Chapter 253: Chapter 253 Well behaved babies
"Drake!!" Luna growled, ears twitching. "You’re going to get us ALL in trouble!"
Drake looked genuinely offended. "I didn’t say that, okay, Boo? Don’t spoil my name! I have respect in this classroom!" He straightened his tiny uniform collar with great seriousness, his brows furrowed like a miniature adult.
Hearing that, Kelpie and Rocky immediately broke into giggles.
"Respect?" Boo wheezed mid-laugh, clutching his round belly as he floated upside down. "Hahaha! Respect? Since when?" He spun in the air, his laughter echoing like chimes, making Drake’s cheeks puff in irritation.
"Stop laughing, Boo!" Drake snapped, standing up dramatically. "You just wait. When the teacher gives homework, I’ll tell her you can’t even hold a pencil properly!"
"Teacher doesn’t give homework!" Boo said proudly, flipping again in midair.
"Then I’ll ask her to start!" Drake said with a mischievous grin.
"Traitor!" Boo gasped, dramatically pressing both hands to his chest. "I trusted you, Drake! I thought we were brothers in freedom!"
The entire class erupted in laughter. Luna facepalmed herself with a low growl, while Sable hid behind his notebook, giggling quietly.
Alina sighed, hiding her smile behind her hand. "No trouble, please," she said gently, trying to calm the room. But her kind tone only encouraged the chaos more. Boo started pretending to faint dramatically, while Drake strutted proudly toward his seat like he had won an argument.
And then the sound of measured footsteps echoed from behind Alina and Dante stepped inside.
The room went instantly silent. Every single baby froze mid-motion. Boo stopped mid-spin, still floating upside down. Drake froze with one leg on his chair, Luna’s ears flattened, and even Vlad Jr., who was pretending to read, slowly lowered his book.
"Good morning," Dante said calmly, his deep voice echoing through the classroom.
The babies blinked in unison, looking like a row of guilty kittens caught stealing cookies.
Boo slowly floated upright, trying to fix his messy ghost hair. "P-principal..." he whispered, trembling.
Drake swallowed hard and whispered back, "Don’t move. Maybe he can’t see us."
Dante raised a brow, his crimson eyes sweeping across the class. "I can see everyone."
All the babies instantly sat up straight, perfectly straight like soldiers under inspection.
Alina glanced at Dante, trying not to laugh, her lips twitching as she whispered, "They were just having a small discussion."
"Hmm," Dante said, walking past her to the front. His gaze landed on Boo, who flinched and immediately floated behind Rocky like a guilty child.
"Good," Dante said smoothly. "I hope this discussion was educational."
"Yes! Very educational!" Boo blurted out, his voice cracking, and everyone turned to stare at him.
"Really?" Dante asked, one eyebrow lifting faintly.
Boo nodded frantically. "Yes, Principal! We were just learning about... about respect!"
Drake blinked in disbelief. "What? No, we were talking about—"
Boo quickly covered his mouth. "Shhh! Respect, remember?"
Dante’s lips twitched ever so slightly, a flicker of amusement crossing his eyes before he turned to Alina. "Proceed, Teacher. I won’t interrupt."
Alina nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
Meanwhile, the babies sat perfectly still, afraid to even breathe too loudly — except Boo, who whispered under his breath, "See? I told you, respect saved us."
Drake groaned softly. "I’m never talking to you again..."
Sable and Lucien looked the happiest in the entire classroom. Sable’s face lit with excitement while Lucien’s usual calm expression softened into a rare smile. Their eyes sparkled the moment they saw Dante walk in.
Dante, without saying much, made himself comfortable at the back. One of his shadows smoothly appeared from the ground and placed a chair for him, the motion silent but precise, as if the air itself bowed in obedience. The babies whispered among themselves in awe; half amazed, half terrified but when Dante sat down, folding one leg over the other, they instantly straightened like tiny soldiers.
Sable, however, couldn’t stop glancing at him. His bright eyes kept peeking from behind his notebook, and every time Dante’s crimson gaze shifted even slightly toward him, Sable would beam like he had just been given a medal. When Dante finally blinked at him.. just once– Sable’s entire face lit up. He practically glowed with happiness.
Lucien noticed and gave a soft nod of approval to his father, who returned it quietly, a wordless exchange only the two of them understood.
Meanwhile, poor Alina was the most nervous creature in the room. Her heart raced every time she felt Dante’s eyes on her, and even though he hadn’t said a word, his presence alone carried such authority that it made her fumble with her pen twice before she even started.
She cleared her throat softly and began the attendance with an overly bright smile. "Alright, little ones, let’s begin, shall we?"
"Yes, Teacher!" the babies chorused sweetly, all innocent faces and perfect posture like they hadn’t spent yesterday turning math class into a circus.
Alina blinked, both impressed and suspicious. "You’re... all behaving very well today," she said slowly, narrowing her eyes just a little.
Drake sat up even straighter, his expression pure angelic innocence. "Because we’re good children, Teacher," he said proudly.
"Yes, good children," Boo echoed, nodding rapidly while accidentally floating upside down. "Very good! So good that even Principal will cry from happiness!"
Alina’s lips twitched as she glanced back at Dante, who was watching with faint amusement flickering in his crimson eyes.
"Alright then," she said, trying not to laugh. "Let’s see."
The babies exchanged glances and forced even straighter smiles, their tiny faces twitching under the weight of "acting normal."
Dante leaned back slightly in his chair, resting an elbow on the armrest. His gaze followed her movements quietly, calm and unreadable, but somewhere behind that composed expression was the faintest trace of amusement.
"First class is science! Everyone take out your notebooks!" Alina said cheerfully, forcing her smile to stay steady and not sneak a glance at the tall man seated at the back. Her heart, however, had other plans — it thudded so loudly she swore Dante could probably hear it.
To her surprise, the babies didn’t protest this time. Not even Drake groaned, not even Boo attempted to float under the desk. They all obediently opened their bags and took out their notebooks and pencils like perfect little angels.
Alina blinked. "Oh... that was fast," she muttered.
Usually, this exact instruction resulted in ten minutes of chaos. But today... silence. Peace. Obedience. It was almost suspicious.