Esmeralda sat on the floor beside the sleeping Kate. She studied the girl's features closely. Kate's beauty is not common among humans, besides, she has this ethereal quality around her.

Kate was bearing resemblance to the Nephilim race than that of humans when it comes to her physical features.

C-could it be that this girl is one of them?

The same question already flashes in her mind a few times when she first met her. But even if she has the blood of the Nephilim race, it's no longer surprising. Nephilim races are prohibited to marry or have an affair with human men and women, still, many ignored the rules and proceed with their desire no matter what the consequences.

Nephilim men would sire human women and produce hybrid offspring. There was even a place in their kingdom that is specially created just for those men and women who wish to live with their human spouses.

Just that they can no longer enter the Nephilim kingdom because they broke the rule, they weren't punished heavily either, they were just given a place for them to live peacefully with their human partners.

Hmm...

Maybe...Kate's mother...or her father belongs to the Nephilim race?

She will ask the girl's family history after she wakes up.

Thirty minutes later.

Kate finally opened her eyes, her gaze sweeps the house and landed on Esmeralda's smiling face.

"Oh, my dear, you're finally awake! How are you feeling?" asked Esmeralda.

"It's you again! Where am I? What is this place that you had taken me?" Kate inquired.

"It's my house! You don't remember this place? You live here with me..." Esmeralda reminded her.

A creased appeared on Kate's forehead. "B-but I don't remember! What you are talking about!?" she whined and her head starts to ache. "Please, take me back to my husband, King Voyen!" she demanded in a pleading tone.

Esmeralda sighed. Of course, she understood why Kate is acting this way, her memory was wiped out by that stupid Kedes!

She opened her hand and a purse made of cloth appeared in her palm, she opened it and fished out something, in her fingers, she was holding a tiny pearl.

She looked at Kate. "Open your mouth, and swallow this pearl, it can restore your memory," she commanded.

Kate was looking suspiciously at the old woman. "No! I won't take that!" she blurted.

Esmeralda was getting impatient. "Kate, don't be stubborn. Just follow what I say. I'm just trying to help you. I meant no harm," she said convincingly to her.

Still, Kate wasn't convinced with Esmeralda's sincerity. Her eyes darted at the door and she bolted towards it...but Esmeralda was quicker...she grabbed Kate's arm and blew air from her mouth hitting Kate's head. Suddenly, the girl crumbled in Esmeralda's arms.

Shaking her head vigorously, Esmeralda settled Kate back into the mattress on the floor. She holds the girl's jaw, opening her mouth and dropped the pearl inside.

Done!

Esmeralda looked at the girl's sleeping form. By the time the girl wakes up, the pearl is already working it's magic restoring all her memory but the memory that Kedes has planted on her head will also remain.

She rose to her feet and sauntered towards the door, she opened it and exited.

Walking towards the tree, she's thinking about Kate's origin and her parents' history.

She went to the tree and sat on the wooden bench facing it.

"How's the girl?" the tree asked.

"She's fine. I made her swallow a pearl that would bring back all her memories. Can you guess...what I'm thinking right now?" she responded.

"Hmm...are you thinking about the girl?" the tree took a guess.

Esmeralda's lips broke into laughter. "Yes, of course, I'm thinking about her! Did you see her features...I mean...did it ever occur in your mind that she has a Nephilim blood running through her veins?"

The branches of the tree swayed.

"I already thought about it the first time I saw her. I didn't bring it up because I thought you already know," replied the three.

Esmeralda was silent for a moment, pondering what to do next. "Hmm, I think the best way to know is to run a test on her blood," she said.

"That's fantastic! Do it now!" the tree urged her.

Esmeralda stood up and strolled towards the house, she pushed open the door and went inside. She glanced at the girl sleeping on the floor and proceed to her room.

Inside.

She took the knife and ceramic bowl from the cupboard and exited the room. She went to Kate's side, made a tiny cut on the girl's index finger with the knife, and let the blood fall into the bowl.

The droplets of blood were making a pool in the bowl.

After getting enough blood from Kate, she covered Kate's finger with her right hand and the cut healed instantly.

And now it's her turn...

Esmeralda holds the knife with her right hand and makes a tiny cut on her index finger, she let her blood fall into the bowl.

She watched closely every time her blood dropped into Kate's blood, no changes whatsoever!

If Kate indeed has pure human blood running on her veins, then the blood on the bowl would start turning orange in color upon mixing with hers, the elders imparted this blood method testing to her before they died.

She stopped the process and her finger healed instantly. She holds the bowl with her left hand and began mixing the blood thoroughly with her index finger thinking that the result will produce a change.

Still nothing.

She put the bowl on the floor and continue observing it in the next hour.

After one hour.

There's still no changes in the blood...which means...they have the same blood composition. Kate belongs to the Nephilim race! Her kind!

This is interesting! Now that she had proven it, the more she will protect Kate. Two more Nephilim being is inside the castle and it filled her heart with a sense of joy! Finding her discovery refreshing!

She rushed out of the door and approached the tree hurriedly to share the good news!

"OMG, you won't believe what I discovered!" she exclaimed.

"What is it!?"

"After mixing my blood with Kate, there's no changes! Kate belongs to the Nephilim race!" she gushes.

"That's fantastic! You can use her as your experiment!" the tree responded with a shocking suggestion.

Esmeralda brows furrowed. "Huh? W-what do you mean, my friend?"

"You told me that the three elders made you swallow the pearl of life and death. The pearl coated your heart, if the pearl can no longer detect your heart's beating, the invisible barrier will start performing the self destruct mode and everyone in this castle will start burning and the castle will eventually crumble to ashes...."

"Yep...that's right!" she responded.

"Why don't we...hmm...shall we say put your heart into another person's body? Put your beating heart into Kate's chest so that the pearl will have a new host...then we will escape from this castle..." the tree suggested.

"H-how about my heart?" asked Esmeralda.

"Kate's heart will be yours...It's just a quick exchange of heart or what they call heart transplant...during the process there will be a tiny crack on the barrier during the first few seconds when your heart stops beating...that's the time to get out!" answered the tree excitedly.