You could use confidence.
Answer:
When Beowulf dies, his followers show up. Wiglaf criticizes them for their cowardice in leaving their king to fight the dragon by himself. Wiglaf tells them that they will not have the treasure, because they have disgraced themselves. They end up building Beowulf his funeral pyre and burying the dragon's hoard with his ashes.
Explanation:
In simple terms, scrubbing the stain only made it worse. Exacerbating means to make something worse than what it already is.
