Chapter 626: Bad Habits

In the wake of Abaddon's question, Ms. Summers scratched her cheek as she tried to think of a way to explain the situation in class.

"W-Well I wouldnt call it bullying per se... As I'm sure you may be aware, the prince is quite popular in school and attracts quite a lot of interest from his classmates..."

Valerie, heartbroken, put her head down on the table while Eris rubbed her back.

"He's always very kind and friendly to them, even going as far as to stop other instances of bullying whenever he sees it. I'm sure you could understand how that might cause certain feelings to... blossom."

Valerie created a rope out of thin air and Bekka discreetly took it away from her before she could hang herself.

"The reason I say that we're having some issues is because Prince Straga received some confessions last week."

Eris held Valerie tightly so that she couldn't do anything else to harm herself.

Finally, it seemed as though the nature spirit noticed there was something amiss.

MvLeMpYr-exclusive

"U-Um, is Empress Valerie alright..?"

"No, but continue." The lovers responded at once.

"O-Okay... A-Anyway, the prince received confessions from twenty two students, and four teachers... t-they have since been let go by the way."

Straga looked a bit proud of himself for the last part, but one glare from his father told him that he wasn't off the hook yet and shouldn't be gloating.

"A-Anyway, he gathered them all on the basketball court after school to reject them, but the language he used was a bit... unbecoming. I believe it was..."

Ms. Summers started scouring her binder until she found a piece of paper with the incident report on it.

*Quote* (I would rather use WD-40 to get the rust off my nuts than any of you.)

"..."

"..."

"..."

The silence that carried on into the room was practically deafening.

"He then proceeded to tell the entire group that they were all inferior to his darling 'Mon-Mon' and..."

Ms. Summers noticed the way all of the parents had put their heads down and she took that to mean that they were upset by the news.

"A-As you can imagine this has upset quite a few of our students and left them feeling quite dejected. Some are even refusing to come to school at all.

I am aware that colorful rejection can be somewhat of a normalcy in our culture, but perhaps because the prince was the one to dole it out, it hurts the children more than normal."

Abaddon and his wives were still silent, completely unwilling to look up.

"E-Emperor..? Empresses..?" Ms. Summers asked worriedly.

All of a sudden, Bekka stood up and wrapped her arm around her son's shoulder. "Thank you for informing us of this, Daphne. I can promise you that this matter will be resolved swiftly and with satisfying results for all involved."

For some reason, she grabbed Straga by the horn and practically ran out the door like she was in a hurry to leave.

Erica scowled and quickly ran after her.

One by one, the rest of the girls stood up and followed closely behind her, and left after only exchanging short goodbyes.

Abaddon was the last to leave and judging by his poker face he was less upset than earlier.

"Apologies for the late arrival once again, Daphne. My wife simply couldn't wait to hear what had happened at school and had to come visit."

"O-Oh, it's more than alright, Emperor. I would never consider your graceful presence in my home to be burdensome." Ms. Summers bowed deeply once again as a show of respect.

Abaddon showed a small smile on his face when he suddenly noticed something familiar in her home out of the corner of his eye.

"You enjoy the works of 'Jane Sparks'?"

Daphne suddenly looked mortified before realizing that there wasn't really anything to be embarrassed about.

"I-I do. I've been forcing myself to read her fourth work at a slower pace so that I don't finish it all in one sitting again."

"I see... As an apology for barging in, how about I organize a little private meet and greet with her for you?"

"Keep talking back, I'll leave you at their front doorstep naked and covered in baby oil."

Straga opened his mouth as if he was going to say something else, but one look at his father told him that he maybe he wasn't joking.

"Do you have anything else to say for yourself?" Abaddon finally asked.

Straga thought long and hard about what exactly he should say in this situation. After a while, he could think of only one recourse to take the heat off of himself.

"...Did you know Nubby has a boyfriend and a girlfriend?"

Abaddon's brow twitched as he struck Straga on the top of the head once again.

"Stop lying on your sister, brat. I know you're just trying to distract me."

Straga's jaw hung open from absurdity as Abaddon continued to lecture him.

Once he was done, he sat between Lisa and Valerie and rubbed his own temples while deep in thought.

'Perhaps this is my fault... Maybe I should set a better example at home.'

He made up his mind to try a new approach to rejection.

Though... he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up without reverting to old habits.

- Three Days Later...

Karliah and Lusamine were peeking around the corner at their seemingly unsuspecting prey.

Abaddon was in the common area kitchen sitting at the bar while reading a daily report from a few of his subordinates.

He seemed to be quite focused and hadn't even noticed their arrival.

The two gave each other a small fist bump before they swayed into the room.

"Oh? What a surprise to see my dear son-in-law up already."

"Yes, don't mind us though, handsome. We're just stopping by to hydrate before heading to the spa."

Looking up, Abaddon could see the women wearing loose white bathrobes that were barely tied closed.

...Their intentions were so obvious that he could barely stop himself from scoffing.

"I see... enjoy yourselves then." He waived.

Lusamine came to his side and held out her arms with a smile.

"Hug before I go, handsome?"

"...I'll decline, thank you."

"Aww, not even going to hug your favorite auntie? You know I won't bite."

Abaddon rolled his eyes and went back to reading.

"...I'm kinda surprised at you, Abaddon. Usually you would have snapped at me by now... Could it be that you are warming up to me?"

Lusamine decided to try her luck and reached for Abaddon's upper thigh.

Finally he snapped as he caught her wrist with extreme speed. "You senile old crow, do I need to stick your head in a toilet to flush out your dirty mind?!"

"Oops!"

Feigning surprise, Karliah made a shocked expression as she looked down at her open robe.

"My oh my... what a dreadful accide-"

"BAYLE! Bite these bitches!" Abaddon called.

As the newest pet crawled out of the fireplace, Abaddon was suddenly assailed with a familiar pin-prick sensation in the back of his neck.

'Oh shit..'

Somehow, he'd forgotten that today was the day that Shiva and the others were supposedly coming to visit.

And as such, he'd neglected to detoxify the realm for them, or alert his men that they were coming.

Which meant they were in for an unfathomably rude welcome.