Ed Frihi.
An orphanage graduate, he was exceptionally intelligent from a young age.
Never forgetting what he heard or saw, he also had an eye for understanding the world.
Above all, he was quick at calculating.
For Ed, the world was divided into just two categories.
Things that are useful and things that are useless.
Frihi Sangdanju, who had noticed this talent early on, adopted him as his own son.
Because Sangdanju had no family of his own, Ed naturally grew up as his successor.
Anyway, both of them were so famous within the empire that Prodia was also well aware of them.
In particular, ‘Ed Frihi’ was renowned for being a polymath.
Of course, it was not only good rumors that existed about him.
“I am at a loss for what to do, now that the future owner of Matop has honored us with a visit.”
Conversing with Irtis, Ed displayed an excessively humble demeanor.
However, the look in his eyes was clearly that of a predator sizing up his prey.
Irtis seemed to be aware of that as well.
While the two men exchanged words, Prodia also observed Ed.
‘I only knew him as a wealthy genius merchant; I had no idea he was the head of a secret information organization. Moreover…’
Just then, feeling Prodia’s gaze, Ed flashed a slight smile in her direction.
Prodia reciprocated with a smile, not overly shaken.
However, her heart was screaming at the moment.
‘I had never heard the rumor that Ed Frihi was this good-looking.’
Prodia’s eyes sparkled.
He was truly the epitome of a silver-haired, bespectacled handsome man.
And look at that contrived smile he added as a cherry on top.
‘He’s just like a villain. This is definitely a winning stock.’
Prodia inadvertently licked her lips.
She already envisioned the three men on stage together.
So, what should she do?
The answer was simple.
‘Status screen.’
Without any more hesitation, she immediately opened Ed’s status screen.
Pop!
[Name: Ed Frihi.Occupation: Frihi Sangdan Successor, Head of Frihi Secret Information Organization.
Dream: None.
Stats: Accounting(SSS), Business(SSS), Commerce(SSS)… Eloquence(S).]
Prodia quickly scanned through his status screen.
Turns out, Ed also had no dream.
‘It’s strange. I heard that Ed Frihi is eyeing the position of Sangdanju.’
Then again, Ed too must be one of the suitable candidates designated by the Master.
She swiftly skimmed through the rest of the information.
Checking if he had that one particular skill.
Dance.
Currently, none of her team members specialized in dance.
Unfortunately, nothing related to dance appeared in Ed’s status.
However, another intriguing stat caught her eye.
‘Eloquence(S)…?’
Based on Irtis and Luca, an S-rank skill usually had something to do with the stage.
But what does eloquence have to do with that?
She decided to check it later. It didn’t look useful right now.
To avoid repeating her previous mistake, Prodia decided to confirm the most important detail first.
‘Next page.’
Then, the notification she had been eagerly waiting for rang out.
Ding~!
[Partial Quest Achieved!Found Suitable Candidate (3/?)!]
Prodia’s eyes widened.
‘I knew it the moment I saw his face. He is indeed a suitable candidate!’
By now, she was almost certain.
The suitable candidates must be selected based on looks, right?
‘Ah, right. There’s also the common point of lacking a dream and having overflowing SSS-grade stats.’
She momentarily got excited.
Then, this man would also be able to extinguish the same amount of my karmic debt.
She opened the next page of the status screen, which, as she expected, was also similar.
[If you produce Ed Frihi, the karmic debts you can extinguish: ?,???,???]Once again, seven digits.
‘Yes!’
She had found three people already.
Now, all she had to do was to persuade this man to come with her.
But how?
‘It’s unlikely that the head of a secret information organization would willingly follow me…’
Maybe it’s best to observe for now.
Prodia glanced at the status window before locking eyes with Ed once more.
He was already engaged in conversation with Luca.
“Didn’t expect to meet you so soon again. I heard you left the Holy Office; is it true?”
“Already knew that, did you? You really are something.”
“It was surprising to see all those people following you, though.”
The two seemed even closer than Prodia had initially thought.
Prodia, who had been watching, questioned Luca.
“Luca, how do you know this person?”
“Ah, right! Let me explain how this happened…”
Luca began to explain to Prodia and Ertis.
Years ago.
Luca couldn’t stand the stifling life of the Holy Office and ran away.
The plan was perfect.
He had familiarized himself with the geography around the Holy Office, under the pretext of spending time with the female clergy.
On a night when everyone was asleep, he made his escape.
And successfully reached the forest without anyone noticing.
The problem was, his personality changed at that point.
“Ah, ah…!”
Gripped by an intense headache, he fell to the ground.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
