The Road Not Taken

In the image within the mirror, a prince wearing splendid clothes appeared.

He was tall and upright, but his face was highlighted and his appearance was blurry. However, judging from the outline, he was probably a handsome prince.

When the prince arrived at the hedgerows, all he saw were shrubs blooming with beautiful flowers.

He passed through the hedgerows with ease.

As he walked ahead, the hedgerows behind him densely closed again, as if welcoming the prince's arrival.

Seeing this scene in the mirror, Aurora was puzzled: "Why were other princes entangled by Thorns, Tribulus, and bushes, dying tragically in this cursed land?

"When he comes, all these obstacles disappear, and even the hedgerows open the way on their own? Could it be that he is an underling of the Black Witch? So the cursed plants not only don't attack him, but also make way for him."

Princess Aurora, you truly live up to my teachings, raising the same question as me. But Aurora, your guess is really too unromantic. Don't you have any poetry in you at all...

Rhine's expression was calm, but he couldn't help but smile inwardly.

According to the original story, Rhine believed this was a poetic adaptation, an exaggerated interpretation of destined love.

After all, in the older version of the story, Sun, Moon, and Talia, it was the king of a neighboring country who awakened Sleeping Beauty—this monarch, upon seeing the long-sleeping Sleeping Beauty, was overcome by lust and had relations with her, all while Sleeping Beauty was in a state of unconscious slumber.

But afterwards, Sleeping Beauty gave birth to two children, namely "Sun" and "Moon." The unconscious sucking motions of these two infants awakened Sleeping Beauty.

Later, Sleeping Beauty married the king of the neighboring country who had indirectly awakened her.

In comparison, the adapted versions by Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers were much more beautiful.

Compared to the original version, changing it to a chosen prince instead of a rapist king to awaken the princess undoubtedly better aligned with people's beautiful expectations of prince and princess stories.

The bushes and fences opened, the Thorns receded, the trees were covered in flowers, all the beautiful phenomena were to express this wonderful moment.

However, in a truly existing fantasy world, Rhine also found it difficult to explain the reason for this magical phenomenon.

The young Magician simply shook his head:

"I don't know either.

"Perhaps it's because, after a hundred years, the Black Witch's Curse has become weak enough that it can no longer pose an obstacle. Or perhaps it's because he is your destined lover, and when he steps onto this cursed land, even the world will bestow a Blessing."

Ah? Destined lover? Aurora's eyes widened, filled with infinite doubt:

"But, I don't even know him!"

The scene in the mirror continued to change.

The prince stepped over the automatically opening bushes, wandered through the scarlet sea of flowers, and continued to search inside.

Everything was eerily quiet.

Finally, he arrived at the ancient palace tower and pushed open the door to the small room where Princess Aurora was sleeping.

Lying in the room was none other than Princess Aurora!

She was sleeping soundly.

The camera immediately gave a close-up of the sleeping Princess Aurora.

Compared to the current golden-haired girl, the Aurora in the picture was older, closer to the traditional sense of beauty, because she was already 15 years old when she fell asleep.

The Sleeping Beauty in the mirror was as beautiful and moving as the real girl in front of her.

Her face seemed to have a magic that could make people's souls sink, but without that sharp, indescribable temperament, more like a soft flower, making people can't help but feel pity.

As soon as the prince saw Aurora, his eyes widened, not even willing to blink.

As he watched, the prince couldn't help but lean down and gently kiss Princess Aurora.

The Blessing was fulfilled, and the Curse was lifted.

In the mirror, Aurora suddenly woke up!

She opened her eyes, smiling and gazing affectionately at the prince who had saved her.

The prince carried her out of the palace tower together.

Soon after, the sleeping curse that had enveloped the kingdom gradually ended, and people woke up one after another.

However, after a hundred years, the kingdom was no longer what it once was. Everywhere were scattered trees and weeds, and every house was covered in plants.

New words scrolled out of the Silver Mirror:

"Soon, the prince and Aurora held a grand wedding ceremony, and they lived together happily, growing old together."

The colorful images in the Silver Mirror gradually dimmed, eventually disappearing into the darkness.

"Ah? Is that the end?" Aurora reacted, quite surprised.

"Is that the best, most perfect ending possible among all the possibilities of the future?"

Aurora murmured with a hint of disappointment, "So in the end, Black Witch Maleficent, the culprit, didn't get punished at all? She's such a powerful Witch, having already transformed herself into a real Dragon, she's bound to live for many, many years.

"What if she rises again and wants to destroy our kingdom again? Who can stop her this time? And finally, that prince, I don't know him—he's a future person from a hundred years later. Right now, his father probably hasn't even been born yet!

"And then, then we're just together like that? What kind of strange development is this? Didn't the Blessing say that only a kiss from a deeply loving person can break the Curse? But he's meeting me for the first time, and I'm asleep. He couldn't even say a word to me.

"Doesn't love need time to cultivate?"

"Princess, your way of thinking is too far ahead of the current era. Wait, did I teach you all this? How am I going to explain this to His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen…" Rhine chuckled softly.

"Who knows? Perhaps it's love at first sight."

Rhine's tone became ethereal and distant again:

"Princess, you have seen the path not taken.

"Ten years ago, on that disastrous night, two paths lay before you: one paved with flowers and poetry, the other covered in Thorns and storms.

"At that time, you were too young, just a baby in swaddling clothes. I couldn't ask for your opinion, so I had to make the choice for you, choosing the path we are on now, burdening you with such a heavy fate.

"In these past years, to make you the Warrior of prophecy, I and the Witches have made you endure rigorous training. And we will soon embark on an unknown journey across the continent, a journey that may hold unpredictable dangers. You have sacrificed so much to fulfill your destiny, thank you for your hard work, my Princess.

"For this, I apologize for the choice I made without your permission."

With that, Rhine bowed deeply to the little Princess before him.

Aurora shook her head vigorously, hurriedly helping Rhine up: "No, it's not like that. Mentor, I should be thanking you! And thank you to Father, Mother, and the Witch aunties and grandmothers! Thank you all.

"If I had followed my original life trajectory, I would have been locked in a palace tower made of brass, knowing nothing about the world, understanding nothing, foolish and incompetent. The Mentor who taught me literature once told me that a great man once said that the most unfortunate thing in the world is to be unaware of one's own misfortune.

"Before long, Engeland will reveal the truth about the Curse, and the country will be in chaos. And I can only stay deep in the Royal Palace, hearing the maids tell me about the disasters in various places, unable to do anything but cry—or more likely, I wouldn't understand the so-called disasters at all, because I've never stepped out of the palace gates.

"It was you, Mentor, who gave me the opportunity to change everything with my own hands! Thank you! Once the matters within the kingdom are resolved, we will embark on a journey across the continent together to find the whereabouts of the Black Witch. Even if the final result isn't perfect, I will have tried, and there will be nothing to regret…"

Aurora and Rhine's worries were not unfounded.

Some time before Aurora's birthday, a terrifying rumor had already sown seeds in the Rose Kingdom.

No one knew where this terrible prophecy had started.

Perhaps it was gossip in a tavern, perhaps it was the wild claims of an astrologer, perhaps it was a guest who attended the Princess's Baptism Ceremony giving a personal speech.

In a very short time, the saying that "the kingdom is cursed by the Black Witch and will be destroyed in 5 years" spread rapidly.

Every day, the Old King was overwhelmed with bad news from all over the country: the farmers in the fields no longer worked diligently; the bakeries and wineries stopped operating; wealthy families with property fled the kingdom overnight; even the disciplined army began to mutiny.

People in the streets and alleys said that the King of the Rose Kingdom was a terrible and incompetent ruler.

Everyone complained that the King had offended the terrible Black Witch, causing the country to face destruction.

Faced with more and more bad news, the gray-haired Old King had to come forward and give a speech, stating that even escaping the kingdom would not escape the Curse. He also promised that there was a way to end the Curse before the disaster truly struck—the Sage of the kingdom who mysteriously left 10 years ago was actually working hard to dispel the Curse and would succeed before long.

However, now, people no longer believed the King's words.

The Rose Kingdom was no longer the beautiful, peaceful, and harmonious country it once was.

Throughout the country, from the Royal Capital to small towns, to the countryside, there was no place that was not in chaos.

Even walking on the streets during the day, one would encounter robbers blocking the way—since the kingdom was going to be destroyed in 5 years, why bother to obey the order?

This was not the worst of it.

At the most chaotic moment in the kingdom, the bandits of neighboring countries also came to take a share—they seemed to have been planning this for a long time.

Engeland's army raided the Rose Kingdom, invading towns, looting, raping women, and setting fires everywhere.

"Ahead is the Rose Kingdom. You can take whatever you want, as much as you want. The gold and silver coins in the wealthy homes, the sculptures in the city's central square, the beautiful women—all belong to you! Their soldiers have long lost their will to fight; they are no longer the formidable force they once were and cannot stop our iron cavalry!"

Before setting out, the Engeland officer promised his soldiers this.

In fact, they did exactly that, and what the soldiers actually did was ten times worse and more terrifying than what the officers had promised.

"No, why is this happening?"

In the royal palace, the King was in agony and despair.

Now, the Old King was even older, with not a single black hair left on his head. He wasn't even sure how much longer he could endure, facing so much bad news.

"It must be those bastards from Engeland who deliberately leaked the news of the Curse! It must be them! Their nobles attended the Princess's Baptism Ceremony and witnessed Black Witch Maleficent delivering the Curse, knowing all the secrets."