One by one, the Witches walked onto the stage, offering blessings to the little princess in the cradle.
"I bestow upon you a heart of gold. You are kind, humble, honest, strong, and just; you pity the weak and discern right from wrong..."
"I bestow upon you a melodious voice and singing. Your voice can enchant people's hearts and minds, bringing even the most stone-hearted to tears..."
"I bestow upon you a healthy physique, a perfect body bestowed by the gods. You shall be healthy your entire life, never tiring, never falling ill..."
"...You shall have an eidetic memory, easily learning the knowledge of the world, surpassing even the most learned scholars..."
"..."
Each time a Witch offered a blessing, the hall was illuminated by a dazzling glow.
The Witches, as if ticking off a list, poured all the beautiful qualities of humanity onto the little princess.
To avoid repeating the blessings offered by previous Witches, those who came on stage later had to rack their brains for new blessing content.
More than half of the blessing process was over, and the common beautiful qualities of humanity were almost exhausted.
Another Witch walked to the front of the stage, her mouth twitching, at a loss.
"No way, my colleagues ahead, leave some blessing space for me!"
"How did you use up all the virtues of humanity?"
Seeing the Witch's bewildered expression on stage, Rhine deliberately coughed twice and, pretending to chat with the Queen beside him, said,
"Thanks to the blessings of the Witches, Princess Aurora is definitely the most perfect child in the world, endowed with the most virtues. I think what Princess Aurora needs more now is a blessing to help her ward off external harm and live a safe and happy life."
The Witch, worthy of being a Witch, immediately understood Rhine's meaning and changed the direction of her blessing.
"Little Princess Aurora, all man-made and natural weapons in the world, swords and arrows, sharp claws and fangs, shall not harm you! Sharp blades cannot leave a scratch on your snow-white skin."
The next Witch followed suit, mimicking, and bestowed the blessing of "not being harmed by water and fire, extreme heat and extreme cold."
Rhine looked at the Witches in front, who were applying all sorts of buffs to the little princess, and couldn't help but find it amusing.
Those who understood the situation knew this was offering beautiful blessings to the little princess.
Those who didn't might think they were creating some ultimate biological weapon?
Or, the opportunity to create such an ultimate biological weapon was merely to allow Aurora to live an ordinary, beautiful life like a regular royal princess!
It was somewhat... a waste of natural resources?
In a flash, all 12 Witches had offered their blessings.
This included the 12th Witch, Lilac Fairy, the sister of Violet Fairy, who in the original story had not yet had the chance to offer her blessing.
Her gift to the little princess was "good luck in turning misfortune into fortune."
Finally, in the grand hall, only two mages remained who had not yet given their blessings.
Black Witch Maleficent.
Court Mage Rhine.
Confirming that all 12 Witches had already offered their blessings before her, the Black Witch smiled.
This cold Witch, dressed in black, strode to the little princess's cradle and said in a voice so sharp it was almost piercing:
"Oh, the other Witches have all given wonderful gifts!"
"What gift should I give to our beautiful, perfect, healthy, lucky little princess with a heart of gold?"
The Black Witch dramatically gestured with her hands:
"Oh, Little Princess Aurora."
"You, endowed with all the virtues of humanity, will surely live through 15 beautiful years of youth..."
"Looks quite normal..."
The King, whose nerves had been highly strung, finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the Black Witch's blessing.
"It's stable."
"Thankfully, nothing went wrong."
"But..."
The next second, the Black Witch suddenly raised her voice:
"When you turn 15, you will prick your finger on a spinning wheel and die on the spot!"
The Black Witch immediately turned to the King on the throne, her laughter filled with blatant malice:
"And with the princess, this kingdom itself will die!"
"Oh, King,"
"I curse your daughter and this land!"
"Your beloved daughter will die miserably after being pricked by a spinning wheel. This is a weaving tool, not a man-made or natural weapon!"
"After the little princess's death, the curse covering this land will fully descend, and every noble and commoner in the kingdom will meet the same end."
"You will be plagued by severe illness. You will cough, bleed, and tremble on the floor."
"The next day, when you move again, you can only watch as your own hands plunge a knife into your own throat."
"Your blood will flow out of the houses and into the river, dyeing the water crimson."
"The streets will no longer have people, the palace lights will no longer shine, and the morning sun will not be able to illuminate this land."
"In the kingdom's desolate lands, thorns, thistles, and weeds will grow in a terrifying manner."
"Anyone who tries to step into this cursed land will either be entangled by thistles or tripped by bushes, as if countless hands are firmly grasping them, making it difficult to escape. They will all eventually die in agony!"
"The curse will forever linger over this once prosperous land!"
Having said that, the Black Witch smiled.
She smiled beautifully.
With a cold, ruthless beauty.
This legendary sorceress, the most skilled in magic among the 13 Witches, bowed deeply in the direction of the King:
"These are all my 'blessings' to Little Princess Aurora and Your Majesty!"