[ It happens in an instant - her demeanor snaps so hard and so fast, it's almost audible. Her smile stretches thin and brittle, her irises are rimmed with far too much white and her spine is ramrod straight. She doesn't move or scrabble back as you might expect; instead, she freezes. The terror response of a prey animal, a rabbit caught in a wolf's stare.

Would you look at that. If his plan was to scare some respect back into her, it worked perfectly. ]

Ah- I'm-

[ She fumbles with her words for a few moments, her shoulders trembling - then all at once, she drops her head into the best approximation of a bow that she can manage like this. In an instant, Ai has vanished and the girl presenting the nape of her neck as if expecting a beheading is the Saintess once again. ]

... P... Please forgive me for my presumption. I didn't mean any disrespect. It was my mistake. I won't repeat it.