Rhine shook his head: "I don't recommend that you drink this potion now and elope to the sea immediately.
"I had a premonition last night that you might soon encounter a turning point in your destiny.
"You can completely wait a few more days to see what this turning point in destiny is before making a decision..."
Prince Eric and Ariel nodded, thanking the Magician who had helped them repeatedly.
Afterward, Ariel chatted with Aurora for a while, talking about many of her experiences after coming ashore.
The two princesses, who had unusual experiences, talked a lot.
After that, the lovers, Prince and Ariel, bid farewell and left.
After seeing off Prince Eric and Princess Ariel, Aurora recalled their conversation just now:
"Prince Eric said there was no better ending. There was no better ending than for the two of them to become Mermaids together, jump into the sea, and live forever in the deep blue ocean.
"This way Ariel can return to her family, and Prince Eric will no longer be bound by his father."
Rhine smiled, responding with his peculiar sense of humor: "That's because their imagination isn't good enough."
...
Prince Eric and Ariel followed the Magician's instructions and did not immediately drink the potion that would turn their legs into a fish tail, but waited patiently for a few days.
In the following days, Prince Eric had a set of men's clothes made for Ariel so that she could accompany him on horseback. They rode through the woods, green branches gently brushing their shoulders, and birds singing in the sunlight.
They cherished this time immensely, as it might be their last days on land.
Ariel accompanied the Prince up a high mountain, looking at the clouds and birds below—this reminded her of her time in the sea, when she was high in the water, looking at the small fish swimming below.
A few days later, on the day the Ender delegation returned home by ship, the turning point in destiny indeed appeared.
The King summoned the Prince.
"My child, I have some thoughts regarding your engagement.
"How about this, you take your attendants and go by ship to meet the little princess of Ender. Perhaps you will fall hopelessly in love with her the moment you see her? No one can say for sure about love.
"When you return, if you truly have no interest in that little princess at all, I will reconsider your marriage and may grant you freedom."
Prince Eric was stunned.
He never expected his father to make such a proposal!
Didn't this imply that if he was truly not interested in that little princess, his father would not force it?
"Thank you for your generosity, my father!"
The Prince thanked his father.
"What this Magician said is true, a turning point in destiny has truly arrived. He looks like just a child, but he is a genius prophet!" The Prince sighed inwardly, "Of course, this doesn't mean my father has truly changed his mind; I still have to consider the possibility of drinking the potion and eloping with Ariel to the sea."
Looking at the Prince's excited departing back, the King sighed softly, recalling what the Ender envoys had told him before they left.
The Ender envoys said there was no need to worry about the Prince's rebelliousness.
They guaranteed that the reason the Prince fell in love with others was simply because he had not yet seen their beautiful princess.
The envoys also said that their kingdom's witch had prophesied:
"When the Prince truly sees that beautiful princess, he will fall hopelessly in love with her, and today's dispute will be meaningless!"
"Because the Prince of Summer Kingdom and the Princess of Ender are destined to be together, and no one can stop them!"
If it's really like this, then I don't need to worry anymore... The King sighed.
"However, speaking of prophecy..."
The King suddenly remembered: the diviner recruited a few days ago—the Great Magician from the Rose Kingdom—was still temporarily residing in his palace!
"Ah, I recruited a diviner before to help me investigate the background of that girl named Ariel. I've been busy dealing with the Ender delegation lately and haven't had time to attend to this matter."
"According to what Eric said, that Magician from the Rose Kingdom seems to have really divined something useful, at least he said the girl's name was Ariel. I wonder if there are any other details?"
"Ah, wasn't Eric in charge of this matter? If he really divined some useful information, why has he been avoiding talking about it?"
"Could it be that Ariel's background is very sensitive? So much so that Eric, who loves her, doesn't want to mention it."
The King's thoughts drifted, and he immediately had his subordinate summon Rhine.
...
The silver-haired Little Magician came before the King.
"Great Magician from the Rose Kingdom, wise man who has come from afar, I would like to ask, have you divined the background of that girl named Ariel?" The King asked curiously.
The King still held considerable respect for a moderately famous foreign Magician.
He knew that kingdoms that offended powerful Magicians generally did not end well.
"Of course, Your Majesty," Rhine replied.
"Where did she come from? Why does she have such a beautiful singing voice and such graceful dancing?" The King asked again.