Dante paused.
It was only a very small pause. Barely half a second. A tiny hesitation that most people would have missed.
But the pause was enough.
Alina noticed it instantly.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"...Dee."
He cleared his throat quietly, adjusting his glasses in a gesture that was definitely not nervous.
"To be honest," he said slowly, choosing his words with great care, "yes."
Alina blinked once, then twice.
"Yes?" she repeated.
"Yes."
She stared at him like she had just discovered sothing shocking, like he had admitted to collecting her hair or sothing equally strange.
"You watched teach my class?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Occasionally."
Her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline.
"Occasionally?"
"Yes."
"How many tis is occasionally?" she demanded.
Dante looked thoughtful for a mont, as if trying to calculate sothing complicated. His eyes drifted toward the ceiling briefly.
"Several," he answered calmly.
Alina’s jaw dropped slightly.
"Several?!"
"I was observing," he said, adjusting the glasses again. "Professional observation. Administrative oversight."
"You were spying!" she corrected imdiately.
"That sounds unnecessarily negative," he replied, his tone mild.
"It is negative!"
Dante held up one hand as if trying to calm an argunt, though his expression remained perfectly composed.
"I was observing how you manage the children. Teaching techniques. Classroom dynamics. It was educational."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"Why would you need to observe that? You are not a teacher!"
"Because I was curious."
Her mouth opened, then closed again as if she could not believe the simplicity of the answer. "You... secretly watched my class... because you were curious?"
"Yes."
She stared harder.
"Only that?"
"Yes."
Her eyes beca even more suspicious, narrowing to slits.
"Dee," she said slowly, drawing out his na, "you never watched when I was... you know... alone?"
Dante blinked once.
"...What do you an?"
"When the children weren’t there."
He thought about it for a mont, his expression thoughtful.
"I have seen you alone in the classroom," he admitted.
Her arms dropped halfway, her mouth falling open. "You admit it so easily?!"
"I am being honest. You asked for honesty."
"That does not make it better!"
Dante sighed quietly, though there was a hint of amusent in his eyes.
"I was only observing how you interact with the children when you think no one is watching. It helped understand you better. In the beginning, I was... skeptical about you."
She pointed directly at the mirror screen. "So you had this in your office the whole ti?"
"Yes."
"And you watched my class through it?"
"Yes."
"And you never told ?"
"You never asked."
Alina pressed her fingers to her forehead in disbelief, rubbing her temples. "You are unbelievable."
Dante looked mildly defensive now, though his voice remained calm.
"I am the principal. It is normal for a principal to observe classes. To ensure quality education. To evaluate teaching thods."
"You observed secretly!"
"That makes the situation less disruptive for the children. They behave naturally when they do not know they are being watched."
"That makes it creepier!"
"I disagree."
She stared at him again, her expression sowhere between outrage and disbelief.
"How many tis did you watch?"
Dante thought about it again, calculating.
"...Enough."
"Enough is not a number!"
"More than once."
"That is still not a number!"
He adjusted his glasses calmly, unbothered. "Would the number improve the situation?"
"No!"
"Then the number is irrelevant."
Alina stared at him for several seconds, her mouth opening and closing like she wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words.
Finally she threw her hands up."You are impossible. Completely impossible."
Dante watched her for a mont before turning his attention back to the mirror screen. He made a small adjustnt to the spell, sharpening the image.
"Well," he said calmly, "now you can observe how I teach. Fair is fair."
She looked at the screen, then back at him. "This is not the sa thing!"
"How?"
"I wasn’t secretly watching you! You were secretly watching !"
"And now you can watch openly."
"That is different!"
"Is it?"
"Yes!"
He smiled faintly.
"Consider it revenge."
She pointed at him.
"I am going to watch every single mistake you make."
"I expect nothing less."
"And I am going to laugh."
"I am sure you will."
She crossed her arms.
"And when the children destroy you, I am going to enjoy it."
He tilted his head.
"You have such faith in ."
"I have faith in chaos."
He stepped toward the door, pausing to look back at her.
"Enjoy the show, little dove."
She pointed at the screen.
"I will be watching. Closely."
He smiled and walked out.
Alina turned to the mirror, already settling onto the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on the classroom.
anwhile, Dante was completely confident.
In his mind, the situation was very simple.
He had raised Lucien and Sable himself. He had watched them grow, learned their habits, understood their needs. He had handled tantrums and nightmares and the occasional accidental shadow manifestation. He knew how to manage children.
On top of that, most children were naturally intimidated by him anyway. His presence alone commanded respect. They would see him and imdiately understand that this was not a person to test.
Which ant discipline would not be a problem.
If anything, the class would probably beco the most orderly class in the academy for a day. The children would sit quietly, listen attentively, and complete their work without any of the chaos Alina had described.
So yes.
He was absolutely certain he was going to handle the whole situation perfectly.
With that calm confidence settled firmly in his mind, Dante walked through the kindergarten corridors with easy steps. The morning sunlight stread through the tall windows, warming the stone floors beneath his feet. The white sleeves of his shirt were rolled neatly to his forearms, and in one hand he carried the attendance sheet and Alina’s small notebook.
He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve casually as he walked toward the hallway that led to Class D, a faint smirk appearing on his lips.
Everything was under control.
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