I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!-Chapter 538 Special

After classes ended, the building slowly emptied, laughter fading into quiet corridors. Lucien and Sable had already left with Dante earlier. He had mentioned something about introducing them to important figures at the castle. Something serious connected to Lucien’s second elemental power.

When she reached home, she unlocked the door absentmindedly, pushing it open with one hand while adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

And then she stopped.

It was dark.

Not normal darkness without lights. Not the warm shadow of closed curtains.

Dark.

The kind of deep, swallowing darkness that feels deliberate.

Her brows slowly furrowed. She stepped inside carefully.

"Dee?" she called out softly.

No answer.

Her heart gave a strange, uneasy thump.

She took another step forward, her fingers instinctively reaching toward the wall to turn on the lights—

They didn’t respond.

Her breath caught.

"Dante?" she tried again, this time a little louder.

Silence.

Her mind began racing in quiet, frantic directions. Did something happen? Did someone break in? Did something follow her?

The darkness felt almost alive, pressing against her vision.

She swallowed.

Before she could take another step—

A faint dizziness washed over her.

Sudden and sharp.

Her vision blurred at the edges.

Her heart pounded too fast, then too slow.

"What—" she whispered.

The floor tilted beneath her feet.

She reached out blindly, her fingers brushing against empty air.

And before she could understand what was happening— 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Everything went black. Her body fell softly toward the floor.

Meanwhile, in a hidden chamber far from the kindergarten, torchlight flickered against stone walls.

"Hahahahahah! He thinks of us as fools! He thinks he can threaten us and we do nothing?" Elder Roman laughed loudly, his weathered face creased with cruel amusement. He gestured toward the bed where an unconscious figure lay, her face covered by a fine silk cloth. "Did he think we would just accept his warnings? Did he think we would forget how he humiliated us at the council?"

Behind him, the other elders crowded around, jostling for position like children fighting over the last piece of candy.

"Move, move, let me see," Elder Marcus grumbled, pushing against Elder Haron’s shoulder with more force than necessary.

"You saw her when they brought her in," Haron protested, shoving back.

"I saw a shape, not a face. There is a difference. A significant difference."

Elder Hellder, the tallest and grumpiest of them, crossed his arms and scowled. "You are all acting like children. She is just a human. A single human. There are millions."

"Yes, but this one caught Lord Dante," Elder Roman reminded him, turning with a sly grin. "This one made the great Lord Dante pay attention. That makes her special."

Elder Roman turned and frowned at them all. "Don’t make noise! Let’s see one by one. This is not a marketplace. This is a serious interrogation of a potential hostage."

The other elders muttered but settled slightly, though their curiosity was palpable.

Elder Roman approached the bed slowly, savoring the moment like a cat savoring a mouse. He reached down and lifted the silk cloth, pulling it away from her face with a flourish.

The torchlight fell across Alina’s peaceful features. Her eyes were closed. Her hair spread across the pillow like dark silk, and her breathing was slow.

Elder Roman’s eyes widened.

"Oh," he breathed, his voice dropping to an awed whisper. "She is really pretty for a human. Actually pretty. Not just ’for a human’ pretty. Genuinely pretty."

Behind him, Elder Haron leaned forward so far he nearly tripped over his own robe. "Let me see! You have looked long enough! That is not one by one, that is you by you!"

"I just lifted the cloth!"

"That was five seconds. I counted. Five full seconds of you hogging."

Elder Marcus pushed past both of them, staring down at Alina with narrowed, appraising eyes. "Hmm. Yes. I see why Lord Dante would notice. The cheekbones. The skin. The peaceful expression even while unconscious. Classically beautiful."

"You sound like you are judging a painting," Elder Hellder grumbled, though he was also leaning forward to look.

"Maybe I am. Art is art."

Elder Haron finally got his turn, peering at Alina with intense curiosity. "She looks... kind. Does she look kind to you? Like someone who would bring soup to sick neighbors?"

"Who cares about soup?" Elder Marcus scoffed. "Lord Dante cares about her. That is the point."

Elder Roman stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Notice," he repeated. "He does not just notice. He stays near her. He watches her the whole time. He walks her home almost daily. Lord Dante, who watches no one. Lord Dante, who avoids everyone. Today we got lucky because his attention was somewhere else and we kidnapped her."

Elder Hellder squinted. "Maybe he just likes pretty things."

"Lord Dante does not like anything," Elder Roman reminded him. "That is what makes this interesting. That is what makes this valuable."

They stood in a loose circle around the bed, studying Alina like scholars examining a rare text, occasionally pushing each other for a better view.

"She is just human," Elder Haron murmured, almost to himself. "Just a human teacher. Why would he..."

"Sometimes," Elder Marcus said quietly, with unusual wisdom, "the most powerful beings are drawn to the simplest things. Complexity tires them. Simplicity rests them."

Elder Hellder snorted. "That is philosophical nonsense. He probably just wants someone who does not bow and scrape."

Elder Roman pulled the silk cloth back over her face, tucking it around her chin like a blanket.

His expression shifted and became colder, sharper, more dangerous. His eyes narrowed to slits, and a vicious smile curled across his weathered face.

"Anyway, I do not care," he said flatly, his voice dropping to a cruel register that made the other elders pause mid-conversation. "We will hold her hostage. Obviously. That was always the plan."

He rubbed his jaw slowly, thoughtfully, his smile widening into something truly unpleasant.

"And I have planned something. Something elaborate. Something careful." He chuckled darkly. "Lord Dante will not even understand what happened until it is too late."

The other elders exchanged glances.