Chapter: Observing the Ice Queen Outside the Ice Palace

The city streets were alive with the weekend crowd, but Diana moved through them with the same precision she carried in the classroom. Unbuttoned black blazer Black dress shirt tucked neatly into her leather skirt, dangling spider web earrings catching the sunlight, heels clicking deliberately against the pavement. A small tote hung from her shoulder, filled with books, a portable console for her latest visual novel obsession, and some recently purchased steamy otome games.

Beckett walked beside her, surgical mask and gloves on as usual with his regular outfit. He ignored fashion entirely, focusing instead on the subtle avoidance of every stray germ. He carried nothing beyond his own protective measures, yet he moved with an effortless ease, a quiet shadow tethered to Diana’s presence.

Peresphone and Hades ran slightly ahead, sketchpads in hand, occasionally pausing to observe the crowd like tiny investigators of human behavior.

Diana had insisted on this day off—not a field trip, not an official outing, just a long weekend she would spend with Beckett, the twins, her visiting family, and a brief stop with her in-laws.

Their first stop was a small café known for its quiet corners and strong espresso.

“…That’s her,” a pair of students whispered from across the street. They had been waiting for a glimpse of their famously intimidating English teacher outside of class. “She… she’s… not in school mode?”

Beside her, Beckett adjusted his mask reflexively and moved slightly to shield the twins from too many curious eyes. Malcolm, Diana’s younger brother, had joined them—he was quiet, calculating, and just as antisocial as Diana herself. Analise, equally sharp and dry, sipped a tea and scrolled through her phone.

Katie, Diana’s sister-in-law, was at the café too, waving politely to them as she recognized Diana passing by. Diana acknowledged her with a curt nod and an almost imperceptible smile. Students gasped silently. They had never seen Diana so… relaxed.

Diana ordered quickly, then settled at a corner table with Beckett and the twins. Malcolm leaned back, carefully reviewing some horror-themed J-dramas he had recommended to her, while Analise quietly teased Diana about her otome game choices.

“You always pick the tall, dark, brooding types,” she said.
Diana smirked.
“Some things never change,” she replied, adjusting her tote to reach for a newly purchased visual novel.

Students froze. Erotica? Manga? Steamy otome games? Their minds scrambled, processing everything at once.

The family conversation was subtle but warm. Diana was sharp and sarcastic, but with her siblings she allowed small glimpses of humor and care. Beckett, ever stoic, smiled faintly at her, offering quiet guidance to the twins when needed. Students’ eyes widened: this wasn’t the ice queen of the classroom—they were witnessing the human side of her.

Yet even in these moments, Diana remained herself: precise, observant, and utterly unbothered by the stares of strangers.

Outside the café, the twins wandered briefly, sketching pedestrians and small moments of the city life around them. Diana’s presence was commanding even in casual wear; Beckett’s quiet protective aura made anyone trying to intrude feel subtly—but unmistakably—out of place.

Students tried to follow, hoping to see more of her “real life,” but the sight only heightened their unease: the books, the manga, the visual novels, the horror J-dramas, the intimate but composed interactions with family, Beckett’s meticulous avoidance of germs, Malcolm’s sharp eye for details, Analise’s teasing—it was all too much.

By the time Diana and Beckett left the café, heading toward her in-laws’ home for a brief visit, the students were pale and jittery. They could not reconcile the image of the domantrix, cynical teacher with the affectionate, playful sister and aunt they had just witnessed.

The final straw: Damien, Diana’s brother-in-law and the city’s most feared mobster, arrived to greet them. Diana introduced her children and Beckett with effortless warmth. Her family laughed quietly, perfectly comfortable in her presence. Beckett gave a slight nod to Damien, who sized him up briefly before grinning.

The students’ brains reached critical overload. Everything had to be forgotten.

By the time they returned to class the following Monday, no one could remember what had happened outside the office.

Did Diana have younger siblings?

Did she play otome games or read steamy manga?

Did she interact with Beckett and the twins outside of school?

Did they see Damien, the notorious mobster, calmly chatting with her?

None of it mattered. It had never happened.

All they remembered was:

Focus on your homework.

And somewhere in the city, Diana tucked a new visual novel under her arm, Beckett adjusted his gloves, and the twins argued quietly about sketching techniques—life continued, perfect, precise, and entirely under her control.