Prison of Mind in Slay the Princess, the Patient Heart

For my 4th round I really wanted something non-violent. The Witch and the Thorn route was quite touching and I felt enough trust towards the Princess to actually set her free. For the first 3 rounds I never took the knife to the basement, but seeing the Princess chew up her arm was... not pleasant. So I did take the knife for surgical reasons. But tell it to the game, the whole conversation exchange is much more hostile and in the end the Narrator just takes over, and everything still ends in violence. The Prisoner was the next chapter and the only non-violent way out of there is getting shackled up. I had very mixed feelings about this whole choice and the route. But I decided to accept it as a reminder that there are never easy quick solutions. There's no holy epiphany in life capable to change things once and for all. To actually break the cycle of violence for good requires constant everyday work to oppose your old habits and modes of thinking. And a lot of patience to keep wearing it off. So yes, here comes the Patient Heart.