Reborn: Imperial Officer Promotion Guide

Guleya Heim stood in the dark dungeon, and a middle-aged man pleaded with her on the damp ground.

She didn't even raise her head, just counted the silver deer coins in her hand.

"Please help me...anyway...anyway..."

"Five...six...seven...what? That's all? Your daughter is of the highest rank. Many important people love little kids like her."

"Please have mercy on me. I sold all my family's land to get this much money. Please return my daughter to me! She is only twelve years old!"

"...You peasant, who gave you the guts to talk to me like that!?"

Gu Leiya kicked the man down, then walked up to him and stepped on his abdomen with her high heels, staring at him.

"I spent a lot of effort to catch this top-quality stuff. I brought you here to meet your daughter out of pity, and even gave you a chance to redeem her. It's you who couldn't offer me a satisfactory price. You can only blame yourself for being a useless father!"

"Yes... yes... it's my fault... please have mercy on me! Let my daughter go back and reunite with her mother!"

Hearing this, the corners of Gu Leiya's mouth drooped again.

"Pa, pa, pa!" Gu Leya kicked the man three times on the back of the head.

"Are you mocking me for being single even though I'm almost thirty-five? You really don't understand. The imperial capital is not a place for country folk like you. You should stay in the countryside and farm, and have a wife and children to feed and clothe yourself. This is the future for people like you."

After that, the gorgeously dressed Gu Leiya revealed her mature charm and said in a seductive tone: "Since you can't pay, our deal is canceled. Your daughter will be the toy of all the big shots from tomorrow."

As she spoke, Gu Leiya scattered the silver deer coins in her hand on the man's body.

Ignoring the man who was still begging, she turned around and rushed to meet the slave trader she had agreed to meet with. She heard that a very good slave was caught from the flea market today, and if she could resell it to the slave union, she would make a lot of money.

It was a secret room in the dungeon. When he opened the door and walked in, he saw the slave trader he had worked with for many years lying on the ground, dead.

A boy of about seventeen or eighteen was sitting on him. Looking up, Gu Leiya saw an unusually calm face smiling at her.

"Ahhhhh!!!!!!" Gu Leya woke up from the bed with cold sweat on her face and gasping for breath.

"Gu Leya...Gu Leya! Are you okay?"

“Haaa…haaa…haaa…it turned out to be just a dream…”

In a private house in the imperial capital, Gu Leiya woke up from her sleep screaming.

Next to him, her husband Sandwal had a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong with you? You look so bad. Do you want me to make you a cup of tea?"

"Oh, ok...thank you."

The sheets beneath her were already soaked with sweat. After having such a nightmare, Gu Leiya couldn't remember the boy's appearance at this moment.

Gureya got up from the bed and washed her face on the washstand. On the other side, Sanderval boiled water in the kettle and poured the brewed black tea into a ceramic cup and placed it on the coffee table.

Gu Leiya walked into the living room, sat on the sofa, and picked up the teacup.

"Ah... I'm so happy." Gu Leiya took a big sip of black tea and let out a long sigh.

Thank you." She pulled Sandval closer and kissed him on the cheek.

How warm it is, living in such a cruel world, not being alone, but having him by my side, I am undoubtedly happy.

Such happiness is actually just a coincidence. Three years ago, I would never have thought that something called love would arise between me and him.

Looking back, at that time, I just desperately wanted to escape.

"..."

"Gu Leiya, what are you thinking about?"

"...Haha, I was thinking, I'm so happy to be with you."

"Hahaha, of course. I'm very happy to be with you."

Sandwal sat on Gureya and held her in his arms.

"Gu Leiya and I have done bad things in the past, and our hands are stained with the blood of many innocent people. However, we have stood up again and lived seriously. So, don't blame your past self too much, just live your life well now."

"……Yes."

Gu Leiya buried her face deeply in her husband's arms.

That's right. The important thing is to live in the present moment. I live my life seriously every day.

No one has the right to destroy this hard-earned happiness.

Just then, there was a brisk knock on the door.

"Who is it? So early." Sandval muttered to himself.

"I'll open the door."

"No, no thanks, I'll do it."

"Honey, do you think that I'm 38 years old now and can't meet guests without makeup?" Gu Leya winked at Sandval with a slightly joking tone.

"What are you talking about? My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world. Even without dressing up, she is no less beautiful than a girl in her twenties. Besides, didn't we agree to grow old together? No matter what you become in the future, you will always be the one I love the most."

"Hehehe, thank you." Gu Leya gently kissed Sandval on the face again.

dong dong dong.

There was another untimely knock at the door.

"I'm coming!"

Gu Leiya stood up from the sofa with a smile on her face and gently turned the door handle.

When she saw the person's face clearly, Gu Leiya's eyes widened and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

"..."

I remembered.

It's this face.

An unusually calm face, and that strange smile.

The demon that has been haunting my nightmares for years is...

—Helheim!

"I'm back, foster mother. How are you? Did you miss me? Or have you seen me in your dreams?"

With a "bang", Gu Leya instinctively closed the door.

She squatted on the ground with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking and her eyes staring at the ground in horror.

Didn't he go to the northern border of the empire? Why didn't he die there?

No...that's not right...I must be hallucinating. He can't possibly come back?!

"Ah, I'm turned away." The innocent and soft voice of a girl came from the other side of the door.

Helheim and the girl? Impossible. After all, there was no way that devil would be accompanied by an innocent girl.

It must be an illusion...

Gu Leiya tried to persuade herself again and again, but the devil's voice was heard again outside the door.

"Maybe it's because I just woke up. My foster mother has poor eyesight and is a woman who pays a lot of attention to her appearance and doesn't like to wear glasses. Of course, I hope she would pay more attention to her corrupt and scumbag character."

"Ah...ah..."

It's not an auditory hallucination, nor is it a hallucination.

There was no doubt about it, that extremely cold voice and those abnormal remarks.

It turned out to be the demon I saw in my nightmare.

No... Helheim is the devil among devils...

For a moment, Gu Leiya felt as if something was turning up in her stomach. Her whole body began to feel cold, and the mental pressure made her feel dizzy.

Gu Leiya turned the doorknob again with trembling hands. It was like opening the door to purgatory. The devil was outside the door, and she had no choice but to open it.

Otherwise, given his personality, he would break in immediately.

Gu Leiya mustered up, opened the door and walked out.

"Ah! You...you...are back, that's...really great! Ha...haha..."

"I'm back, foster mother. It's been more than half a year, and you still look the same. You're still so beautiful. It's great."

Heer's face was full of smiles, and Gu Leya also forced a smile that didn't show any happiness at all.

Behind Hull stood a little girl, probably about ten years old.

"Eh...who is that kid?"

"Ah, let me introduce her. Her name is Yang Ling, and she will become the adopted daughter of my foster mother."

"……Eh?"

I heard such strange words again. How could an adopted son choose an adopted daughter for his adoptive mother?

If you think about it, this madman in front of you would indeed say such unusual remarks in such a serious tone.

In fact, on the first day of encountering this demon, the normal world that Gu Leiya believed in was broken.

Not only did he kill Guleija's slave trader, he also imprisoned her and tortured her.

She even forced Gu Leiya to fake marry a man she didn't know and adopted the demon as her own child.

Finally, this twisted family of three was formed.

"..."

Thinking about these past events, Gu Leiya realized that she was about to become a "happy mother" with two children...

"Come on, Ling, introduce yourself to our foster mother."

"…Um, foster mother still seems confused. Teacher, could you explain it a little more?"

"unnecessary"

"..."

My adopted son is still the same, cold and straightforward.

In comparison, the girl behind is very gentle.

"Ah, why are you so cold!? Is this the teacher's mother?"

"To be precise, it's just an adoption relationship. They are only mother and son in the household registration, not blood relationship."

"Shouldn't you be more respectful? Teacher, it was thanks to him that you were able to obtain official imperial household registration, so you should be grateful to him. Your attitude is really too much."

"This woman does not deserve respect."

Ah...the devil returned from hell...Gu Leiya repeated these words silently in her heart.

"On the surface, she is a receptionist at the union headquarters, but secretly works for the slave guild, collecting young slaves to sell for money, especially underage children. Her original job was enough for her to live a wealthy middle-class life, but for her own selfish interests, she wanted to live a more luxurious life and extended her claws to innocent children. Let me put it bluntly, our foster mother is a pure scum, not worthy of sympathy or respect!"

"..."

Heer introduced himself directly on behalf of Guleya. Guleya just smiled woodenly, without refuting or refusing. She just listened quietly like a puppet.

"Ah... I really can't stand it... Ms. Gu Leiya, hello, my name is Yang Ling, please take care of me in the future."

It's so cute! It can bow and smile like a doll.

I didn't notice it because I was overwhelmed by the pressure of the demon beside me.

Now taking a closer look, this child is so cute. If it is such a beautiful girl, Gu Leiya would be very happy to be the mother of this child.

"Oh, Ling is so cute..." Gu Leiya reached out and wanted to touch her head.

With a "click", her arm was suddenly grabbed by Hull and broken in an instant.

“Ah… it hurts so much!?”

"...Hey." Heer had a cold face and stared at Gu Leya.

"Yes!"

The pressure emanating from these demonic eyes almost crushed Gu Leiya's heart.

Gu Leiya had no idea what she had done wrong. She just wanted to be friendly and gently stroked Ling's head.

Why did this demon suddenly attack me? !

"I warn you, don't ever think of selling Ling to the Slave Guild, or I'll make you regret living in this world."

"No! I would never do such a thing! Even if someone holds a knife to my neck, I won't! Please believe me!"

Compared to falling into the hands of the devil Helheim, being killed directly is a relief.

"A scumbag like my foster mother has deceived countless little girls with such words in the past. Do you think I would believe it? Only by experiencing the pain can you understand."

Gu Leiya once again felt the tearing pain in her hand that was grabbed by Heer.

"Heer! Stop now! If you do this, Gu Leiya will be too pitiful!" Ling held Heer's hands with both hands.

I really didn't expect that Ling would protect me when they just met for the first time.

"Ah... Ling, don't you understand? This kind of person will never learn if he is not taught a lesson. To be on the safe side, it is better to hurt her first. Also, you'd better be more cautious. If you are alone with her, it will be too easy for our foster mother to control you."

"She's already hurt, let's stop here!"

After Ling finished speaking, Heer shook his head and let go of her hand: "Well, if the injury is too serious, it will indeed affect future plans."

He suddenly looked at Gu Leiya: "By the way, foster mother, how is your husband Sandval?"

"Well...we live together now and live a happy life."

Only for this, Gu Leiya had to thank this demon.

She and Sandwal got married hastily after only meeting once, and there was no love between them at the beginning.

But he also... Sandval was guilty of the same crime.

The two of them suffered terrible torture from Hel together, and as victims of the devil, they quickly became sympathetic.

They decided to shoulder the sins of the past together and spend the rest of their lives atonement.

Gu Leiya could assert that she loved that man.

And that man also loves himself.

"Really? Then you should get divorced." Hull said coldly.

"……Eh?"

"I say, I want you two to get divorced!"

Heer looked down at Gu Leiya and made this inhumane judgment like a judge.