Chapter 02
Prodia Ducer, Count’s Daughter (2)
The historic Ducer family of the Évem Empire.
Producer Yeon of the TV station was reborn as their only daughter, Prodia Ducer.
The young Prodia lay in her cradle, lost in thought.
“So this is what they meant by giving me another chance… reincarnation…”
And on top of that, she was told to “do good through producing.” Huh.
“So this time I’m supposed to take some aspiring talents and debut them properly, huh?”
Well, honestly, what’s the big deal about editing properly? If the ratings don’t come in, so what? The important thing is that I survive.
But…
“Hmm…?”
Prodia had felt it earlier, but the house was oddly… extremely old-fashioned. She tilted her head.
“Where on earth is this? This isn’t Korea, is it?”
And outside the window…
“D-Dragon?!”
Baby Prodia’s eyes widened in shock.
“Waaah—!”
Why are dragons flying around?! What is this place?!
Before she could even process the situation, someone entered the room.
A middle-aged man smiled warmly at Prodia.
“Prodia, my beloved daughter!”
It seemed he was her father.
Judging by his elegant, museum-worthy attire…
“So I’m a noble daughter in a fantasy world?!”
…It seemed so. This wasn’t the modern 21st century.
Prodia was confused.
“Producing, you say?! I was a PD in my past life, specializing in idols! And now I’m reborn in a world where some demon lord probably lives next door? At least send me somewhere with pop culture, geez.”
Days passed.
Prodia listened carefully to the servants’ stories.
But the conclusion was always the same: this world had no idols. Nothing even remotely capable of creating a fandom.
What on earth was she supposed to “produce”?
Understanding the will of the god who reincarnated her was impossible.
Then, suddenly, a blue screen appeared in front of Prodia.
Pop!
“What is this now?”
Baby Prodia blinked several times.
No matter how many times she looked, it was the same. A transparent blue screen floated in the air.
Prodia immediately recognized it.
“No way… a status screen?!”
Not only was she reincarnated into a fantasy world, now she had a game system too?
“What kind of god is this?”
She carefully read the text. What she saw left her speechless.
[Prodia Ducer]
Remaining Karma: 9,999,999
Her eyes went wide.
“Why is my karma so high?”
Could this be… the punishment for all the “demonic editing” she did in her past life as a PD?
Then, with a notification sound, another blue screen popped up.
Ding~!
[Quest Triggered!]
Reduce your karma by 1,000,000 or more before reaching adulthood.
Failure: After death, sent to the Editing Hell.
“?! If I fail…? A hell of editing for a million years?!”
Baby Prodia gritted her tiny teeth.
“Damn it! What law did I break? Did I kill anyone? I just did some harsh editing, and this is how it’s punished?!”
“Waaah!”
No matter how unfair she felt, it was useless. Her second life had already begun, and so had the quest.
About twenty years passed.
During that time, Prodia did everything she could to reduce her karma.
As a child, she diligently helped with household chores. As she grew, she volunteered, helped those in need, and performed every good deed she could think of.
Eventually, she realized something.
Her karma didn’t decrease much through ordinary good deeds.
The most effective way was…
The imperial capital’s plaza.
Now an adult, Prodia walked across the center of the square.
Her black hair and pale skin made her already sharp features even more striking.
Her attire was slightly odd for a noble lady—somewhat modest. But Prodia didn’t care.
At that moment, a young boy ran up to her and bowed respectfully.
“Teacher! Hello!”
“Yes.”
Several young men passing by turned their heads.
They, too, ran forward and greeted her.
“Teacher, it’s been a while!”
“I hope you’ve been well.”
“Yes, yes.”
Prodia responded as if this was completely normal.
Then, a middle-aged nobleman spotted her from afar and shouted loudly.
“Prodia Ducer? Here of all places?!”
Prodia furrowed her brows but quickly composed a poker face. Few would even notice the subtle change.
She greeted him politely.
“Good day, Father.”
The man grabbed her wrist.
“Teacher, if you’re not too busy, would you have a cup of tea with me? I’d like to discuss the next imperial recruitment…”
But Prodia’s expression was firm.
She shook off his hand.
“I’m sorry, Father. As you know, I only accept teaching requests via letters.”
Then she bowed and left.
“Teacher…! Teacher…!”
The man called after her, but Prodia didn’t look back.
“Ugh… imperial parents, really.”
She shook her head tiredly.
The Évem Imperial Court held an annual public recruitment for instructors.
Prodia had become famous as the empire’s top private tutor.
The reason she became a teacher was simple:
-
After the Countess of Ducer died giving birth to Prodia, the Count weakened rapidly, and the family fortune declined while he lay bedridden.
-
Teaching others was the most effective way to reduce karma.
In other words, the god’s “producing” could be replaced by “education” in this world.
Prodia combined her past experience in tutoring and preparing students for media exams.
Soon, she became a top tutor, boasting a 99.99% pass rate in imperial exams.
But still, all of it wasn’t enough.
She stared at the empty air and muttered to herself.
“Status screen.”
Soon, another blue screen appeared.
Pop!
[Prodia Ducer]
Remaining Karma: 8,569,942
Thankfully, she had passed her first quest of reducing one million karma points, but the journey was far from over.
“After all that hard work, it barely went down. Ugh, this is insane.”
Despite working day and night, she only managed to reduce her karma this much.
The reason? Every student or servant she tried to “produce” had tiny amounts of karma she could remove.
A new servant approached her at the Ducer estate.
“Status screen.”
The servant’s screen appeared.
Pop!
[Name: James]
Occupation: Servant of the Ducer family
Dream: Quit his job
Stats: …
“Skip the stats, next.”
The next page appeared.
[Producing James can reduce karma by: 22]
“…”
Every case was like this. Even if she taught diligently, the karma she could remove was negligible.
“At this rate, when am I supposed to finish my karma reduction?!”
Just when she felt out of options, “it” opened.
The Évem Empire’s Heir Selection Contest.
~Évem Empire Heir Selection Contest~
[Purpose]: To select a husband for the imperial princess, Arline Évem.
[Judging criteria]: Various abilities will be evaluated.
[Eligibility]: Anyone physically healthy.
[Prize]: Marriage to the princess + 10,000,000 gold.
Prodia carefully read the imperial letter in her hands.
Choosing the princess’s husband through a contest—what a shocking idea.
In this strictly hierarchical society, they claimed they wouldn’t consider social rank.
“What on earth happened in the imperial court?”
But that wasn’t Prodia’s concern. What mattered was that this contest controlled her very life.
The moment she accepted the letter, another blue screen appeared.
Ding~!
[Quest Triggered!]
Find suitable candidates for the Évem Empire Heir Selection Contest and “produce” them.
Failure: After death, sent to Editing Hell.
Her previous top-tier tutoring efforts had been futile.
The “second chance” the god mentioned was this contest.
From that day, Prodia ordered her staff to spread rumors across the empire:
[Prodia Ducer, renowned private tutor, seeks candidates for the Heir Selection Contest.]
The effect was tremendous.
Within days, countless letters arrived for Prodia.
After all, she was the tutor with a 99.99% success rate in imperial exams.
Everyone thought:
“The one chosen by Prodia will become the heir.”
“Hmm, good.”
Prodia nodded in satisfaction.
Now she only needed to meet the candidates and check their status screens.
Surely, among them, there would be at least one…
One capable of reducing her karma the most.
“Stats don’t matter. Only check how much karma can be reduced.”
No matter how foolish the candidate appeared, she would train him into a worthy heir.
Soon, a crowd of candidates gathered at the Ducer estate’s garden.
Prodia peeked through the window.
“With this many people, at least one should give me a karma jackpot.”
She was determined.
Across from her, the Ducer Count slept peacefully on a bed.
She remembered her father smiling at her when she was little.
Did her karma somehow affect his current state?
Had her family borne the punishment for her sins?
A pang of guilt always lingered when she looked at him.
Prodia sighed.
But now, she was ready. She understood what the god wanted her to do.
“Produce a suitable candidate, win the contest, share half the prize… reduce my karma and solve the family’s financial troubles.”
She clenched her fist with determination.
Soon after, Prodia’s first audition began.
