"Prince Eric, do you remember me? When your body was cold and lifeless on the shore, I was the one who woke you!" The princess was overcome with excitement.
"I never knew that the boy I saved was the prince of the Western Asia Kingdom… my betrothed!
"I never dared to dream of seeing you again. The most beautiful, impossible wish I have ever longed for—has now come true.
"This must be fate! A beautiful encounter destined by the heavens!"
She spoke in a breathless rush.
Standing nearby, the Old Witch watched in satisfaction, waiting for the prince and princess to fall madly in love.
She knew that Prince Eric was someone who adored romantic tales.
Now, the girl who had once saved his life stood before him again—his very own betrothed.
A prince and a princess. A savior and the one she rescued. A fleeting encounter that had haunted them for years now brought them together once more.
Could there be a more perfect love story?
The princess spread her arms wide, eager to embrace him.
But Prince Eric remained still.
He did not step forward to meet her open arms.
His dark eyes gleamed under the palace lights, and a faint, polite smile graced his lips.
"Your Highness, I am truly surprised to see you here," he said gently.
"I remember you. When I lay on the shore, barely clinging to life, you were the one who saved me. I have never forgotten you, and the kindness you showed me that day.
"I am grateful to fate for bringing us together here—without it, I would have lost my chance to personally thank my savior."
His voice was sincere, his emotions genuine, yet there was no fire, no passion—nothing that lovers should have for each other.
"Thank you. I will never forget your kindness, and I will find a way to repay this debt."
He placed a hand over his heart and performed a flawless royal bow.
"But please forgive me, beautiful princess, my dear savior—I cannot accept your love."
The princess froze in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard.
His words were like a bolt of lightning, striking her heart.
"Why?"
She abandoned all the royal etiquette she had been taught in the temple and demanded an answer.
Prince Eric gently took her hand, looking into her sapphire-blue eyes with unwavering resolve.
"Because I have already given my heart to another.
"Like you, she once saved me—when I drifted like a corpse in the freezing ocean, she was the one who pulled me from the depths.
"But unlike you and me, she and I have shared much more than a single encounter. We have gone through so much together.
"She has sacrificed everything to be with me. And I am willing to do the same for her.
"I love her more than anyone else in this world.
"I would stand before a priest, place my hand upon her heart, and swear an oath of eternal love."
He smiled gently.
"So do not be sad, beautiful princess.
"You are kind, wise, and noble. One day, you will meet a prince far more handsome, intelligent, and worthy of being a future king—unlike me, an immature dreamer with his head in the clouds."
The princess stood frozen, her eyes burning with unshed tears.
She felt like a statue, struck by the cruelest words she had ever heard.
"Oh, gods… How can fate be so cruel?"
"In a single moment, I experienced both the greatest joy and the deepest sorrow."
"I thought I had stepped into paradise—only to fall into an abyss the next second."
In her heart, the Princess of Enderland wept.
The Old Witch, too, was stunned.
She had watched with her own eyes as Prince Eric rejected the princess of Enderland.
That girl, Ariel—the one with the beautiful voice—had enchanted the prince this deeply?
Impossible.
Wasn't she supposed to be nothing more than a replacement for his true love?
"Wait… something is very wrong."
"The girl named Ariel… Did she save Prince Eric from the sea?"
A sudden realization struck the Old Witch.
She rushed out of the banquet hall and into her private library.
Feverishly, she flipped through every book that recorded magic and ancient secrets.
Her dry fingers swept through the dusty pages, the sound of rustling paper echoing in the dimly lit chamber.
The flickering candlelight cast long, eerie shadows of her hunched figure onto the stone walls.
"To rescue someone from the raging sea…"
"To possess an unparalleled singing voice…"
"To dance as gracefully as a fish in water…"
"Only merfolk can meet all of these conditions."
"That girl, Ariel… she might be a mermaid!"
"Damn it! My entire plan—ruined by a stray mermaid!"
The Old Witch clenched her teeth in fury.
But then, a strange doubt crept into her mind.
"Yet that girl, Ariel… she looks completely human."
"At the very least, she has human legs."
"But… in a world of magic, nothing is impossible."
Fueled by suspicion, she flipped through book after book, searching desperately for answers.
She snatched dusty tomes from the shelves, skimming their pages before tossing them aside.
And then—
Her eyes lit up.
"Found it!"
The book in her hands described ancient magic.
It stated that there were spells and potions capable of transforming a mermaid's tail into human legs.
"But… there's a reason no one has ever seen a mermaid do this before."
The book revealed a long-forgotten secret:
Mermaids were lowly creatures without immortal souls.
If a mermaid were to take on human form, the world itself would reject and curse them.
And the curse was absolute—
On the first dawn after the one they love marries another, their heart would shatter.
Their body would dissolve into sea foam.
The Old Witch's fingers trembled with excitement.
A wicked grin spread across her face.
"This means… If I force Prince Eric to marry the princess of Enderland right away…
"That meddling mermaid—
"Will die on the spot!"