"So you’re saying you expected all of this to happen, Leon?" Lilia asked.

Her voice carried a mix of disbelief and curiosity, and the look on her face made it even clearer. Her brows were slightly raised, her eyes fixed on me as if she was trying to figure out whether I was serious or just messing with her. She looked genuinely surprised, like this whole situation had completely slipped past her expectations.

"Well, not really. I was just preparing, that’s all," I said.

I kept my tone casual, almost like what I did wasn’t anything special. It felt easier that way. There was no need to make it sound grand when, to me, it was just something that had to be done.

"This level of preparation isn’t even something I would come up with, and yet... I’m surprised you managed to do this, Leon. As expected, you’re far from normal."

"You’re only asking that now?"

That slipped out before I could stop it, but honestly, it wasn’t wrong. With everything I had already shown her up to this point, this was what finally made her question it?

It seemed like Lilia was still trying to catch up with everything. All the abnormal things I had done before must have started blending together in her mind, turning into something she subconsciously accepted. Compared to all that, what I just revealed probably hit differently. It stood out more to her, I guess...

"Well, anyway, I’ve already told you my entire plan," I said, looking between the three of them.

There wasn’t anything left to hide at this point. I had laid everything out clearly, piece by piece, without holding anything back. It felt almost strange, considering how much I usually kept to myself, but there wasn’t much point in hiding things now.

I was going to make use of what the Leonamon had spent years building up.

The automatons.

Machines that had been refined, improved, and perfected over time. Quiet progress, steady development, which were all leading up to something like this.

"So you’re saying we’re going to exchange all the people in the capital with automatons?" Lilia said. "I know you’ve outsmarted the enemy with your plan, Leon, but what kind of benefit does this part give you?"

Her question came out carefully, like she was trying to follow the logic step by step. She wasn’t doubting me, but she clearly wanted to understand how everything connected.

"Well, I’m going to fight Moriarty and his group there," I said. "The last thing I want is to cause unnecessary casualties. And since the presence of the automatons would make everything seem normal, I think placing them there is the best move."

I paused for a second, making sure they were following.

"I’ll also add a command into their system so that if they get angry at the Queen, their reactions will still look completely natural. Moriarty and his goons won’t even realize they’ve already walked into a trap."

The idea was simple when broken down like that. Replace the people, maintain the illusion, and let the enemy walk in without a second thought.

"Well... I think I understand your intention now. You really thought this through," Lilia said.

There was a hint of admiration in her voice now, mixed with something else. Maybe a bit of disbelief that it actually worked this cleanly.

Myrcella, on the other hand, smiled.

"As expected, you’re something else, Leon," she said, her gaze softening slightly. "Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve made it this far without you. If you weren’t here with me, I might still be lost, acting like an idiot without any real direction."

She said it so naturally that it almost sounded like a simple fact to her.

I didn’t agree with that.

Even without me, I felt like she would have found her way eventually. Myrcella wasn’t lacking in ability. Back then, she was immature, sure, and maybe a little too trusting for her own good. Naive would’ve been the easier word. Still, she had been changing. Slowly, steadily, she was growing into someone who could actually lead.

At this point, it wasn’t hard to see it.

Even I could feel that pull from her now.

"But... how are we going to do that? I mean, swapping people with automatons?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"You don’t have to worry about that," I said.

I let that sit for a moment before continuing.

"Right now, everyone in the capital is asleep. They’ll wake up two weeks later."

The reaction was immediate.

Lilia’s eyes widened, and her expression shifted from confusion to pure shock in an instant.

"W-What? What do you mean?"

"I put them to sleep," I said, keeping my tone steady. "I created Sleep Magic and used it on all of them. Honestly, it worked more easily than I expected." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Thinking back on it, it really had been smoother than planned.

"Right now, they’re all underground, where the Leonamon’s facilities are taking care of them," I continued. "My maid is using time manipulation so they won’t even feel the passage of time. We’ve already tested it too. It won’t affect them even if they’re kept like that."

I glanced at them briefly.

"In fact, they won’t even notice they were asleep for two weeks. To them, it’ll feel like they just went to sleep and woke up the next day."

"You’re such a bad guy, Leon," Myrcella said, though she was smiling.

Her tone didn’t carry any real accusation. It sounded more like she was teasing me than anything else.

"But... since no real harm is being done to them, I suppose I can allow it."

Even if the method was questionable, the result mattered more to her.

"By the way, the automatons are already in place," I added. "The only thing left now is to wait for them to make their move."

There wasn’t anything else to prepare. Everything had already been set.

All that remained was the timing.

"You really thought this all the way through... I’m honestly speechless," Lilia said.

She shook her head slightly, like she still couldn’t fully process it.

That was probably the only response she could manage at this point.

Myrcella looked at me again, her expression soft but serious.

"You’re really amazing, Leon," she said. "You... managed to avoid the future..."

I didn’t respond immediately.

Her words lingered for a moment, but I wasn’t convinced.

From what I understood, Hertrude’s visions weren’t something you could just avoid. They were fixed, like events that would happen no matter what path you took.

Trying to stop them directly felt pointless.

Working around them made more sense.

In a way, I wasn’t avoiding the future at all.

I was making sure the vision still happened, just on my terms.

It sounded a bit twisted when put like that, but it worked.

Her Clairvoyance was still something I didn’t fully understand. There were gaps and things that didn’t quite add up yet.

At some point, I would have to deal with that.

Maybe even deal with Hertrude herself.

Conquer her, take that ability, and figure it out from the inside.

That would come later.

For now, there were more immediate things to handle.

Before we even realized it, time had already moved forward.

And just like that, Judgment Day arrived.