Just half an hour earlier, when Emily emerged from the mall bathroom, several burly men immediately surrounded her. The men forcibly took her away without giving her a chance to call for help, covered her head with a grey hood, and shoved her into a car.
Two men held her down in a chair, and someone yanked the hood off her head. The sudden light stung Emily's eyes, forcing her to blink rapidly.
When she finally took in her surroundings, she found herself in a gorgeously renovated room filled with dolls of all kinds. Two girls with identical faces were staring at her intently.
The two girls had short hair with bangs and wore gold puff-sleeved princess dresses, white pantyhose, and matching pearl necklaces. They appeared to be only about ten years old, impeccably dressed, and their turquoise eyes betrayed both curiosity and an indescribable malice towards Emily.
"She's the bride of the South?" One of the twins examined Emily with a sideways glance. "Oh my God, her eyes are so beautiful. It would be nice to put these eyes on my rag doll."
"Did she hide the sky in her eyes?" Another girl brought her freckled face close to Emily's and peered into her eyes. "So clear, she doesn't even have a speck in them."
Emily was puzzled by the behavior of the two girls, who, while they didn't seem to harbor much ill-will towards her, spoke in a strange manner.
"You smell good," the first girl sniffed Emily's body like a puppy. "What brand of perfume are you wearing?"
"Why doesn't she speak? Is she mute?" The second girl poked Emily's arm with her finger.
"Maybe that's her style," the first girl replied.
"Maybe she doesn't want to deal with you at all," the second girl suggested.
The first girl pushed the second girl away from Emily and smiled at her, revealing two sharp, tiger-like teeth. "Hi, I'm the most beautiful princess in the country, Mina."
"I'm Maggie," the second girl quickly chimed in. "I am the second most beautiful princess in the country."
They confirmed they were indeed princesses. Emily looked at them suspiciously. Were they the ones who had brought her there?
"What's your name?" Princess Maggie asked Emily. When she saw that Emily didn't answer, she repeated, "Tell me your name."
At that moment, the door of the room was suddenly flung open, and two bodyguards, both with visible scars on their faces, rushed in through the entrance.
"What happened?" Princess Mina frowned and looked at the bodyguard who had fallen to the ground. "Who beat you up?"
"It's me," Klaus's voice came from behind the door, and he stepped over the bodies of the two bodyguards, entering the room with his eyes fixed on the twins. "It was your people who kidnapped my Luna, wasn't it?"
"We just wanted to invite her over for tea," Princess Mina explained hurriedly.
"Kidnapping?" Klaus advanced towards Princess Mina. "Whose idea was it?"
Princess Mina immediately glanced at one of the fallen bodyguards, who replied with a pained expression, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but you ordered us to bring the bride back by any means necessary."
"So you took her hostage?" Princess Mina's eyes widened, as if the sky were falling.
"It was Mina's idea," Princess Maggie shouted, pointing at her sister with her finger. "It's her who wanted to see the bride of the South."
"No, Klaus," Princess Mina panicked. "Don't listen to her. She came up with this terrible idea."
"Maybe both of you had a hand in it," Klaus said as he walked to the front of the cabinet and pulled out a ceramic doll that was inside.
"No, Klaus, don't," the two princesses begged almost simultaneously. "Don't touch that doll."
"Tell me the truth, or I'll smash this doll," Klaus threatened.
"It's Dyson!" Princess Maggie screamed.
"Dyson?" Klaus scowled, still holding the ceramic doll tightly.
"It was Dyson who told us he was spying on your wedding ceremony," Princess Maggie explained. "He also said that the southern bride was very beautiful, so we became curious about her."
"Because Mina doesn't believe there are more beautiful women in this world than herself," Princess Maggie added. "Except, of course, Mom."
"So kidnapping my bride was Mina's idea?" Klaus asked.
"It's Maggie!" Princess Mina protested.
"No, it's Mina!" Princess Maggie countered.
"That's you, Maggie," Princess Mina insisted.
"You still want to put the bride's eyes on your doll? Don't think I don't know what you're thinking," Princess Maggie complained to Klaus. "Mina had all the bad ideas."
"Shut up, Maggie," Princess Mina immediately rushed forward and scuffled with Princess Maggie.
Emily rose hurriedly from her chair, stepping aside to avoid being caught in the fray. She looked at the confusion in the room and then at Klaus.
"That's enough," Klaus roared.
The two girls immediately stopped and looked at him. Klaus said to them, "Whoever came up with this idea, you two will be punished."
"No, it's not fair," Princess Mina protested loudly. "You can't treat us like this just because you're our big brother."
"Mushroom picking," Klaus's tone was full of irresistible authority.
"I hate picking mushrooms," Princess Maggie sat on the ground and shouted, pounding her hands on the floor. "Mina, it's all your fault."
"It's all your fault. It's you who made Klaus angry," Princess Mina retorted.
Emily was dazed. What the hell is going on?
"Let's go," Klaus put his arm around Emily's shoulders. "Ignore them."
The scolding of the two girls continued until they left the room.
.......
Hotel
After a bit of chaos, Klaus took Emily back to the hotel, where she was now taking a nap in bed.
Klaus was sitting at his computer, having just received a confidential report from Mark. The report contained not only military information about the Southern Wolves, but also an investigative report on Emily's origins.
After Klaus had finished reading the report, he fell into a long reverie. Without this report, he would never have known what had happened to Emily in the past.
Footsteps were heard approaching the bedroom. Klaus turned off the computer and turned to look at Emily. "Are you awake?"
Emily rubbed her eyes and stood up to stretch.
Klaus walked up to her and used his hand to straighten her messy hair. He said to her gently, "Wait a minute, I want to take you somewhere."
Emily looked suspiciously at Klaus, only to see him smile mysteriously.
"You'll know when we get there," he said.