To draw LeBlanc out, Logan was a crucial link in the plan—because to LeBlanc, Mordekaiser was a blade hanging over her head. Think about it: everything she's done for the last thousand years has been, in one way or another, preparation for Mordekaiser's return.
Even though, in a sense, the fact Mordekaiser has the power he has today is partly LeBlanc's fault.
And the things LeBlanc has done—her greatest hits include, but are not limited to—
Tried to get her hands on Ascended power… and ended up unleashing Renekton and Xerath.
Plotted to bring down Swain… and instead Swain gained demonic power, turning into a formidable enemy she created with her own hands.
After seeing how terrifying Swain's demonic power was, she got greedy and wanted demonic power too—so she summoned a demon, failed to control it, and the demon ended up inside Annie's teddy bear and ran off with Annie.
Tried (and failed) to frame loyal Riven, only to turn Riven into a farm girl. Not a single soldier she sent out came back, and she even exposed herself enough for Swain to catch her trail.
Tried to exploit Rell's powerful magic… and ended up with her facility destroyed, Rell escaping, and Rell turning against the Black Rose.
Honestly, your girl is definitely not an idiot… but it also feels impossible for her not to be one.
If Logan had to describe how the writers did LeBlanc dirty, he could sum it up in one sentence—
Lux: one burst of sweet, naive kindness and you become an apocalyptic witch.
LeBlanc: a thousand years of hard work and careful schemes, and it's still a joke.
In front of Lux, "hardworking LeBlanc" looks like a fresh recruit.
LeBlanc can rack her brain trying to do evil, and it still doesn't match one random flare of kindness from Lux!
Noxus, straighten up!
So even though LeBlanc is a powerful mage, the moment Logan thought about everything she'd done, he simply couldn't view her as some "mastermind" or "final boss."
Look at someone else who hides in the shadows: Lissandra. She plots and moves pieces, and over thousands of years she's only surfaced a handful of times—yet the Freljord has always remained within her control. Even when the other two reincarnations of the Three Sisters appeared, Lissandra's position never truly wavered.
But LeBlanc?
What kind of "mastermind" is she, really?
"What are you laughing at?" Swain asked when he saw Logan suddenly grin, dabbing at the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
Logan came back to himself, looked at Swain, and said, "I was just thinking about all the things LeBlanc has done over the years."
Swain froze for a moment—then he started laughing too.
"?"
"What are you two laughing about?" Jinx asked curiously.
Mel was also confused. For her, she already knew what the name "LeBlanc" meant—an organization her mother feared, and the powerful leader who had driven her mother out of Noxus.
And yet Logan and Commander Swain were laughing at that name.
Why?
"LeBlanc is strong, but… sometimes she really does seem a little not-so-bright," Logan said after thinking it over.
Swain smiled and shook his head. "No, Logan. It's the opposite. She's smart—extremely smart. She's so smart that she overestimates herself. She believes she can command everything from behind the curtain and win wars from a thousand miles away. And her greatest flaw is that she refuses to get her hands dirty."
Swain hit the nail on the head.
Logan nodded, agreeing.
Like he'd said before, Logan didn't truly believe LeBlanc was an idiot. If she were, she never would've broken free of Mordekaiser's control in the first place. Yes, Mordekaiser becoming lord of the death realm caused LeBlanc endless trouble—but it also cost Mordekaiser his grip on Noxus. No matter how you slice it, Mordekaiser was sealed into the death realm by LeBlanc.
Put simply: LeBlanc has real ability. She's a grand mage who's lived for over a thousand years.
Her biggest problem is arrogance. She thinks she's the smartest person alive and everyone else is a fool. She acts like her words should become reality—that if she knows something and orders her people to do it, it will automatically succeed.
But that's not how the world works. A lot of things don't get done just because the boss "knows" and tosses the job to subordinates.
LeBlanc is diligent when it comes to ideas, but lazy when it comes to execution.
She thinks, but she doesn't go.
That's her biggest problem.
If she personally followed through on every plan, would people mock her as a fool?
Take the Ascended power incident. If she hadn't handed it to Cassiopeia and instead went to Shurima herself, would she not have known about the seals?
And Annie's case—if LeBlanc had been nearby when she summoned that demon, would the demon really have ended up inside Annie's doll?
Every plan looks great on paper. Every plan still fails.
"Tell me about your plan," Swain said, looking at Logan.
Logan organized his thoughts, then smiled and explained it to Swain.
The next day at noon, Jayce, Mel, Silco, and the others packed up and prepared to leave the Immortal Bastion, taking a Hextech airship back to Piltover.
Logan and Jinx stayed behind.
To fish LeBlanc out, Logan was the bait. Of course he wasn't leaving Noxus. And if Logan wasn't leaving, then Jinx wasn't leaving either—she was sticking to him like glue.
After all, she was still planning to go to the Freljord with him.
"Your plan with Commander Swain… can it really succeed?" Mel asked anxiously before they parted.
She couldn't shake the feeling that it was unreliable.
Mel genuinely couldn't understand—could what Logan described even be called a "plan"?
On the surface, they would pretend Logan and Swain hadn't reached an agreement—Swain refused Logan's terms—so Logan stayed in Noxus looking for another chance to talk, while Swain refused to see him… and that would lure LeBlanc out.
If not for what happened at the banquet, Mel would've thought the idea was workable.
But at the banquet, hadn't Logan basically torn the mask off and nearly gone to war with LeBlanc?
It was practically written on his face: I want to join Swain.
In that situation, if he suddenly acted like he and Swain had fallen out, would LeBlanc believe it?
Logan only smiled at Mel's worry.
"It's fine. Even if it fails, it doesn't matter," Logan leaned closer and whispered. "As long as I'm still in Noxus, she'll find a way to approach me."
Mel nodded, then smiled. "Alright. Then we'll head back first."
"Mm."
"Silco—remember to handle that matter," Logan added, turning to him.
Silco nodded lightly. "I'll find a time to make contact with the Demacians."
After they left, Logan took Jinx back inside the Immortal Bastion.
He brought her to their place—far from Swain's castle—and after saying a few things to her, Logan called Janna.
"Need something?" The little blue bird appeared mid-yawn, looking at Logan with a tilted head and puzzled eyes.
"Protect Jinx for me," Logan told Janna. "I need to go out and handle something."
Janna didn't ask why. She simply hummed agreement, nodded, and flew onto Jinx's head.
Jinx wasn't happy—she wanted to go out with Logan—but Logan said it was business, and bringing her would make it harder. So she could only stay behind.
"Go on," Janna said confidently. "I'll keep Jinx safe."
After the fight with Nagakabouros, Janna seemed like she'd… pushed past her fear a little.
Which wasn't strange. Back at her peak, Janna had run into Shurima at its strongest—got personally criticized by Azir, had a sacred idol smashed, and was labeled a false god. It wasn't surprising that the little blue bird had been scared out of her wits.
I mean—Shurima at that time… who on Runeterra could beat that?
Even the three Freljordian gods couldn't.
Shurima's peak was under Azir. In that era, there were countless Ascended. If Azir had wanted to—and if Xerath hadn't stabbed him in the back—Runeterra might as well have been renamed the Shuriman Continent.
And remember: even Shurima in Setaka's era—the Ascended Empress—could resist a Void invasion. The Icathian catastrophe wasn't like whatever lay buried under the Freljord. That was the true Void surging into Runeterra in force, and Setaka led the Ascended into slaughter, successfully driving it back.
And Shurima under Azir was even stronger than Setaka's Shurima—that was official canon content.
So of course Janna believed she was weak.
But after trading blows with Nagakabouros, Janna realized she was pretty strong too!
Now the little blue bird's confidence was soaring. Protecting Jinx in Noxus? No problem!
Seeing Jinx and Janna chatting on the bed, Logan smiled, turned, and left the room—heading into the streets alone.
—
At the same time, Swain also received news.
"Why did he stay behind?" Draven asked, curious as he came to see Swain.
Two foreigners staying in the Immortal Bastion at a time like this—of course Draven would be curious.
Swain only glanced at him and said nothing.
Draven didn't find that strange. Instead, he sniffed the air.
"What's that smell? Meat?" he asked in surprise. "You ate in here?"
He looked baffled. "You never eat in your study."
Strange. Even though they were close friends, Swain had plenty of little rules—sometimes so old-fashioned he felt like a fossil, which didn't exactly suit Draven, who practically lived in taverns and arenas.
But just as Swain never criticized Draven's habits, Draven didn't mock Swain's rules either.
On the contrary, he respected them—and that was part of why their relationship stayed so strong.
Draven wasn't anything like his appearance suggested. In truth, he had an extremely delicate, attentive heart.
After hearing Draven, Swain lowered his head. When he raised it again, he was smiling.
"It's cold today," Swain said. "Want some Zaun-style chili pot?"
"?"
"What's that?"
"A Zaun specialty," Swain replied. "Come on. Help me clear the desk. I'll have them bring ingredients."
Swain said it calmly.
—
In a house on the outskirts of the Immortal Bastion, Elise carefully knocked on a door.
After hearing "Come in," Elise pushed it open.
"My lady." Elise stepped inside, dropped to one knee, and spoke with respect.
"Well?" A purple-haired little girl sat above, wearing a princess dress and black little princess shoes. Her face was unbelievably cute—but her eyes carried a wisdom far beyond her apparent age.
Elise looked up and saw… LeBlanc in that form.
She wasn't surprised.
Over the centuries, Elise had seen countless faces worn by LeBlanc—old, young, male, female, even non-human.
If LeBlanc wished it, she could become anyone. So becoming a little girl was nothing special.
Perhaps this form made it convenient for her to move through the city.
Elise pushed her stray thoughts aside and reported in a low voice, "Mel, Jayce, Silco, and that short-haired female bodyguard have all left Noxus. Logan and his wife stayed behind."
"That's not what I want to know." LeBlanc frowned, her round, bun-like cheeks showing clear displeasure.
She crossed her legs, propped one small arm against the princess chair, and rested her palm against her soft cheek as she spoke, "I want to know what he and Swain talked about."
Elise hurried, "Yesterday, he was brought into the castle by Katarina Du Couteau and met Swain. But three hours later, they were driven out of the Immortal Bastion. Swain also issued an order banning people from the Twin Cities from entering the castle going forward."
"And?" LeBlanc pressed.
Elise continued, "From what I learned by questioning attendants: Logan wanted the rune steel crafting process and demanded Swain hand it over. Swain wanted to trade for Hextech. Logan refused, and then they argued." Elise hesitated, then added, "My lady… I think Logan stayed in Noxus because he wants the rune steel process."
"Hextech is closely tied to runes," Elise said.
LeBlanc nodded.
Then Elise, staring at LeBlanc's adorable face, briefly went distant—before she spoke again. "My lady, I think this is a plot."
"Heh." LeBlanc's cute face twisted into a mocking smile. "Do I need you to tell me that?"
She stood up, hopped down from the princess chair, and planted one hand on her hip as she looked down at Elise. Her voice sank with cold certainty.
"Swain has always wanted to drag me into the open. Logan doesn't truly understand what exists between me and Swain. He might know something, but he's too young. Youth is his greatest flaw. What could someone that young really know?
"One moment he challenges me in front of Swain… and the next he 'falls out' with Swain and stays in Noxus alone?
"They're doing this for one reason: they want me to go to him voluntarily. He knows I need him for certain matters. But I also know that he knows I need him."
LeBlanc's smile widened. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, lifted her chin, and laughed aloud.
"But aren't he and Swain underestimating me?"
"Even you can tell something is off," LeBlanc said sweetly. "So how could I not see it?"
Elise felt a flash of resentment deep inside, but she took a breath and nodded. "My lady is wise!"
"Hehehe…" LeBlanc laughed.
"I laugh at Swain's arrogance and Logan's stupidity! Their 'plan' is nothing more than telling me they want to find me."
LeBlanc's eyes sharpened. "I really can't abandon Logan—but why would I only be able to speak to Logan about this?"
"They want me to play along?"
"I won't."
"I refuse to do what they want!"
LeBlanc waved a hand, confidence brimming.
"Jinx was left in the city. That's Logan's greatest weakness! Love really does make people stupid—he left Jinx close at hand instead of sending her back to Zaun. Zaun has a god's protection, so I can't take away the people who matter most to him there… but this is my territory. Mine!"
LeBlanc bared her teeth. "Swain thinks he completely controls this nation. He thinks I fled the Immortal Bastion because of him."
Her voice turned sharp with venomous certainty.
"But how would they know… I'm everywhere."
Elise understood immediately and said, "I'll go right—"
"No." LeBlanc cut her off. "You won't."
Her smile turned sly and dangerous.
"This time, I'll do it myself."
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