The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 334

At the mention of it, Citrine’s movements stiffened for a moment.

She looked directly at Ogden, a trace of sadness coloring her voice. “You know as well as I do, there’s no going back for me now. Old man, don’t bother trying to talk me out of it.”

Ogden’s composure faltered instantly. Citrine was a rare talent—one of the best he’d ever seen—and the thought of losing her made him anxious. “Kid, you can’t give up now. Everyone’s waiting for you to come back.”

Citrine fell silent, the quiet stretching on as she stared at the floor.

Not wanting to push her too hard and risk driving her away, Ogden let the subject drop.

After a while, something seemed to occur to him. “By the way, kid, the Vermillion Vanguard is about to run joint exercises with a team from the Federated States of Magnolia. Why don’t you go whip those cocky rookies into shape? With you training them, we’ll have nothing to worry about.”

Citrine was ready to refuse, but she hesitated. She thought about how many people might get hurt in a live drill without proper guidance. After a moment’s pause, she finally nodded.

Meanwhile, the Vermillion Vanguard base was buzzing with excitement.

“Did you hear HQ’s sending us a female instructor? I don’t know what they’re thinking. When we spar and she starts crying, they’d better not say we bullied her.”

“They could’ve at least picked one of those tough-as-nails drill sergeants. Training with a woman is going to be so dull.”

“I heard no woman’s ever made it through the Vanguard’s selection, except for the legend herself—General C, the undefeated war hero. But she vanished years ago. Who knows where HQ dug up this lady instructor?”

“Hey, maybe she’ll at least be easy on the eyes.”

“Yeah, here’s hoping she’s a bombshell.”

One of the guys glanced at Hastings, who was finishing up a set of pull-ups. “Hey, Hastings, what do you think about HQ sending us a woman to train us?”

Hastings just shrugged. “All show, no substance. She won’t last.”

—

“So this is what love at first sight feels like?”

“Wait, is she really going to be our instructor? She barely looks old enough to have graduated high school! HQ must be out of their minds.”

“With arms and legs that skinny, if I go too hard during drills I’ll feel guilty for weeks.”

The squad murmured among themselves, but Hastings was lost in thought. He stared at Citrine in her uniform, shocked, and blurted out, “What are you doing here?”

Citrine didn’t even glance his way, but the instructor looked surprised at Hastings’s outburst. Turning to Citrine, he asked respectfully, “You know Hastings?”

Citrine nodded. “I do. He was my drill instructor. Took real good care of me.” She made sure to put extra emphasis on “care.”

“Well, isn’t that something.”

The instructor, well aware of Citrine’s background and temperament, shot Hastings a sympathetic look. He’d need all the luck he could get.