Chapter Twenty: Seeking Help and Aunt Angela’s Visit

Sometimes, Louis thought of himself as rather twisted for actually enjoying watching women fight, but he had to admit—it was genuinely entertaining! Unfortunately, they didn’t actually come to blows. What a pity. Yet, when two equally unpleasant personalities clashed, an intense reaction was inevitable; it was true that like repels like. What would they do next? Poison? Or go straight to violence? Whatever it was, it certainly wouldn’t be as subtle as before, with all the framing and deceit—they’d already torn off the mask of civility.

What should he do?

Just as Louis pondered this, his door was knocked on. Emma entered, her face freshly cleansed of blood, and her signature perfect smile once again graced her features. But no sooner had she stepped inside than that smile vanished, collapsing as if she were too weary to pretend before Louis. Understandably so, since Louis was the first person to see her true self—and to terrify her into tears. There was no point in maintaining a facade in front of him.

“What brings you here? Looking for some correction?” Louis asked with a grin.

Emma trembled, her mouth snapping shut. The recent corrections had been nothing but nightmares—Louis’s strange ability forced her to relive terrifying dreams every night, each with different fatal endings, each torturous in its own way. He called it a means to make her appreciate the preciousness of life. As for the effect... well, the pigeon just now seemed eager to speak.

Emma took a deep breath. “Louis, when we escaped together, weren’t we friends then?”

“No, no, no.”

“We are friends now,” Louis replied, eyeing her curiously, wondering what she was about to say.

“Alright, then can you help me?”

“Help you with what?”

“To deal with Esther!” Emma’s voice sharpened with bitterness.

“I don’t believe you can’t see it—she’s just like me. Since you say you want to ‘correct’ me, why not correct her too?”

Louis looked at Emma oddly. He hadn’t expected her to seek his help; it shattered his previous impression of her. But dealing with Esther? That was just what he wanted. Perfect—she could take the lead and test the waters.

“You’re David’s daughter, so I’ll correct you. As for Esther, she doesn’t deserve it.”

She only deserved to die.

Emma felt a surge of fury, her chest tightening. What was that supposed to mean? Bullying her? Damn it! If only she were stronger…

But then Louis continued, “Just a reminder—Esther’s not normal. Have you ever thought carefully about what exactly is wrong with her?”

“What about the brain she used back then to deal with me?”

“And be careful,” Louis added with a meaningful tone.

Emma froze, her mind racing back to that day. Esther had screamed suddenly when a classmate bullied her and touched the black silk ribbon she always wore. That’s right—the black silk ribbon! And that black leather-bound Bible she carried everywhere! There was something strange about those.

Perhaps, just like Louis’s family, this was her secret too?

Excitement sparked within Emma. Her instincts told her she was on the right track. If she could uncover this mystery, she could defeat Esther.

She had considered direct confrontations—poison, accidents, ambushes—but thinking of Esther’s cold smile as she broke the pigeon’s neck made success seem unlikely. Now, having found a more thorough, foolproof method from Louis, she would keep those crude tactics in reserve.

Her mind whirred, and she smiled at Louis. “Thanks. By the way, she’s been looking for you lately.”

Louis glanced at her briefly. “Oh.”

Emma said no more, smiling faintly as she left the room to begin planning a final, decisive strategy.

Watching her go, Louis stroked his chin and resumed practicing the blade-spitting technique. At this point, he was barely a novice—able to hide a dozen needles in his mouth and swallow a small knife without flinching. But mastery was far off; once achieved, he could hold more than one knife and unleash far more lethal blade attacks.

For now, though, Louis wasn’t eager to delve deeper. Once he was fully proficient, he planned to learn the “Chicken Head Exorcism” technique and then move on to the next stage of his inheritance. That way, he could train in blade-spitting and other skills simultaneously, with plenty of time to spare.

***

Time passed slowly.

Another half month slipped by.

During this period, everything remained quiet. The earlier mishaps ceased, giving David a peaceful stretch of days.

One day, a blonde woman arrived at David’s home.

“Hello, dear Emma,” she greeted warmly, then turned to Esther and Louis with a bright smile.

“You must be Esther and Louis, right? How lovely.”

Louis returned her polite smile, but Esther regarded her with cautious eyes, scrutinizing her for a moment before asking, “Who are you, ma’am?”

“Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Angela, Emma’s aunt—and soon to be your aunt as well. Here, these are gifts for you.”

Angela handed over several items: a toy gun that looked convincingly real, a high-quality white scarf, and a hair ornament studded with tiny diamonds.

In the next instant, both Emma and Esther reached out and grabbed the hair ornament simultaneously, their eyes locking. The atmosphere tightened with unspoken tension.

Angela stood there, stunned and confused. Hadn’t her brother said the two children were well-behaved? What was going on?

Louis took the toy gun from her, thanked her, and invited her upstairs to find David.

By the time they found David—who had just finished some design drawings in his room—and came downstairs, Emma was already wearing the scarf, while the glinting hair ornament was pinned in Esther’s hair.

David clapped his hands together. “You’re about to start your vacation soon. I think it’s time for us, as this new family, to embark on a fun trip—by the lake, in the forest, for a picnic, to see more scenery and meet new friends.”

“What do you think?”

“Of course, the exact location hasn’t been decided yet, but I promise it will be somewhere nice. And Aunt Angela will be coming with us too.”

In fact, Angela had proposed the idea earlier upstairs.

Faced with the suggestion, Louis was the first to agree.

After a brief hesitation, Emma and Esther also consented.