30 Aldrich’s Training
Selma Payne’s POV:
“Heavens! Oh my god! Pinch me! Is this the real Sir Aldrich or my illusion?” Mara shook my arm excitedly as if she would faint the next second.
“What is he doing here? Could it be that he wants to save us from the hands of the devil? Haven’t you heard anything?”
My friends were all asking me excitedly. I stared at him without saying a word and shook my head in confusion. He had never revealed any related information to me, but he suddenly appeared here this morning, like magic.
But I made a guess, and I was confident that it was for the military. When I was helping my parents deal with the documents, I heard them say that the army would select some people from among us. Aldrich was in charge of this, and he was very experienced. So no matter how I look at it, he was the best choice.
Our coach gathered and informed us, “Students, this is Sir Aldrich. He will be joining us for the next few weeks.”
Someone raised his hand and asked, “Why?”
“There are a few spots in the army. I know that many of you want to join the army. This is a very precious opportunity, but not everyone can be enlisted. Sir Aldrich will test you in the next few weeks to see if you are fit,” our coach said sternly.
I raised my eyebrows smugly. It was just as I had guessed. He had come for the army, but this could not hide the fact that he had come quietly without telling me.
“Also, whether you want to join the army or not, this course is compulsory. If you don’t want to be punished, you’d better attend it on time.”
The information on the brutal physical training class did not receive any whining. Instead, many young girls blushingly talked about the young knight.
I met Aldrich’s eyes in an instant. He didn’t smile at me or was as casual as usual. I felt that he was wearing a dull and severe mask on his face. He had become a stranger to me. He seemed calm and waved to everyone seriously.
“Now, gather around. We’re going to warm up and run fifty laps.”
The excitement on everyone’s faces turned sour in an instant. Even the handsome Aldrich couldn’t save me from the pain of the fifty laps. Since Aldrich had trained me, this amount of exercise wasn’t a big deal to me. However, for Mara, who didn’t like physical training, it was as good as killing her.
When the team finally left, she almost couldn’t stand up. I tried my best to support her weak body. Unfortunately, everyone’s condition was not much different from hers.
“I thought he would be gentler. I announce that Sir Aldrich is no longer one of the candidates to be my boyfriend. He’s simply inhumane!”
Mara’s exaggerated expression made Avril and me laugh so hard that we couldn’t stand up straight, but Aldrich didn’t care what happened here. He didn’t give us time to catch our breath before gathering everyone. Even our coach, whom we called ‘the devil’, gave us an extra ten minutes of break.
The crowd stood in a line unwillingly.
He first taught us all the techniques, and then he wanted to find someone to go up and practice with him. So I took the initiative to raise my hand, and he made eye contact with me, but I saw him look away as if nothing had happened and pick another person.
After confirming that everyone had mastered these techniques, he divided our class into two-person groups. In his words, only after real combat would one know where they were lacking. I was undoubtedly left behind. He wanted me to sit here and watch the others practice!
This was completely unforgivable!
I sat angrily at the side, watching Dorothy fight with another girl from my class. Her opponent was very strong, about 1.8 meters tall. The poor Dorothy was as small as a child before her opponent. Their sparring was very exciting. I held my breath and watched their fight. I was worried for Dorothy.
𝑓𝔯e𝚎𝒘𝗲𝚋𝒏oѵ𝒆𝒍. c𝗼m
However, Dorothy learned very well. She used her agility to drain the strength of the bigger opponent. Soon, the other girl was panting, and Dorothy took the opportunity to kick her opponent over. Only at this time did she reveal a relaxed and happy expression, like a child who had received a reward, proudly puffing out her chest.
This was the only time she had temporarily emerged from her dull and quiet shell and acted like a person her age. Her past had always been shrouded in a fog, and because of this, I was even more eager to know what the real her was like.
As people always pretended to be lonely, no one could draw the courage and strength to move forward from the falsehood.
I’d received help from many people, so I also wanted to help others a little. We’d made significant progress. At least we would use small notes to chat briefly in class.
However, the improvement in my relationship with Dorothy did not help improve my current feelings. After the last sparring group, Aldrich had not arranged an opponent for me. Did he want me to sit here the whole day and watch others fight?
I raised my hand in anger and requested to participate.
