Elise stared at Logan in horror. It wasn't because he'd said her name—after all, she'd been born into House Kythera, a bloodline that went back centuries, one of the oldest in Noxus.
Old, yes, but not especially famous. The one thing Noxians truly knew about House Kythera was this—
Good genes.
The men were handsome. The women were beautiful.
Elise had been renowned for her beauty since she was young. Anyone who'd ever seen her face wouldn't forget it. And though she hadn't shown her true appearance in Noxus for centuries because of what happened to her, it still wouldn't be strange for certain noble families to keep portraits of her hidden away.
So being recognized wasn't shocking.
What terrified her was that this person had spoken that name.
Even Elise herself had spent countless years, little by little, earning that woman's trust before she learned her true name.
"Y-you—"
"Enough with the stuttering, Elise." Logan lifted a brow. Seeing her shoulder twitch, he smiled. "If I'm not wrong, she's here right now, isn't she?"
Elise's face looked like she was only in her twenties—tall, slender, almost delicately built.
But in reality, she was old enough to be Logan's great-great-grandmother and then some.
Back when Logan first got into the lore—like plenty of people online who didn't know the setting well—he'd assumed Elise wasn't that old. He'd thought her transformation into a spider was something that happened in "modern" Runeterra.
But the truth was, it happened hundreds of years ago.
And for once, it was one of the rare schemes LeBlanc pulled off without shooting herself in the foot.
The last line of Elise's biography basically confirmed it: for the past several centuries, whenever Elise felt her god's call, she returned to that land shrouded in Black Mist, bringing with her a love-drunk admirer—or any easily manipulated soul—offering them up as a sacrifice.
Which meant this "sweet little old lady" was a real, living monster who'd survived for centuries.
And someone like that would never sincerely take orders from some "marquis."
A lot of marquises had already died by her hands.
So if Elise was attending a marquis's banquet as "Poli's" guard, that could only be because LeBlanc had ordered it.
Most major events on Runeterra somehow connected back to LeBlanc. Logan had read countless discussions about her, and he knew her patterns.
Her favorite tactic was playing weak—hiding herself, and the Black Rose, in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to reappear.
Just like how she "died" by Swain's hand.
Today's banquet was obviously meant to make Poli's death look "reasonable," then let the Black Rose slip back into the dark.
But all of it—
Logan saw right through it.
His gaze passed over Elise and landed on the line of masked attendants beside Poli.
And "Poli" himself had his hands over his ears, eyes shut tight, muttering under his breath like—
I didn't hear it. I didn't hear anything.
"Yeah… the magical signatures are all close enough." Logan's tone was casual, almost amused. "And honestly, if you want to hide, even Swain can't pin you down. I'm not going to be able to drag you out by force either."
The air tightened.
Mel instinctively grabbed Jayce's hand, biting her lip as she watched Logan.
"But you invited me here," Logan continued, "and you still won't show your face. Isn't that a little rude?"
Earlier, Vander had actually bothered to think for once and said something rare and sensible: bringing the Twin Cities' top leadership to Noxus for a banquet was dangerous. If Noxus decided to go all-in and burn everything down, it would be a brutal blow to the Twin Cities.
But Logan wasn't worried.
Because he could summon Ahri at any moment.
A few dozen seconds was more than enough for Ahri to reveal her true form, flip Noxus upside down, and get Logan's people out safely.
Logan had come here carrying a nuclear weapon.
Do you even understand what a walking nuke is?
So Logan raised his voice, pressuring LeBlanc to step out—his wind already rising, ready to call Janna over as well.
LeBlanc was strong, sure, but she wasn't at demigod level. Janna could handle her without much trouble.
Don't mistake the "little blue bird" for something harmless just because she looks cute.
But just as Logan was about to act, a hoarse voice rose beside Poli.
A man wearing a blank white faceless mask stepped forward.
"What a surprise… I've never even—"
His voice was rough and low at first, but as he spoke, it gradually became smoother, clearer—until it turned into a confident, beautiful woman's voice.
The result was unsettling: an unmistakably feminine voice coming out of a man's body.
"I've never dealt with you before. So how did you learn my name?"
The mask—no, LeBlanc—
She lifted a hand and removed the white mask, revealing a painfully ordinary face. The kind of face you could lose in a crowd without trying. But her eyes—
Her eyes were gold.
Bright, clever, alive with intelligence and mischief as they studied Logan.
Another voice chimed in—this one young, almost girlish. A different attendant stepped forward, removed her mask, revealing a cute freckled face. She tilted her head, golden eyes fixed on Logan.
"Did a wind spirit tell you? Or did you uncover the secret in another world?"
"Honestly, we've wanted to contact you for a long time," another voice said. "Zaun's ruler… you have abilities we need."
Poli still covered his ears, eyes shut.
But the attendants who'd been silent until now all began to move. One after another, they removed their masks and spoke in different voices.
And behind Logan, more "attendants" appeared—removing masks, tilting their necks at wrong angles, twisting their posture like puppets. Just like the ones in front, they questioned him.
"You can enter the spirit realm. You know my name… then I'm curious—do you know he exists?"
"Will you be our friend, Zaun's ruler?"
"Swain isn't as good as you think. He only cares about Noxus. I'm different. Come—stand with me, Zaun's ruler."
"Have you seen him in that world?"
"Don't be tense. We don't want to be your enemy. We saw what happened in Bilgewater."
"I apologize for Elise's earlier behavior… and for my own."
"We…"
A chaotic chorus filled the hall, as if the voices weren't echoing off walls, but ringing inside people's skulls.
Jinx swallowed hard, hiding behind Logan's back. She peeked out with wide, careful eyes.
Even Jinx was spooked by this.
The ceiling—damaged by Elise—let shadows spill in. Attendants emerged from darkness. Questions came from every direction. And those "people" moved like marionettes on invisible strings.
Katarina swallowed too.
But unlike Jinx, who clung to Logan's waist behind him, Katarina tightened her grip on her blades.
She looked around at the "crowd" and drew in a sharp breath.
She'd been arrogant—thinking she'd done her job perfectly, that the mission was clean and complete.
Now she realized she was nothing but a piece that had wandered onto the board.
LeBlanc, the one Logan had named… and Swain behind her…
They were the players.
And if Logan hadn't stepped in and exposed the truth, could Katarina really have escaped?
Maybe. Because LeBlanc clearly wanted Katarina to think she'd succeeded, to numb Swain with false certainty.
Still, Katarina looked at Logan and said, "I don't think your reasoning is fully convincing… but I do think I should thank you."
"Now what?" she asked. "How do we get through this?"
Logan hadn't expected that from her.
He looked at Katarina and smiled. "Even if I didn't lift a finger, you wouldn't have been harmed."
"Because," Logan added, eyes narrowing slightly, "you've been watching this whole time, haven't you?"
"What?" That wasn't Katarina.
That was LeBlanc.
Two or three dozen attendants spoke at once, the sound nearly deafening.
But then—
A strange, sharp caw cut through everything.
All the voices were abruptly suppressed.
Logan looked up.
A black-and-crimson, many-eyed raven had spread its wings and perched atop the chandelier. Its blood-red pupils were locked on Logan.
LeBlanc saw it and chuckled. "Looks like… this isn't a good moment for conversation."
"Zaun's ruler—hopefully this won't damage our relationship. The Black Rose is willing to become Zaun's ally. You know he exists. If he returns, it won't just affect me—this world will be dragged into it."
"The Black Rose needs your help."
"Until next time."
Black light flashed across the floor.
Golden chains rose up, forming a massive spell circle. With a final blink of darkness, all the attendants vanished—along with Elise and Poli.
Katarina lowered her head when she saw the raven.
Swain… had arrived.
"I assumed you wouldn't side with LeBlanc," the raven said, speaking in a calm, human voice as it hopped down and settled on Katarina's shoulder. "From what I know of you, you're a leader. You don't bow to anyone. But I didn't expect you to reject her so directly."
"Logan, it's like Janna!" Jinx blurted, clapping once in surprise.
Somehow, the contrast between a black raven and that little blue bird made her absurdly delighted.
"I'm not comparable to her," the raven said, shaking its head. It looked at Jinx, and its tone turned unexpectedly gentle. "Even someone like me… respects Janna."
"Now then, Logan," it continued. "Let's talk."
"Katarina will guide you. I'll be waiting in the palace."
Before Logan could reply, the raven popped—exploding into scattered feathers.
Jinx moved fast, snatching one midair and stuffing it into her pocket.
Katarina's mouth twitched. She clearly wanted Jinx to hand it over, but when she saw Logan watching her, she reconsidered and said, "Then… follow me."
At the same time, in a northern village of Noxus—
A purple-haired woman sat with one leg crossed over the other, wearing a mage's cloak. Her makeup was strange—goth-like—and runes flickered in her golden eyes. As she lifted her hand, a huge magic circle appeared in front of her.
Hummm—
The golden light faded, and Elise appeared within the circle, cautiously looking up at the woman lounging above.
"Why did you act on your own?" the woman asked, irritation faintly visible on her beautiful face.
Elise dropped to her knees immediately, prostrating herself. "Lady LeBlanc, I—I didn't know Logan would interfere. I only wanted to make the performance more believable."
"I thought… if Poli had no guard and was killed too easily, they wouldn't believe it."
"Fine," LeBlanc said coolly. "I believe you. But then why did you reveal your true form?"
LeBlanc uncrossed her legs, planted her hands on her hips, and descended the steps slowly—one step at a time.
Her heels clicked against the floor like they were tapping directly on Elise's heart, tightening her fear with every sound.
Even with Vilemaw's power—despite being protected by a god—
Elise still feared LeBlanc.
Because she knew it perfectly well:
Everything she had now… came from LeBlanc.
"I… I wanted to scare them away," Elise said.
LeBlanc fell silent.
When she spoke again, her tone was colder. "You will do what I tell you to do. There won't be a next time, Elise."
"Yes," Elise said quickly. "I was wrong."
LeBlanc waved a hand and murmured, "Return to the Immortal Bastion. Use your connections among the nobility. Find out what Logan and Swain discuss."
"Yes."
Elise withdrew from the room.
And once Elise was gone—once LeBlanc was alone—
The cold, controlled LeBlanc suddenly snapped. She flung her staff aside with a burst of anger.
Teeth clenched, anger burned in her eyes.
"It's because you disobedient idiots can't follow orders that I end up looking foolish!"
"Do I really have to teach you everything step by step? Can't you just do what you're told for once?"
She yanked at her purple hair with both hands, growling under her breath.
She was furious because the Black Rose had personally arranged this banquet and invited the Twin Cities. LeBlanc's plan had been simple: learn more about Logan, and observe Mel up close.
Because LeBlanc suspected whatever Ambessa had stolen was on Mel.
If possible, she wanted both Logan and Mel under her control.
She didn't care who held power—so long as the one holding power was controlled by her.
But what happened instead?
Swain got handed a gift for free.
And Swain himself made her even more irritated.
Swain's strength today was something she had created with her own hands.
Swain was the enemy she had raised for herself.
And in the last thousand years, he was the enemy she took most seriously.
Now, because Elise had acted on her own—because she'd revealed her true form—Logan had found LeBlanc, uncovered the fake-death plan for Poli, and walked straight into Swain's arms.
Damn it.
Elise, that idiot, had taken it upon herself again.
This wasn't because LeBlanc's plan was stupid.
It was because her subordinates couldn't behave.
Because of Elise, she'd nearly handed herself another enemy.
But LeBlanc's anger came fast—and faded fast.
If she truly let herself rage and stew over things like this, she would've died of frustration centuries ago.
Her plans always ran into variables.
And besides…
There was still good news.
Logan didn't seem to hold that much hostility toward her.
Maybe… she still had a chance.
Smoothing her hair back into place, she became herself again—wise, beautiful, sly.
She lifted her hand, pale palm up.
A delicate black rose bloomed above it.
LeBlanc whispered softly, "This isn't over, Swain. We'll see how it ends."
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