“It’s okay. People make mistakes.”

Rita looked disappointed, apparently not expecting this response. Jacqueline was about to drink the water but felt uneasy and handed it back to Rita.

Rita’s colleague also lost interest and they scattered.

Jacqueline stood up from her chair.

“I wanted to tell him I’m quitting… Oh well. I’ll come back next time and…”

Just when she was about to give up, the door opened and Oscar entered the study. Seeing Oscar after waiting so long, Jacqueline suddenly felt a surge of defiance and hurt. She couldn’t maintain her composure and revealed her emotions.

“You’ve been late quite often lately.”

Oscar showed no signs of having been out. Jacqueline hadn’t believed what the head maid and Rita had told her. She had noticed his cane left in the study and realized Oscar had been somewhere else in the mansion.

“If it’s inconvenient for you, Lord, I could…”

“Miss Carroll, there’s something you can do for me.”

“Yes! Gladly. What can I do for you?”

With those words, all her previous hurt melted away. She knew better than anyone that her earlier decision to quit wasn’t sincere. She had only been deceiving herself because it seemed the only way to endure.

Oscar mocked the woman’s foolishness, unaware of what awaited her. 

People with visual impairments sometimes retain limited vision, allowing them to vaguely distinguish shapes, colors, or brightness. Oscar looked at the red blur he presumed to be Jacqueline and slowly spoke.

“Miss Carroll, please sit down.”

“I’ll sit then.”

Jacqueline sat in the chair opposite Oscar’s desk.

* * *

【 The Thorn of Pride 】

Her heart pounding, Jacqueline was so delighted that her efforts hadn’t been in vain that she didn’t think deeply about Oscar’s sudden change in attitude. She was simply excited and looking forward to how she could help Oscar as his caregiver.

“What would you like me to do?”

“I have letters I haven’t had time to read due to my busy schedule. I’d like you to read them for me.”

“I can read them, but… what if they contain personal matters? You don’t completely trust me, Lord von Oestenberg.”

Jacqueline immediately regretted bringing up the trust issue, thinking to herself, ‘I shouldn’t have mentioned the lack of trust.’ 

But this was Oscar’s first request, and while she didn’t want to refuse, she worried that reading something inappropriate might create an awkward situation between them.

Oscar, already twisted in his thinking, interpreted Jacqueline’s consideration differently.

“I seem to have misjudged you, Miss Carroll. You’re more cunning than I expected. Or perhaps you simply know your place?”

Jacqueline’s heart sank when she heard Oscar’s cold words.

‘Did I upset Lord von Oestenberg by refusing to read his letter?’

“What do you mean…”

“Read it. Then you’ll understand.”

Though she didn’t understand Oscar’s intention, this was the first task he had asked of her. Jacqueline cleared her throat with an uneasy heart. Then she began to read the letter.

“Please forgive me for taking up my pen without revealing my identity. This is an anonymous report submitted out of concern for Lord von Oestenberg’s wellbeing, a guardian of our republic. Recently, I’ve become concerned about the background of the caregiver sent from the Caregivers Association…”

Jacqueline couldn’t continue reading aloud and finished the letter silently with her eyes. It was a denunciation of her. 

It claimed she had formed inappropriate relationships with patients, seized their assets after their deaths, and was deliberately approaching Oscar with ulterior motives. It warned him to take action as soon as possible.

Shocked, Jacqueline cried out.

“This isn’t true! I swear to heaven I never had inappropriate relationships with patients or coveted their property!”

“Miss Carroll, I still don’t know the contents of the letter.”

Oscar’s low voice calmed Jacqueline’s agitation. She was about to explain herself immediately, but seeing Oscar’s cold expression, she realized something.

“You already see me that way, don’t you, Lord von Oestenberg? That’s why you made the subject of this letter read it herself.”

“I’ll say it again, I haven’t read that letter. Read it completely, without omitting a single word.”

Faced with Oscar’s unyielding command, Jacqueline felt a surge of defiance rising within her, but she suppressed it and continued reading the letter that slandered her. The falsehoods presented as facts were so difficult to process that she stumbled over her words several times.

Her eyes grew hot with tears. What Oscar was making her do resembled how the director at Everett Orphanage punished children. 

There was no difference between her past, when she had to slap herself until she admitted to wrongs she hadn’t committed, and her present, reading aloud a letter that falsely accused her.

‘Actually, I started that rumor.’

‘Who could have sent this letter? Could it be Julia Basset?’

Jacqueline gritted her teeth with each word she spoke, and by the time she finished reading the letter, tiny droplets of blood had formed on her lips.

“Therefore, I denounce this wicked woman completely. Please, with Lord von Oestenberg’s wisdom, expose the false good deeds that Jacqueline Carroll has committed.”

After finishing the letter, Jacqueline remained trapped in her trauma for a while. Her ears rang and her vision temporarily darkened. 

Unable to see this, Oscar could only guess at her distress from her rough breathing.

When Oscar showed no reaction, Jacqueline placed the letter on the desk.

“I’ve finished reading.”

She had believed that simply doing her job diligently would be enough regardless of what others said. But had she been too naive? 

Jacqueline never expected Julia Basset’s rumors to come back to her in this way. While she felt wronged by the false accusations, she was more hurt by Oscar’s unwillingness to trust her.

‘This man dislikes me. Would he even believe my explanation? Still, I don’t want to leave with this misunderstanding.’

“Lord von Oestenberg, what’s written in that letter isn’t true. If you ask, I’ll explain.”

“Then please explain.”

Jacqueline felt somewhat relieved that Oscar was giving her a chance to explain herself.

“As I said earlier, I never had inappropriate relationships with patients. As proof, I… I’ve never been with a man. Regarding the recent inheritance… that part is true. But I first learned about it through an official document from the Association after the funeral. Until I received that document, I didn’t even know he had named me as an heir. Being assigned to you was also decided by superiors without my input. Mrs. Medwin can vouch for me.”

To clear her name, Jacqueline revealed even her lack of s*xual experience. She felt self-loathing, shame, and tears welling up. 

But without going this far, she had no substantial grounds to prove her innocence. She thought that if Oscar wouldn’t believe her even after this explanation, there was nothing more she could do.

“If you want me to believe you, prove it with actions, not words.”

“What can I do to make you believe me?”

After thinking for a while, Oscar finally spoke.

“Can you provide evidence?”

“Evidence?”

“Evidence that what you just said is true.”

Although Jacqueline understood exactly what Oscar meant, she doubted whether her interpretation was correct. Seeing her confusion, Oscar sneered, having clearly expected this reaction.

“Did you try to clear suspicion without being prepared to go that far?”

“I cannot do such things just to clear your suspicions, Lord von Oestenberg. I don’t want to earn your trust that way. Whatever you think, I know my own innocence.”

From the beginning, Oscar hadn’t believed the woman’s explanation. He had only planned to insult her and send her away out of consideration for his aunt who had recommended her. 

But when the woman brought up her chastity to evade the crisis, Oscar became stubborn too.

He briefly wondered if anyone had ever stood up to him like this before, but that curiosity was quickly buried beneath his towering pride.

‘I forgot that compassion and tolerance should be bestowed selectively.’

Oscar continued to press Jacqueline.

“Are you avoiding this because you’re afraid your lies will be exposed?”

Jacqueline felt dizzy. She was so shocked that she would have staggered had she not been sitting down. 

For a moment, she considered giving in to Oscar’s unreasonable demand. But even if she proved her innocence that way, it was uncertain whether she would gain Oscar’s trust.

“Whatever I say will sound like excuses to you.”

“To be honest, I don’t believe what Miss Carroll has told me.”

‘If I let this woman go now, someone else will eventually be harmed. It’s better to keep her close and watch her.’

Crushed under Oscar’s oppressive aura, Jacqueline trembled.

‘I’ve been chattering away in front of someone like this all this time.’

When she realized this man could erase her from existence if he wanted to, fear suddenly washed over her.

‘I don’t care what happens to me. But what about Aunt Melinda and Uncle Michael? Uncle Michael even worked with Lord von Oestenberg before.’

Though trembling, Jacqueline still spoke her mind.

“Lord von Oestenberg, you never accepted me as your caregiver from the beginning. What meaning does a caregiver who cannot help her patient have to you?”

Jacqueline decided appealing to his sympathy would be better than confrontation.

“If I’ve committed any rudeness until now, I apologize for all of it here. Please show me mercy.”

But Oscar remained unmoved by Jacqueline’s apology.

“As I said before, I want Miss Carroll to prove herself here.”