The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

Chapter 96: The Seven Witches of the Coven

Rhine paid no attention to Prince Henry’s little ball-planning stunt. Instead, he stayed in the room with Aurora, continuing to organize the intelligence provided by the Sea Hag, carefully listing out the key points on paper.

“According to the Sea Hag’s firsthand impression, even within the Witch Coven, Black Witch Maleficent’s mastery of black magic is undoubtedly among the best,” Aurora exhaled in relief.

“Or maybe she’s just more flamboyant. That black witch has always had a flashy personality,” Rhine said. “Either way, it’s best to be cautious.”

The two of them listed out the details of each Witch Coven member on paper:

“The Witch Coven consists of seven members in total.”

“Besides the confirmed identities of the Sea Hag and Black Witch Maleficent, the other five members have all hidden their real identities. They only use aliases when referring to each other.”

“The first unknown witch, known by the alias ‘Slave Master.’ She seems to possess a magical artifact that allows her to move freely across the continent and frequently appears in different places.”

“Whenever the Witch Coven needs to meet in person, she is the one who travels around, summoning the others.”

“The second unknown witch is referred to as ‘The Middle Eastern Witch.’ All that’s known is that she resides in the Middle Eastern nations and wields magic powerful enough to envelop an entire country. In the Witch Coven’s regular black magic exchanges, she has shared many formidable spells.”

“Wow… a group of witches openly exchanging and perfecting black magic. This organization is basically a villain-breeding ground—who knows what kind of horror they’re going to spawn?”

“The third unknown witch goes by ‘The Queen.’”

“As the name suggests, she appears to be the queen of some country. Through some form of magic, ‘The Queen’ has made her king utterly obsessed with her, obeying her every command. In doing so, she has effectively taken control of the kingdom, barely meeting the Witch Coven’s membership criteria.”

“The fourth unknown witch, called ‘Red Heart,’ is known for being completely insane and extreme. No one knows where she lives, and she almost never meets with others in person. The Sea Hag has never spoken to her directly, so there’s little useful information on her.”

“The fifth unknown witch has no known alias or information at all.”

“In the Sea Hag’s memory, she has barely ever spoken. However, whenever the other members mention her, they show immense respect and acknowledge her as the founder and leader of the Witch Coven!”

“These five witches, along with the Sea Hag and Black Witch Maleficent, form the entirety of the Witch Coven.”

Aurora looked at the compiled information, feeling overwhelmed.

“This isn’t enough at all. These scattered bits of intelligence aren’t nearly sufficient to deduce their true identities.”

Rhine examined the notes, finding some parts strangely familiar but unable to confirm anything for sure—except for her.

His gaze fell on the entry under the witch labeled ‘The Queen.’

“Like the Sea Hag, ‘The Queen’ is considered more of a fringe member. She doesn’t seem to possess particularly powerful black magic, nor does she show much enthusiasm for witchcraft.”

“The only reason she remains in the organization without being expelled is that she possesses an omniscient magic mirror.”

“Whenever the other witches have questions, they seek her help in consulting the mirror. Because of how useful the mirror is, they keep her around.”

A queen… with an all-knowing magic mirror? This is way too familiar.

As someone from outside this world, Rhine knew this story all too well.

Isn’t this just Snow White’s stepmother?!

So, in the Witch Coven, she’s nothing more than a glorified answer machine?

Rhine pushed aside the stack of documents and turned his attention to the information specifically about Black Witch Maleficent.

She was Aurora’s true enemy!

“Black Witch Maleficent specializes in curses and plant-based black magic… No wonder her curse caused the kingdom to become overgrown with thorns and brambles.”

“Even if she’s ambushed, she won’t die. Instead, it will trigger an automatic transformation spell that turns her into a dragon.”

“Her dragon scales are indestructible. External attacks and most magic will only slightly disturb her but won’t be fatal. Unless someone wields a weapon sharp enough to pierce her dragon scales and has the strength to match, she is immortal.”

“Black Witch Maleficent resides in a gloomy Gothic castle filled with dark monster servants.”

“She returns to this castle using magic every month or two, but she usually stays no longer than a week before leaving again.”

“If we prepare for battle in advance, we can ambush and kill her inside the castle!”

“As for the castle’s location…”

Aurora examined the world map.

“That’s strange. The coordinates point to the deep desert, but no one lives there. Could the Sea Hag’s intel be incorrect?”

The golden-haired girl looked puzzled as she pointed at the marked location—

It was a vast desert east of the Western Asia Kingdom and Rose Kingdom, near the edge of the Western Continent and close to the Middle Eastern nations.

Would someone really build a castle in the middle of the desert?

A desert kingdom?

Rhine stared at the map’s marked location, feeling an odd sense of familiarity.

Then, he remembered—ten years ago, the hot air balloon Oz had ridden drifted in this very direction!

And in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the entire Land of Oz was surrounded by deserts, which was why it remained hidden from the world!

“In other words, Maleficent’s castle is built in Oz!”

Rhine came to a realization.

“Then, next week, we’ll bid farewell to Prince Eric and Ariel, leave the Western Asia Kingdom, and travel to this so-called ‘uninhabited desert’ marked on the map!”

With that, Rhine and Aurora set their next destination.

“If that really is the Land of Oz, I might as well visit the Emerald City and see Oz himself.”

“It’s been ten years since he left his home country. Seeing me again—the Grand Magician of the Rose Kingdom—will definitely excite him.”

The thought of such an interesting reunion made Rhine smirk slightly.

Just then, a gentle knock sounded at the door.

Rhine snapped his fingers, and the door handle turned on its own.

Standing outside was none other than Ariel, now the newlywed princess.

“Is there something you need, Ariel?”

Ariel hesitated slightly before speaking.

“Magician Rhine, I heard you’re planning to leave the Western Asia Kingdom next week. I wish you a safe journey!

“Also… though I feel a bit embarrassed asking this, could I trouble you for a small favor before you go? It’s fine if you don’t want to! The debts that the Sea Kingdom and I owe you are already beyond repaying.”

“It’s fine. Just say it,” Rhine replied.

“Well… as you know, over the past while, I married Prince Eric, and the alliance between the Western Asia Kingdom and the Sea Kingdom is being finalized. The negotiations and agreements are all being handled, but I don’t know much about that side of things.”

Rhine nodded, signaling for her to continue.

Currently, knowledge and understanding of mermaids among the Western Asia Kingdom’s people were still limited to the royal family and a few nobles.

However, the king was already working on increasing awareness nationwide, aiming to eliminate public prejudice against mermaids within six months. In many parts of the kingdom, thanks to the king’s efforts, merchant ships, fishermen, and mermaids had already started cooperating. Full reconciliation between humans and mermaids was only a matter of time.

There didn’t seem to be any major issues.

Ariel continued:

“My father told me that many mermaids in the Sea Kingdom were shocked when they heard about our alliance with the humans…”

"Under my father’s directive, the secret of the immortal soul is gradually being made public in the Sea Kingdom. Most of our citizens are overjoyed after learning about the alliance, knowing that human sailors will no longer attack mermaids, that our kingdom will gain access to human craftsmanship, and that they themselves might have a chance to obtain an immortal soul.

"Of course, there is still a small portion of the population who completely disagree. They believe that my love story with Prince Eric is nothing more than an extreme, one-of-a-kind case, impossible to replicate.

"They are convinced that most humans and merfolk can never truly be together! They oppose an alliance with humans and refuse to believe that they could ever follow my example—earning an immortal soul through this cross-species friendship between two kingdoms."

Rhine wasn’t surprised in the slightest. “Every policy will have its opposition. So, what does His Majesty the Sea King plan to do about it?”

Ariel relayed her father’s thoughts:

“My father believes that one love story between a human and a mermaid might not be enough.

“If more merfolk and humans successfully fell in love and married, then our alliance would undoubtedly gain more support from the Sea Kingdom’s citizens.

“As it happens, I recently learned from my sisters that a childhood friend of mine has been in love with a human girl for years.

“His name is Momo. He’s a merman, but unlike me, he holds no noble status—he’s just a commoner. After hearing about my story, he was deeply inspired and now hopes to be with the human girl he loves.”

As Ariel spoke, her expression shifted noticeably, showing genuine concern for this childhood friend. It was clear that she truly wished for him to find love with a human, just as she had.

Well, it makes sense, Rhine thought. After all, the Western Asia Kingdom is just a foreign land to Ariel. The Sea Kingdom is her true home, the place that carries her memories…

“That’s true. A prince and princess’s love story will always feel like something out of a fairytale for most people.” Rhine spoke thoughtfully. “But if a common merman and a human commoner can come together, just like the prince and princess in the story, it would be incredibly inspiring.”

The young magician rose from his chair.

“Take me to meet your merfolk friend.”

.....

At the same time—

A shocking piece of news was spreading throughout the Western Asia Kingdom.

“Have you heard? Prince Eric’s younger brother— the handsome Prince Henry— has returned to the kingdom! He’s throwing a grand ball.”

“Apparently, the girl who impresses the most at the ball might even be chosen as the prince’s fiancée!”

“Oh my god, I wish I could attend this ball!”

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