After dinner, I went out to the garden with Mary and Slays. For now, they were the only ones I could get along with here. When I had gone to dinner with my uncle, Lily, Mary, Slays, and Lily's husband Edwin, had also been there. Afterwards, my uncle had sent the three of us outside, hoping I would make new friends.
As I stepped into the garden, a gentle breeze brushed against my skin, carrying the scent of flowers as it danced through the air. As Slays began describing the garden, I felt as if he were a painter bringing a canvas to life. Roses, lavenders, hydrangeas… Each lined the stone pathways in perfect harmony. Beyond the hedges, the pond reflected the moonlight, as if we were gazing upon a masterpiece straight from an artist's hand. This garden was like a shimmering jewel, adding to the splendor of the estate.
Mary followed us in silence. With slow steps, she took a seat on one of the benches beside the pond. When she gestured for us to join her, Slays immediately sat down, and I followed suit.
"Theodore, I heard you'll be assisting the young master. Is that true?" Mary asked.
I nodded in confirmation. She kept her eyes on the rose tree as she continued speaking.
"Normally, Steward Jeyan was the one who looked after him. You could say he raised him with great care." She glanced at me from the corner of her eye before turning back to the roses.
"Then I suppose I need to learn the job well from my uncle," I mused.
"Not just learn—you should try to become his exact copy."
"What do you mean?"
Mary glanced around cautiously, as if to create an air of mystery, before she finally spoke.
"You're not the first assistant assigned to the young master. There were twenty-three before you. But, unfortunately, none of them lasted even a week before quitting."
How had a single child made twenty-three people quit? From what I remembered of his portrait, he seemed like a quiet and calm boy. What could he have possibly done?
Mary's eyes widened with curiosity as she observed my reaction. I met her gaze, silently urging her to continue.
"The young master may seem quiet and calm, but he is not like that at all." Lowering her voice, she leaned closer to me. "Once, because I was one minute late bringing his meal, he had the entire dish thrown away and ordered me to make it again. And preparing a meal takes at least two hours. That day, no matter what I cooked, he didn't like any of it. He found an excuse for every dish, and I had to keep cooking until evening."
Remembering the incident, Mary crossed her arms as if she had suddenly felt cold. When her gaze shifted to Slays, I followed her eyes and looked at him too.
Poor Slays—whatever the young master had put him through, he now stared at the flowers ahead of him with a fearful expression. But the moment he started speaking, I found myself looking at the flowers with the same kind of apprehension.
"The young master made me uproot and replant every single daffodil just because I had planted one extra. He didn't even give me a specific number. That day, I fell asleep with blisters all over my hands."
Mary grabbed my arm and tugged at me.
"The young master may be like this, but he's actually very adorable. Don't take what we said too seriously. He might give you a hard time at first, but he'll get along with you eventually. Don't worry! Who knows, maybe you'll last longer than the others."
I forced a smile, trying not to show my fear. Not only did I have to pass some kind of inspection to get close to the child, but I also had to undergo his test. I was starting to feel like I was up against a tiny, delicate little demon. But I wasn't an amateur either.
Back when I had worked various jobs, there was a time I tutored a child privately. I helped him with math and history, but he was extremely spoiled and couldn't focus on his lessons. He always wanted to play games. So, I took a different approach and incorporated his studies into the games he loved. This method worked well, and he ended up excelling in his subjects. Of course, when his family's financial situation worsened, they had to let me go. It was the first job I ever lost that wasn't because of my own shortcomings.
Thinking about it now… The young master was still a child, after all. Children crave attention. They try different ways to say, "Look at me! Pay attention to me!" If I applied what I had learned before, I might be able to win him over. And it seemed like he was testing me first. If I didn't give up, I could pass his test with flying colors.
I was pulled from my thoughts when Slays suddenly changed the subject.
"Theodore, where are you from?"
"I'm from Stonewell."
"Oh, that's quite far! A ten-day journey, right?"
"Actually, fourteen days… I was delayed because of an accident."
Mary's eyes widened. "You were on the road for fourteen days?"
"The carriage I traveled in had a small accident, so it took longer. Otherwise, I would have arrived sooner."
"That's unfortunate. Were you hurt?" Slays' voice was filled with concern, making me turn to him.
"We weren't injured, but the carriage was in bad shape."
"It's better for an object to be damaged than for a person to get hurt." Mary spoke in a motherly tone.
"Forget about me, I'm fine now anyway. Where are you two from?"
Slays proudly jumped in. "We're from around here, Valleria!"
"How long have you been working here?"
"I've been here for six years, and Slays for seven."
Hearing this, my jaw dropped in surprise. The longest job I had ever held was eight months! And that was private tutoring. What kind of skill did it take to work somewhere for this long?
Slays curiously pressed on. "So, what did you do before coming here?"
Slays, it's better if you don't know. What should I say now? Should I mention my longest-held job, or the bakery job I worked at for only three weeks? Looking at my past, it made the most sense to go with the job I did the longest.
"I tutored a student for a while."
Mary's eyes lit up. "Wow! Are you a teacher?"
"I only gave private lessons."
"This still means you're a teacher!" Mary laughed, hands on her hips. "I was worried someone clueless would be taking care of the young master, but I'm glad you're a teacher. At least you have experience with children."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
I had a feeling she saw me as a fool. If she knew how many jobs I had been fired from, I wondered how she would treat me. She probably wouldn't regard me as a person.
"I didn't mean anything bad by it. I just want the best for young master Lemi."
She wasn't wrong. Who wouldn't want the best for a child?
At that moment, the cold started to creep in more strongly. Even though it was late summer, the evenings were very chilly. Of course, we were putting on a little act, pretending not to be cold so we wouldn't have to admit it to each other.
Finally, Mary couldn't take it anymore. "It's getting late. The young master will expect his breakfast early tomorrow. It would be best if we head to our rooms."
Slays yawned and stood up, extending his hand. "Let's get along well, Theodore."
I nodded and shook his hand, standing up. I had heard that the young master was a quiet child, but the more I listened to their stories, the more he gave me a somewhat mischievous impression.
As we left the garden, the moonlight illuminated the pond, casting a soft glow around it.
Okay, he was just a child... how hard could it be? I thought to myself, but what Mary and Slays had told me about the young master lingered in my mind like a shadow.
Throwing all the food away? Working them to the point their hands swelled? Was this child really just a child, or was he a small tyrant? Was I getting too paranoid about someone I was about to meet in a few hours?
"No," I said to myself. "After all, he's just a child. And children love attention, love, and fun."
I thought back to my own experiences. Even my spoiled student had started to study properly with the right methods. If I could grab the Young Master's attention with games, we could get along just fine. After all, every child, no matter how tough they seem, holds a world waiting to be discovered, right?
But then, Mary's fearful face flashed in my mind.
"Or maybe not."
I shivered lightly, tightening my jacket around me. Tomorrow seemed like it was going to be a tough day. But no matter what, I had to make a good impression. After all, working with children wasn't as simple as it seemed. They might be small, but their commands were often bigger than they appeared.