The Power of Blessings

"Honored guests, let the feast begin! Let us celebrate this wonderful evening together!"

At the King's command, nobles and foreign guests alike, along with the thirteen Witches, began enjoying the lavish food before them.

After speaking, the King glanced at Rhine beside him, wanting to see whether the Kingdom Sage had any objections.

The learned young magician said nothing, merely lowering his head and enjoying the food on his plate.

As expected of Rhine—so composed. Perhaps I had been too nervous... The Old King let out a sigh of relief.

Rhine skillfully cut another piece of roasted steak and placed the delicious, juicy beef into his mouth, savoring its springy texture as the juices burst across his tongue.

It was so good!

As expected of a celebration—the food was so much better than what I usually ate! Rhine stuffed delicacies into his mouth bite by bite.

While maintaining the "reserved, elegant, and scholarly image of the Kingdom Sage," he ate as ravenously as possible!

That was also why Rhine remained silent.

The food is this delicious—who has time to talk? Chatting during a meal is such a bad habit.

Food is meant to be eaten! Sob... This roasted Tu Dou is so delicious too...

Of course, even while enjoying the feast, Rhine did not forget his identity and kept watch over the Black Witch's position.

The Black Witch seemed to have little appetite. After casually taking a few bites, she stared silently at the remaining food on her plate.

Her expression was cold as ice, yet she displayed no hostility.

Dinner came to an end.

"Next, let us invite the thirteen Witches and Court Magician Rhine to offer their blessings for Princess Aurora's birth, as the finale of this celebration!"

One Witch after another stepped onto the stage, examined the Little Princess in her luxurious cradle, and began bestowing blessings.

"Princess Aurora, I grant you peerless beauty, the greatest in all the world.

"Your face shall be unmatched in beauty, and your charm unmatched beneath the heavens. Everyone who sees you shall fall hopelessly under your spell. Your every smile and frown shall move all living beings, and the people of the world shall surely be captivated by you!"

The first Witch offered her blessing.

Just like the original story—a very clichéd blessing... Rhine inwardly mocked.

Dazzling light erupted from within the cradle, illuminating the entire hall as though turning the night into dawn.

The radiance enveloping the Little Princess in the cradle gradually faded.

The infant's features slowly changed within her swaddling clothes, her skin becoming ever more delicate as the makings of a beauty gradually emerged.

Ordinarily, a newborn infant could not possibly be particularly beautiful.

But a supernatural blessing overturned the laws of nature.

Even while lying in her cradle, the Little Princess seemed to emanate an extraordinary aura that intoxicated all who beheld her.

One could only imagine what a nation-toppling beauty she would become once she grew into a graceful young maiden!

The King and Queen beamed with delight, their mouths unable to close from astonishment.

The blessing of the very first Witch alone had brought about such an enormous change.

Once all the Witches and Rhine had finished bestowing their blessings, would their daughter not gather every virtue and beautiful hope in the world within herself?

"So this is a Witch's blessing? It can actually accomplish something like this!"

The Queen could not help exclaiming.

Rhine's voice came from beside her:

"Your Majesties, the King and Queen, you must be wondering: the Witch who bestowed this blessing was merely a kindly-looking woman with no peerless beauty of her own, so how could she grant Aurora unparalleled beauty?"

The King and Queen were both stunned.

What? We never thought about that at all! If Rhine had not brought it up, they would never have considered such a strange question as, "Why does a Witch capable of granting peerless beauty not possess peerless beauty herself?"

They had naturally accepted the bizarre premise that "a Witch could grant something she did not possess herself"! Seeing the enormous confusion in the King and Queen's eyes, Rhine smiled.

"Blessings."

Perhaps this was the most powerful and most unreasonable ability possessed by magicians, gods, spirits, fairies, and other such beings in all kinds of fairy tales, myths, and folk legends.

Blessings could defy reason, violate the laws of nature, and bring about self-fulfillment on the level of causality.

Yet the most absurd part was—

After receiving a blessing, the things a hero could accomplish...

Were most likely things the caster who bestowed that blessing could not accomplish herself!

The most typical example was Indian mythology.

Receive a blessing, beat up the Lord of Heaven, then exploit a loophole to break the blessing!

Likewise, Siegfried, the dragon-slaying hero of Norse mythology, became Invulnerable to blades after bathing in dragon blood. This could also be regarded as receiving a kind of blessing.

But obviously, the dragon that provided the blood and was killed did not possess the ability to be "Invulnerable to blades."

Otherwise, Brother Dragon, how did you get killed?

His studies of the Spellbook over the past half year had not only allowed Rhine to master more magic, but also turned him into an expert in mysticism and the supernatural. He now had a clear understanding of such bizarre questions.

Facing the puzzled King and Queen, Rhine explained slowly:

"Blessings may be the most extraordinary power in this world. Their strength comes not only from the one who grants them, but even more from the world itself.

"The more important the destiny borne by a hero, the more legendary the figure, the more powerful the blessings they can receive. Therefore, the power of blessings can even accomplish things that the one bestowing them cannot.

"Besides, the recipient of these blessings is Little Princess Aurora..."

Having said that, Rhine fell silent once more and let out a meaningful sigh.

The Queen fell silent for half a second.

Then, as if in a sudden realization, she seemed to understand Rhine's words.

Rhine meant that Princess Aurora would become a very legendary figure? That's right—when we first met Rhine, he said that the Little Princess would have a legendary destiny in the future.

Had Rhine seen so far into the future from the very beginning?

I wonder what blessing Rhine will ultimately offer the Little Princess?