and plows hanging. Wooden shelves for storing seeds and the like. Square bowls for holding grain. Straw for laying on the floor. And even a thresher for separating grain from stalks.
Persephone swallowed dryly as she examined the various implements.
… Didn’t he give too much?
‘What have I received from him so far?’
Persephone spread her hands wide and began folding her fingers one by one.
‘Map, Lady Hemera, warehouse, kitchen, administrator privileges…’
Just thinking roughly, there were already five things.
It seemed that the lord of the underworld, unlike other gods in Greek and Roman mythology, was not stingy but had a very generous disposition.
And for Persephone, the unexpectedly vast generosity of the great king was ‘slightly’ troublesome.
She would be living in the underworld for 6 months from now on. But instead of making a good impression on its ruler, she kept receiving more and more.
Yes, the warehouse she received this time would be compensation for the food.
‘Then what about the others?’
… She couldn’t come up with an answer.
Her goal was to become independent as a goddess. To become independent, she needed to build achievements in the underworld.
If she kept receiving more and more like this, the foundation of the goddess ‘Persephone’ would all originate from Hades.
Even though she had set the goal of ‘getting her own place’, if she started relying on Hades’ kindness, she might end up living as a tenant in his palace later.
She couldn’t let that happen.
‘Right, I should repay, repay him…!’
A spark lit up in Persephone’s eyes.
Along with the determination not to lose to the lord of the dead, a strange sense of competition towards him boiled up.
The strange resolve to somehow return his kindness was an added bonus.
But soon after, a mist-like worry settled on her face.
‘But he said absolutely not to repay…’
It didn’t seem like he was just being humble and saying not to repay with words. It was the first time she had seen him speak so firmly.
“Lady Hemera!”
After pondering, Persephone soon gestured towards the air.
Following that, a breeze blew in, bringing slightly moist air. Hemera’s voice echoed softly above her head.
【Why did you call me, little seed?】
“Can I ask you something?”
【Of course. Anything.】
Persephone exclaimed.
“When is Lord Hades’ birthday?”
[This is the timeline separator]On a clear morning.
Hydra was on her way to Persephone’s room again today.
After checking the room first, if Persephone wasn’t there, going to her domain was the morning routine.
Hydra’s gaze, crossing the palace corridor, was filled with expectation.
“Miss Persephone, are you there?”
As she knocked on the door in front of Persephone’s room.
“Come in!”
A cheerful reply came back immediately.
Hydra opened the door and entered. Her expression brightened as Persephone, placing a bowl, came into view.
“Is it the fruit I picked for breakfast today?”
“Ah, yes!”
Persephone had various items that the earth goddess had provided, but when it came to food, it was mostly preserves or dried things that were easy to store, or grain powders.
Therefore, there was a slight limitation in obtaining fresh ingredients.
Hydra and Thanatos made up for that limitation by going to paradise, where crops grow endlessly, to pick fruits or catch meat.
“Since it’s breakfast, it won’t be a big meal, will it be okay?”
“Anything is fine with me.”
Hydra sat at the dining table attached to one side of the spacious room.
After confirming that Persephone also sat down, she picked up the bread from the ceramic bowl.
They sometimes had meals together like this.
It was just bread properly soaked in undiluted wine, eaten with simple side dishes, but it was delicious enough.
It was even more so because she had never properly enjoyed food even after having a human-like body.
It was then that a clay tablet entered the edge of Hydra’s vision as she was eating olives pickled on soft white bread.
‘A clay tablet?’
Since most of the paper in the underworld had long since changed to papyrus, clay tablets were hardly used unless it was a record that needed to be permanently preserved by baking.
Curiosity settled on Hydra’s face as she saw a clay tablet after a long time.
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh my!”
Hydra’s shoulders twitched in surprise. She pointed to the clay tablet set up in the corner of the table.
“Can I ask what this is?”
“Ah, it’s a calendar.”
A calendar?
It looked much simpler than the clocks or calendars used in the underworld as time units. Only the wedge-shaped ‘/’ was marked in a row at regular intervals.
The regular intervals must be the unit of day and night passing – that is, a day…
“Lady Hydra, when did I come to the underworld?”
Then, Persephone suddenly threw a question.
Hydra, who had chewed and swallowed the bread, rolled her eyes.
“Hmm… I don’t know the exact date without calculating, but I think you first came to the underworld around late spring, right?”
“Um, that’s right! I wasn’t mistaken then.”
Persephone, who had stuffed the bread into her mouth at once, brought a reed pen.
She ground the pen tip on the stone wall a bit more, then firmly made a flower-shaped pattern at the top of the clay tablet.
Hydra watched this while swallowing the rest of her bread.
‘Come to think of it, those wedge shapes… aren’t they decreasing one by one as each day passes?’
If there was a ‘/////’ mark on the first day, on the second day it would be marked as ‘////’, decreasing like fish bones one by one.
And on the day when the bones were completely gone, a large asterisk was drawn.
As if it was a very important day.
“Is this perhaps marking how deep you’ve dug the well?”
Hydra’s finger pointed to the day with the asterisk.
What is this well?
These days, Persephone was digging a well, saying that there was enough light and wind for plants to grow, but not enough water.
Hydra saw her digging the well every morning, and wondered if the calendar was related to that, so she asked.
Persephone brought her gaze under her fingertip, then answered casually.
“…Well, yes. I’ve almost finished digging now. I’ll complete it tomorrow. That’s the last day.”
“I see…”
Hydra nodded halfheartedly.
But Persephone, thinking something while looking at her, slightly flipped over the clay tablet and then completely removed it from the table.
At a glance, there was nothing unnatural to notice, but…
‘Strange.’
The line that could be called the first day of the calendar I just saw had the most wedge marks.
In the end, it means that she dug the well deepest on the first day, but as I remember, Persephone only roughly determined the location of the well on the first day.
‘…It doesn’t seem to be about the well.’
Hydra, who had finished her meal, smacked her lips. The asterisk from the calendar floated in her mind for a long time.
[This is the timeline separator]A few hours later, in Hades’ office.
“It’s an emergency!”
Hydra’s feet vigorously opened the door of the office.
Hades, who had closed the swinging door that was weakly opening left and right with darkness, asked.
“What is it.”
“Miss Persephone was using a clay tablet calendar.”
“…And that’s an emergency?”
“Ah.”
Only then did Hydra hurriedly wave her hands.
“I’ll explain from the beginning.”
“Alright.”
Hydra spilled out what had happened this morning.
She felt quite silly for blushing while telling not just the essentials but even the conversations she had with Persephone, but she tried to ignore such feelings.
After hearing her situation, Hades briefly evaluated the ‘calendar’.
“It’s presumed to be for farming.”
“What? That?”
“Yes. Considering that Persephone’s mother is Sister Demeter, it makes sense that there’s a calendar, and that it’s more relaxed than the clocks used in the underworld. Farm work usually progresses like late spring, early summer, late summer, and so on.”
“No, but something was still strange.”
“Why?”
“If it was a farming calendar, it should be divided by seasons or weeks. But Miss Persephone called it the last ‘day’.”
So the asterisk isn’t the time to plant seeds or make plants grow with divine power, but a ‘day’ unit?
“Thanatos, what do you think?”
【…When you say the last day, I only know about funeral days.】
“…”
Let’s not speak.
Hades was about to lower his head, swallowing the sigh he was about to let out.
“Well, did everyone have a good night?”
An exceptionally bright voice filled the office.
“Hermes, what do you think.”
Hades’ gaze flew to the messenger god who had been organizing the dead all night.
“I don’t know?”
“I didn’t even say what I was asking about.”
Hermes, adjusting his hat, shrugged.
“You didn’t accept my greeting. I’m going to sulk.”
“…Right, good morning. Now that you’re here, I’d like to ask you something.”
“Ah, I heard the situation just outside, so you don’t need to explain.”
That bastard…
“Alright, if you’ve heard everything, this will be quick. Tell me anything. Being from the same world of the living, there must be something that overlaps.”
“Well, if she even marked it with an asterisk, it’s simple, right?”
Hermes, with his staff behind his back, smiled brightly.
“It must be her birthday, don’t you think?”
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
