Souls Reflected in the Moonlight Garden

As soon as the fight began, Young Master lunged toward me like lightning. As he swung his fist with incredible speed, I could see the competitive fire in his eyes. But me? I just took a step back and neutralized his move.

"What? Are you running away?" he said, furrowing his brows. A slight smile appeared on my lips.

"Running away? I'm just dancing, Master."

My response only fueled his determination. He increased the speed of his attacks, but what was I doing? I was blocking, dodging, slipping left and right with mastery. With each passing second, Young Master's punches grew more aggressive, but I still didn't give him an opening.

The faces of the spectators around us, who had been amused at first, slowly started to change. The ones who had called me a 'toy' now wore expressions of astonishment. A few of them had even started whispering.

"Can Lemi not hit him?"

"You're kidding, right?"

When those words reached my ears, I couldn't help but feel a little pleased. But my happiness didn't last long, as Young Master changed his tactics. With an unexpected twist, he threw a cross punch. At that moment, time slowed down. My eyes followed his move, my mind quickly calculated the possibilities, and... I stepped back, then swiftly moved to the side, dodging his punch.

"Did you think it would be that easy, Master?" I said, adding a little cheerfulness to my voice.

Young Master's face momentarily stiffened, his lips curling with frustration. But at the same time, a spark appeared in his eyes. He was enjoying this.

The trainer shouted, "Three minutes left!"

And then I realized. Since the beginning of the fight, Young Master hadn't truly tried to defeat me. His moves were fast and flawless, but he hadn't made a decisive strike to finish me off. It seemed like he was just having fun. He was toying with me.

"Alright, so now we're getting serious," I thought, tightening my guard.

The last two minutes... I was now struggling to keep up with his movements. Both his arms and legs were working in perfect harmony. His attacks were sharper and more dangerous. I had to adjust my breathing carefully just to avoid leaving an opening.

The spectators held their breath. A few who had mocked me earlier were now completely silent.

One minute left...

Young Master's breath was quickening. He was tiring, but the determination in his eyes remained the same. He approached as if to make one last move, but I was still standing firm in my position.

"Do you think you can beat me?" he asked, though his voice wasn't as certain as it had been at the start.

I shrugged. "Seems like it," I said with a slight smile.

And then something happened. The tension on Young Master's face slowly faded, replaced by a faint smile. He took a deep breath, stepped back, and shook his head.

"That's enough for today. You won."

As the spectators whispered, I noticed something in his voice. For the first time, he was genuinely showing me respect.

The trainer, eyes wide in astonishment, signaled that the fight was over.

Now I had a job! Yes, I was still going to deal with this brat, but the good part was, it would be for money! Finally, I would have a proper job.

Of course, after the fight, most people were disappointed because they had bet on Young Master. Game theory 101: In a one-sided bet, there are a lot of losers.

When the class ended, everyone dispersed, but Young Master and his friends were still standing beside me. Three pairs of eyes were on me.

"You're not going to hit me because I called you a toy, right?"

Henry adjusted his glasses with a playful expression, squinting as he examined my face, seriously calculating whether I might land a blow.

"Now that you've won the idea, it seems like you'll be around Lemi all the time. What's your name?"

"Theodore, Master." I bowed slightly to show my respect.

"Theodore, I'm Henry Radcliffe."

That was an unexpected move from Henry. I hadn't expected him to introduce himself first. After all, he was the one who initially called me a 'toy.'

Just as I was trying to make sense of Henry's sudden politeness, Oliver barged in, placing a hand on Henry's shoulder and joining the conversation.

"You're pretty good at dodging, Theodore. I'd love to see a real fight of yours sometime."

"Thank you, Master."

"Aren't you curious about my name?" Oliver winked, grinning mischievously.

I had to stop myself from gagging. Curious about his name? The guy had his name shouted every three minutes. No one ever failed to address him!

Luckily, Henry came to my rescue.

"Why are you walking up to him, just say your name properly. His name is Oliver, call him that."

Henry rolled his eyes as he pushed Oliver's hand off his shoulder. Oliver, on the other hand, looked at Henry with a slightly offended expression.

"Why did you say my name now? I wanted him to be curious about it."

Henry rolled his eyes again and replied, "It would have been impossible for him not to learn your name when someone calls it every minute."

Oliver fell silent, quietly surrendering to the logic that defeated him. Victory was Henry's.

At that moment, a softer voice intervened.

"Don't mind them, they're always like this."

When I turned my head, I saw Arthur, who seemed calmer than the others, looking at me. His voice was both soothing and polite.

"I'm Arthur. It's a pleasure to meet you, Theodore."

I respectfully bowed my head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Master."

They weren't like the other aristocrats who looked down on everyone. This could make my life a bit easier.

As we were talking, we were heading toward the class. Once Young Master entered his lesson, I moved to the carriage area, where Edwin was.

I thought we would quietly return to the Mansion after Young Master's lessons, but at the last moment, as Oliver ran toward me, his foot caught on something.

And then…

He bumped into me. Why was it continuing like this today?