[A/N: Just for clarity Rudra calls his wife Anna while others call her Anne. Now i don’t know why i made such a difference but i can’t seem to change that small habbit of Rudra’s character, so don’t think of it as a mistake]

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Anna and Rudra entered through the back entrance of the mansion, away from the areas stained by last night’s bloodshed.

Even from this quieter side of the estate, the atmosphere remained tense. Servants hurried through the corridors carrying trays, delivering messages, and escorting guests or officers who had arrived to investigate the incident.

The entire mansion felt restless.

Samantha personally guided the two of them toward a more secluded section of the estate. Along the way, several servants glanced curiously at the newcomers. Their clothing appeared modest by the standards of the Millers household, lacking the extravagance expected from noble guests.

None of them could have imagined that the man and woman walking quietly through the halls were actually the rulers of the flourishing Solaris Empire.

Their disguises were flawless enough to deceive nearly everyone in town.

Once they entered the room, Rudra carefully helped Anna settle onto a comfortable couch before taking a seat beside her.

A few moments later, Samantha returned with a maid carrying refreshments. Water, tea, and light snacks were placed neatly before them with all the formal courtesy expected toward guests.

Soon afterward, the room emptied.

And at that time the silence settled heavily between the sisters.

Anna and Samantha stared at each other without speaking, both uncertain where to begin after years of separation and unresolved emotions.

Before the awkward tension could deepen further, the door suddenly burst open.

"Mom!!"

A young man around twenty-three years old rushed into the room before abruptly freezing in place the moment he noticed the unfamiliar guests sitting across from Samantha.

Dereck Millers’ gaze shifted toward Anne.

The moment he saw her face, all color drained from his expression.

The resemblance between the two women was so uncanny that for a second he genuinely felt as though he were looking at another version of his own mother. The same blue hair. The same facial structure. Only certain expressions and wrinkles were different.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Before he could even ask anything, Anna gave a light chuckle and said, "Hello!! I am your mom’s long-lost sister; we were separated during our birth and coincidently reunited today."

Dereck’s expression became even more stunned after hearing that.

Slowly, he turned toward Samantha as if seeking confirmation that this bizarre statement was some kind of joke.

Samantha silently nodded.

"Excuse me!!"

The words came out almost automatically before he quickly turned around and left the room. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

His mind was already racing.

The mansion had barely survived a major incident the previous night, and now strangers had suddenly appeared claiming to be long-lost relatives. Even if the resemblance was undeniable, caution was still necessary.

He clearly intended to find his father immediately and report everything. Once the door closed behind him, silence returned again.

The sisters resumed staring at one another, neither willing to break first.

Rudra finally rolled his eyes at the unbearable atmosphere and stepped forward, extending a storage ring toward Samantha.

Samantha accepted it slowly before asking, "What is this?" Her tone remained cold and guarded.

Rudra smiled calmly. "In there is a wedding gift and some other specialties for the children as a gift from their aunt and uncle."

Samantha looked down at the ring for a moment before raising her eyes again.

"You expect something in return?"

Anna finally nodded softly. "We don’t Samantha, we just need you to bless our first child," she said with a faint but hopeful smile.

Samantha gave a dry scoff.

"Why does my nephew need blessings of his cursed aunt, that too still being in the womb?"

The bitterness in her voice immediately caused Anna’s expression to falter.

"I never considered you cursed," Anna replied quietly.

Samantha laughed bitterly.

"Oh please! I spent a lonely childhood despite having a twin. Do you know how pathetic that feels and how it changes everything in you??"

Her voice gradually sharpened with years of buried resentment.

"To be given avoidant looks from your own family, to feel like a cast out—if not for Father, I would have left that place sooner."

Anna listened to this and slowly lowered her head as tears slowly gathered in her eyes. her fingers clenged the helm of her gown.

"I was told..." she tried to explain, but the words refused to come out properly.

The guilt sitting inside her heart was too heavy.

Seeing her struggle, Rudra gently pulled her against his chest before looking toward Samantha with an apologetic expression.

"When you are a child, your mind is easy to mold into thinking what elders want you to think. Anna’s mind was molded as such to avoid her own sister, and that guilt is something she has been carrying in her heart since the day she realised how she messed up."

His tone remained calm and sincere.

"I can’t restore what you have lost. I don’t even expect you to forgive Anna, but I hope you can forgive our son. He is not born yet, but I am sure when he does, we will make him the best human being we can."

Rudra paused briefly before continuing in a gentler voice.

"Samantha, our son would need an aunt who can guide him in times when parents cannot; he would need an elder brother and sister too."

As he spoke, one of his hands gently caressed Anna’s shoulder, trying to calm her.

Anna herself could no longer meet Samantha’s eyes.

From the very beginning, this confrontation had been the thing she feared most. She had prepared herself mentally during the entire journey, yet hearing Samantha finally voice all the pain she had endured shattered whatever emotional composure Anna still possessed.

She broke down completely.

Meanwhile, Samantha watched her crying sister in silence.

It was strange.

As children, Anna had rarely cried. Even when injured, she usually held herself together unless their mother was involved somehow.

Seeing her like this now stirred emotions Samantha did not want to acknowledge.

After several long moments of silence, Anna finally regained enough composure to breathe properly again while Rudra quietly comforted her.

"It’s not good for the kid if you cry during pregnancy."

Samantha’s tone had softened noticeably this time. The hostility in her eyes had lessened, replaced instead by reluctant concern.

She folded her arms before asking, "Why do you specifically need my blessing?? I don’t think your medics and nannies would have allowed you to move at this stage of pregnancy??"

Rudra answered honestly.

"A wandering hermit told us that if our child gets the blessing of his aunt while being unborn, then he would go a long way in life."

Samantha narrowed her eyes immediately.

"You took the words of a wandering hermit so seriously??"

Rudra shook his head.

"That hermit definitely had seer-like abilities; she revealed a lot to us."

Samantha still looked unconvinced.

Then Rudra casually added, "She also told us that you have blessings of someone special."

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere inside the room changed completely.

Samantha’s eyes widened.

A sudden chill spread through the air as the temperature in the room dropped sharply.

Both Rudra and Anne reacted instantly.

Rudra stood up at once and summoned a protective barrier of stellar fire around Anna without hesitation.

"Calm down."

The voice that answered to them no longer sounded entirely human.

Both of them stared in shock as Samantha’s blue pupils slowly vanished and were replaced by glowing green ones. At the same time, her voice gained an unnatural resonance, as though multiple tones were layered beneath her words.

The entire room filled with tiny green particles of light suspended motionlessly in the air.

"Who are you??" Rudra asked cautiously, his expression immediately turning vigilant.

"I am the special someone that the hermit told you about," Samantha replied.

Her entire demeanor had changed. The cold bitterness that usually defined her expression had disappeared completely, replaced instead by an oddly serene smile.

After sensing no immediate hostility, Rudra slowly lowered the barrier and released a quiet breath.

"Can we know your name?" Anna asked carefully with concern.

"No," the entity replied simply.

Anna and Rudra exchanged uneasy glances. By this point, they had already realized what they were witnessing.

Spirit possession.

And not an ordinary one.

For an entity to completely control someone in the Godhood stage, it would need to be vastly stronger than the possessed individual. Samantha herself already stood among the strongest beings within the Aris Realm.

Which meant the entity speaking through her was likely beyond the realm itself.

The green-eyed figure tilted its head slightly before speaking again through Samantha’s body.

"Tell me about this hermit."