After the cooking was finished, Ella set the table for lunch while Agran went to the ocean to inform the men that lunch is ready.

The men were already done swimming in the ocean and just waiting for lunch. They gathered around the table and began eating.

Ella secured bananas and fish soup in the small table in the corner. After sending food to Jegun upstairs, Agran joined her at the table. They began eating, not knowing that the men were looking at them, smiling.

Ella looked at them, frowning why they were looking in their direction.

"Sweet lovebirds!" Bhork said.

The rest of the men agreed and laugh.

Agran joined in their laughter. "Don't mind them. They are just teasing us," he said.

Ella smiled a little feeling shy all of a sudden. The men shifted their attention to the bananas and the fish soup displayed on the table.

They resumed eating in silence.

A few minutes later, the men were done eating and left the kitchen. Agran helped Ella cleaned the table and the dirty dishes.

"No need to help me, I can manage washing the dishes alone," she said.

"It's okay, I want to help you," he said softly. "I want to spend every minute of my time with you," he added meaningfully.

Ella raised a brow and looked at him, she was about to say something to him but changed her mind at the last minute. She was already used to his teasing. She will just ignore his jokes. He will surely get tired teasing him, sooner or later. She resumed her chores, with him by her side rendering his help to her.

"I'll fetch water from the well," he said. He picked up the water jar and exited the kitchen going in the direction of the well located a few meters away from the backyard.

When he was back in the kitchen, Ella was almost done with the cleaning. "Is there anything you want me to do?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm almost done," she answered. "You can rest upstairs if you want," she suggested.

"Nah, I'll wait for you. We're going swimming, right?" he said.

"Okay," she said. She almost forgot that she agreed to go swimming with him in the ocean.

Agran waited for her patiently.

After they finished their chores in the kitchen, they strolled towards the beachfront, enjoying the serene atmosphere around the beach.

The water was calm, with no big waves at all. The sun was shining brightly in the sky above.

Tempted by the sparkling water of the sea, Agran and Ella went to the shore and eventually waded into the water. A few minutes later, they were already frolicking in the water, having a good time, enjoying each other's company.

~o0o~

Meanwhile, at Immortal Vearah's mansion.

Esmeralda was staring at Kate who was looking depressed after discovering that her sister Ivy died, sacrificing her life for her ultimate escape from the castle.

Kate was heartbroken, she is inconsolable. She stayed inside the room all the time, lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes. She was feeling extremely sad about what's going on with her family. It doesn't help much that Aunt Margie also passed away. Two of the most important person people in her life...gone just like that! She wasn't able to hug or talk to them before they left this world.

It was all too tragic! It's making her insane with grief.

Esmeralda looked at Kate and sighed deeply. "Child, even if your aunt and sister Ivy already passed away, you have to continue living. They are now looking at you in heaven with sadness in their hearts. They want you to keep going! Crying a river won't bring their life back. Remember that Ivy sacrifices her life for you. Don't make her sacrifice fall in vain!" she said, trying to cheer her up.

Fresh tears sprang in Kate's eyes. The pain was too much because she learned of Ivy and her Aunt Margie's passing on the same day! It shattered her heart into tiny pieces. It's all too much to bear at the same time. Now she only has one family member left alive. And the worst thing, Ella was also inside the castle. She wanted to save her sister but she doesn't know how!

That all adds up to her depression!

She's powerless to do anything and it's making her salty about her shitty destiny!

Esmeralda sighed, she failed to make Kate talk, she failed to make her feel better. "What do you want, child?"

"I want to save my sister from the castle!" Kate insisted.

"How are you going to do that?"

"I dunno!"

Esmeralda sighed. "You want to go back to the castle?"

"Yes!"

"Going back inside the castle is like suicide. You are just giving the vampire's a chance to manipulate you and control your life. Is that what you really want?" Esmeralda asked her. "Entering the castle won't guarantee you that you can save your sister. You simply have no power to fight the creatures in there!" Esmeralda reminded her.

"But I have my blood! I can use my blood to negotiate them with my sister's life," Kate insisted.

Esmeralda breathed deeply. "You are stupid to think that you can negotiate them with your blood. They already have your sister. All they need to do is threatened you with your sister's life and you will come running to them in desperation. You need a better plan to rescue your sister at the same time prevent those creatures from escaping those castle, or else, if they escape, they will create havoc in the world of humans and plenty of lives will be lost. And we will have many difficult problems to face later on," she explained.

Kate's body was trembling hard as tears fall abundantly from her eyes. She was sobbing uncontrollably in the bed. "Granny, please help me! Let's come back to the castle and save my sister!" she urged her.

Esmeralda was shaking her head vigorously. She vowed to herself that if she can escape the castle successfully, she will never go back inside. It's been her lifelong dream to escape the castle after realizing her stupid mistake in the past. Then why would she go back to the castle again? Just because this girl wants her help to save her sister? Should she sacrificed and risk her life again?

"I'm sorry Kate, right now, I'm not ready yet to return to the castle! I enjoyed my stay here. I've longed for this day of absolute freedom, now that I already tasted it again. I have no plans to go back to the castle. But don't worry... my teacher and I are trying to find ways how to rescue your sister. Just that the solution doesn't come easy. There are so many things to consider before the perfect solution to your problem can be achieved," she explained.

Kate was not consoled with Esmeralda's words. Her cries went deeper, it was heart-wrenching and Esmeralda can't stand her sobbing. She rose to her feet and left Kate alone in the room.

She went to find her teacher in the study room.

Vearah looked at her when she entered the room. "How is the girl?" she asked while continue arranging the flowers on the vase.

Esmeralda released a deep sigh. "She's inside the room, sulking, not in the mood to go out," she answered.

Vearah was shaking her head. "Poor girl! I can't blame her though. After learning the death of her sister and her beloved aunt, it devastated her. It's hard to digest those heartbreaking news at the same time. I sympathize with her current situation," she said.

"I asked her what she wants..."

"And -?"

"She wants us to return to the castle and rescue her sister Ella..."

"And what did you told her?" Vearah asked her.

Esmeralda sighed. "I told her that I can no longer go back to the castle since I already made my escape, I won't return there anymore," she replied.

"So...what was her reaction?"

"She cried pitifully that is why I left the room. It was depressing to stay longer inside that room," Esmeralda said.

Vearah sighed. She can sympathize with Kate's depression. It's hard not to lose her mind after she discovered that two of her family members died and her younger sister was trapped inside the castle. It must be hard to come to terms with. Until now, she and Esmeralda can't still come up with a better solution to help Kate with her problem.

The problem itself is hard to solve, and it's something that needs a long time of thinking and requires meticulous planning.

She and Esmeralda looked at each other and sighed because right now, they don't have any concrete plans yet on how to save Ella from the castle.

~o0o~

Back on the beach.

Ramza and Ogeme were sitting on the white sand, under the shade of the tree. The others were taking an afternoon nap upstairs in the house.

Ramza inspected the portal relic he was holding in his right hand. He was curious about the portal. Where it would lead him if he opens it? Hmm...

"Are you going to open the portal?" asked Ogeme.

"I wanted to...I'm just curious where the portal will take me," he said.

"Go ahead, open it! I will wait here for you," Ogeme said. "But I must warn you...it might open up to another dimension that would make you lost your way. So, beware!"

Rama smiled. "If it takes me somewhere dangerous, then I will just instruct the portal to take me back here to the beach," he replied.

"Okay, just hold the relic tightly in your hands, don't ever lose it!" Ogeme warned him.

"Alright, I'm going to open the portal now!" Ramza said and raised the relic in front of them. "Open the portal and take me to where the owner had gone to!" he commanded.

A few seconds later, a neon color hole appeared out of nowhere, the portal was opened successfully.

Ramza looked at Ogeme. "Tell them I'll be back after a few minutes! I just want to see what's on the other side," he gave his instruction.

"Okay," Ogeme replied.

Ramza walked towards the portal opening and stepped into it, a few seconds later, the portal opening disappeared.