They had a loose scrap of a thought that they didn't much resist: they would keep a distance behind at least the length of their Nail. Though they were fully capable of striking further if they so had to, they would not have to, and it would give an appearance of safety.

This thought immediately proves useless, as the elevator is far too small to keep any significant space between them.

The Hollow Knight slides in sideways, holding the blade away from Lemm as much as possible, and stare somewhere past his head.

Their mask is as blank as ever. The bubbling black in their ruined eye is the same, and there might be the slightest bit of fuzz from their hiding beneath the blanket caught in a crack they fail to notice.