21. Sorry Ela

Before Eleanor woke up, Simon got out of bed, watching his lover fall asleep with exhaustion. There was sadness in his eyes.

Simon decided to go to the riverside in the moonlight. He saw his reflection in the river water. He slowly changed from a human figure into a hairy monster with sharp nails and long canines.

Simon hits the water, which has an image of him as a werewolf monster. He growled, annoyed at his fate.

"Why was I born as a werewolf? Why was I born a monster?" Simon muttered as he stared at the moon.

A voice answered Simon's question. A man who stifled a mocking laugh and then smiled. He had the same smile as that old geezer who gave a curse or a pact.

However, this time the man did not appear as an old geezer but as a young man who looked the same age as Simon.

"What is it, Simon? Aren't you happy being a werewolf? Aren't you so proud of yourself for being mean and causing trouble?"

Simon knew the man had come to laugh at him and give him a warning. He was still sitting and only glanced over. Simon did not respond to the creature's question, which had come from nowhere.

"You shouldn't be able to love humans, let alone go too far. You won't be able to be together. The girl will leave. In the worst case, she will die."

"I won't let him go," Simon said firmly.

The man walked up to Simon and stood right beside him. "But your relationship is impossible. You have to separate. Remember the punishment you received. You will lose her. You will feel very painful pain. Like people's feeling when you took away their happiness in the past."

Simon got up and glared at the man. The man in front of him was still calm because Simon couldn't hurt him.

"Why are you interfering so much with my life? Who are you really?" asked Simon.

"The Moon Goddess ordered me to punish you. Aah... You should thank me for still giving you a chance to live."

"You should have killed me."

"But you agreed, even you smiled, maybe because you thought I was stupid to let still you live. Nothing can turn back time, Simon. Leave that woman before she dies, or if you stick with her, you will see her die in front of you! Now is your time. Accept your punishment!"

Simon immediately grabbed the man's neck with his sharp nails, but the man chuckled at Simon's anger.

"Cut my neck until you break your nails. I won't die. I can't feel pain. You want to know who I am?"

Simon didn't answer, and he got angrier by letting out a snarl like a beast.

"I am a god. I am a god ordered by the majestic Goddess of the moon to punish you."

God!

Now Simon knew that the man who claimed to be God had control over his relationship with Eleanor. Simon pushed him hard, so there was a bit of a fight between them until finally, the god disappeared into the darkness.

***

The monster, none other than Simon, immediately got up to grab Eleanor's body. He wanted to hug the girl but realized Eleanor was frightened by her still not human form.

"Stop, damned creature!" Eleanor tried her best to make her voice sound.

Without even an order, Simon had indeed stopped where he was. He was afraid that Eleanor would leave him after finding out that he was no ordinary human.

"Where's Simon? What did you do to him?" asked Eleanor. She still didn't realize that the monster was Simon.

Simon silently lowered his head. Eleanor slowly picked up the torch that was not far from her feet, thinking maybe the fire would be of use to repel the monster.

"Tell me where he is. Did you eat him?"

Simon stepped over to Eleanor, and she quickly brandished the torch.

"Do not come close!"

"Ela," said Simon. His voice was heavier than when he was a human.

Hearing her name being called, Eleanor frowned. "You know my name?"

"Eleanor, it's me. I'm Simon." Finally, Simon acknowledged his identity because he realized that sooner or later, Eleanor would find out.

"W-what?" Eleanor took a step back, still in disbelief.

"I am Simon. The man you love and who loves you. I am the man you have spent two nights with."

"Don't lie! That's impossible." Eleanor shook her head.

"Try to remember when we first met near the lake! The monster never left because I was the monster." After saying that, his body slowly changed.

Eleanor witnessed how the monster lost its sharp fangs and nails. His body which was covered with thick fur, slowly disappeared.

Eleanor froze in silence. Her head was spinning at once in pain as she recalled the events near the lake. Her body felt unsteady, and she tried his best to stay upright.

"No ... this is impossible. You're not Simon." Eleanor's eyes widen. Something was about to come out behind her eyes.

"Sorry, I wasn't honest from the start. But, Ela, I love you. I love you," Simon said. He again tried to approach Eleanor.

"Stay there, and I don't want you to touch me! Please, don't come any closer!" Eleanor refuses to be approached by Simon.

"Ela...."

Although her body was still shaking, Eleanor then turned away from Simon. The woman was crying as she continued walking even though her eyes couldn't see clearly, because her tears kept coming out.

Since then, they have not seen each other again. Eleanor continued to live out her days as a maid at Lady Moreland's house, while Simon continued to curse himself by trying to contain his longing for his woman.

"Eleanor, what are you daydreaming? You've been quiet these days." Lady Moreland asked when Eleanor was accompanying her to a jewelry store.

"Nothing, madam. I'm just a little sleepy."

"Since coming back from your aunt's house, you look different. Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing."

Lady Moreland couldn't get Eleanor to tell her. After the shop assistant wrapped their order ring, they then left the shop.

"I want to buy some perfume before we go home."

"Yes, My Lady."

After walking a few meters from the jewelry store, they arrived at a perfume shop frequented by the upper class. Eleanor saw inside the shop was crowded and noisy with the laughter of a group of women choosing a perfume, so this bothered her.

Unlike usual, she hated being there. Her head felt dizzy, and a wave of nausea began to attack.

"Eleanor, what are you doing?" asked Lady Moreland when she saw her maid's face so pale.

The nausea was getting worse, and Eleanor's stomach was churning. Without answering Lady Moreland's question, she immediately came out, covering her mouth and nose.