Chapter Eighteen: Disguise and the Old Pervert
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Esther blinked innocently. “All right, if that is what you say.”
“Besides, I have already finished painting the music box. Wouldn’t you like to take a look?”
Watching this marvelous scene unfold, Louis found it highly amusing. Esther had clearly chosen to retreat in order to advance. What did “if that is what you say” mean, if not an indirect way of saying that Emma was talking nonsense?
She had even displayed her generosity.
And now she was changing the subject, asking them to examine the evidence.
Emma seemed to be having a little trouble coping with her.
Before long, Esther brought out a music box whose four sides were covered in all kinds of paintings. It looked exceptionally beautiful.
Louis raised an eyebrow.
Fatal blow.
Those paintings could not have been completed in such a short time. They proved that everything Esther had said was true, while Emma…
“Emma, here. Your music box sounds lovely.”
Esther spoke with a meaningful smile.
At that moment, David, who had witnessed everything, frowned. He was not angry, but he still felt that Emma might be overly sensitive.
It was much like the harsh words she had blurted out in a moment of anger over winning or losing the medal. Now, she was probably simply unsettled by Esther’s sudden arrival, which had led her to play such a prank.
He bent down and looked at Emma seriously. “Emma, Daddy taught you to be honest, didn’t he? I know Esther’s arrival has been difficult for you to adjust to, but I believe that, in time, you’ll understand the advantages of having an older sister. Esther is a very kind girl. Daddy promises you.”
Emma pressed her lips together without saying a word, merely lowering her head.
David sighed. He felt that this might be the influence a single-parent family had on a child. He did not scold her further, only telling the children to return to their respective rooms.
Before going back, Louis glanced toward the room next door. Emma wore a dark expression, clearly in no pleasant mood. It seemed she would make another move later.
David, meanwhile, went to Esther’s room.
“I’m sorry, Esther. You know Emma is just a little shy around strangers. I hope you can forgive her.”
Esther merely smiled gently. “David… Daddy, I’m not angry. Emma is my little sister. She was only throwing a small tantrum.”
She changed her form of address without hesitation, calling him Daddy.
Hearing her understanding tone, David nodded in relief. “That’s good. Esther, is there anything you want?”
“No. I only want a hug from Daddy.”
David looked helpless, but he gave her a hug all the same. Esther greedily inhaled the scent of mature masculinity that clung to him.
…
Inside the room.
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Louis sat in his chair, deep in thought.
There was clearly something wrong with Esther. Failing to consider her origins would show an alarming lack of caution.
A little girl with black ribbons tied around her neck and wrists, mature beyond her years, and just as skilled at pretending as Emma…
“There aren’t many evil children in movies and television. If she really is a character from one of them, then…”
Orphan and Yulenka, two films about evil children as famous as The Bad Seed, surfaced in Louis’s mind. He quickly began comparing the possibilities.
“Damn it! Esther! Orphan! What the hell—a grown woman in a child’s body?”
Louis’s expression changed. He frowned, his face twisting with disgust.
He remembered which movie it was now. He could no longer recall all the details, but he remembered the general plot. It was an evil-child film called Orphan. Esther was presented as a child, but in reality she was already over thirty. She had stopped growing because of an illness. Worse, she was violent by nature and obsessed with having a family.
She had been adopted again and again, and each time she tried to seduce the adoptive father in order to build a family of her own. Along the way, she used every method imaginable—deception, murder, intimidation, manipulation, and more—to destroy the happiness of the original family and make the man trust her even more. In the end, if the father refused to become her man, a deadly outcome awaited him.
“Damn it, what kind of trouble is this? David, what sort of people have you been adopting?”
Louis himself was not worth mentioning. His soul was older than his body, and he was destined to become a figure of the Left-Hand Path. He could kill his enemies without so much as blinking. He was hardly a good person.
Emma was even less deserving of discussion. She possessed an antisocial personality, felt no concern for human life, and would eventually even kill her own biological father.
And now David had adopted another equally deadly older child, one who knew how to seduce other people.
What was this supposed to be? A game of Werewolf?
Perhaps David should adopt Yulenka as well, and take in her generously endowed mother while he was at it.
After a brief bout of complaining, Louis calmed down and began considering what to do next.
First of all, this thing had to be eliminated.
Unlike Emma, Esther was a genuine old monster. Emma might have an antisocial personality, but she was still young, had little experience, and had not yet formed a proper worldview. More importantly, she was David’s daughter.
David treated Louis rather well, and Louis still needed his status as a lodger. That was why he had chosen to reform Emma. Even if it proved troublesome, he did not mind.
Esther was different. She was a twisted old psychopath whose mind had long since been warped. She possessed a mature, if distorted, worldview of her own—and she threatened Louis’s interests.
Second, he had to keep an eye on David and stop him from adopting anyone else.
Ordinary people were manageable. They might be perverted, sinister, or murderous, but at least they lacked overwhelming physical strength. With some effort, Louis could still deal with them.
But if David brought home some supernatural evil child, things would become troublesome.
“Now, let me think about where to begin and how to get rid of this woman.”
He could not act too hastily. At present, he had no means of cursing people, and he could not eliminate her without a sound. Exposure would be easy. He had no desire to cause too much commotion and draw the attention of Miami.
So he would simply go with the flow.
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This woman would not behave herself.
It was Emma who would suffer. No matter how clever the little girl was, there was no way she could outplay a twisted old monster.
Let Emma endure the hardship, and let Esther bear the blame.
…
Before long, it was time to get up early and go to school.
With the irresistible power of money, the community committee smoothly prepared a letter of introduction, and the school accepted it with equal efficiency.
Esther Coleman officially enrolled.
The moment she entered the school, the black ribbons she wore drew curious attention.
At nine years old, she was not in the same grade as Emma and the others. In the higher grades, bullying seemed to emerge as well.
Under such circumstances, Esther’s situation became somewhat unfavorable. Yet she appeared not to care in the slightest.
Two days later.
In a school corridor—
Smack!
A foot deliberately shot out and tripped her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. But what’s with those ribbons? They’re so ugly. And what’s with that Bible? Are you religious?”
The girl appeared to be kindly reaching out to help Esther up, but her hand moved toward the black ribbon around Esther’s wrist.
The moment she touched it—
“Ahhhhh!”
A shriek so sharp it seemed capable of shattering eardrums rang out.
The entire corridor fell silent.
Emma, drawn over by the commotion, stopped in her tracks. Seeing the scene, she broke into a gleeful smile.
Humming a cheerful little tune, she leisurely returned to her own classroom.
She did not know that, that very afternoon after classes ended, someone would slip while pouring water, sending boiling water splashing directly onto her face and causing severe burns. She would be taken to the hospital.
Oh, right.
It seemed that someone was a girl.
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