human
Arakiya:  "Calm down, sweet little puppy.”
gpt
Blue-haired boy:  “Gah!” No sooner had he spoken—almost bantering—than something hard hit her in the forehead and she felt herself go limp.
human
Arakiya:  She blinked, trying to understand what had happened. At the edge of her vision, she saw a blurry but smiling face. The figure bent over her, peering down at her where she’d collapsed—it was the blue-haired boy. The instant she realized who it was, Arakiya, who hardly ever betrayed emotion, felt as if her heart was in a million pieces. “Smiling jester…”
gpt
Blue-haired boy:  “Ha-ha-ha! I know you must be happy to see me, but there’s no need to call yourself that. After all, there’s not a person alive who can help grinning when they see my face!"
human
Arakiya:  With her remaining eye, Arakiya glared at the boy who’d jabbed her in the forehead, revealing a very obvious desire to kill him.
gpt
Chisha:  Chisha shook his head slowly. “Allow me to apologize for his blathering. And also for my all-too-easily misunderstood answer to you. I reiterate that Lady Prisca is dead. However, your princess remains with us in this world.”
human
Arakiya:  “But…that…”
gpt
Chisha:  “His Excellency will be true to his word. You became the poison that felled Lady Prisca, and for that reason, he will not perjure himself. However…”
human
Arakiya:  “I can’t ever…see the princess…”
gpt
Chisha:  “That’s correct,” Chisha said softly and nodded.
human
Arakiya:  Arakiya all but ignored him; she pressed a hand to her left eye and held her breath. Vincent will keep his word. If what Chisha had said was true, then Prisca was dead but had survived. The Rite of Imperial Selection had ended for her with Arakiya’s betrayal. “Princess…” Arakiya called to mind the beautiful face she had spent so long studying. Did she hate Arakiya now? Did she hate Arakiya, who had given in to Vincent’s plan and become poison to her? Arakiya, who had been unable to have faith in Prisca’s ultimate triumph and had instead acted on her own initiative to save her princess from death? It was not that Arakiya had been enraptured by the magic of Vincent’s words. If Prisca truly could not hope to best Vincent, then it was not because of a matter of strength or wits. It was a matter of the heart. Prisca was so deeply compassionate, so kind. That was why she couldn’t hope to defeat the cold and cruel Vincent. “Oh… Ohh…”
gpt
Blue-haired boy:  “Oh my, she’s started to cry. Chisha, what do we do with the puppy? His Excellency says she’s a stray now.”
human
Chisha:  “I’m told her course of action is to be left to her discretion. Anyway, what about you? The brutality with which you annihilated the Pruning Force is getting around.”
gpt
Arakiya:  Chisha and the boy chatted by Arakiya’s feet; Arakiya herself covered her face with her hands and wailed. She completely ignored the other two; instead, she cried, and as she cried, she prayed. Though she was a spirit eater, a barbarian with nothing to pray to, she cried out to Heaven.