The next "evening," Shin sat in a small, private study adjacent to their chambers. The air was calm, a stark contrast to the chaos of the previous day. He held the glowing list of candidates in the air, scrolling through the names he had now, for lack of a better term, "acquired."
He ticked them off in his head. Valeria. Solara. Elowen. Celia. And now, Mystia.
He looked up from the list and watched as Mystia moved around the room. She was pouring tea, and not a single drop spilled. Her movements were fluid, graceful, and confident. She placed the cup of steaming tea on the table beside him with a delicate precision that was worlds away from the girl who had tripped over her own feet. When she caught him looking, she blushed a deep, adorable red and quickly looked away, but a small, proud smile played on her lips. The clumsy curse was broken.
"Your strategic portfolio is growing, my husband," Luna said, a proud smile on her face as she watched him review the list.
"It's growing too fast," Shin muttered, scrolling to the next name. One entry caught his eye. The portrait was of a woman with a sharp, intelligent gaze and a knowing, almost mischievous smile. Her hair was a rich, deep auburn, tied back in an elegant, yet somehow suggestive, bun. The text beside her read: Eriko Toneheart, Queen's Advisor.
Shin frowned. "Wait a minute. Queen's Advisor? I didn't even know you had an advisor."
Luna sighed, a long-suffering sound that spoke of many years of dealing with this particular person. "Eriko is... unique. She is my most trusted confidante, my sharpest political mind, and my oldest friend."
"She sounds important," Shin said, intrigued. "Where is she? Shouldn't she be here, advising... us?"
"She is currently on a diplomatic expedition to the Granite Republic of Khaz'Modan," Luna explained. "Negotiating new trade routes for enchanted minerals. A task only she has the... finesse for."
Solara, who was busy trying to see if she could melt a sugar cube with her glare, looked up. "Finesse? She's going to flirt with the Khaz'Modan ambassadors until they forget their own names and give us all their rocks for free."
Luna didn't deny it. "Eriko's methods are... unorthodox. She has a way of disarming people with her words and her... presence. She has seen more seasons than this castle has stones, and she delights in testing the resolve of those in power. Especially men."
Shin looked at the woman's portrait again. The mischievous smile now seemed less like a simple expression and more like a challenge. He could feel a new kind of dread, a different kind of pressure, building in his chest. He had faced down a proud warrior, a fiery goddess, and a living ghost. He had managed a logistics manager and a clumsy maid. But a mature, brilliant, teasing advisor? That was a whole different kind of battle.
"She will be back in a few days," Luna continued, her eyes twinkling with a mixture of affection and apprehension. "And when she returns, she will test you, my husband. In ways you cannot yet imagine."
Shin swallowed hard. He looked at the list, at the name "Eriko Toneheart," and felt a strange, terrifying flutter in his stomach. It wasn't panic. It was... anticipation. And that, he realized, was the most dangerous feeling of all.
Shin stared at the portrait of Eriko Toneheart, the woman's mischievous smile feeling like a direct challenge. A seasoned diplomat, a political mind, and a master of "unorthodox methods." He could already feel the headache coming on.
Just as he was about to ask Luna for more details, Solara, who had been quiet for a suspiciously long time, spoke up. A wicked, knowing grin was plastered across her face.
"Oh, and did we forget to mention the best part?" she said, her voice dripping with syrupy sweetness. "Eriko is already married."
The glowing list in Shin's hand flickered and died. He dropped his hands, his face going pale. The panic he felt when he first saw the married women on the list came rushing back, but this time it was focused on a single, very intimidating individual.
"Married?" he yelped, his voice cracking. "She's... married? But she's on the list! Luna, you said the Rite was a duty, but... with a married woman? That's... that's where I draw the line! I can't do that! That's... that's awful!"
He was pacing again, his modern world morality screaming in protest. He could handle a lot—goddesses, ghosts, ancient logistics managers—but being an accessory to what his brain insisted was adultery was a step too far.
Luna watched his meltdown with a patient, almost amused expression. She had expected this.
"My love," she said, her voice calm and steady, cutting through his frantic pacing. "Do not misunderstand."
He stopped, turning to her.
"Eriko is indeed married," Luna continued, her tone shifting to one of gentle explanation. "It was a political alliance, arranged centuries ago to secure a northern trade route. But the marriage is... a formality at this point. A title that has long since lost its personal meaning."
She paused, choosing her words with care. "Her husband, Lord Toneheart, was discovered... unfaithful. Several decades ago. With an entire harem from the eastern provinces, if the rumors are true."
Luna's expression hardened slightly, a flicker of anger on behalf of her friend. "Eriko, being Eriko, did not weep or make a scene. She simply dissolved their personal bond. She kept the title of 'Lady Toneheart' for political leverage, but their marriage is over in every way that matters. She is, for all intents and purposes, a free woman. A very, very angry free woman."
The information hit Shin like a cool wave. The panic subsided, replaced by a more complex emotion—a mixture of relief and a surprising pang of sympathy for a woman he had never met. He wasn't being asked to be a homewrecker; he was being asked to... what? Help a powerful, wronged woman find a new anchor?
"Oh," he said, the single word filled with a new understanding.
"Exactly," Solara chimed in, her grin returning. "So she's totally fair game. And trust me, after what her husband did, she's probably going to enjoy the Rite more than anyone."
Shin just shook his head, his mind reeling. His "strategic asset portfolio" wasn't just a list of powerful women. It was a list of powerful women with complicated, tragic, and downright messy backstories. And he was the one expected to sort through it all.