Chapter 478

Sebastian scoffed. "So, what exactly can you accomplish with your current skills?"

Evelyn pressed her lips together tightly.

He studied her for a long moment before speaking slowly. "Why do you think Edmund kept those things from you? It's because he knows you're no match for those people alone. What happened in Stoslo was just their opening move."

"You know about that?" Evelyn's eyes flickered with surprise. Sebastian leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. "There's nothing in this world I don't know—including your history with the Goldmanns."

A shadow crossed Evelyn's face. She suspected Edmund must have told him.

Uncle Edmund always said he withheld information for my own good, unsure if I could handle it.

The events in Stoslo months ago had made one thing painfully clear—those people had no regard for human life.

What she had stumbled into was far more sinister than it appeared.

Taking a deep breath, Evelyn set down her mug. "You've developed antibodies, haven't you? Tell me about the virus. Why does Uncle Edmund insist it's man-made?"

Sebastian didn’t bother hiding it. "You're the virus's most successful experiment. You should have never fallen ill as a child—no cancer, no disease. The results in your body are exactly what they wanted."

Her fingers trembled slightly. She stared at him, disbelief etched across her face.

He explained that when the sleeper virus first emerged, it granted the infected immunity—even fighting cancer during its one-year incubation. This discovery led to secret experiments, even after the princess incident.

The nobles lacked the courage to test it on themselves, so they turned to the slums. To them, the lives of the poor were expendable.

Later, corrupt merchants smuggled and sold what they claimed were antibody vines—but these were actually early virus prototypes.

Evelyn's voice shook. "So both outbreaks... they were just experiments?"

Sebastian didn’t deny it. "All failures. The princess's brutality backfired, making her the first victim. I met your mother during the pandemic thirty years ago—before she got infected."

"How?"

Aunt Lillian told me Mother was never exposed. How could she have contracted it?

Sebastian gazed out the window. "Your grandfather injected her with a vine. I suspect he was deceived." A chill ran down Evelyn's spine despite the warm room.

Now it all makes sense.

Why the de Armas and Goldmanns despised each other. Why the de Armas took the blame. Those puppeteers behind the scenes orchestrated everything. No wonder Grandpa looked so horrified when he learned Mother died from the virus.

Sebastian turned back, offering a faint smile. "You know everything now. What you do next is your choice."

As he rose to leave, Evelyn spoke up. "Uncle Sebastian... can you give me a new identity?"

He paused but didn’t turn. "From now on, you'll be Alice."