The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

Chapter 97: The Mermaid Falls for Cinderella

Seaside of the Western Asia Kingdom.

On the beach, a young merman surfaced from the water. When he saw Ariel, Rhine, and Aurora, he nervously bowed.

"Greetings, Your Highness. Greetings, great magician."

Well, wasn’t he a polite and well-mannered little merman?

"I heard you’ve fallen in love with a human girl. How did that happen? And where is she now?" Rhine asked for details.

The young merman shook his head.

"I can't go ashore, so I’ve never actually seen her. I only know her name—Cinderella."

Cinderella...?

So, the one you fell in love with… is Cinderella?

A mermaid falling for Cinderella—yeah, that definitely seemed like something that could happen on this continent.

Aurora was taken aback.

"You’ve never even seen her? Then how do you know her name?"

"Just look at those birds." The young merman pointed toward the sky.

Following his gaze, they saw a flock of birds flying toward them.

The birds chirped noisily as they landed on a tree near the shore, then, astonishingly, they began to sing in human language:

"Friend of the sea, let me tell you today's tale of Cinderella.

Cinderella is heartbroken because she longs to attend the prince's ball,

But her stepsisters and mother refuse to let her go.

They torment her, oppress her, forcing her to do the dirtiest, most exhausting chores,

And they won’t allow her to attend Prince Henry’s ball.

"She has no fine dress, no elegant shoes," they say.

"If she goes to the ball, she’ll only make a fool of herself!"

"Now, tell me, friend of the sea, do you have any message for Cinderella today?"

Aurora was stunned.

"Wait, did those birds just… talk? No, they sang… in human language?"

"Exactly. They’re magical birds," the young merman explained.

"I communicate with Cinderella through them. They act like… well, in the human world, I think you call it 'letters'?"

"We’ve been exchanging messages for years through these birds. But she has no idea that her distant friend is actually a merman who can never set foot on land."

Ariel and Aurora were both astonished by the birds’ singing.

Rhine, however, wasn’t particularly surprised. Instead, he fell into thought.

"Birds? The Brothers Grimm version?"

The Cinderella story had multiple versions. They all followed the same core narrative—an oppressed girl mistreated by her stepmother and sisters, who, with the help of an external force, was able to attend the prince’s ball.

The most well-known version was Charles Perrault’s, in which Cinderella’s fairy godmother used magic to give her a pumpkin carriage and a beautiful gown.

But in the Brothers Grimm version, Cinderella didn’t have a fairy godmother. Instead, a flock of magical birds helped her. In some versions, those birds even pecked out the stepsisters’ eyes at the end.

"So, in this world, the story of Cinderella seems to be a mix of different versions. That means Cinderella retained the magical ability to command a flock of intelligent birds! I wonder if the fairy godmother still exists..." Rhine mused.

The young merman lowered his head, clearly troubled by Cinderella’s situation.

"Oh no, Cinderella has it so rough. Ever since her father died, her stepmother and stepsisters have been oppressing her. I really want to help her, but I can’t leave the sea."

He turned to Ariel and Rhine, pleading.

"Can you help Cinderella? She just wants to go to Prince Henry’s ball. Is that really such an impossible wish?"

Hoping his crush could attend the prince’s ball…

Rhine scoffed internally. Buddy, do you hear yourself? You sound like the ultimate backup plan.

"Alright, I’ll help this Cinderella girl," Rhine agreed. It wasn’t that difficult a request.

The young magician tossed some food to the singing birds.

"Lead us to Cinderella’s home, would you?"

Soon, the three followed the birds to a courtyard, where they saw Cinderella working outside.

Rhine recognized her immediately—covered in ash, dirty and ragged, toiling under the scorching sun as she swept the weeds from the yard.

Meanwhile, her two stepsisters lounged comfortably in the shade. They were undeniably beautiful, but their expressions were sharp and mean-spirited.

"Cinderella, what are you thinking?" one sister sneered. "Do you actually believe that if you finish all the chores Mother assigned, she’ll let you attend the prince’s ball?"

"Exactly! You don’t even have a decent dress. You don’t even have a pair of proper shoes. If you show up at the ball looking like that, you’ll just embarrass yourself."

"Yeah, the moment Prince Henry sees you, he’ll have the servants throw you out!"

Cinderella’s face fell. Deep down, she knew they were right.

"This Cinderella girl really is pitiful," Ariel sighed. "How should we help her?"

"Getting her a proper ball gown should be enough. That’s easy," Aurora suggested.

Rhine, watching the sisters mock Cinderella, suddenly had an idea.

A mischievous smile curled his lips as he imagined what was about to unfold.

"Ariel, I’ve got a plan. Let’s teleport back to the palace and find Prince Eric!"

Before the girls could respond, their figures rapidly faded into nothing.

Meanwhile…

In a small grove near the courtyard, someone else had been watching Cinderella’s misery. A barely audible sigh escaped from the trees.

Hiding in the shadows was a girl dressed in an elegant gown, disguised as a fairy.

Using magic to stay invisible, she was undetectable to ordinary people.

"Cinderella is so pitiful," she whispered. "She doesn’t even have a proper dress to wear."

"But now, it’s my turn to work some magic!"

This fairy-clad girl was none other than the Fairy Godmother!

"Once it gets dark, I’ll sneak into Cinderella’s house and use my magic to conjure the most beautiful gown and a grand carriage! That way, she can attend Prince Henry’s ball!"

"I can’t wait to see the joy on Cinderella’s face when she sees her dress!"

The fairy godmother, Layla, lost herself in a daydream about Cinderella’s happiness.

Then, a crisp young voice suddenly spoke behind her.

"Oh, so you’re the Fairy Godmother here to help Cinderella?"

"That’s right, I am—"

Layla abruptly froze.

"Wait—what?! Who are you? How can you see me? When did you get behind me?!"

Startled, she whirled around to see a silver-haired boy standing there.

So, in this world, both the magical birds and the Fairy Godmother existed at the same time…

Rhine raised a hand in greeting.

"Well, Cinderella might not need your help anymore."

"Not need my help? What do you mean?" Layla was baffled and wary of the unexpected intruder.

Just then, the sound of galloping hooves filled the air.

A grand carriage pulled up in front of Cinderella’s house.

"Wow! It’s Prince Eric! His Highness actually came to our town?!"

Excited voices erupted from the streets.

"Wait… that’s the Crown Prince of the Western Asia Kingdom. What’s he doing here?" Layla was confused.

Rhine smirked behind her.

"Like you, I’m also here to prepare a gown for Cinderella to attend the ball. You’ll see soon enough."

Layla blinked, even more bewildered.

Just what was going on here? And what did Prince Eric’s arrival have to do with this?

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