In order not to be disturbed by external matters, he had lowered his perception to the range of an ordinary person and immersed himself in a state of deep meditation; no wonder he hadn't known about Raymond's search.
After a brief conversation with Dalton, Karl immediately went to the study located in the lord's manor.
He pushed open the closed door and saw Raymond sitting behind a wide desk, frowning and looking troubled.
Raymond lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the flat table... sketches and illustrations?
Karl glanced at the portraits and saw that they were all faces or full-length portraits of young women.
To Raymond's right lay a small stack of sketches that seemed to have been read.
"Is this... He... planning to remarry?" A strange thought floated through Karl's mind.
He coughed softly, breaking the silence in the study.
Raymond was startled by the sudden sound; his body trembled, and he suddenly looked up.
He subconsciously pressed his hand on the decorative dagger on the table.
When he clearly saw that it was Karl who had come, he took a deep breath.
His tense body relaxed, and an expression of complaint and worry immediately appeared on his face.
"You, kid! Why do you walk without making a sound? Like a ghost!" Raymond said angrily.
"Moreover, I haven't seen anyone lately. Almost all the affairs of the territory have been left to me and Hans."
"This is good for you. All day long, mysterious. What are you busy with?"
An awkward smile appeared on Karl's face; he had indeed been neglecting his duties as lord.
"I'm sorry, father. Recently... I've had some very important matters."
He carefully chose his words and did not mention frightening things like Cthulhu or Dagon.
"I agreed to help a... lady with an important task, so I've been preparing for it recently and putting in a lot of effort."
Raymond frowned slightly upon hearing this and looked at Karl intently.
He saw that there was indeed an imperceptible fatigue between Karl's brows, but his eyes were brighter than ever.
He sighed, and his voice became softer: "Hmm... As you've grown, your judgment is much steadier than your peers."
"When it comes to dangerous things, I believe you will measure and be confident, so I won't lecture you for too long."
"Just... Remember, be careful in everything. You are the future of the El family and Terra, and you are my child."
Before the words fell, the fatigue on Raymond's face instantly disappeared, replaced by some impatience and excitement.
He quickly flipped through the portraits on the table and placed them before Karl, his face full of smiles.
"Come on, look! These are portraits of eligible and unmarried noble ladies from the Northern Kingdoms that I recently helped you select!"
"See if you like any? If you do, I'll make contact immediately!" "
Karl: "..."
The corners of his mouth twitched. Well, it turned out to be a desire for marriage!
He didn't live in the modern era and had even changed worlds, but when parents urge you to get married, it seems inevitable in any world.
Although he felt a bit helpless inside, his gaze still swept over the portraits on the table as he spoke.
When his gaze fell on the first portrait, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.
The girl in the portrait was clearly very young, looking only seven or eight years old, with a few playful freckles on her face.
But her expression was puffed up, as if everyone owed her money.
Her appearance... wasn't beautiful at all, and could even be said to be somewhat... off-putting.
Below the portrait, information was noted in elegant handwriting.
Princess of Cintra, known as the "Lion Cub," name - Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon.
"Ciri?" Karl's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm.
His gaze moved to the second portrait, and this time he simply looked at the information below: Princess of Temeria, etc.
"Oh, I know this one. I helped lift her curse myself, but she doesn't even seem to have learned to speak the human language." Karl muttered to himself.
He quickly glanced at the portraits behind; they were all princesses from kingdoms in the North, from Redania to Kaedwen.
Karl raised his head, the muscles in his face twitching slightly, an expression mixed with surprise, doubt, and deep helplessness.
He looked at his future father and asked: "Father... where did you get these portraits?"
"And... how can there be such a young girl as the Princess of Cintra, who is only a few years old?"
Raymond saw Karl's surprised expression and, instead of feeling awkward, puffed out his chest.
His face was full of pride, and he smiled sincerely: "Silly boy! These portraits weren't collected by me!"
He patted the stack of portraits, his tone very proud: "They were all sent by various powers, and they sent them themselves! Many were delivered by the king's envoys personally!"
This time it was Karl's turn to look puzzled. He slightly raised his brows, somewhat unbelieving: "Proactively... sent?"
"Of course!" Raymond nodded vigorously and began to analyze the reasons for his son's birth.
"Who are you now? The Grand Duke of Terra! In title and status,"
"in all the Northern Kingdoms, apart from the kings themselves, you are the most noble!"
"Perhaps our current territory and population of Terra still lag a bit behind powerful nations like Redania, but..."
Raymond's voice proudly rose a few notches: "Don't forget the personal strength you displayed on the border battlefield."
"That record of defeating an enemy army and killing thousands of people by yourself!"
"The deterrence brought by that kind of strength is far greater than that of an ordinary army of thousands."
"An army can be redeployed and can be dispersed, but the deterrence of a person who can move freely and almost without limits is constant and everywhere."
"What king can guarantee that there will always be thousands of loyal guards around him, capable of resisting the raids of a powerful man like you?"
"Child, you underestimate your own weight and... the level of fear in the hearts of the Northern rulers."
Saying this, Raymond straightened his chest even more, as if these glories also belonged to him, and couldn't help but laugh heartily.
When Karl heard this, it suddenly dawned on him. He had never thought about this at all.
His vision and aspirations had long since transcended the secular struggles for power and marriage politics, reaching a higher level.
For example, the level of elven sages, ancient blood, and even outer gods.
In his eyes, these political games and intrigues between countries were really... not worth his attention.
And that was before he had the power to push the whole world and ignore all rules.