I'd be embarrassed but shame was never my forte

Great dialogue can come from radical emotional honesty. But in most real conversations, people

dodge questions

answer indirectly

lie (badly)

change the subject

crack jokes to avoid serious answers

lie (convincingly)

say half of what they mean

tell the truth but get so anxious/angry/defensive others now think they're lying

If your dialogue feels unnatural, it might be because everyone is saying exactly what they think, or articulating their thoughts too well. Try letting characters hide things instead.

Your two characters are having a conversation, but each one is having a different conversation. They should always reply to what they think the other person is saying, and they should always be wrong about their assumption.

Now, obviously, like any writing advice, this rule is meant to be broken. Any writing advice you are given is more like... a guideline.

you play as a new Prince set in a city that has recently been purged by the Second Inquisition so you now need to build it back from the ground up.

Such activities include

Apointing a Sheriff

Electing Primogen

Dealing with Masquerade breeches

The odd Werewolf attack

all the while trying to keep a low profile or else the SI come back to burn the city to the ground.

wdym this wasnt how jonathan turned geoffrey?