"Sister…" Her voice was gentle, but cold to the bone. "Don't you recognize me anymore?"
Her clear eyes locked directly onto Luna.
She wanted to see—
See how this woman would react now.
That familiar voice struck Luna like a thunderbolt.
Her body stiffened instantly. Her pupils shrank violently as terror surfaced uncontrollably across her face.
"You… you…"
Her lips trembled.
"You are…?"
Zora took a slow step forward.
Each step was steady. Each movement carried unquestionable confidence.
Her voice rang clearly through the silent garden:
"I am Zora of House Phoenix, Daughter of General Helius."
Not soft.
Not hesitant.
It was firm. Absolute.
Those words exploded like thunder in everyone's ears.
The entire royal garden fell into stunned silence.
Zora.
How could they not recognize this name?
The disgraced fiancée of the Crown Prince.
The useless waste that supposedly couldn't even move properly.
The abandoned daughter of the General's House.
To countless people, that name had long been synonymous with ridicule, pity, and contempt.
Yet—
Who would dare to connect that once mocked figure with the radiant woman standing before them now?
"Impossible!" Luna screamed, her voice breaking in disbelief.
"How could you be Zora?!"
Her face was deathly pale. Fear surged wildly in her eyes as if she were staring at a ghost from the grave.
Compared to Luna's frantic collapse, Zora remained composed.
Her posture was elegant.
Her expression was calm.
Even her breathing remained steady.
She watched Luna quietly, then smiled faintly.
"We lived under the same roof for more than ten years," she said slowly. "Even after you poisoned me… I never forgot your face."
Her words were light. Too light.
Yet every single word struck like a blade.
"Now that I'm standing right in front of you," she continued, her tone gentle yet piercing, "you still can't recognize me…"
She sighed softly.
"That truly makes me feel… disappointed."
The entire garden fell into complete shock.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Every person present was frozen by the truth she had just revealed.
"Zora?… is actually the second miss of the General's House?"
"That means the Origin Medical Hall belongs to—"
"My heavens… this changes everything!"
Someone finally whispered in disbelief.
Then another voice followed:
"Did she just say that Luna poisoned her?"
The truth spread like wildfire.
A storm erupted silently among the crowd.
"If Luna could even poison her own sister…"
"And steal her sister's fiancé…"
"Then is there anything she wouldn't dare to do?!"
At that moment, countless gazes turned toward Luna...
General Helius, Jasmine, and Luna… all three of them stared at the dazzling woman standing in the center of the royal garden. Her face was breathtaking, her demeanor noble and calm, her entire being shining with a brilliance that made it impossible to look away.
Yet—
Beneath that unfamiliar radiance, they all felt the same chilling sense of familiarity.
Even though their hearts resisted admitting it, even though their minds struggled against the truth, they could no longer deny it.
That woman…
It was indeed Zora.
Her voice was the same.
Her facial outline was the same.
Only her temperament had completely changed—
From dull and timid…
To cold, confident, and overwhelming.
Meanwhile, Luna's face turned deathly pale.
Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, her eyes filled with terror and disbelief. She could no longer accept the truth before her.
So she hadn't been wrong.
So it really was her.
If the woman standing there was truly Zora, then everything she had done in the past—every dirty scheme, every cruel act—was already known.
That meant…
It was Zora who exposed her.
It was Zora who destroyed her reputation.
It was Zora who ruined her future.
And it was also Zora who had taken Philip back— Right in front of her.
Other than Zora herself, who else could possibly know everything so clearly?
Philip was just as stunned.
He stood rigidly where he was, staring at that figure in disbelief. Earlier, he had even comforted himself— insisting that the Zora? Doctor and the former Zora were two completely different people.
Yet now, reality slapped him brutally across the face.
They were the same person.
One and the same.
"How could this happen…" Philip muttered inwardly.
He had seen Zora countless times in the past. She had always been plain, thin, timid, and dull. So forgettable that he had never once truly placed her in his eyes.
Yet—
The woman standing before him now was radiant, elegant, and breathtaking.
How could she possibly be that same person?
It was simply impossible for someone to transform so completely in such a short time.
Unless—
Unless she had always been pretending.
That thought made Philip's expression instantly twist into something ugly.
If Zora had truly been hiding all along, then there could only be one explanation—
She never wanted to marry him.
All those years of foolish devotion.
All those years of quiet tolerance.
She had never loved him.
Not even once.
And what hurt him most was this—
The woman he later confessed to with shameless certainty was the very same woman who despised him the deepest.
The humiliation burned into his bones.
At the head of the garden, Emperor Alexander and the Empress also exchanged a glance with each other. Both saw the shock and doubt in the other's eyes.
This dazzling woman before them…
Was she truly the ruined former Crown Princess-to-be?
"How can this be?" The Emperor's voice was deep and heavy. "General Helius, wasn't your daughter blind before? Is this not the reason the marriage was annulled? How does she appear like this today?"
That question landed like a hammer.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across General Helius's forehead.
He quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Reporting to Your Majesty," he replied with a strained voice, "Zora was indeed blind in the past. But… later, by some unknown fortune, her eyes were healed."
This was the only explanation he could force out.
In truth, even he himself had no idea what had truly happened.
"Healed?" Emperor Alexander frowned deeply. "Then why was this never reported to the court?"
"This…" General Helius's voice faltered.
The sweat at his temples slid down visibly. If he answered incorrectly, this would become a serious crime of concealing royal matters.
Just as he struggled to respond, a cold, mocking voice cut in from the side.
"General," Minister Henry narrowed his eyes slightly, "Origin Medical Hall has already been open for more than a month. If Zora is its master, how can you claim to have only learned of this today?"
The implication was obvious.
General Helius nearly ground his teeth in hatred.
In his heart, he had already cursed Henry's ancestors eighteen generations over.
Forcing a smile, he answered stiffly, "My household matters are not always reported in detail."
The Emperor stared at him for a long moment.
Although displeased, he did not continue pressing the issue. He had always known of General Helius's attitude toward his daughter.
"This matter will be discussed later," The Emperor said coldly.
But everyone present understood—
Tonight, nothing would be peaceful again.
General Helius could only nod repeatedly, yet his heart was in total chaos.
He was desperately thinking about how he should explain everything to the emperor later—The most terrifying part was that he truly didn't know what was going on himself.
Tonight was already spiraling beyond his control.