Should she have stopped her? The creature seriously pondered this once it was alone again. Indeed, going through the conversation they had sentence by sentence, it did not detect any signs that indicated it would be imprudent to let its creator go without a pledge to do as she was asked. It wasn't a matter of trust; it was more than obvious that it wouldn't trust a person who not only abandoned it but also wasn't especially cooperative in fulfilling its desires. It was more of an intuition. What did Victoria gain by running away again? The answer was nothing.

Yes, the direction she gave might have been false, but that didn't matter. It was assumed that the Frankensteins lived somewhere in Geneva, so not knowing the exact building was not a significant obstacle to finding them. If it could get the citizens to listen for half a minute before they scattered, the creature was fairly convinced it could extract the real location from them. In case they fled the city... Well, they wouldn't flee, right?

The scientist seemed like a proud person but also extremely reserved. It had no proof of this, but if it had to guess, the creature would say that this woman never spoke to her family about the horrors she created. In other words, it seemed unlikely that in less than three days, she would press her family to change their address. Humans were not foolish, and even though they didn't fully understand the situation, she was sure they would want to gather information on the matter before deciding on a potential escape. And Victoria had too much to explain.

What happened if she chose to leave on her own, abandoning her for the second time and leaving her relatives to their fate? In that case, the monster would be in a tight spot because its primary intention had been to approach Geneva to keep her family under threat, to kill them all if Victoria decided to ignore its demands.

But again, the creature had the same killer instinct as a fly. It confessed to her creator that it had murdered a child in cold blood, true, but in reality, that wasn't entirely correct. What actually happened was that the boy was startled to see her and started running, with the misfortune of tripping over a slope and hitting his head fatally on some rocks. Yes, it was indirectly her fault for scaring him, but she didn't intend to eliminate him, even after learning he was one of the Frankensteins. It was a terrible accident that affected her at the time, but later, once she could talk to Victoria face to face, she thought she could use it to force her to cooperate. She wasn't proud of it, but she didn't think she had any other option.

If Victoria chose to abandon her family in the face of the threat, which wasn't difficult to imagine given her history, the creature thought it would go after her and forget the rest of the Frankensteins. That is, if it wasn't too difficult to pursue her wherever she went. Killing an entire family should be a last resort, regardless.

On the other hand, even though anxiety gnawed at her during these days of waiting, she still wished to believe that she had done the right thing by giving the scientist one last chance and giving her time to think things over. Because, what would have happened if she hadn't? And if she had held her in the cabin until she got an affirmative answer? That would have put Victoria in a bad mood. Perhaps she would have accepted out of obligation, as an improvised trick to get out of the predicament. Or she might have done the exact opposite, getting so angry that she swore never to set foot in a laboratory again. Whatever it was, it wouldn't have been profitable. It was better to maintain the uncertainty for a little longer than to get an instant refusal.

And if by chance, she had received a "no" from the beginning... she didn't know what she would have done. Despite often thinking over the years that she would love to see Victoria dead, she was aware that this was not the way to go. Not out of pity, as she felt for the rest of the Frankenstein family, but because she was the only person she knew capable of reviving the dead. And if she killed her, who would fulfill her desire?

So, clutching the note with the address written in pencil that her creator had left her, she resolved not to take anyone's life anymore. In the event that Victoria fled or refused to fulfill her request, what she would do was proceed to follow her throughout Europe if necessary. Harassing her to the point where, if she wanted to preserve her mental health, she would have no choice but to eventually yield.

As the hours passed, she even began to think about how she could track her if she decided to leave the city in secrecy. Whether she could continue walking through the fields, avoiding people until she reached her new destination, or if she should risk being seen again to gather information to reach the human she was interested in more quickly.

Fortunately, these thoughts never materialized, as on the afternoon of the second day, Victoria returned to the cabin, just as she had promised.

"I've been thinking long and hard about what you proposed," she began, as soon as she arrived, taking a seat in the same chair as two days ago, though this time without waiting for an invitation. "And I've come to the conclusion that I can't do it."

"That you can't, you say."

She couldn't say she didn't expect it. She had hoped, given that the scientist didn't interrupt her even once during her previous narrative, that she would say yes. But it was a weak hope, and with this simple confession, it crumbled as easily as a house of cards.

"Setting aside the fact that I don't think it's right to bring a creature into the world for the sole purpose of fulfilling your whim, I don't have the strength or the desire to go through that process again."

"And yet, you had no problem creating me," the monster pointed out. "What was the purpose of my existence if not to fulfill your own whim? Or are you going to say now that your designs are the only valid ones?"

"Not at all, in fact, you're right. At least in part: I think the problem was that I wanted to create life to prove something to the scientific community, without thinking beyond that. I had no clear idea of what to do with you once I had caught their attention. I wasn't even sure if you would have enough autonomy to decide for yourself."

"What did you plan then, to kill me as soon as my existence was no longer novel to them?"

"No, I doubt I would have dared," Victoria replied. In saying this, she didn't seem to grasp the anguish in the tone with which the creature asked the question, as she responded with the same impassivity as if she were answering a question about one of her reports. "To be honest, and although the experiments with rats had borne fruit, I didn't think what you had would be possible. And even if it could be, I didn't think you would last more than a few minutes."

"It's ironic that a scientist doesn't have confidence in her own work," the monster mocked.
"No one had achieved anything similar in the past; it's natural that I was skeptical," Victoria interjected, not minding the condescending tone. "I had no evidence that it would work in my case."

"But it did work, and you ended up abandoning me."

"That's right. I won't make any excuses for it. I know that, no matter what I say, you won't believe me."

But why did she abandon her? Although her ultimate goal was to prove her knowledge to a large audience, it didn't seem like that was her main motivation. Otherwise, she thought, she would have started looking for her much sooner. And once she knew her whereabouts, she would have delivered her to the nearest scientific committee without hesitation. Or well, maybe she wouldn't deliver her... Things weren't so simple for someone who conducted experiments independently. But it was certain that she wouldn't have kept her a secret, as she had been doing since she found out that she had escaped from her laboratory.

Why had this woman spent two years not wanting to hear from her, only to reappear now, after all this time, saying she wanted to talk? Wasn't that too much of a coincidence? Probably, the excuses she put forth to distance herself from her creation were all lies, but the monster still wanted to hear them.

"What do you intend, then?" she inquired, for a change. "Because I'm not going to sit idly by and watch you leave without providing me with due compensation. I may have given you a deadline to think it over, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up."

"Oh, I came to make you a counteroffer. I refuse to create another being for you; that part is non-negotiable, but I am willing to offer you compensation for all the suffering."

"And what kind of compensation could you give me? The only reason I don't live in society is that people have an exaggerated tendency to reject me before even giving me a chance to get to know me. So, what could be asked for if the issue of companionship is off the table?"

"Have you ever thought about changing your appearance?" Victoria asked in turn, briefly puzzling the monster, who didn't expect that question.

"How?"

"Regarding your original request, I've been thinking... You finally have your creator in front of you, the person who literally gathered every piece of your being and reassembled it to make a complete whole. Why did you ask me to create a companion when maybe I could refine your face a little, so you don't look so intimidating to the neighbors, and thus you can finally integrate into society?"

"So you want to fix my face."

To be honest, the creature found this to be absurd. She had never thought about asking for help to fit into the crowd because, after so many rejections, she was fed up with humanity. She didn't want to be a part of them and thought that if she could find at least one person who understood her, she could live perfectly content in any remote mountain without ever having to set foot in a city again. And, of course, she didn't trust the scientist for a new operation.

"It's not that," Victoria denied, making a gesture to downplay the matter. "I wouldn't engage in such an experiment either. I've never tried it before, so I can't guarantee that you wouldn't end up worse."

"Then I don't see how you could help. In fact, with each passing second, it seems clearer that you have no intention of contributing anything useful to the cause."

"That's where you're wrong. I am already helping you! You just haven't realized it yet," she said, pointing to a bag she had placed on the table as soon as she arrived, and to which neither of them had made any reference until that moment. "What I've brought is for you, regardless of whether you accept my offer or not; you can keep it."

"What is it?"

The creature asked the question from where she was, without getting closer, fearing that the container might hold something dangerous enough to pounce on her if she made a wrong move.

"It's just some new clothes and a pair of boots; that's why I brought up the idea of a change in your appearance. You know, I think you'd improve quite a bit if you washed up and dressed like a decent person. Your height isn't a problem, even though there aren't many women who are almost six feet tall. As for the rest... what can I say? It's not as if you look like you just emerged from the cemetery from which you were unearthed."

"Is it really that simple?"

"I don't know, but it's worth a try. I think anyone would be scared if a creature of your size appeared out of nowhere and in that condition, no matter how good your intentions are."

"Let me understand this; you want to reject my request to create a man for me in exchange for a bath and clean clothes?"

"Not exactly, but that's where I planned to start, yes." Before the creature could continue expressing her reservations, Victoria explained, "Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror? Maybe because you've spent quite some time among the living, that deathly pallor has faded away, but with some new clothes and perhaps a bit of makeup, you could blend in with the crowd."

"I'm not interested in being part of the crowd, whether or not I attract attention. Even now, everything you're proposing is based on a mere assumption; you can't guarantee that people won't care about how I look, regardless of any change."

"True, I can't, but what I can assure you is that the vast majority of mortals aren't as interested in others' existence as it may seem. You could test it yourself. Freshen up a bit, put a veil on your face if you're still unsure about your appearance, and try taking a walk through the city streets. I can assure you that no one will stop to look at you for more than two seconds."

"It could be a trap..." the creature muttered, more to herself than to the other. She didn't think Victoria had the power to conspire to the extent of turning an entire city against her, but after all, they were talking about a closed space where thousands of people lived in harmony. Then, if they didn't accept her, where could she flee once the city gates were closed?

"I guarantee you it's not. If I truly wanted to harm you, it would have been much more practical to lure a dozen capable men here to subdue and capture you, taking advantage of the fact that I knew you would be here with your guard down. The other option is possible, of course, but I don't know. Intercepting you in the middle of a crowded street in Geneva sounds much more chaotic and unnecessary."

"It's not as if you could hand me over to the authorities either," the creature scoffed, truly annoyed at how well-planned Victoria's responses were. If she ever had control of the conversation, it seemed it had already ended. "What excuse would you give to explain my existence? If you accused me of murder, I would expose you as my creator. And since I am a being without any autonomy for them, my sins are yours too."

"That has as easy a solution as ceasing to be a monster."

"You're mocking me."

"Not at all. In the end, it's like the clothing issue, a matter of attitude and how those around you perceive you. If you behave normally and try not to stand out, they won't notice you."

"So that was your barter idea, that I put on your disguise and try to blend into the crowd?"

"I don't think it can be considered a disguise when, to be honest, you already have the attitude of a civilized person. Just as I could have brought a furious mob here, ready to condemn you, you could have omitted any hint of reasonable conversation and proceeded to kill me."

Victoria was not wrong in mentioning this. The first time the two of them met alone, that could have passed as a coincidence, as if she had agreed to meet with the monster somehow coerced or nervous. Now, on the other hand, she was there of her own volition, having had countless hours to decide whether it was prudent to reappear or not.

"I will leave for Ingolstadt next week," Victoria continued. "So the deal I offer is as follows: You can come with me. I offer you a place to stay until you adapt to modern life and decide what to do with your existence."

"Isn't Ingolstadt the place where that university you belong to is located?" The implication was clear. What if the plan was to wait until they arrived in Ingolstadt to lock her up in a laboratory? The creature didn't know that Victoria had a job related to a German university until relatively recently. Otherwise, she would have gone to that other city to look for her and wouldn't have spent resources trying to find her way to Switzerland, thanks to Victoria's own accounts. If she had previously thought she could find her in Geneva, it was because she had read an article in an old newspaper mentioning a Frankenstein family living there.

"It is, although that is irrelevant. You mentioned it yourself before, didn't you? I can't talk about how you were created without also revealing your crimes and my involvement in them. So, for both of our sakes, it's better if no one finds out about your origin."

"It would be hard for no one to find out if you insist on dragging me into society."

"And here is the second part of my plan: not only will we not discuss your origin, but we will create a new identity for you. You don't have to present yourself to the world as a monster; in fact, don't even think about doing that; they will beat you. It's better if we invent a biography and give you a name, like Christian people."

"Oh, but do I have the right to have a name now too?"

"And a last name to go with it. I'm convinced that if we present you to the neighbors as a distant relative of my late mother, no one will ask questions about it."

The certainty with which Victoria made this statement was terrifying. If she truly wasn't scheming to get rid of her experiment, it seemed as if she wholeheartedly believed that her idea would work.

Now, what were the creature's options? Trap or not, she didn't want to set foot in a city again. There were too many humans for her liking, and of course, she wasn't at all convinced that she could ever get used to living surrounded by all those eyes, no matter how harmless they might be. Could she argue with the arguments and insist on her desire for Victoria to create another monster for her? She knew it was selfish; she had reached that conclusion after much thought, especially after Victoria pointed it out, but she still didn't rule it out. What if she was selfish? After everything she had been through, didn't she have the right to be?

"I will explain in detail what I have come up with to carry out this charade," the scientist continued, cautiously; at least she seemed aware that it was necessary for the creature to reconsider her options. "Then I will leave you alone to think about it. As I said, I won't leave until next week, so I will come back on Monday to take you with me if you have decided so."

"And if I conclude that I have no interest in going to Ingolstadt or anywhere else?"

"In that case, I will provide you with the gun to kill me."

The curious thing was that the way she said it, Victoria seemed serious. It didn't sound like an empty threat.