Eist's heart froze. There was not a hint of accusation in the other's tone; rather, it sounded like... helpless understanding.
He immediately added, apologizing: "I'm very sorry, Raymond."
"Ciri's mother went through something similar."
"But Ciri has always been a very balanced child, so we really didn't expect... this to happen right now..."
Raymond waved his hand, interrupting his apology, with a very magnanimous expression.
"No need to apologize for that, Eist. Since it was Karl's own choice, let him deal with it himself."
"I think these two children actually suit each other very well."
"After all, isn't Karl himself the source of many incredible and inexplicable things?"
Hearing this, Eist was first stunned, then suddenly remembered Mousesack's previous remark.
"His Excellency Karl is practically identical to the Sacred Oak."
His eyelids twitched involuntarily, and suddenly his mind cleared, the tension and anxiety he had been feeling instantly dissipating.
He cleared his throat slightly, and after Raymond's words, his tone became calmer: "As you said, Raymond, they... really are quite suitable."
Just as the two elders were reaching an agreement, Karl, inside the bio-field, was carefully observing Ciri's condition.
He noticed that from the previously chaotic magical turbulence surrounding Ciri, tendrils of deep green light had begun to emerge.
This light did not arise from Chaos magic, but from a more primal, "ancestral" aura.
"Is this the activated 'Elder Blood'?" Karl raised an eyebrow.
At that moment, Ciri, completely dazed and with her eyes rolled back, suddenly moved her lips slightly, and her throat bobbed.
It seemed that words were brewing deep in her consciousness, ready to break free from their bonds and be spoken aloud by her.
An indescribable sense of emptiness began to emanate from her.
Karl's eyes narrowed, and he almost instantly guessed what might happen next.
A prophecy, or rather, a kind of "preordained" revelation, would be spoken through Ciri's mouth.
Reflecting on the various things in this world related to the Elder Blood and prophecies, he suddenly understood everything, and a slight... chill rose in his heart.
He ignored the mounting pressure, pressure that would put any sorcerer on high alert.
Instead, he took half a step forward and spoke before Ciri could, or rather, before the entity speaking through her mouth could.
"Ithlinne's prophecy about the destruction of the White Frost is nothing new; it's known to almost everyone."
His voice carried directly within the bio-field, reaching the ears of the tense, watching crowd on the periphery.
Karl slightly raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through Ciri's dazed eyes and stop on whoever was watching.
His tone was even, but with a hint of sarcasm: "If you really want to 'predict' something… then say something I don't know."
Hearing this, the air inside the bio-field seemed to freeze for a moment.
Ciri, lost in thought, slightly parted her mouth, but the words that were about to burst forth… stalled.
The mysterious entity behind her, trying to transmit some kind of "destiny" through the bloodline, seemed completely unprepared.
Outrageous that someone would so directly and rudely interrupt this sacred transmission.
After a short pause, the increasingly intense dark green light emanating from Ciri flashed sharply several times, as if its source had been cut off.
Then, to everyone's amazement, the light dimmed and disappeared as quickly as an ebbing tide.
Without the support of this mysterious force, the raging vortex suddenly stopped.
Ciri, suspended in the air, suddenly went limp and fell straight to the ground.
Karl was ready; he reached out and caught the unconscious Ciri in his arms.
He glanced at Ciri's calm, slightly pale face, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
He had no interest in any pretentious "prophecy" designed to confuse others and lead them to a predetermined tragedy.
At that moment, a strong, clear, and reverent prayer suddenly flashed into his consciousness.
This prayer was full of despair, fear, and a last shred of hope.
Karl's expression suddenly changed, his brows furrowed, he raised his hand and made a quick motion in the air.
Suddenly, bright golden sparks flared, and a portal opened beside him, revealing a candlelit meditation room of the temple on the other side.
He turned to Geralt, Triss, Hen, and the others gathered around, and said quickly: "Something urgent has come up that needs immediate attention. Geralt, please look after Ciri for now."
Geralt was puzzled, but by the sudden change in Karl's expression, he immediately understood that the situation was unusual.
Without a word, he simply nodded and stood beside Ciri, who was just slowly waking up and whom Karl was gently laying down.
"What… what happened to me?" Ciri rubbed her sleepy eyes, her gaze vacant, completely unaware of what had just happened.
She only saw Karl lowering her to the ground and everyone around her; the atmosphere was a bit strange.
"What happened? Why is everyone…" Her question was interrupted by Karl.
"Take good care of her," Karl said as a final instruction.
Before anyone could clearly assess the situation on the other side of the portal or explain anything else, he stepped through it.
The moment he vanished, the portal, as it had appeared, suddenly shrank and closed, disappearing without a trace.
Only a few golden sparks of energy remained, slowly descending to the ground like fireflies, then going out.
Complete silence fell over the banquet hall.
Eist stared wide-eyed at the vanishing portal and the quickly fading golden light on the ground.
He instinctively blurted out, disbelief in his voice: "Karl… is he a sorcerer? But aren't sorcerers supposed to…"
He meant the well-known reproductive issues of sorcerers, which directly affect lineage continuity.
Triss's expression changed slightly. She certainly knew what Eist wanted to ask, and it was perhaps the most important question for all noble marriage alliances.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something, wanting to explain Karl, to clarify his "specialness."
But Hen was faster; he interrupted Eist's unfinished question and drew everyone's attention.
"King Eist, Karl is not like any sorcerer or spellcaster you know, and it could even be said that he has no connection with them at all."
"One should not… judge his existence based on preconceived notions."
Karl stepped through the portal and onto the stone-paved floor of the temple's meditation room.
He didn't linger and didn't even pay attention to the astonished looks of the temple guards who rushed over at the commotion.
He walked straight to the small statue in the center of the quiet room, which resembled him, and sat down.
The moment he closed his eyes, his consciousness, following the sound of prayer, headed south, towards the territory of Nilfgaard.
...…
The Nilfgaardian Empire, a remote noble territory.
The night, which should have been quiet, was torn apart by towering flames and deafening battle cries.
The smell of blood and gunpowder mixed and saturated the scorching air.
On one side of the battlefield were numerous well-equipped Nilfgaardian knights and infantry.
Their armor gleamed, their formation was impeccable, and their steel swords and halberds glinted coldly in the firelight.