The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

Chapter 91 – The King’s Overwhelming Regret!

The king had already decided—once he returned home, he would dedicate all his efforts to making this alliance a reality.

As for the alliance with Enderland? That could wait!

Thinking about it, the king even felt a bit resentful—why did Prince Eric agree to marry the Enderland princess at this time? Now, delaying the Enderland alliance would be difficult!

He should have granted Eric the freedom to choose his own marriage from the beginning!

The Sea King continued leading the king and his attendants around on the giant fish, showing them more of the Sea Kingdom. They also met the five beautiful mermaid princesses—after the chaos at the Enderland royal port had been resolved, the five princesses had returned to the Sea King's palace.

"Your Majesty the Sea King, I have a question," the king asked, puzzled. "Earlier, you mentioned that you have six daughters. Why are there only five princesses here?"

The Sea King explained, "My youngest and most cherished daughter, the Sixth Princess of the Sea Kingdom, has always been fascinated by your human world. She obtained a potion from a magician that transformed her mermaid tail into human legs and went to live on land."

"My goodness! So magic can turn mermaids into humans… which means it can also turn humans into mermaids. That means there’s no unbridgeable gap between the Sea Kingdom and human nations after all!"

"Your Majesty the Sea King, you mean to say that your youngest daughter is currently on land?" The king’s tone was exceptionally sincere. "What is her name, and what does she look like? I will personally ensure she is well taken care of."

"The merfolk of the Sea Kingdom would have a hard time looking after the little princess on land. Isn't this exactly where we humans can help?"

"We will find the princess, let her stay in the most luxurious palace, eat the finest delicacies, and wear the most exquisite and beautiful gowns."

"I swear, we will treat her with utmost care and protect her at all costs—after all, how dangerous must it be for such a delicate princess to be alone on land?"

"I swear upon my title as king—once we find your youngest daughter, we will fulfill all of her reasonable wishes and never let her suffer the slightest grievance!"

The king was beside himself with excitement, speaking rapidly, afraid that if he left anything out, the Sea King might refuse the alliance.

The Sea King nodded slightly. "That is acceptable."

The king finally felt relieved. Then, another thought emerged in his mind:

"If my son were to marry the mermaid princess, wouldn’t the alliance between our two nations be sealed for good?"

"What a shame… such cruel fate! Why did I arrange for Prince Eric to marry the Enderland princess?"

"Why couldn’t he have been more rebellious? Why didn’t he resist harder, refuse more forcefully?"

"Forget it, forget it… Prince Eric never wanted others to dictate his marriage. Even if I told him to marry the little mermaid princess now, he would probably refuse."

"I do have another son, Henry—but he’s traveling abroad right now. Who knows when he’ll return…?"

Realizing he had no chance to marry his son to the mermaid princess, the king began mentally going through all the important royal and noble families, evaluating all the age-appropriate sons to see if any of them would be suitable to marry the little mermaid princess. ꞦἈΝ𝖔ΒËS̩

"By the way, Your Majesty the Sea King, what is your youngest daughter’s name?" the king finally asked the most critical question.

"Ariel," the Sea King answered. "Her name is Ariel."

At that moment, he sighed emotionally.

"Even though she has taken human form, Ariel has retained the beautiful voice of a mermaid. Not even in the Sea Kingdom could you find a voice more enchanting than hers. If you have ever heard her sing, you would never forget it."

Inside the transparent belly of the giant fish, the king felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Suddenly, it all made sense—why he had felt an inexplicable familiarity when looking at the Sea Kingdom’s breathtaking beauty!

This was exactly the scenery described by the magician of the Rose Kingdom—the homeland of Ariel!@@novelbin@@

"So that’s it! The Ariel whom Prince Eric loves so deeply is the little mermaid princess! This is destiny at work!"

Countless chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind, but the one that dominated was a powerful, gut-wrenching regret.

"What kind of father am I? What kind of ruler am I?"

"Why did I refuse Prince Eric and Ariel’s marriage?"

"I should have agreed! Eric would be happy, and I could have secured an alliance with the Sea Kingdom!"

"It’s over. It’s all over! Eric is already set to marry the Enderland princess—there’s no changing it now."

"Why can’t time turn back? What have I done?!"

——

Afterward, the king and his attendants returned to the Western Asia Kingdom aboard the giant fish and sea beasts.

Seated on his familiar throne, the king remained dejected. He even asked his subordinates if there truly existed a legendary "remedy for regret."

Gone was the once spirited and dignified ruler—he was now completely consumed by endless remorse, wishing he could travel back in time just to give his past self a good beating!

Suddenly, a guard reported:

"Your Majesty, Prince Eric has returned!"

"What?! Eric is back already?"

The king was both shocked and suspicious, quickly gathering his men to greet the returning prince.

——

On the carriage ride back to the palace, Prince Eric remained restless.

He had sent fast-riding soldiers ahead to report on everything he had experienced—the conspiracy of Enderland, along with two crucial pieces of evidence:

The mind-corrupting magical incense Rhine had found on the Enderland princess and Prince Eric’s own firsthand testimony about his memory loss.

This proved that the supposed political marriage between the two nations was shrouded in dark schemes. If this plot had succeeded, Eric, the future king, would have lost his free will to the incense, becoming a puppet for the Old Witch. The entire Western Asia Kingdom would have fallen into the hands of outsiders.

Whether the Emperor of Enderland and his court had been involved in this scheme or not, it was now a thorn lodged between both kingdoms, and the so-called alliance plans had to be put on hold.

However, the most crucial matter—Ariel’s true identity—was something Prince Eric intended to tell his father in person.

"Will His Majesty truly approve of my marriage to Ariel once he knows her real identity?"

Eric was deeply anxious.

In his mind, his father had always been stubborn and conservative.

Would he really allow him to marry a non-human… a so-called "monster" in the eyes of many?

"Don’t worry, my dear Eric. Rhine already said—it’ll be fine!" Ariel reassured him.

Eric could only put his worries aside for now, clasping his hands together in silent prayer.