A very minor coding error.
When speaking to Crusader Gahn Towerbreaker in the Hero’s Canton, just after chooseing Dangerous Research as the next questline, the “dignity” line of the responses actually has “end” as the icon. So it looks like there are two ways to end the conversation without adjusting alignment. However, when you mouse over the “end” option, it actually states that it will increase your dignity.
Thanks!