Cecilia's eyes narrowed, her expression unreadable, but she didn't interrupt.
Dr. Kai swallowed hard, barely able to keep his voice steady.
"I couldn't understand the formula my master used. It was too advanced. He didn't teach it fully. He only used it once… maybe twice… and I only saw it happen once. That was maybe… five or six years ago."
Cecilia's body suddenly tensed.
Dr. Kai noticed, but he kept talking, hoping the truth would save him.
"I tried to recreate it, okay? I couldn't copy it perfectly, but I got close enough. That's how the devil pills were born. They were my own version. Not perfect, but enough to cause slow, irreversible damage. I was desperate to prove myself. I didn't know who it would hurt. I just—"
But he froze the moment Cecilia took a sharp step closer to him.
Because at that moment right there when he said "five or six years ago," something in Cecilia's eyes changed.
It wasn't just anger now, It was pain.
Deep, burning pain.
