Inside the replicated temple in the mirror world.
"Eric, are you alright?" The Princess patted Prince Eric's shoulder, "Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to rest?"
She had clearly seen Prince Eric's pained expression just now and was worried for her beloved.
"Everything today feels strange."
"This rushed, hasty wedding, Prince Eric who has been in a daze, the song so beautiful it almost took my breath away, and Eric's pained expression after hearing that song."
"Everything seems beautiful yet strangely off."
"It's supposed to be a wonderful day where I unexpectedly reunited with my beloved, yet these things keep happening!"
"Someone must have done something; there must be arrangements happening that I don't understand. I wonder if it's my father or someone else?"
"It's always been like this, ever since I was born. I'm always ordered by my father to do all sorts of things, to follow arrangements from above, yet I know nothing and can't have my own opinions."
"Being assigned to go to the temple in the forest to learn royal etiquette—but my sisters' don't need to. Marrying a prince from a neighboring country as per agreement. And after only meeting a few hours ago, a hasty wedding is about to take place."
"Am I… supposed to do something about this?!"
Countless thoughts flitted through the Princess's mind.
She helped Prince Eric lie down on a soft long seat cushion.
"Why don't you rest for a bit, my Prince?"
She then waved to the priest officiating the wedding ceremony:
"Prince Eric is not feeling well right now. Let him rest for a bit, and we'll continue the ceremony later."
Just then, the Old Witch, who had inexplicably disappeared for a while, walked over—she too had entered this mirrored world.
"Your Royal Highness, the wedding ceremony is only missing the final part. I hope there won't be any delay. Once Prince Eric rests and recovers, please complete it as soon as possible," the Old Witch urged.
The Little Princess nodded slightly, but only stroked Prince Eric's hair.
"It's too strange. It feels like my wedding has a special significance, so much so that the powerful First Royal Sorceress keeps urging me, always wanting me to finish the wedding quickly."
"Why is that? Could it be that something special will happen after Eric's wedding is completed?"
…
A gust of wind blew, shifting the heavy dark clouds in the night sky and obscuring the silver moon.
On the streets near the port, many red lanterns lit up, and people celebrated the wedding of the Prince and Princess.
No one noticed that in the shadows of an alley, three young people were passionately discussing.
"Without a doubt, this is aimed at Ariel! It must be that Old Witch again," Aurora said. "Ariel will turn into sea foam on the first dawn after the wedding ends. We must go and disrupt that wedding!"
"Don't worry," Rhine said.
He didn't explain why, but his tone carried a reassuring power.
"I promise, Ariel will be fine."
Rhine smiled and patted Aurora's shoulder:
"Future King, your main task now is to command and lead, how about it? If you find yourself at a loss, I'll be there to back you up."
Aurora nodded.
She was clearly the most worried about Ariel's safety. Moreover, as the future King, she had to practice this kind of thing.
Aurora pointed towards the distant temple:
"I've already checked; the place where they are holding the wedding is that temple!"
It was already surrounded by layers of Soldiers.
The Soldiers faced outwards, holding gleaming bayonets. They were all elite warriors hand-picked by the Old Witch, who had once fought against supernatural monsters and terrifying enemies wielding magic.
"Can you teleport directly into the wedding venue, Mage Rhine? Just like before," Ariel asked.
Rhine shook his head:
"I can feel that a powerful spell has been cast there, which can interfere with my teleportation magic and direct scrying divination. I can teleport directly there, but there's a chance of an accident. The final teleportation destination might be distorted to an unexpected place."
The young Mage still looked calm on the surface, appearing confident and not at all saddened by the current urgent time.
"Then let's… forget it. Let's think of another way. See if there's a way to get past those guarding Soldiers," Ariel lowered her head.
She couldn't let her friend risk his life for her!
Aurora, however, laughed:
"Don't worry. Because your family is here today too!"
"My… family?" Ariel was stunned.
Bang.
A huge wave crashed against the shore, breaking into white foam.
This was the royal city port of Ender, where hundreds of magnificent ships were moored, most of them warships from this maritime empire that had conquered foreign lands.
However, something seemed to be wrong at sea now.
Shadows gathered beneath the sea at this port.
…
Soon, Rhine and the other two in the alley heard the commotion from all directions.
"Oh no, something happened at the port!"
"Huge waves suddenly rose there; I've never seen such big waves."
"So many fish, so many strange sea creatures, all acting as if they've gone mad, causing trouble at the port, attacking ships!"
"More than a dozen warships have already been holed. They are leaking furiously now, and the crew members are frantically making repairs."
"The 'Emperor of Thunder' has sunk."
"Who did it? Is it enemy spies?"
"Today is the joyful day of the wedding between the Prince of the Kingdom of Summer and our Little Princess. How could something like this happen?"
"Quickly dispatch people to the port!"
"…"
The entire area around the royal city port was in chaos.
People looking like Soldiers constantly ran around delivering messages. Passersby who didn't understand the situation whispered to each other, asking what had happened; merchants dressed in fine clothes led large groups of servants to the port to check if their ships were affected, and were surprised to find that only the empire's warships were damaged.
The temple where the wedding was held was basically next to the port, and the Soldiers guarding the temple were also in a state of chaos at this time.
People dressed in the most splendid clothes, looking like officers, commanded them, but their voices were also drowned out in the chaotic noise. Squad leaders constantly led Soldiers to abandon their original tasks and run to the port.
"What is this?"
Seeing the chaotic scene and hearing the constant clamor, Ariel held her breath.
She had vaguely guessed who had helped them, and her eyes felt a little sore.
"The Soldiers of the Sea Kingdom have been dispatched. They are driving fierce fish and sea creatures never seen by anyone in the sea, puncturing Ender's warships," Rhine calmly stated the facts.
"My father's Soldiers! They still care about me!" Ariel was stunned.