human
Julius:  "It is the ‘pulse’ of the Crystal Palace, no?” Julius was shocked to realize Vincent had seen through him so completely. Naturally, he had been trying to ease the talk in that direction, but the emperor had a tremendous gift for conversation, along with the ability to make it seem as though he had no such gift at all.
gpt
Vincent:  “The pulse—mew mentioned it earlier, right? Just what is it?”
human
Julius:  “I should think you are aware that the castle is made from a great many magic crystals. And you know also that some of its defenses leverage their power.”
gpt
Vincent:  “Yes, we’ve heard tell.” The Crystal Palace was famous for both its offensive and defensive capabilities. Its density of mana and the carefully calculated positions of its many magic crystals were things Julius had confirmed for himself not long before. But he didn’t understand its connection to what Vincent was now saying. “Thus, the Crystal Palace stores tremendous amounts of mana simply by existing. Knowing that, do you need further explanation, spirit user?” The emperor’s tone was almost teasing.
human
Julius:  Julius considered the man’s words for a moment. “…You can’t mean—the Crystal Palace is…”
gpt
Vincent:  “Alive? Yes.”
human
Julius:  The knight felt his thoughts come to a hard stop. The Crystal Palace, center of the capital of Lupghana and the symbol of the entire Volakian Empire, was not just a fortress of unparalleled offensive and defensive capabilities but had concentrated so much mana that it had become a sort of spirit in its own right. Now that he knew, the conclusion seemed inescapable.
gpt
Vincent:  Vincent chuckled as he observed Julius’s reaction. “Now there’s one more reason none of you can be allowed to leave the empire alive.”
human
Julius:  “Y-you chose to answer the question!”
gpt
Vincent:  “The answer to any question you might ask of me will inevitably touch something crucial to Volakia. It’s only natural. You know perfectly well who I am; don’t make me laugh.”
human
Ferris:  “Grrr…!” Ferris’s face went red at Vincent’s taunting tone. He didn’t know how serious the emperor actually was, but what he said was true enough. When the man spoke, his words were like a gateway to the depths of the Volakian Empire. Listen carelessly, and anything could happen to you. Even so, the danger had yielded them something. “If the Crystal Palace literally has a pulse…then when Master Balleroy fell and Reinhard blacked out, it’s possible a special spell was used.”
gpt
Vincent:  “Clever. But hold back your deductions for a while. I rather prefer the reactions of your beast-boy there.”
human
Ferris:  “Watch it, Your Majesty!”
gpt
Julius:  Vincent had confirmed Julius’s suspicion, but he didn’t neglect to work in a dig at Ferris. It might simply seem like a show of how calm he was, but it might have been the emperor’s little trick for getting through such stressful situations. How this behavior was interpreted likely varied from one individual to the next.