This young man possessed not only incredible, non-magical power,
but could also create spells highly effective at blocking mental detection... Who was he?
Karl looked at the atmosphere between Geralt and Yennefer, which was almost boiling over with pink bubbles, and grimaced slightly in embarrassment.
He cleared his throat, breaking the overly "harmonious" atmosphere, and his gaze mainly fell on Yennefer.
"Yennefer, problems often arise from the way you communicate."
"I hope you will be sincere and not use your spells to 'persuade' Geralt at every turn."
He paused for a moment, a hint of reproach in his dark eyes: "He is my friend."
The implication of Karl's words was already clear: if Geralt was troubled by her actions and asked him for help,
then he, as a friend, would never stand idly by. When the time came, she would receive a lesson, and she couldn't blame him for it.
Yennefer's eyes flickered, and a somewhat strained smile appeared on her face.
She was used to taking charge—whether in magic or in relationships.
But in the face of a powerful and authoritative existence like Karl, who played by entirely unreasonable rules, she had to restrain most of her arrogance.
"Your Excellency, perhaps you have misunderstood. I... I hardly ever threaten Geralt with spells." She tried to defend herself, her voice a bit tense.
She paused, as if searching for the right words, and finally added with a hint of self-mockery: "What if... occasional mind-reading doesn't count..."
Karl didn't answer immediately, but turned his gaze to the silent Geralt beside him, confirming it with a look.
Geralt's face was expressionless, but he nodded almost imperceptibly.
He confirmed how much the word "hardly ever" in Yennefer's words concealed.
After confirmation, Karl gave a faint smile again: "I hope so, Miss Yennefer."
Karl's tone sounded accepting of her words, but the warning meaning hadn't diminished at all.
He immediately turned to Geralt, changing the subject and becoming much more relaxed: "By the way, Geralt, how long do you plan to stay in Terra?"
"If you like, I can have Hans and the others show you around Terra today, to see the changes here."
Geralt looked at Yennefer, who was still comfortably nestled in his arms, but her gaze was a bit confused from the conversation, and he shook his head: "No need, Karl."
"You are the lord of Terra, and they should be helping you with territorial affairs, not entertaining us."
He felt the strength of Yennefer's grip on his arm increase slightly.
He added, lowering his voice: "Besides, Yen and I... really need to talk."
When Yennefer heard this, she let out an inexplicable, quiet snort from her nose.
She didn't explicitly agree with Geralt's suggestion of a "talk," nor did she immediately object or become sarcastic as usual.
Karl nodded, said no more, took a shiny silver coin from his pocket, and tossed it onto the counter, which had been marred by the previous conflict.
"Compensation for the damaged chair." He said curtly, bringing that episode to an end.
Then, under Geralt's and Yennefer's thoughtful gazes, he turned and confidently walked out of the inn.
Only when Karl's figure had completely disappeared into the crowd on the street outside the door did
Yennefer release the invisible burden in her heart and let out a quiet sigh.
She turned and faced Geralt again, crossing her arms over her chest.
She straightened up, with a slight scrutiny and mockery, but a flicker of fear that hadn't been there before lurked in the depths of her eyes.
"Geralt, your friend... is truly 'impressive'." She said with a smile.
"He doesn't seem as old as Dandelion, who spends all day singing fake love poems, does he?"
"But he gives people a feeling of being much more mature and stable than him, and far more dangerous."
She tilted her head, a glint of narrowness in her violet eyes: "Hmph... fortunately, he's not a Witcher."
"Otherwise, in Kaer Morhen, counting Lambert, who would have to defer to him, I'm afraid you'd only be in third place."
Before her words could even settle, she didn't give Geralt a chance to respond to her teasing.
She forcefully grabbed his arm, turned, and headed towards the stairs leading to the second floor of the inn.
Geralt was pulled along by her and asked in surprise: "Yes, what are you doing?"
Yennefer turned back, raised her brows, and a smile bloomed on her face—a mix of temptation, provocation, and a hint of grievance: "What am I doing?"
"Your good friend Karl said you confessed your love for me in your sleep, and that life without me is meaningless?"
Her voice was deliberately sweet: "Then let me see for myself your 'love'... just how passionate it is!"
Karl, who had just left the inn and overheard Yennefer's clearly transmitted sentence,
stumbled in his step, his face twitching, somewhat speechless at Yennefer.
"These two... they're just a perfect match, lock them up." He muttered to himself and shook his head.
He felt his role in this had been a bit redundant.
Perhaps if he hadn't intervened, given the complex emotions that had intertwined between them for so long, Geralt would probably have been in no mortal danger.
At worst, under Yennefer's "loving discipline," his body or mind would ache for a week or two.
And that might actually be their unique "conjugal interest," incomprehensible to outsiders.
Pushing aside these chaotic thoughts, Karl quickened his pace and returned to the lord's residence and the quiet private room deep within the temple.
...
In the quiet room, Karl began to sort through and comprehend the power of faith that had accumulated recently.
As his consciousness delved in, a stream of mixed faith, carrying prayers and reverence, slowly unfolded in his perception.
He carefully identified the source and quality of these faith powers and was a little surprised.
The number of potential believers on Terra who could stably provide faith power was much higher than he had expected.
Moreover, these beliefs weren't from those who only paid lip service to their faith and were often absent from daily prayers.
Many of them truly worshipped him as a "Sun God" or some kind of patron deity, and regularly participated in prayer services at the temple.
They worshipped on important festivals and prayed to him when facing difficulties in daily life.
Of course, Karl also understood that the quality of faith from these believers was still far inferior to that of his first and most devout believer, Gil.
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