Alpha's replacement bride is destined mate-Chapter 78 Tricked

The rest of the day commenced by leading Emily and Klaus on a tour of the South, where they were escorted by representatives of the Southern royal family to some of the region’s premier attractions, occasionally granting interviews to reporters, and so forth.

The Southern public was unanimous in their admiration for Emily’s appearance, and within a few days, Emily, Princess of the North, swiftly emerged as a popular figure in the headlines, her popularity even surpassing that of Prince Adam.

On the morning of the fifth day, Emily and Klaus visited an orphanage to pay their respects. As a gesture of welcome to the northern royal family, the children of the orphanage prepared a musical performance for Emily and Klaus.

Half an hour before the musical performance, Emily and Klaus sat for a moment in the lounge. It was originally an office, temporarily converted into a break room. The lounge walls were adorned with personal messages from previous directors and a history of the orphanage.

"Are you tired, my love?" Klaus, seated on a modest couch, wrapped his arm around Emily’s waist, drawing her body closer to his.

"A little," Emily replied, feeling slightly parched from the heat. She unscrewed a bottle of mineral water from the table and took a few sips to soothe her throat. The past few days had been relatively hectic, and she had barely had time to use the bathroom.

"Bear with me for a few more days, and next week’s schedule won’t be as packed as it is now," Klaus whispered softly in Emily’s ear. "We’ll have two days of free time next week."

Emily winced slightly at the mention of next week. Was the week already over so soon? That meant she had only a week left in the South.

But so far, she had been unable to uncover the true cause of her mother’s death. Judy remained unconscious in the hospital, and Emily could find no trace of the doctors and nurses who had been in charge of the delivery, as if they had vanished into thin air.

"Couldn’t you really find out the truth about your mother’s death?"

Emily’s thoughts were a bit jumbled at the moment, and she stood up to wash her face and compose herself.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked.

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Do you want me to accompany you?"

"I’m not a child, Klaus." Sometimes Emily felt frustrated by Klaus’s overprotectiveness, and she tried to force a smile and said, "Trust me, I’ll find my way back."

"Okay, whatever you want." Klaus, bored, picked up a flyer from the orphanage and perused it.

Emily pushed open the door, and the bodyguards standing outside immediately nodded respectfully at her. When Emily mentioned she was heading to the bathroom, one of the bodyguards offered to accompany her, but she declined.

It wasn’t far from the lounge to the bathroom, and besides, it was an orphanage. Were they afraid that the frail orphans might harm her? It sounded absurd.

Soon, Emily was in the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face. As the cold water hit her skin, her jumbled thoughts gradually cleared.

There has to be a way. Emily thought to herself: she would uncover the real reason behind her mother’s death.

She wasn’t going to give up just yet.

As Emily looked up in the mirror, she saw the face of a woman appear in the reflection. The woman’s fiery red hair was like a blazing flame, and her eyes were filled with rage as she stared at Emily, as if ready to consume her.

"Katherine?" Emily turned her head to look at her stepmother, her voice laced with confusion and wariness. Instead, she was met with a harsh slap from her stepmother.

The slap was so loud and forceful that Emily was stunned for a moment before she regained her composure and glared at Katherine.

"Do you know the consequences of striking a princess?"

"Princess?" Katherine sneered, the corners of her mouth curling up in sarcasm, "Is a country girl worthy of being a princess?"

"You’d better understand one thing," Emily moved step by step towards Katherine, who had had enough of her repeated defiance.

"It was you and my father who forced me to go to the North to marry, it was you who poisoned me, and it was you who caused me to lose my wolf." Emily gritted her teeth, her voice filled with pain and anger, "Now you’re eyeing the position of Princess of the North again, Katherine. I’ve never seen a woman as despicable and shameless as you."

"You hurt Gina and became the laughingstock of the entire South. You must have had something to do with those photos of Gina being posted online." Katherine, forced back into a corner by Emily, still spoke with an unchanged expression, "Now there won’t be any alpha in the entire South who wants to marry Gina. You must give her back everything that belongs to Gina!"

"What if I say no?" Emily’s indifferent gaze stabbed at Katherine like a sharp sword, "I will tell the king the truth about you poisoning me. And you, you will be punished as you deserve."

"Punishment?" Katherine disagreed, her voice tinged with contempt and mockery, "Do you have any proof that I poisoned you?"

"I’m the witness," Emily grabbed Katherine by the collar and said, word for word, "I swear, I’m not going to let you get away with it like that."

"Unfortunately, if the King of the North knew that you didn’t have a wolf, would he still let you continue to be a princess?" Katherine looked directly at Emily, "I’ll make sure everyone in the country knows that you’re a princess without a wolf."

As she spoke, Katherine took the opportunity to push Emily back hard, and Emily slammed into the tiles by the sink, only to hear Katherine say in a defiant tone, "I know how to restore your wolf, but I will never tell you the method."

Katherine turned and ran out of the bathroom, Emily scrambling after her. She couldn’t let Katherine slip away; she had to catch her and demand clarification.

She had to have her wolf back!

Katherine darted to the back of the door and descended the stairs swiftly, Emily hot on her heels. Reaching another floor, Katherine slammed a stairwell door shut and raced down a long hallway.

Emily pursued her, and Katherine halted, casting a smug glance at Emily before shouting into the air, "Help, help! The princess wants to kill me!"

Then she darted down the corridor, only to be met with a loud thud, followed immediately by a shriek of terror echoing from below.

Emily rushed to where Katherine had jumped and peered down, only to find Katherine lying in the open space downstairs, next to the orphans who were about to perform, and several reporters already waiting with their cameras set up.

The reporters had intended to film the Prince and Princess of the North watching the orphans’ performance, but Katherine had accidentally interrupted their footage. Their faces registered shock and confusion, and the cameras in their hands continued to roll, capturing the unexpected event.

Someone looked up from below, and when Emily met their gaze of shock and confusion, she realized she had been tricked.