Surely There's One to the Princess' Taste (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 2

The ancient and prestigious House of Count ‘Duser’ of the Aivem Empire.

Pyeon Sung-yeon, the PD, had been reborn as their only daughter, ‘Prodia Duser’.

Little Prodia, lying in her cradle, sank deep into thought.

‘So reincarnation was the “one more chance” they gave me…’

Moreover, they wanted her to do good deeds through producing? Hmm.

‘Does that mean I’m supposed to gather promising talents and debut them properly this time?’

Well, what’s so hard about editing honestly? So what if the ratings aren’t great? My survival comes first.

But then…

‘Huh…?’

She’d noticed it for a while—the house felt excessively antique.

Prodia tilted her head in confusion.

‘Where on earth am I? Isn’t this Korea?’

And beyond the window… what was that…?

‘A, a dragon?!’

Baby Prodia’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.

“Waaahh—!”

Why is a dragon flying around?!

What is this place, seriously?!

Just then, before she could fully grasp the situation, someone entered the room.

A middle-aged man beamed warmly at Prodia.

“Prodia, my beloved daughter!”

He must be her father.

Judging by his elegant attire—something more suited to a museum—

‘So I’ve been reborn as a noble lady in a fantasy world?!’

…That seemed to be the case.

Not in twenty-first-century modern society?

Prodia was utterly bewildered.

‘They told me to produce?!’

Wait, I was a PD in my past life, specializing in idol production!

Why reincarnate me into a world where the Demon King probably lives next door?

‘At the very least, they should’ve sent me somewhere with pop culture!’

Days passed like this.

Prodia listened intently to the maids’ conversations.

But the result was always the same.

It was obvious this world had no idols, and there wasn’t even a scrap of material to build a fandom around.

What exactly was she supposed to produce?

Prodia couldn’t fathom the will of the gods.

Just then—

Suddenly, a bright blue window popped up right before Prodia.

Pop!

‘What’s this now?’

Baby Prodia blinked her eyes.

No matter how many times she looked, it remained the same. A transparent, blue window floated in midair.

Prodia felt she knew exactly what this was.

‘Could it be… a status window?!’

Not only did they reincarnate me into a fantasy world, but now they’re throwing in a game system too?!

‘What kind of god even are you?’

First, let’s see what it says.

As she read down the contents, she was utterly flabbergasted.

[Prodia Duser

Remaining Karma: 9,999,999]

Her eyes went wide.

‘Why is my karma so high?’

Could it be punishment for that “demonic editing” I did in my past life—the sin the god mentioned back then?

At that moment—

Suddenly, accompanied by a chime, another blue window appeared.

Ding~!

[Quest Activated!

Eradicate over 1,000,000 karma before reaching adulthood.

Failure Penalty: Death followed by eternal editing hell.]

‘?!’

If I fail the quest, I die and then what…?

That hell where I edit for a million years?!

Baby Prodia ground her nonexistent teeth.

‘Damn it!’

Did I break some law? Huh? Did I even kill someone?!

Is it really worth all this just because I did a bit of demonic editing?

“Waaahh!”

But no matter how unfair it felt, it was useless.

Her second life—and the quest—had already begun.

[This is the timeline separator]

Thus, roughly twenty years passed.

During that time, Prodia left no stone unturned in her efforts to reduce her karma.

As a child, she diligently helped with household chores; as she grew older, she volunteered, and willingly assisted those in need around her.

In short, she tried every good deed imaginable.

Then, she discovered something.

The most effective way to reduce her karma wasn’t through those good deeds.

It was something else entirely…

In the central square of the imperial capital,

Prodia, now an adult, strode across the plaza.

Her jet-black hair and pale skin made her already cold impression even sharper.

Yet, her attire seemed somewhat unusual—far too plain for a noble lady.

But Prodia didn’t seem to care.

Just then, a young boy suddenly ran up and bowed deeply to her.

“Teacher! Good day!”

“Hmm.”

At that sound, several passing youths turned their heads.

They hurried over and greeted her identically.

“Teacher, it’s been a while!”

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, yes.”

Prodia responded as if this were perfectly routine.

At that moment—

A middle-aged nobleman spotted Prodia from afar and called out loudly.

“Countess Duser?! To meet you here of all places!”

Upon seeing him, Prodia’s brow furrowed briefly.

But she quickly composed her poker face—so swiftly that an ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed.

She bowed politely to him.

“Good day, Father.”

The middle-aged man immediately seized her wrist.

“Teacher, if you’re not too busy, would you join me for a cup of tea? I’d like to discuss the upcoming imperial civil service examination…”

But Prodia’s expression remained firm.

She pulled her hand away and said,

“I’m sorry, Father. As you know, I only accept teaching requests via formal letter.”

Then she bowed again courteously.

“I must go now—I have urgent matters to attend to.”

“T-Teacher? Teac—!”

The nobleman called out desperately, but Prodia walked away without looking back.

‘Ugh, imperial parents are such a hassle.’

Prodia shook her head wearily.

Every year, the Aivem Imperial Court held a public recruitment exam for civil service positions.

And Prodia had become renowned as the empire’s most elite private tutor.

Her reason for becoming a teacher was simple.

First: After giving birth to Prodia, the Countess passed away, and Count Duser rapidly declined in health.

Eventually, while the Count lay bedridden, the family’s fortunes plummeted.

Second: The most effective way to reduce karma was… ‘teaching someone.’

In other words, the ‘producing’ the god mentioned could be fulfilled through ‘education’ in this world.

Thus, Prodia took up tutoring both to support her family and to clear her karma.

She applied all her past-life experience as a private tutor and her know-how from preparing for journalism exams.

Before she knew it, Prodia had become a master educator—no, an exceptional mentor—with a 99.99% success rate in imperial exam placements.

Yet, in the end, it was all futile.

Prodia gazed into the air and silently called out.

‘…Status window.’

Instantly, a bright blue status window appeared.

Pop!

[Prodia Duser

Remaining Karma: 8,569,942]

Fortunately, she had already safely cleared her first quest—eradicating 1,000,000 karma.

But the road ahead remained dauntingly long.

‘Even after all that suffering, I barely made a dent. Ugh, this is driving me insane.’

She’d worked day and night without rest.

There was a reason Prodia had reduced her karma by so little (or so it seemed).

As she arrived at the Count’s manor, a newly hired servant approached her.

Prodia silently called out.

‘Status window.’

Immediately, the servant’s status window appeared before her eyes.

Pop!

[Name: James.

Occupation: Servant of House Duser.

Dream: To resign.

Stats: …]

Prodia thought inwardly,

‘Skip the stats. Next.’

The status window flipped to the next page.

[Karma eradicable by producing James: 22.]

‘…’

It was always like this.

She’d checked every student she taught, but the eradicable karma was always minuscule.

She had no choice but to rely on the “grains of sand make a mountain” strategy…

‘But at this rate, when will I ever clear all my karma?!’

Just as she felt utterly out of options—

‘It’ finally opened.

The [Aivem Imperial Prince Consort Selection Tournament].

[This is the timeline separator]

~Aivem Imperial Prince Consort Selection Tournament~

[The Empire announces a tournament to select a spouse for Her Imperial Highness Princess ‘Arlene Aivem’.

Judging Criteria: Various abilities will be evaluated.

Eligibility: Open to any physically healthy individual.

Grand Prize for Winner: Marriage to the Princess and 10,000,000 gold.]

Prodia carefully read the imperial letter in her hand.

It was a rather startling announcement—that they’d select the Princess’s husband through a tournament.

In such a rigid class-based society, they weren’t even considering social status?

‘What on earth happened in the Imperial Court?’

But that wasn’t Prodia’s concern.

What mattered was that this tournament held her lifeline.

Because the moment she received the letter, a new blue window appeared.

Ding~!

[Quest Activated!

Find and produce a suitable candidate to participate in the ‘Aivem Imperial Prince Consort Selection Tournament’.

Failure Penalty: Death followed by eternal editing hell.]

Indeed, all her elite tutoring up to now had been pointless.

The “one chance” the god spoke of—

This tournament was exactly what they meant.

[This is the timeline separator]

From that day onward,

Prodia instructed her servants to spread rumors across the empire:

[“Noble Lady Prodia Duser, the legendary tutor, is seeking a worthy candidate to enter the Prince Consort Selection Tournament.”]

The effect was tremendous.

Within days, countless letters flooded into Prodia’s hands.

After all, wasn’t she the tutor famed for a 99.99% imperial exam success rate?

Everyone believed:

‘Whoever Prodia chooses will become the Prince Consort!’

‘Hmm, good.’

Prodia nodded in satisfaction.

Now, she only needed to meet the applicants and check their status windows.

Surely, among them, there’d be at least one—

Someone worthy of the “suitable candidate” the god mentioned.

Specifically, someone who could erase the greatest amount of her karma.

‘High stats mean nothing. I’ll only check eradicable karma.’

It didn’t matter if they brought some idiot before me.

I’ll mold him into the perfect prince consort, no matter what.

And finally, numerous applicants gathered for interviews.

The garden of Count Duser’s manor soon filled with young men from across the empire.

Prodia peeked out from a window inside the mansion.

‘With so many people here, there’s got to be at least one jackpot candidate for my karma.’

I’ll find him today, no doubt.

With that thought, Prodia turned her head.

On the bed opposite, Count Duser lay asleep.

She recalled her father’s cheerful smile from her childhood.

Could his current state—once perfectly healthy—be because of her karma?

Were her family members bearing the punishment meant for her?

Each time she looked at the Count, a pang of guilt settled deep in Prodia’s heart.

She let out a sigh.

But now, it would be alright. She finally understood what the god wanted her to do.

‘I’ll produce the right candidate, lead him to victory, and split the prize money—clearing my karma and rescuing my family’s finances.’

Then, she’d truly live this new life to the fullest.

Clenching her fist with resolve, she steeled her expression.

And soon after, Prodia’s first audition began.