"The thing called self-esteem..."
Princess Noel subconsciously wanted to retort.
But she fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and, biting her lip, nodded: "Maybe, you're right..."
At this point, self-deception has no meaning.
She was merely avoiding the problem, or rather... she was simply courting death.
After realizing her mistake, Princess Noel did not continue to choose evasion.
"...Perhaps courage is not all that I have left."
She spoke in a low voice, her words as incisive as a surgeon's knife, cutting into her own vulnerability: "Rather say... it's exactly the opposite, I'm seeking courage through these means—if I can survive a crisis where I'm one foot from death, maybe I can persist through despair until dawn. After all, slicing flesh with a blunt knife is always more painful than with a sharp blade."
"Hmph, good that you understand."
