Thus, This Is True Atonement

"Then let the Academy arrest me."

When those words came from Io's lips, the entire scene fell silent.

Even Luo Zhen turned to look at Io, his eyes flickering faintly.

"Have you decided?"

Luo Zhen neither objected nor agreed. He merely asked calmly.

A trace of gloom appeared on Io's pale, lovely face.

"This was my fault to begin with."

Io spoke slowly, as if she had not noticed her tears welling up again.

"I love Automaton Dolls. I love them very, very much."

Io did not need to explain this. Luo Zhen could see it for himself.

After all, if Io had not loved Automaton Dolls, she would never have pursued the Snow Moon Flower series with such persistence.

Perhaps part of it was because the Snow Moon Flower series had been created by Karyusai, who was also Io's idol. But the light that appeared in Io's eyes whenever she spoke of Automaton Dolls made it clear that the girl truly loved them.

She especially adored the Automaton Dolls she had made herself. Otherwise, she would not have been so happy and excited when she saw Ivan in the station plaza, nor so shocked and anxious after discovering that something was wrong with Ivan.

"You must be laughing at me, right?" Io said self-deprecatingly. "I claimed to love Automaton Dolls, yet I handed over the daughter I made with my own hands. Even though I didn't know it was His Highness's scheme, I still gave Ivan to him as a usable tool and weapon for the sake of my own goals. That's why I'm being punished now."

This must have been weighing on Io's heart for a long time, hadn't it?

After all, Io had handed Ivan over before Edmund had revealed his ambitions. She must have blamed and