Jacqueline accepted the nanny position despite knowing she wasn’t qualified. After all, if she had to choose between factory work and being a nanny, the nanny position was obviously preferable. 

It was the first time she had chosen a job out of desire rather than necessity. Because of this, she resolved to work even harder.

Mrs. Hennessy wasn’t pleased with the nanny her husband had hired. Rather than objecting to her lack of qualifications, she watched her vigilantly for a while because she was a young, beautiful woman chosen by her husband. She had decided to dismiss the nanny at the first mistake.

Gradually, however, her thinking changed. They say sincerity communicates itself, and Jacqueline’s efforts melted Mrs. Hennessy’s frozen heart. From that day on, Mrs. Hennessy trusted Jacqueline with her children.

Around that time, Jacqueline began to notice Mr. Hennessy’s true nature, including how female factory workers frequented his room. Of course, Mrs. Hennessy was aware of her husband’s infidelity. But she never once voiced any complaint or objection to her husband.

On days when factory women visited, she would either shut herself in her room all day with a face cold like a wax doll, or she would go to the room where her father’s portrait hung and spend some time there.

The cold couple showed little interest in their children. All Jacqueline could do as a nanny was divert the children’s attention to things other than their parents. 

She hoped that Tommy and Emma would see only beautiful things until they were old enough to make their own judgments. But that wish couldn’t be fulfilled. Their father was the problem, as always.

The already precarious factory eventually closed due to Mr. Hennessy’s reckless management and embezzlement. When what had once been the largest textile factory in the capital shut down, many people lost their jobs. 

Those who had nowhere to go but the factory faced uncertain prospects for immediate survival. The situation was completely different from when they had received even a small but steady wage, and soon they were driven into a poverty they had never experienced before.

People with savings could manage by spending their reserves, but Jacqueline had invested all her savings for the future and had no money left. 

After much worry, the only thing she could think to sell was her hair. A young woman’s healthy hair was worth money, especially if it was an uncommon color.

Leaving the salon, Jacqueline fingered her hair, now cut short to just below her chin. She hadn’t noticed it when checking in the mirror earlier, but once outside, she felt the coolness on the nape of her neck.

“Muriel would throw a fit if she saw this.”

She had joked to the salon madam that she had grown her hair for years intending to sell it for a high price, but when the scissors actually touched her hair, tears came to her eyes.

“Still, this money should cover the overdue rent and buy some groceries.”

This money would help her get by until next month. Muttering that she hoped to find a job before then, Jacqueline walked down the street. 

Searching the building walls plastered with advertisements for job listings, she couldn’t find any suitable positions. Most were just looking for women to work in clubs.

Then Jacqueline was shocked to discover a familiar face on an advertisement featuring a n*de woman. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, she quickly tore off the paper. Checking the back of the paper, she saw the adhesive hadn’t even dried yet.

Jacqueline tucked the paper inside her coat and quickly moved away. Her heart pounded, and she felt burdened, carrying a secret she couldn’t reveal.

* * *

Jacqueline spotted the landlady sitting on the terrace and quickly covered her face with the newspaper she was holding.

“If you’re going to sneak around like a stray cat, pay your rent and walk proudly.”

“Haha… You saw me?”

“I couldn’t help seeing you even if I tried. What are you doing rolling up your face in newspaper like it’s something valuable… What happened to your hair?”

“I trimmed it for a change… Does it suit me?”

Her fine red hair, which used to reach her waist, was now cut short to just below her chin. Melinda grimaced like she had seen something awful.

“Hair is life! Is your life so cheap to you?”

“Obsessing over long hair was something from the past. These days, practical and pretty short hair is the trend.”

“Well said. Yes, I was born in the monarchy era.”

“Well… beauty standards differ with each era. Have you heard of permanent waves? The madam said that even after washing your hair, when it dries, the curls remain bouncy.”

“Wrong. Beauty standards haven’t changed. They’ve always been vertical, from top to bottom. Anyway, long hair suits you better than short.”

“That’s true.”

“Then why did you do that to yourself?”

“It’s still red hair, after all.”

Jacqueline had received negative attention since childhood because of her red hair. Even now, she hated how passersby would glance at her, which was why she covered her face with the newspaper.

“I see a lot of soldiers around.”

“That’s because of the victory celebration, what else? The innkeepers are thrilled. But for residents like us, it’s irritating when outsiders come and disrupt the neighborhood atmosphere. Not that we can drive them away.”

“Still, the streets are more lively than when there were no people around. It’s good for those in business.”

“Business? If selling and buying people can be called business, then yes, it’s business.”

“Melinda, there are many ears listening.”

“Let them listen all they want.”

Melinda, seemingly harboring pent-up emotions, glared toward the entertainment district. She was displeased that the once-quiet atmosphere had disappeared due to the bars and gambling dens that had sprouted like mushrooms behind their communal housing. 

Not just Melinda, but all the original residents who had lived there for a long time had opposed the current mayor’s policies from the beginning.

“They said they would develop the city, but they turned it into an entertainment district. What idiot came up with this plan?”

“The current mayor, I suppose?”

“The current mayor is just a lackey. Lloyd Whitaker must have ordered it. Anyway, a perfectly fine neighborhood was ruined because of that good-for-nothing. Everyone seems to be tempted by the bread he throws, but I’m not fooled. There must be some sinister plan we don’t know about. So don’t eagerly accept bread from Whitaker’s subordinates.”

Jacqueline rolled her eyes.

“If there were problems, wouldn’t they have appeared by now?”

“So you did eat it.”

“When I tried it, it was just ordinary bread.”

“The only thing the devil gives to humans without a price is his spit. Maybe he disguised it with an angel’s blessing to deceive innocent people like you.”

“Maybe. I’ll be careful from now on.”

“Have you ever seen him?”

“Lloyd Whitaker? I’ve only heard about him, never seen him.”

“Then you’re fortunate.”

“Have you seen him, Melinda?”

“Just once, when he came to look at properties.”

Melinda immediately understood the saying that the devil appears with the most attractive face when she saw Lloyd Whitaker. 

He had a splendid appearance that didn’t match someone from the underworld. The handsome man with golden hair shining like the sun and blue eyes containing the sea appeared to be a plausible gentleman on the surface.

But the stench emitted by a person from the underworld could never be concealed by expensive clothes or perfume. In fact, Melinda recognized Lloyd Whitaker’s true nature because she was of a similar kind herself.

Melinda fell into thought, looking at Jacqueline’s red hair. That morning, when she went to buy cigarettes, the shopkeeper suddenly shared rumors about Lloyd Whitaker. 

He mentioned Whitaker’s strange s*xual preference for women with red hair, then asked about the young lady upstairs.

Melinda realized the shopkeeper was politely warning her. Jacqueline was the bonfire she had encountered while living her entire life in the shadows. 

She couldn’t let someone like Lloyd Whitaker extinguish what she still cherished, fearing it might go out.

“Be careful for a while. You don’t want to cause any misunderstandings.”

Melinda gestured toward a soldier passing by with women on each arm. Then she muttered, “End times.” While she looked with contempt at how they squandered compensation exchanged for their lives, she also felt pity for them.

The middle-aged woman, well-versed in human nature, didn’t see their revelry as mere pleasure. It was probably post-war trauma. She wasn’t ignorant of their pain. She herself had lived promiscuously due to trauma. But that didn’t mean she could tolerate behavior that harmed or made others uncomfortable.

Melinda nodded again at Jacqueline’s shortened hair.

‘That look is probably best for the current situation.’

“There’s no more dangerous male than a soldier with loosened discipline.”

Recalling old memories, Melinda looked at the men in uniform with a mixture of hatred, contempt, and fear. Born as a baron’s daughter, she had a painful past of being violated by so-called revolutionaries. 

The coachman who called her “miss” and smiled warmly, the domain residents who praised her father for lowering taxes, the retainers who had served loyally for generations.

If they had been complete strangers, she might have tried to forget somehow. The incident that day left the preciously raised young lady pregnant. The child had no choice but to be stillborn.

However, perhaps it was wrong to harm a life conceived through sin, because after the stillbirth, she became unable to conceive again. 

On the day she buried the child who couldn’t even receive baptism because it was illegitimate, Gabriella, once an angelic young lady, became the devil’s wh*re who opposed God.

Reflecting on what a wretched past it had been, Melinda busily worked her knitting needles.

“Still, he must have some conscience, since he cleans frequently.”

Melinda still didn’t like this Lloyd Whitaker fellow, but she had to acknowledge that thanks to his regular garbage cleanup, the neighborhood’s security was maintained. Nevertheless, she couldn’t develop even a hint of fondness for him.