Listening to these conversations, watching Maleficent reveal various expressions in the mirror, Rhine, whose guesses were finally verified, murmured the word: "Witch Society…"
He had a premonition that with the influence of this organization, he would likely have many dealings with them on his future journey.
"That Old Witch is a probationary member of the Witch Society. Once the Witch Society learns of her death, Aurora and I will definitely be noticed by them."
"The Sea Witch living in the coral forest is in danger. Find an opportunity to tell her this news."
Rhine tried to trace earlier communication messages again but ultimately failed.
The information obtainable through divination was limited after all.
Putting away the mirror, Rhine pulled a strand of hair from the Old Witch's corpse for future divination. His figure then vanished into the air.
The light of dawn shone on the street he had left.
…
The sun was slowly rising from the eastern horizon.
On the deck of the Summer Kingdom's flower boat.
Prince Eric held Ariel tightly, repeating words of love over and over, seemingly believing that if he loved her a little more during this last moment, an immortal soul would grow robustly within Ariel, preventing his beloved from turning into foam.
"Ariel, when we return to the Summer Kingdom, as long as you are safe and sound, we will hold a grand wedding!"
"This wedding will be held on a ship in the center of the ocean, where the human world and the Sea Kingdom meet, so that your grandmother, your sisters, and your father can also see your happiness."
"I will no longer let my father stop us. If he still disagrees and wants to use me as a bargaining chip for a political marriage, then we will go to the world in the sea together."
"…"
Ariel caressed the Prince's trembling face, trembling from anxiety:
"Don't worry about me, Eric, I think I should be fine."
Beside them, Aurora turned her head every now and then to look at the increasingly bright east.
She watched the light gushing from the sea horizon, watched the pure white of dawn dispel the darkness of night and melt the stars, and she was extremely anxious.
Aurora paced back and forth uneasily, worried that the final outcome would not be good.
They had already experienced so much, overcome all difficulties and obstacles, Ender's conspiracy was exposed, and that Old Witch should have beEnderfeated by her teacher. Everyone was about to usher in a beautiful ending! How could Ariel fall before dawn?
Finally, the golden sun fully rose, casting bright and warm sunlight on the sea.
The sea breeze blew, and the golden and purple flags on the ship swayed with the wind. The cries of seagulls rose and fell in the distance.
"Ariel, you're fine, you're completely unharmed!"
Both Aurora and Prince Eric confirmed Ariel's safety with their own eyes.
The light of dawn had indeed fallen, but Ariel had not turned into sea foam.
"It seems that such a hasty and interrupted wedding simply does not meet the trigger conditions for the curse."
Prince Eric said with a smile. He picked up his girl around the waist and kissed her again to celebrate her safety.
Aurora finally breathed a sigh of relief and agreed with the Prince's guess:
"Indeed, it should be as Prince Eric said.
"This nominal wedding lacked true love, was too hasty and simple, and was only half-completed. Even the nominal bride and groom did not recognize it, so it could not be considered marrying someone, and thus Ariel remained safe and sound."
Just as they were about to celebrate, a clear and calm voice of a young man came from behind them:
"That's not the case.
"This nominal wedding is still valid and fully sufficient to trigger the curse on Ariel."
The three were stunned.
Rhine had returned to the ship at some point, leaning his arms on the railing, looking at the golden sea illuminated by the sun in the distance, letting the cool sea breeze ruffle his silver hair.
Rhine turned his head and smiled:
"Ariel is still safe and sound for only one reason.
"Long before this flower boat arrived at the imperial port of Ender, long before the Old Witch began this plan, Ariel had already obtained an immortal soul!"
"As early as when this ship was on its way to Ender, I quietly boarded the ship, approached Ariel, and performed a complex divination for her, which led to the conclusion mentioned above."
The three's eyes froze, and they were all stunned at the same time.
"In other words…" Prince Eric's mouth fell open in surprise.
"Yes," Rhine said calmly, "the Old Witch's conspiracy had not even the slightest chance of success from the very beginning."
"For a mermaid who has already obtained an immortal soul from the human who loves her, this curse is as good as non-existent."
Everyone recalled the Old Witch's previous smug, evil smile, and combining it with the truth Rhine was now speaking, everyone suddenly felt that the Old Witch was like a complete clown.
"But, but," Aurora was stunned, "Teacher, didn't you say before that Prince Eric only knew Ariel's true identity for a few days, and the time they had been in love was too short, not enough to give her an immortal soul?"
"Prince Eric's love alone is indeed not enough." Rhine slowly paced on the deck, not continuing to speak, but turned his head to gaze at the shimmering golden sea in the distance:
"There are many forms of love in the world, far more than just love between men and women, far more than just romantic love.
"When a human pours emotion into a mermaid who does not have an immortal soul, cares about her, thinks about her, and worries about her, a trace of their soul will split off and merge into the mermaid's body.
"When enough threads of soul are shared, a quantitative change will lead to a qualitative change, and an immortal soul will grow within the mermaid's body."
Aurora lowered her head, already understanding her teacher's meaning.
And Ariel covered her mouth, looking at the silent Aurora.
"Me?" Aurora murmured softly.
"Yes," Rhine smiled, "Besides Prince Eric, there is more than one human on this land who cares about Ariel. Compared to Prince Eric, who only knew Ariel's true identity about a week ago, you and Ariel met even earlier."
Aurora understood.
Besides Prince Eric, there was another human's love that together gave Ariel an immortal soul.
And that human was her.
When the three first met in the ocean, when Ariel told her newly met human friend her wish, when she, out of simple sense of justice, stood up for Ariel in front of the Sea Hag, when she wanted to say "I feel sorry for the mermaids" at the bottom of the deep blue sea, when she anxiously rushed about for Ariel's safety on a dark night…
At every such moment, a trace of soul split from her body and merged into Ariel's body.
"Aurora!"
Ariel could no longer suppress her excitement.
She rushed over and hugged the small golden-haired girl, who was much shorter than her but possessed extraordinary abilities, with all her might.
"Thank you, my human friend. You saved me! It was your constant worry for me and your consideration for me that prevented my heart from shattering and my body from turning into foam on the sea.
"I remember, in front of that Sea Witch, you once said that besides the Prince, I could gain an immortal soul because of another human's love.
"When I heard your idea at the time, I was completely stunned.
"And now, it's true. Thank you!"
Aurora, being thanked and hugged like a child, suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and a blush appeared on her face.
"I apologize, Aurora. I didn't tell you the truth last night, but instead tried to create a tense atmosphere."
Rhine explained with a smile:
"That's because the newly born immortal soul is too fragile, and if it suddenly loses the nourishment of love, it's not absolutely impossible for it to dissipate.
"Given the possibility of Prince Eric losing his memory, to ensure foolproof safety, I needed to create a sense of crisis, to ensure that you constantly worried about Ariel, and that your feelings for Ariel always remained."
Aurora nodded, fully understanding her teacher's intention.