Chapter 85: "Destiny’s Design"
Princess of Enderland and Prince Eric stared at the tightly sealed doors, and in that instant, everything beca clear.
This wedding had been nothing more than a conspiracy from the very beginning.
Prince Eric thought of the curse weighing upon Ariel. Looking at the festive decorations around him, he suddenly realized the enemy’s plan. Rage surged through him, and he wished nothing more than to cut down the mastermind behind this sche with his sword.
The girl I love took on a terrible curse just to walk on land. When the first dawn of my marriage with soone else arrives, her heart will shatter, and she will dissolve into sea foam. I have to leave here—imdiately! Who ca up with such a wicked plan?!
The young princess supported Prince Eric’s trembling fra, gathering all her courage to point out the true culprit:
"Eric! The one behind all of this is our Enderland Court Witch—the old witch who accompanied the delegation to the Western Asia Kingdom. You saw her in the grand hall of the palace!"
She wasn’t sure if more people were involved in the sche—perhaps even her own father, the emperor of Enderland, a man who had never known rcy.
The beautiful bride, draped in her wedding gown, lowered her head, her entire body sinking weakly to the floor. The delicate veil of fine-spun silk draped over her in disarray.
So in the end, I’m just a pawn without free will. When all this madness unfolded, I knew nothing and could do nothing. The only role I could play was that of a bride, a re piece in this dark conspiracy.
The young princess thought back to her first encounter with Prince Eric—how he had lain on the shore, pale as death. She hadn’t known at the ti that the dying, handso young man before her was a foreign prince.
When she later learned that the prince from the Western Asia Kingdom—the one she was engaged to—was the very boy she had saved, she had been overwheld with joy. It had felt like a dream, an impossible miracle co true. She had been so happy, believing it to be a fated encounter.
But now, standing in the wreckage of the wedding, listening to the panicked shouts around her, and learning of the hidden truths and sinister plots from Prince Eric’s own mouth, she couldn’t help but wonder—
Was that "fated encounter" also orchestrated?
After all, wasn’t it that sa old witch who had instructed her to go to the Forest Temple to learn royal etiquette?
Could it be that even her happiest dream had been nothing more than a carefully arranged deception, a piece of a much larger conspiracy?
A crushing sense of powerlessness nearly overwheld the beautiful bride.
Through her tear-blurred vision, beneath the veil over her head, she suddenly saw a sight she would never forget—
Prince Eric, now with a rmaid’s tail, struggling to move. He pushed himself along the ground with his hands, using his tail to propel himself bit by bit toward the temple doors, desperately trying to push them open. ꞦΆ𝐍𝙤𝖇Èꞩ
Afterward, he and the others attempted the windows and other exits, but even the seemingly open pathways were blocked by an invisible barrier.
None of the panicked guests trying to escape understood the truth—the force keeping them trapped wasn’t physical walls, but the limits of this mirrored replica space. This place was no larger than what they could see.
"Prince Eric, it looks like we won’t be able to escape using ordinary thods," the princess mused, suddenly struck by an idea. "Besides that potion, do you have any other magical tools?"
"Magical tools?" Prince Eric was montarily stunned before sothing clicked in his mind.
"My bag! There’s a silver mirror inside—take it out!"
The young princess did as he said, retrieving the mirror and handing it to him.
This was the communication device that Magician Rhine had once gifted Ariel in the ocean, and Ariel had passed it on to him! With it, they could contact Rhine!
"It’s almost as if fate arranged this… Everything is falling into place."
Prince Eric murmured in amazent, lifting the mirror. He followed the thod Ariel had taught him, making sure his face was fully reflected in the glass as he spoke of their predicant.
Inside Rhine’s hands, the crystal ball glowed with an eerie blue light, brighter than ever before.
The silver-haired youth showed no surprise—he wasn’t even particularly excited. He simply gazed at the crystal ball, watching Prince Eric’s face appear within it.
"That direction."
Rhine pointed toward a nondescript building in the distance, one that looked no different from an ordinary house.
The next second, the young magician stowed away the crystal ball, placed his hands on Ariel and Aurora’s shoulders—
And in an instant, their figures blurred and vanished.
A teleportation spell. As long as the destination was visible and not too far away, familiarity wasn’t necessary.
With a boom!
A swirling mist erupted, and the three of them reappeared.
They were now inside an empty warehouse.
In the corner stood a full-length mirror, but it did not reflect the outside world as it should have. Instead, it showed the chaotic wedding scene inside.
"Break that mirror," Rhine said. "That will let Prince Eric and the others out."
Just as the three stepped forward to shatter the glass—
A violent explosion rang out.
A black blaze burst forth ahead of them, scattering sparks in all directions.
Erging from the flas was the grotesque old witch, draped in a tattered black cloak. Beside her stood a warrior clad in full armor, gripping a massive greatsword.
The black sparks flickered around them, falling like dark stars.
"You actually found this place?"
The old witch's eyes widened in shock.
How was this possible?
Which part of her flawless plan had gone wrong?!
"A rmaid… Who would’ve thought you'd manage to gain the help of the Rose Kingdom’s magician?" The old witch’s twisted expression grew darker.
"But even if you've found this place, it doesn’t matter!"
She turned to the armored warrior and commanded,
"Go. Kill them!"
The warrior stepped forward, blocking the mirror and the old witch behind him.
"He’s one of Enderland’s most renowned warriors," the old witch sneered. "A man who has slain colossal sea monsters, an invincible force on the battlefield—strong enough to rival an entire battalion!"
With a deafening roar, the warrior charged forward. His thunderous battle cry shook the entire warehouse.
His massive greatsword swung high, slicing through the air with terrifying force, aiming directly at Rhine’s head.
Clang!
A burst of crimson sparks flew.
The greatsword struck sothing solid—bouncing back.
The sheer force of the impact sent the warrior stumbling several steps backward, nearly knocking him off balance.
But what truly shocked him—
Was the fact that his attack hadn’t been blocked by a weapon, a shield, or any form of armor.
No.
Standing in front of the two others, blocking his attack—
Was a little golden-haired girl.
And she had taken the full force of his greatsword strike… with her head.
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