I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!-Chapter 373 When Their Minds Whisper the Same Name

Chapter 373: Chapter 373 When Their Minds Whisper the Same Name

After lunch, Alina rested her elbows on the staffroom table. Gabriel was absorbed in a thick, ancient-looking book, flipping pages with the elegance of someone who genuinely enjoyed heavy reading. Professor Hobb scribbled notes with deep concentration, and Miss Kelly was sorting papers with the careful precision of a tired librarian.

No one spoke. No one looked up. The entire staff room was wrapped in peaceful silence.

Which meant Alina was completely, dangerously free to think.

Her gaze drifted toward the window where warm sunlight poured through the tall glass panes, scattering soft golden reflections across the tiled floor. She followed the drifting patterns of light, letting her mind wander toward places it definitely shouldn’t be wandering.

Slowly, her lips curved.

She imagined Dante standing in that same sunlight, his calm eyes watching her with the warmth he tried to hide. She imagined his rare smile, the one she had seen yesterday... the one that had melted something deep in her chest so quickly she barely recovered from it. Her pulse warmed at the memory.

Then her mind, no longer under her control, painted a new scene: Dante laughing softly at something she said, his expression gentle and almost boyish, as if he looked at her the way he didn’t look at anyone else.

Her heart fluttered helplessly.

And then... oh no... her thoughts drifted even deeper.

She pictured a grand ballroom, soft music filling the air, Dante taking her hand and guiding her across a polished floor. His fingers warm against her palm. His steps confident. His face closer than it had ever been.

They were dancing, together. His hand on her waist, her cheeks glowing pink, both of them moving in perfect harmony as if the world around them had vanished.

Alina gulped softly and pressed her hands to her cheeks, feeling the warmth rise.

This is dangerous, she scolded herself silently.

But her mind was nowhere near done. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Suddenly she saw him kneeling in front of her, offering flowers and a ring.

She almost squeaked aloud.

And then—oh gods—another image came. Dante wrapping his arms around her, holding her as if he wanted to shield her from every hurt she had ever carried. The warmth, the quiet strength, the soft rumble of his breath near her ear...

Alina’s feet curled under her chair. Her entire body tingled.

Stop, stop, stop!!! she screamed internally, burying her warm face in her hands.

If anyone saw her right now... she would simply evaporate.

Gabriel glanced up from his book for a moment, noticed how red Alina’s ears were, and blinked in confusion.

"Alina? Are you... warm?" he asked softly.

She jerked straight. "No! I mean yes! I mean—weather! The weather is warm!"

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, then slowly went back to reading, deciding he didn’t have the energy to understand anything today.

Alina exhaled shakily and peeked at the window again.

But no matter how hard she tried to calm down, Dante’s smile kept returning to her mind...soft, rare, and beautiful.

And only for her.

Meanwhile, Dante’s situation wasn’t any better. In fact, it was far worse.

The grand hall of the Nightshade Court stretched around him like a vast, dark cathedral. Elders sat on both sides of the long table, dressed in their formal black robes, their expressions sharp and unreadable as they discussed border disputes, shadow breaches, and territorial tensions.

It was important. It demanded focus.

But Dante... Dante had no peace.

He sat with perfect posture, every gesture disciplined and regal, yet his mind kept wandering back to the soft rose-pink dress from that morning, the shy smile on Alina’s lips, the way she bit her lip when she spoke to him—how she whispered "Good morning, sir" with cheeks blooming like sunrise.

Miss Alina.

Her voice kept echoing in his head no matter how ruthlessly he tried to silence it. Every strategy the elders discussed blurred behind the memory of her standing in the hallway, her hair loose, her eyes warm, her aura so gentle it shook something ancient inside him.

He clenched his jaw.

Unacceptable. Focus.

He forced himself back to the present, analyzing maps, listening to strategies, issuing orders. But the image of Alina laughing on the riverbank slid across his thoughts again, stealing his concentration with embarrassing ease.

Finally, the main discussion ended, and Dante prepared to dismiss the court.

Of course, fate wasn’t kind today.

"Lord Dante," Elder Raze began, his tone suspiciously smooth. "There is another matter we must address. One we cannot continue to postpone."

Dante felt the headache forming.

Here we go again.

Another elder leaned forward with a cunning smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "As ruler of the Nightshade Domain, it is your duty to form strong alliances. A union with a noble family will stabilise your influence."

Dante’s fingers tapped once against the table—slow, warning.

They didn’t care whom he married.

They cared whose power they could tie to his throne.

Whose family could use him.

Whose political influence they could steal.

He kept his voice calm but icy. "I have made my stance clear."

The elders exchanged glances full of scheming calculation.

"We have brought proposals from the Helios clan, the Umbral duchesses, even the noble houses of the North," Elder Raze said. "Yet you refuse all. The court cannot remain without a lady forever."

Dante’s eyes sharpened. "The court will remain as I decide."

A thin smile curled on another elder’s lips. "Some say your hesitance is tied to sentiment. Perhaps... someone has caught your attention."

Dante froze...not visibly, not even with a twitch seen from outside. But inside, a spark of panic flashed through him.

His heartbeat stumbled.

His chest tightened.

They must not know.

They must never know.

Dante raised his gaze, his expression cold as carved obsidian. "My personal matters are not subject to your speculation."

The elders bowed their heads slightly, but the glow in their eyes betrayed a different truth, they had caught the scent of something. A weakness. Something they might exploit later.

Dante dismissed the court before their questions dug deeper.

He needed air.

He needed silence.

He needed to get Alina’s smile out of his head for at least five minutes.

But the moment he stepped outside the dark hall, the memory returned..her blush, her shy glance, her soft laughter on the boat.

If the elders ever learned who occupied his thoughts...

They would not only faint—

they would scheme.

And Dante...

Dante wasn’t sure whether he wanted to laugh at the thought,

or panic.