On a ship belonging to the Rose Kingdom.
Ariel heard the news of the engagement, the herald's shouts from horseback, and the whispers of people on the ship discussing the Prince's marriage.
"Have you heard? Prince Eric is about to marry the beautiful Princess of Ender! Tonight!"
The court attendants celebrated, their rebellious Prince had finally accepted his King's arrangements and was willing to marry the neighboring Princess.
Some were confused by this, as they had personally witnessed how much Prince Eric and Ariel loved each other.
Ariel herself was too stunned to speak:
"How can such a thing happen? Eric only left a few hours ago, how could they possibly marry tonight? I have never heard of such a hasty, rushed, and strange wedding!"
"There must be something wrong!"
"Something bad must have happened to Eric himself; someone must have restricted him or done something to him."
Ariel realized she had to leave.
She had to leave this ship and see Prince Eric with her own eyes to confirm he was safe and sound.
Ariel walked out of the cabin but was stopped by a strong and capable Ender Soldier.
"You cannot leave here; I have received orders. Under no circumstances are you to leave here. The bride and groom are about to join hands, and if you appear, the Princess will surely be heartbroken and weep."
"I don't care about any orders. This is a Rose Kingdom ship, you have no right to restrict my movements!" Ariel was furious.
She called out to the crew members on the ship.
—They were the Prince's accompanying attendants, including servants from the Rose Kingdom palace and a small number of Rose Kingdom Soldiers. These people would help her.
Several crew members stepped forward, intending to reason with the Ender Soldiers.
However, the Ender Soldiers lined up, looking menacing:
"Don't think we don't know that this girl once had a scandal with your Prince.
"Now that your Prince is about to marry our Princess, let this inglorious history pass.
"How disheartening it would be if this girl, without noble blood and of unknown origin, were to step off the ship, go to the temple, go to the wedding, and intrude upon the sacred moment witnessed by the priest!"
Although it sounded somewhat reasonable, the crew members felt something was amiss.
Everything today felt strange, especially this hasty and rushed wedding.
Even so, upon seeing the heroic and imposing demeanor of the Ender Soldiers, their excellent armor, and sharp weapons, the crew members dared not argue further.
"Very good, that's how it should be. Ariel must not come over. As long as she doesn't come, Prince Eric has no chance of regaining consciousness!"
Inside the wedding temple, the Old Witch looked out the window, gazing at the situation on the ship in the harbor from afar, revealing an ugly smile.
What she didn't know was that the entire plan to turn Ariel into foam had no chance of success from the very beginning because its foundation was completely wrong.
…
"What? My son has agreed to marry the Princess of Ender?"
Inside the Rose Kingdom palace, the King listened to this information in surprise.
In this world, due to the existence of magic, real-time remote information transfer became possible.
"Precisely so, the Court Witch of Ender conveyed this message with incredible magic:
"It turns out that the Princess of Ender was the woman who saved Prince Eric during the shipwreck, on that terrifying stormy night.
"Therefore, Prince Eric fell completely in love with her the moment he saw the Little Princess of Ender.
"That Court Witch also said that they are about to be married and asked His King to come as soon as possible to bless the newlyweds."
Sitting on the throne, the King couldn't help but sigh at how exquisite destiny's arrangements were.
"The prophecy has come true! My child is truly going to marry the Princess of a neighboring country."
"Speaking of which, that Little Magician from the Rose Kingdom seemed to have left in a hurry yesterday; he should be traveling elsewhere by now, right?"
"I wonder where that Little Magician is now? What is he doing? His prophecy has come true; theoretically, I should host a banquet for him."
…"
The King then instructed his subordinates:
"Go prepare the largest ship. I will travel by ship to witness Prince Eric's wedding with my own eyes and witness the alliance between the two nations."
This was something agreed upon early on: if Prince Eric agreed to the marriage, the blessed couple would hold their wedding in the Imperial City of Ender.
And the King of the Rose Kingdom would also attend and negotiate alliance-related agreements with the German Emperor in the Imperial City of Ender.
The only thing this King hadn't expected was that Prince Eric would agree so quickly. And from the fragmentary information conveyed by the Old Witch, the wedding seemed to be starting very soon.
He had originally thought that such a major event would require at least some time for preparation and arrangements!
"But Your King, the weather on the shipping route between the Rose Kingdom and the Imperial City of Ender seems not too good these two days; we might encounter wind and rain along the way."
"Never mind that; hurry. I hope we can still make it." The King said eagerly.
The King boarded the largest and most luxurious ship. Hand-picked guards escorted the King, their bayonets gleaming.
The howling sea wind swept across the King's face, and the vast blue sea was turbulent.
Amidst the salute of cannons, the magnificent ship sailed out of the Rose Kingdom's harbor.
The wind was strong today.
The surging wind pushed the sails, and the turbulent waves made the ship pitch violently. Wine from the attendants' cups spilled occasionally, and sailors running on the deck would sometimes stumble and fall.
As the large ship sailed on the vast and magnificent sea, no one noticed a few dark shadows swimming below.
Occasionally, something seemed to peek out from the sea, but when the attendants on the ship looked, the figure retreated. They thought the white things they saw were just sea foam.
······
"Great Sea King, as the Magician Rhine predicted, the King of the Rose Kingdom has indeed set sail recently! And dark clouds are forming, a terrifying storm is brewing in that sea area."
In the deep blue sea, a Merman scout excitedly informed the Sea King.
The Sea King held a golden trident, wore armor made of pearls and shells, and wore a crown, looking majestic.
Behind him, many Merfolk were already on standby, awaiting the command of the Lord of the Sea.
They had waited too long for this day.
"It's finally here, the moment has finally arrived!" The Sea King announced the exciting news to the Merfolk behind him, "For thousands of years, this will be our chance to build friendship with humans and make them recognize us again!"