conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  I’d told her something was strange about her condition afterward, and I’d linked it to the suggestive words Hilda had said to me moments before I entered the room. But was it really wise to play that hand here and now?
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "I haven’t a clue what you mean."
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  "So you’re choosing to play dumb. Understandably so, as you’ve left no evidence."
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "We’re done here, then."
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  "But I wonder what the people over at the Department of Magic Technology would think if I accused you?"
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "Are you blackmailing me?" However involved Hilda was with the department, that didn’t mean they considered her irreplaceable. There was no guarantee that an official with a blemish on their record would remain in their good graces, and judging by Hilda’s reaction, she knew it.
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  "Threaten me all you like, but I won’t yield."
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "Even if you do go through with it, I’ll retaliate. With my connections, I can have your status—"
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  "No, Hilda. You’re missing my point." A smile returned to Philine’s face, as though her way of speaking up until now, akin to Dorothea’s, had been but an act.
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  Hilda frowned in confusion. "What I demonstrated just now was Mother’s means of negotiation. Having your way by forcing your opponent to submit, only engendering enmity. Unpleasant, isn’t it? That’s not how I want to do things."
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  Hilda said nothing.
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "I saw something peculiar some time ago. A group of small children were bullying an even smaller girl. When I went to admonish them, do you know what they said?"
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  "What?"
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "They said they were just imitating Her Majesty Dorothea. What could I say to that?" The Nur Empire’s philosophy of complete meritocracy was a double-edged sword. For the strong, it was paradise, but for the weak, it was hell. Of course, the empire had some relief measures in place for the less fortunate, but they were nothing in comparison to the Bauer Kingdom’s, which had undergone democratization.
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  "The empire has taken survival of the fittest too far. Someone needs to fix it."
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "I understand what you mean to say, But that changes nothing. You still haven’t offered me anything."
conversations.prefix: Hilda:
conversations.from: human
conversations.value:  "I’ll appoint you to be my knight. Serving an imperial princess will give you the status and prestige you desire, will it not?" Hilda’s eyes went wide, as did mine. To tell the truth, I’d still underestimated Philine. I hadn’t thought she could pull off something like this. Philine had possessed the chips to negotiate with Hilda from the very start, but she had been unable to play them effectively so long as Hilda was leading the conversation. That was why she’d shifted to a confrontational approach to instill a sense of danger—then broken that tension and started negotiations from square one. Her ability to negotiate put even Claire to shame.
conversations.prefix: Philine:
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value:  "Do you think that would be enough for me?"
conversations.prefix: Hilda: