"Our enemy already knows of Ariel's mermaid identity. The purpose of this hurried 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 fate, causing her schemes and Ender's conspiracy to automatically dissipate."
Despite this, Rhine remained calm.
"Teacher, please help me find out where Prince Eric is now?" Aurora said.
Rhine nodded slightly, took out a sparkling crystal ball, and placed Prince Eric's button on top of it.
A brilliant blue light burst forth from the crystal ball.
After quickly examining the scene in the crystal ball, Rhine concluded:
"Prince Eric is not nearby, nor is he very far away, but rather, it's as if he doesn't exist in this world."
"Therefore, he and the Little Princess of Ender have been transferred by that Old Witch or other Ender court magicians to another world, a secret realm outside of reality."
"As long as I find the door to that space, I can communicate with it and rescue Prince Eric!"
Aurora clenched her fists in anger:
"That damned Old Witch, it's her handiwork again, as expected."
She immediately pulled out the tinderbox from her pocket and quickly struck it.
With a whoosh, a large dog appeared before Aurora, its eyes almost as big as teacups.
"Find Prince Eric!"
Aurora gave the command.
The dog sniffed left and right, then shook its head, sticking out its tongue at its short master, indicating it could not complete the instruction.
"Is it because Prince Eric isn't in the real world?" Aurora had an realization, and she gave a new instruction:
"Find the entrance and exit to another space."
…
In the mirror world, inside the replicated temple.
Everyone had not yet realized that they were already in another world.
They didn't know that the serene beauty outside the window was merely an artificial illusion, nor did they know that the temple's doors could no longer be opened to leave.
Outside the window, the peaceful scene remained:
Stars twinkled in the night sky, a breeze blew past the silver moon emerging from behind dark clouds. Ships occasionally entered and exited the harbor. The streets were lit with red lanterns, celebrating the wedding of the Prince and Princess. There was no clamor.
Time was peaceful.
Inside the temple, the bands continued to play joyful music.
Everyone was oblivious to the chaos unfolding in the real world at the Ender Imperial City harbor.
After resting for a while, Prince Eric recovered somewhat, but he was still muddled.
The effects of alcohol, the mental confusion caused by memory loss due to the drug, and the intoxicating scent emanating from the Little Princess of Ender—multiple factors combined to leave Prince Eric disoriented, his mind a chaotic mess.
"Quickly, Your Royal Highness, let's continue the sacred ceremony. Today is a day of great joy. Isn't the Prince before you your beloved?"
The Old Witch urged from the side.
The Little Princess of Ender nodded gently.
Since earlier, she had tried to delay many times, giving the reason, "Eric still doesn't seem well, let's wait a bit longer."
However, every minute or two, the Old Witch would urge her again. It seemed impossible to delay any further.
"It's so strange. This is the wedding I should have anticipated the most, yet now I keep delaying it," the Princess thought.
The Princess took Prince Eric's hand and walked back up to the flower-adorned altar.
On the altar, vibrant red flowers bloomed, their fragrance intoxicating the heart.
A thousand golden oil lamps emitted warm light, illuminating the exquisite faces of the Prince and Princess. Joyful music floated in the air.
Because Prince Eric's condition didn't seem to have recovered, he couldn't even say his vows, only performing a few gestures to symbolically complete the ceremony. The priest announced the wedding concluded.
Seeing this, the Old Witch breathed a sigh of relief.
"The wedding is almost complete. When the first ray of dawn illuminates the flag of Ender Imperial City tomorrow morning, everything will be set."
"I hid that mirror in an incredibly secret place. No one can find it, no one can find Prince Eric and the Princess in the mirror."
As she thought, the Old Witch gently tapped the tightly locked temple door, where a faint blue vortex, visible only to her, appeared. This vortex undoubtedly led to the real world.
At this moment, everyone was focused on the bride and groom at the altar; no one noticed the Old Witch's movements.
The Old Witch bent down and slipped into the vortex.
"Next, I should go outside and deal with any potential emergencies. Speaking of which, it seems to be in utter chaos outside."
…
Near the Ender Imperial City harbor.
There were chaotic shouts everywhere, the sound of horses' hooves as cavalry rode by, and the hurried footsteps of military boots on the ground.
In such a chaotic scene, a dog with eyes as big as teacups darted through the night, at most causing a few gasps, but failing to attract more attention.
"Wait, I just saw a particularly large dog run past."
"Never mind it, it might be some magical creature conjured by a court magician."
"I remember, I remember now, I saw that dog! It was on the battlefield of the war with Rose Kingdom half a year ago. That dog bit my officer, threw him into the air, and let him fall to his death. I won't forget that terrifying scene even in my nightmares! How is that terrifying dog here?"
"Don't worry about it so much, it's just a very big dog. Hurry to the harbor, a group of terrifying large fish are attacking the ships there!"
"…"
Rhine, Aurora, and Ariel followed the dog, darting left and right through the streets of the Imperial City.
At this moment, Ariel was incredibly grateful that the magic potion provided by Rhine had no "walking like knives" side effect; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to run through the streets like this and would have become a despised burden.
"No, I can't find it. The instructions are too vague, and there are too many misleading targets."
Aurora was both surprised and anxious.
She noticed that the dog would stop in front of many full-length mirrors throughout the city. Sometimes it would dart into clothing shops and run to a mirror; other times it would run to a house and sniff a large mirror hanging outside the door.
Every time they reached a mirror, Rhine would hold up the crystal ball to it. A ghostly blue light would immediately burst forth from the crystal ball.
Then, the Little Magician would shake his head, indicating that Prince Eric was not in that mirror.
"Clearly, in this city, at least several hundred mirrors have been enchanted by that Old Witch in advance. Theoretically, every mirror is an entrance and exit to another space, fitting the search target you set for the dog," Rhine explained.
"Of course, that Old Witch should only be able to activate one of them at a time—Prince Eric and the Little Princess of Ender must be hidden in that one mirror!"
"Then how are we supposed to find it?" Aurora panicked. "Ariel is burdened with a curse. If the problem isn't solved before dawn tomorrow, Ariel will turn into sea foam!"
Ariel also clenched her fists, lowering her head.
"Alas, I'm so useless, I can't help them at all! I can't do anything to help find Prince Eric!"
The mermaid princess wept in her heart.
"Oh, right, that magic potion that makes mermaids grow legs again, since it can turn Ariel back into a mermaid, can it remove the curse on Ariel?" Aurora asked. "Isn't the curse because a mermaid without an immortal soul transformed into the appearance of a noble human, which was seen as an overstepping by the world, and thus cursed by the world?"
"No," Rhine said with certainty. "As early as when Ariel drank the first magic potion, the curse was already placed. Simply turning back into a mermaid cannot remove it."
"There is indeed a way to lift that curse, but it's much more difficult. Only by having Ariel personally plunge a knife into the heart of her beloved, letting the blood flow onto her feet, will the world forgive the mermaid's transgression and turn her back into a mermaid, thus lifting the curse. From then on, no matter how many more magic potions she drinks, she will never be able to grow human legs again."
Ariel's voice trembled slightly:
"Even if Eric were right in front of me, I wouldn't do that."
Rhine knew she was telling the truth—because that was her choice in the original story.
"Oh, right," Aurora thought of another reason for Ariel to be safe. "Prince Eric already loves Ariel so much. Although they are not married, they are much more devoted than many already married couples. In their constant companionship, could Ariel have already gained an immortal soul, so the curse is actually already ineffective!"
Rhine smiled:
"The direction you're thinking in is very correct. Love is not limited to wedding vows, not limited to that one ceremony."
"Theoretically, as long as the two spend enough time together, Ariel can also gradually gain an immortal soul."
"Those vows of eternal life and the sacred ceremony are merely an acceleration of soul sharing, a shortcut to gaining an immortal soul."
Aurora's eyes lit up, but just as she was about to rejoice, she heard Rhine say again:
"However, the time the two have spent together is still too short. And at first, the Prince only saw Ariel as a substitute for the woman who saved him."
"From the moment Prince Eric learned of Ariel's true identity and predicament until now, it has only been a few days."
"Without the sacred wedding ceremony as a shortcut, just these few days, and just the love of Eric alone, are not enough for that immortal soul to grow strong within Ariel and expel the curse."
Aurora immediately became disheartened and turned her back.
Ariel's face also clouded over.
"Ariel, actually, you don't have to worry so much."
Rhine lowered his voice, leaned closer to the bowed-head Ariel, and said in an almost inaudible tone:
"I promise you, even if dawn comes, you will be fine."