Chapter 84 Rhine's Guarantee
"Our enemies already know Ariel's identity as a mermaid. The reason for this hasty wedding is to make her turn into morning foam."
"The other party is trying to prevent us—especially Ariel—from meeting Prince Eric. Obviously, as long as we can meet, it will bring a positive turn of events, and her plan and Ender's conspiracy will automatically dissolve."
Despite this, Rhine remained calm.
"Teacher, can you help me find where Prince Eric is now?" Aurora asked.
Rhine nodded slightly, took out a crystal ball, and covered the crystal ball with Prince Eric's buttons.
A brilliant blue light burst out from the crystal ball.
After taking a quick look at the scene in the crystal ball, Rhine concluded: "Prince Eric is neither nearby nor far away, but seems to not exist in this world.
“So, he and the little princess of Ende have been transferred to another world, a secret place outside of reality, by the old witch or other Ende court magicians.
"As long as I find the door leading to that dimension, I can communicate with that dimension and rescue Prince Eric!"
Aurora clenched her fists in anger:
"That damn old witch, it's her fault again."
She immediately pulled the tinderbox from her pocket and quickly rubbed it.
With a whoosh, a big dog appeared in front of Aurora. The dog's eyes were almost as big as tea bowls.
"Find Prince Eric!"
Aurora gave the order.
The dog sniffed left and right, and finally shook its head and stuck out its tongue at its short owner, indicating that it could not complete the command.
"Because Prince Eric is not in the real world?" Aurora realized something and gave a new order: "Find the entrance to another dimension."
…
In the mirror world, inside the replica temple.
Before the crowd realized it, they were already in another world.
They didn't know that the peaceful and beautiful scenery outside the window was just a man-made illusion, and that they couldn't open the door and leave the temple anymore.
The peaceful scene outside the window was still there: the stars twinkled in the night sky, and a breeze blew through the silver moon that appeared behind the dark clouds. There were ships coming in and out of the harbor from time to time. The streets were full of red lights to celebrate the wedding of the prince and princess. There was no noise either.
The years are quiet and good.
In the temple, the bands continued to play joyful music.
No one knew about the chaos happening in the port of the End German Imperial City in the real world at that time.
After resting for a while, Prince Eric recovered a little, but was still in a daze.
The effects of alcohol, the mental disorder caused by the memory being taken away by the drugs, and the bewitching fragrance emanating from the little Princess Endeavour, all these factors combined to make Prince Eric unconscious and his brain a mess.
"Hurry, Princess, continue the sacred ceremony. Today is a happy day. Isn't the prince in front of you the man you love?"
The old witch urged from the side.
The little princess of Ende country nodded slightly.
Since just now, she has tried to delay many times, saying "Eric doesn't look well, let's wait a little longer."
However, every one or two minutes, the old witch would urge him again. I'm afraid it's impossible to delay any further.
"This is so strange. This is the wedding I should be looking forward to the most, but now I keep putting it off," thought the princess.
The princess held Prince Eric's hand and walked back to the altar surrounded by flowers.
On the altar, bright red flowers are in full bloom, and the fragrance of the flowers is intoxicating.
A thousand golden oil lamps emitted warm light, illuminating the delicate faces of the prince and princess, and joyful music floated in their ears.
Because Prince Eric did not seem to have recovered, he could not even utter his vows and could only perform a few gestures to symbolically complete the ceremony. The priest announced the end of the wedding.
Seeing this scene, the old witch gasped.
"The wedding is almost done. When the first rays of light shine on the flag of the Ender Imperial City at dawn the next day, everything will be determined."
"I hid the mirror in a very secret place. No one can find it. No one can find Prince Eric and His Royal Highness the Princess in the mirror."
As she thought about this, the old witch gently knocked on the locked temple door, and a dark blue vortex appeared there that only she could see. This vortex undoubtedly led to the real world.
At this time, everyone was paying attention to the bride and groom on the altar, and no one noticed what was happening on the old witch's side.
The old witch leaned down and dived into the whirlpool.
"Next, we should go outside to deal with any possible emergencies. Speaking of which, it seems like there's a big mess outside."
…
Near the port of Ende Imperial City.
There were chaotic shouts everywhere, the sound of cavalry horses' hooves as they galloped past, and the hurried footsteps of military boots on the ground.
In such a chaotic scene, a dog with eyes as big as tea bowls running back and forth in the night would at most cause a few exclamations but fail to gain any more attention.
"Wait, I just saw a really big dog run by."
"Never mind. It could be a magical creature created by a court magician."
"I remember, I remember, I saw that dog! It was on the battlefield of the war with the Kingdom of Rose half a year ago. The dog bit my commander and threw him into the air, where he fell and was smashed into a paste. I will never forget that horrible scene even if I have nightmares! How could that horrible dog be here?"
"Don't worry about it, it's just a big dog. Go to the harbor quickly, there is a group of terrible big fish attacking the ships there!"
“…”
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Rhine, Aurora, and Ariel followed the dog, moving back and forth in the streets of the imperial city.
At this time, Ariel was extremely grateful that the potion provided by Rhine did not have the side effect of "walking as if cut by a knife". Otherwise, she would not be able to run on the street like this at this time, and would only become a burden that was despised.
"No, I can't find it. The instructions are too vague and there are too many misleading targets."
Aurora was shocked and anxious.
She found that the dog would stop in front of many full-length mirrors in the city. Sometimes it would go into a clothing store and run in front of the mirror; sometimes it would run to a house and sniff the large mirror hanging in front of the house.
Every time he walked in front of a mirror, Rhine would hold up a crystal ball in front of it, and a faint blue light would burst out from the crystal ball.
Then the little magician would shake his head to indicate that Prince Eric was not in the mirror.
"It's obvious that there are at least hundreds of mirrors in this city that have been cursed by the old witch in advance. In theory, each mirror is the entrance or exit to another space, which fits the search target you set for the dog," Rhine explained.
"Of course, the old witch can only activate one side at a time - Prince Eric and the little princess of Ender must be hiding in that mirror!"
"Then how should we find her?" Aurora panicked. "Ariel is cursed. If we don't solve the problem before dawn the next day, Ariel will turn into sea foam!"
Ariel also clenched her fists and lowered her head.
"Unfortunately, I am useless and can't help them at all! I can't do anything to help find Prince Eric!"
The mermaid princess wept in her heart.
"By the way, since the medicinal wine that can make mermaids grow legs again can turn Ariel back into a mermaid, can it remove the curse on Ariel?" Aurora asked, "Isn't the curse because mermaids without immortal souls turned into noble humans, which was considered as an overstep by the world and cursed by the world?"
"No." Rhine said confidently, "The curse was set when Ariel drank the first bottle of magic potion. It cannot be lifted simply by turning back into a mermaid."
"There is indeed a way to lift the curse, but it is much more difficult. Only if Ariel stabs the knife into the heart of her beloved with her own hands and lets the blood flow to her feet, will the world forgive the mermaid's transgression and turn her back into a mermaid, and the curse can be lifted. From now on, no matter how many bottles of magic potion she drinks, she will never be able to grow human legs again."
Ariel's voice trembled slightly: "Even if Eric was right in front of me, I wouldn't do this."
Rhine knew she was telling the truth—because that was what she chose in the original work.
"Oh, right," Aurora thought of another reason why Ariel was safe and sound. "Prince Eric loves Ariel so much. Although they haven't married yet, they love each other much more than many married couples. In their daily life together, Ariel might have gained an immortal soul. In this way, the curse is actually invalid!"
Rhine smiled and said, "You are thinking in the right direction. Love is not limited to the vows at the wedding, nor is it limited to that one ceremony.
“In theory, as long as the two of them spend enough time together, Ariel will gradually gain an immortal soul.
"The vows of eternal life and the sacred rituals are merely an acceleration of soul sharing, a shortcut to obtaining an immortal soul."
Aurora's eyes sparkled, and just as she was about to be happy, she heard Rhine say again: "However, the time they spent together was still too short. And at the beginning, the prince only regarded Ariel as a substitute for the woman who saved him.
“It has only been a few days since Prince Eric learned of Ariel’s true identity and experience.
"Without the holy wedding ceremony as a shortcut, Eric's love alone would not be enough for the immortal soul to grow strong in Ariel's body and drive away the curse in just a few days."
Aurora suddenly became disheartened and turned away.
A gloomy look also appeared on Ariel's face.
"Ariel, actually, you don't have to worry so much."
Rhine lowered his voice, leaned close to Ariel who lowered her head, and said in a barely audible tone: "I promise you, even if dawn comes, you will be fine."
(End of this chapter)