Brother's Surprise: Buy One, Get One Free—Two Little Tyrants!

Fenrir's motorcycle roared closer and closer before finally coming to a stop in front of the garage door.

Edward killed the engine and swung off the bike. The exhaustion from his long journey faded considerably beneath his anticipation of being home.

He took off his sunglasses, shook out his slightly flattened hair, and continued mulling over Alan's cryptic mention of a "surprise."

Whistling, Edward unlocked the front door with his key.

"I'm back!"

Yet what greeted him was not his mother's warm embrace, his father's head peeking out from behind the newspaper, or the patter of Lily's little feet running toward him.

The house was silent—deathly silent, even.

This unusual quiet made Edward raise an eyebrow.

He changed into slippers and walked into the living room. A strange scent seemed to linger in the air, a mixture of cheap perfume and a faint, barely perceptible tension.

"Dad? Mom? Lily?" he called out tentatively.

"Oh! Edward, you're back!" His mother Sarah's voice finally came from upstairs, though it sounded a little too deliberately cheerful.

A moment later, she and his father John appeared at the top of the stairs. Their faces wore complicated expressions, a mixture of delight, concern, and a trace of barely noticeable awkwardness.

"What is it?" Edward immediately sensed that something was off. "Do we have guests?"

"Uh, more or less..." John adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Honey, you tell him."

Sarah came downstairs and hugged Edward. Then she took his hand, her expression becoming serious and sympathetic. "Edward, do you remember that case Mom has been handling lately?"

Edward nodded. Of course he remembered. It was follow-up work on a child disappearance case that seemed to involve conflicts within a family. He hadn't asked about the details.

"The child from that case, Esther, is in a very complicated situation. She doesn't have a suitable guardian for the time being, so I... I brought her home to look after her for a few days." Sarah beckoned upstairs. "Esther, come down. This is my son, Edward."

At her words, a girl in a vintage dress with two neat braids slowly emerged from the shadows of the staircase.

She looked about nine years old. Her skin was pale, but her eyes held a calmness and maturity that did not match her age.

She walked to Sarah's side, gave a slight bow, and said in a sweet, clear voice, "Hello, Big Brother Edward."

The instant Edward saw that face, his mind buzzed as a scene from a horror movie buried deep in his memories flashed before him.

A psychopath who never grows up?

Before he could recover from that sudden "surprise," his father Connor cleared his throat and pointed to the other end of the living room sofa.

"And... Edward, this is Emma. On our way back from outside the city the day before yesterday, we came across a car accident. This child was the only survivor. Her aunt... sigh, anyway, the police haven't finished the paperwork yet, so we brought her back for now."

Edward's gaze turned stiffly toward the sofa.

A black-haired, green-eyed girl in a princess dress sat there, looking like an exquisite porcelain doll. Hugging a teddy bear, she studied him curiously with a pair of innocent, guileless eyes.

"Hello." Emma's voice was as crisp as a silver bell.

Edward's eye twitched violently.

The Bad Seed?

He could feel his temples throbbing.

He had gone out and made guest appearances in two horror movies, only to return home and find that his house had become the cozy household of horror movie bosses?

"Mom, Dad, where did you kidnap these two little girls from?" he finally blurted out.

It sounded less like a question and more like a groan on the verge of collapse.

"Watch how you speak!" Sarah shot him a reproachful glare. "These two children have such pitiful backgrounds.

"Esther has been through so many hardships, and Emma witnessed her loved ones die with her own eyes. What they need most right now is care and warmth."

Edward took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the urge to complain.

He looked at the two "pitiful" girls before him. One was actually a twenty-eight-year-old psychopath skilled at manipulating people, arson, and seducing her adoptive father; the other was an eight-year-old cold-blooded killer with antisocial tendencies who could murder a classmate over a medal.

Warmth? Care? What they needed was probably solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison.

"Then... where's Lily?" Edward felt like even his voice was floating.

"Oh, Lily's in her room," Connor replied. "She seems... not to like her new little sisters. She's been locked in her room all day."

No kidding!

Edward roared inwardly.

That wasn't dislike. It was natural repulsion between their kind—the demon radar had detected two other abnormal signal sources!

He finally understood what Alan had meant by "surprise."

Alan had definitely witnessed this scene through the mirror at home, then maliciously left him a riddle just to enjoy his misery.

His house no longer felt like a house. It felt like the set of a reality show called the "Problem Children Containment Center."

A demon little sister descended upon the human world, an adult psychopath pretending to be a nine-year-old girl, and an eight-year-old murderous maniac who was bad from birth.

Good grief, with a lineup like this, they could form a team and destroy the world. Was Alessa going to show up next?

Just then, Lily's bedroom door creaked open.

Wearing pink pajamas, Lily poked her little head out from behind the door. She didn't look at the two new girls. Instead, she looked straight at Edward, her eyes filled with grievance and a trace of barely perceptible wariness, like a husky that had discovered its territory had been invaded.

"Big Brother..." she called softly. Then she ran over on her short little legs and hugged Edward's thigh, burying her face deeply against it as though seeking shelter.

Sarah and Connor smiled with relief at the sight.

"See? Lily is still the most attached to you," Sarah said gently. "Edward, as the big brother, you need to take good care of your three little sisters."

Edward looked down at "Chicken Strips," who was hugging his leg and trembling slightly. Then he looked up at the two "new little sisters" across from him—one wore a shy smile, while the other had innocent eyes.

The three "sisters" exchanged silent gazes in midair. Only Edward could feel the bizarre aura that instantly solidified in the air, as though blades were flashing all around them.

Lily was using her actions to declare her claim to him, her "master," and warn him that enemies had invaded.

Meanwhile, Esther and Emma were using the disguises they excelled at to assess the newly appeared "big brother," who seemed to hold the most authority in the household.

Edward felt less like an older brother and more like a prison warden.

He reached out and stroked Lily's head. His movements were gentle, but his words made all three "little girls" stiffen at once.

"Don't worry. Big Brother will take good care of you."

He deliberately emphasized the word "good."

A flicker of alarm flashed through Esther's seemingly calm eyes, while Emma's innocent expression appeared to freeze for an instant.

Both of them sensed an indescribable pressure from this impossibly handsome big brother, one that instinctively made them uneasy.

Only Lily, the demon who understood Edward's terrifying side best, buried her head even deeper.

She knew that this expression meant her brother had entered "toying with prey" mode.

The show was about to begin.

"Alright, alright, it's getting late. Edward, you must be tired after just getting back. Go take a shower and get ready for dinner."

Sarah clapped her hands, breaking the strange atmosphere. "Esther, Emma, you two go wash your hands too. John, come help me."

Their parents turned and headed for the kitchen, leaving only Edward and his three "good little sisters" in the living room.

Edward released Lily and strolled over to the sofa. He dropped down onto it, stretched out against the backrest, and swept his gaze back and forth between Esther and Emma with interest.

He said nothing, but that gaze, as though it could see through everything, made Esther and Emma feel as if they had been stripped naked and placed before him.

All their disguises, all their schemes, seemed laughable and feeble beneath that gaze.

"You two," Edward finally said. His voice was calm, but it carried an unquestionable command, "had better behave yourselves."

He paused, a wicked smile curling across his lips.

"Otherwise, I'll show you what a real 'horror movie' is."

After saying that, he ignored the two girls whose expressions had subtly changed. He stood, stretched lazily, and said to Lily, who was still hugging his leg, "Come on, Chicken Strips. Take me to see what you tore apart today."

Lily immediately looked up, her face instantly breaking into a bright, innocent smile. "Nothing! I was very good today!"

The two of them went upstairs one after the other, leaving Esther and Emma standing there. For the first time, their expressions slipped out of control, turning dark and uncertain.