Nathalie had become compromised.
It should have been apparent to her the moment she had warned Marinette to not let Gabriel take advantage of her negative feelings. Unfortunately though the trademark Agreste Obliviousness must be a contagious disease because she remained woefully ignorant of this for many months.
There was a lull that lasted for a few weeks where nothing significant happened in the aftermath of Nathalie's warning. Gabriel Akumatised a random person, Ladybug and Chat Noir battled the Akuma, Ladybug usually won, and Gabriel pouted about it for a couple days before he tried once more. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, until the ice cream incident.
That was when Nathalie really should have realised she was compromised.
In the before Marinette period of her life Nathalie would have let Adrien slope back into his bedroom after dinner and not given it a second thought.
This evening, however, Nathalie knew that Adrien had plans with Marinette.
Because Marinette had asked Nathalie to book it if Adrien said yes.
Because Marinette excitedly babbled about it for two whole weeks straight until Nathalie's head pounded from a excruciating headache.
So when Adrien's phone beeped during dinner Nathalie was horrified to realise that he was running late for the all so important ice cream date. "Is that Marinette?" she asked calmly as possible. "She must be worried that you're late."
"Nino," Adrien mumbled, "and I'm thinking of not going."
"Why not?" Nathalie asked sharply.
"I, erm, not in the mood," Adrien said shiftily, his cheeks flushed pink and he looked anywhere and everywhere but at Nathalie, "besides I really shouldn't have ice cream."
"Nonsense," Nathalie said coolly, "I had arranged your meals so you could have an ice cream as your monthly sweet treat. That was one of the reasons why your friends had asked you in advance along with making sure it didn't clash with one of your other commitments. It is incredibly rude, Adrien," Nathalie shot a disapproving glower over her glasses, "to cancel a commitment just because you are, and I quote, not in the mood. An Agreste is not rude or inconsiderate nor does a Agreste fail to meet their commitments and back away from their promises out of such selfish reasons."
Adrien looked astonished at being lectured though Nathalie didn't know why since this wasn't the first lecture on how an Agreste should behave that Nathalie had to impart on Gabriel's behalf (he had left various cue cards and everything since he was too busy with an investor to do it himself).
"But-"
"No buts!" Nathalie snapped. "A promise is a promise, and you are not backing down from a commitment just because you're not in the mood!"
"I made a promise to-"
"You made a promise to Marinette and Nino," Nathalie interrupted coldly, "before you made any other promises and you should honour that."
Adrien slumped in defeat. "Yes, Nathalie," he said in the same dejected tone he used whenever he lost a fight with Gabriel or Gabriel had disappointed him deeply by not being there.
Unlike the many times before though this had no effect whatsoever on Nathalie as she stood firmly on the matter. "Text your friends and tell them you're on your way," she said calmly, "and try to cheer up Adrien, you're having ice cream with your friends not a filling at the dentists."
Nathalie only felt a twang of guilt when Adrien forced a smile on his face and left the house in a sulky manner. It went away completely when Marinette sent a selfie with a far more radiant, grinning, Adrien as they held up their multi-coloured ice cream cones in the air though. And then Nathalie didn't even bat an eyelash when Gabriel stormed out of his secret lair grumbling because no one was in a bad enough mood to be Akumatised.
She really should have known at this point she was compromised.
After all never before did she not care that Gabriel wasn't one step closer to getting the Miraculous or put somebody else's happiness above Adrien's.
Yet she ignored this as she reasoned that ice cream with his friends made Adrien happier than he thought it would and that there will be someone else tomorrow morning that Gabriel could Akumatise.
She brushed the incident under the rug without a moment's hesitation and carried on to do her assistant duties, keep the Agreste household running smoothly, and soothe Gabriel's feelings after another defeat.
Another incident popped up not long after when Adrien ran away.
It didn't help that social media was suddenly blowing up about Adrien having a girlfriend which immediately caused a worrying vein to throb in Gabriel's forehead that alarmingly looked like a potential aneurysm before Nathalie sent him away to try and Akumatise someone new to distract him. She didn't need him to freak out like the overprotective parent he is and terrify all the girls in Paris because the press were exaggerating things once again.
(The girl in Adrien's arms looked exactly like a certain Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Nathalie had no doubt if they were really dating Marinette would have informed Nathalie long ago. Or Nathalie would have heard because Marinette would have definitely sung it from the rooftops.)
Nathalie calmly made a few calls and released some statements to defuse the situation while also sweetly making threats of litigation and restraining orders if Adrien was followed in such an aggressive manner again. By the time she finished there was a text from Marinette waiting for her on her phone.
I have Adrien with me in case you're worried. We're at the old cinema that only shows independent movies right now. The film we're seeing has Adrien's Mum in it, I think he's a bit sad because his Dad didn't want to go...? You should probably talk to Mr Agreste about it.
Nathalie sighed heavily.
She remembered the argument. Adrien had begged and pleaded but could never finish a sentence as Gabriel coldly shut him down each and every time. She would definitely need to have a word with Gabriel to prevent a grounding and therefore further resentment in the already precarious father/son relationship.
Her job was never done.
Why must the Agreste men make it so hard for her to ensure their happiness?
Gabriel came out of the Akuma battle with another failure. However instead of being righteously furious and throwing a tantrum or two like always, Gabriel had come out of his secret lair oddly subdued and anxious.
"Sir," Nathalie said cautiously, "I think you should see this."
Gabriel took her phone and read the text from Marinette, and then read it again, and again, until he sighed and slumped against the desk. His usual prim, self-righteous, calm confidence was all gone and left a mere husk of a person behind. "I was a terrible father today," he said miserably, "today should have been about Adrien and instead I made it about myself and my mission. Do you know he never even got to finish watching the film?" Gabriel let out a bitter laugh. "I guided the Akuma to follow him and it interrupted barely five minutes in."
"I think, Sir," Nathalie said soothingly, "that Adrien would benefit from watching the film with his father at home where he could ask any question he likes about his mother."
Gabriel's lips twitched weakly. "I do believe that was what he wanted in the first place," he murmured sadly, "and I couldn't give him the time he so desperately wanted."
"No time like the present, Sir," Nathalie reminded him.
"Indeed," Gabriel's lips twitched into a stronger though fleeting smile, "ensure Adrien gets home swiftly and safely, Nathalie," he commanded, "I'll go and find Emilie's film."
Later, when Gabriel and Adrien were so absorbed with the film that they didn't notice Nathalie had slipped in behind them, Nathalie will take a picture of Gabriel's arm slung over Adrien's shoulders in a rare moment of affection as Adrien rested his own head on his father's shoulders, and immediately send it to Marinette.
All sorted, she added next to the picture.
Before Marinette, Nathalie would have never thought of betraying the Agreste privacy and trust with such ease.
After the cinema incident were months of quietness as Nathalie juggled arranging the logistics Gabriel's biggest fashion show of the year and providing support as Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated Gabriel's Akumas one after another. Their powers were growing and there were new members that appeared and disappeared much to Gabriel's never-ending frustration.
There was a brief incident in which poor Marinette and her many, many, many photos of Adrien was on the news but it had blown over very quickly thanks to someone being Akumatised within five seconds of that. Nathalie had listened Marinette pour her heart out about the humiliation it caused while handing out advise that maybe she should tone down the posters seeing as she saw Adrien every day at school. Afterwards Nathalie sent a stern email to Jagged Stone's PA suggesting that someone should have words about how inappropriate it is for a grown man to go into a teenage girl's room the way he did, and then felt the matter was resolved.
She hadn't given a single thought to whether or not that Adrien would be uncomfortable about the planet sized crush his 'just a friend' had on him.
(Though Nathalie is eighty five per cent certain she didn't need to be worried about Adrien's discomfort as the boy strutted round like a peacock for days after the incident.)
And then Audrey Bourgeois returned to Paris.
Urgh.
Audrey.
Nathalie had never liked the woman.
She was the most self-centred, self-absorbed, selfish person that Nathalie had ever met. A woman who had no hesitation in cutting a person down to size just because she could. She used to walk all over Emilie and make Gabriel stiffen into a cardboard cut out from discomfort with her nauseating attitude. Audrey Bourgeois was a wife that abandoned her husband and a mother that neglected her only child to the point that little girl became the biggest brat in Paris in a desperate hope to get her mother's attention. And she had the high-pitched voice of a banshee to boot!
Nathalie loathed Audrey Bourgeois.
"I'm counting on you, Nathalie, to stir the pot so to speak," Gabriel smirked. Undoubtedly Nathalie's hatred and distaste for Audrey Bourgeois was clear as daylight on her face when Gabriel announced the news. "We have potential here for one or two very powerful and creative Akumas. Ones that might actually grant us the victory we desire."
"Sir?" Nathalie tilted her head curiously.
"This fashion show, as you know, is an important event which is stressful and emotions are running high," Gabriel explained, his tone was perhaps a tad condescending but Nathalie brushed it off with a slight eye roll, "especially since we have a new, upcoming, rising star in Miss Dupain-Cheng."
A strange, difficult, heavy weight suddenly pressed itself in Nathalie's throat as she found herself incapable of swallowing let alone speak.
Marinette?
He wanted to use Marinette?
"Either the cutting viscousness of Audrey Bourgeois will push the young, driven, creative Miss Dupain-Cheng into such a negative storm or," Gabriel's lips twitched in amusement, "Audrey Bourgeois is so insulted by her poor treatment that she will be easily persuaded to be my champion. Either one will be effective and as I must remain here to send out the Akuma I am relying on you to stir the pot for my Akuma."
She got to choose?
Well that was easy then.
Audrey Bourgeois could be the Akuma.
To say she deserved some poor treatment was an understatement and there was no way, in a million years, was Nathalie going to let a young, vulnerable, hopeful designer who has done nothing but help support Adrien get Akumatised because Gabriel was simply curious.
"As you wish, Sir" Nathalie said calmly, "is there anything else, Sir?"
"That is all," Gabriel said dismissively, "I'm trusting you Nathalie."
"You won't be disappointed," Nathalie assured him.
Though truthfully he wouldn't be any more disappointed than he has been these last couple of years as once again the Akuma was defeated by Ladybug.
And even more truthfully, he should be devastated because Nathalie hadn't acted like she was supposed to.
Oh!
She provoked Audrey Bourgeois all right!
She had somehow managed to maintain the perfect blank mask as she coldly told Audrey she was only second seat material while simultaneously defending Marinette from having her day and her moment of fame rained on by this twisted, nasty, piece of work.
Audrey was so offended that she turned into one of Gabriel's fiercest and powerful Akumas yet.
But when Audrey had started to turn people into gold it was Marinette that Nathalie had instinctively pushed out of the way. It was Marinette that Nathalie watched with worried eyes as she made sure the young girl had escaped the room. It was Marinette that Nathalie scanned the building for when the Akuma attack was over, heart in her throat and a steady pool of icy dread building up in her stomach.
Marinette.
Not Adrien.
Adrien got turned into gold which broke Gabriel's heart a little as the man actually came out in public to give Adrien a hug for the first time in months. And Nathalie could try and reassure herself that it all worked out for the best, that the Agrestes were finally getting back to that closeness they had before Emilie got hurt, and Gabriel got the best publicity he's had in years...
But none of it changed the fact that Nathalie's instinct had been to protect Marinette first and not Adrien.
She was still in denial about it though.
She clung to that denial as she buried her head into the sand that was work and Gabriel Agreste.
She felt for sure that allowing Gabriel to Akumatise her for Heroes Day and sacrificing a piece of her health and well-being by using the Peacock Miraculous to protect Gabriel for being unmasked by Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their newly recruited band of merry men, would have squashed out the rebellion out of her. That she was clearly still aligned to the Agreste agenda of rescuing Emilie and that the Agreste family came first in her heart.
But, oh how she had worried!
Anxiety had gnawed in her stomach throughout the whole day as she dreaded the thought of Marinette being caught up in the chaos and despair she and Gabriel inflicted on Paris.
It gnawed and gnawed until she finally got through to Marinette on her phone late that evening. "Oh no!" Marinette cried out reassuringly. "I wasn't caught up in it at all Nathalie, actually," her voice dropped low as if she was about to confess something shameful, "I spent the whole day hiding."
"Good," Nathalie said briskly (though inwardly she all but collapsed with relief), "that's the intelligent thing to do. Remember to keep your negative emotions in check, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I have no wish to see my ally running about as an Akuma."
"I won't," Marinette promised sweetly.
Nathalie had believed her and for an all too brief moment she thought Marinette was safe from all of this insanity and magic that made up Nathalie's life now.
Then Lila came back.
Lila Rossi, Nathalie had decided, was the second most despicable person in Paris right after Audrey Bourgeois.
Nathalie knew this because she had spent all year – in between her assistant duties, her attempts to keep the Agreste household together, the time spent dispensing support, comfort, and advice to Gabriel, protecting Marinette while working with her in order to mentor the next generation of Agreste support staff (has Nathalie mentioned she hadn't had a day off in years?) - observing the little sociopathic brat and she knew more about her than she was comfortable knowing.
The girl lied as easy as she breathed.
But she wasn't clever about it and she couldn't accept that it was her fault when people didn't respond well to finding out they have been lied to. She was the bitterest, nastiest, piece of work Nathalie had ever come across and she couldn't understand why because she had loving parents and the potential to make good friends.
Instead she decided to violently make the world pay for no other reason than because she wanted to.
She was a dangerous Akuma.
And Gabriel had turned her twice already.
Nathalie had an uncomfortable itchy gut feeling that said if he kept Akumatising Lila Rossi he would live to regret it.
She hadn't found a way to put it in words without sounding disloyal.
And then she found out that Gabriel had Akumatised Lila Rossi again. Third time had not been the charm but warning bells alarmed in Nathalie's head as she couldn't see a fourth time or a fifth, or any more being much better.
"Do you think, Sir," Nathalie said cautiously, "That Akumatising Lila Rossi was a wise idea?"
She held her breath as Gabriel frowned at her.
"Probably not," Gabriel admitted quietly much to Nathalie's relief, "but my original target had managed to dodge and avoid my Akuma and Miss Rossi was the one who took the power and tried to be my champion."
Though judging by his pinched expression he had not been pleased at all with Miss Rossi's efforts and Nathalie clung to hope that it meant he wouldn't be Akumatising that child anytime soon.
"Someone managed to evade the Akuma?" Nathalie asked disbelievingly. "That has never happened before."
"It has actually," Gabriel said stiffly, "once before and by the same person."
"Who?!"
"Our little rising star, of course," Gabriel said, his blue eyes blazed with respect and admiration, "Miss Dupain-Cheng. I must say, judging by her determination and skill set in avoiding the Akuma, she would be a champion above all champions. She would have Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous within seconds."
Ice filled Nathalie's veins as her stomach twisted tightly at the very thought.
She could see it now.
Gabriel would hunt Marinette in order to Akumatise her.
He would seek her every negative emotion, he would manipulate every situation he could get his fingers on, and he would break Marinette in order to get what he wanted.
He would hurt the person who had done nothing but make his life and – more importantly – his son's life better since she graced it with her sweet smiles, acts of kindness, and nice, gentle words.
Nathalie couldn't let this happen!
The words flew out before she could even think about it.
"Sir, I beg of you!" she blurted out in a rush. "Don't Akumatise the girl!"
"Oh?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
"I have never asked you anything before," Nathalie reminded him desperately, "ever and I won't ever again after."
"I know you wouldn't," Gabriel said blandly, "which is why it is so unusual that you are. Is there a reason you are suddenly against Akumatisation, Nathalie? You were willing to be Akumatised yourself once."
"And I am willing to do so again," Nathalie reassured him hastily, "but she isn't willing and it isn't fair to force her into it. She wouldn't be a good champion if it is against her will."
"True," Gabriel murmured, "but why is it so important to you Nathalie? How I recruited my champions has never bothered you before."
"I have...grown fond of the girl," Nathalie confessed, "she has been a good friend to Adrien. I can see her becoming what I am to you, to your son, but if you were to Akumatise her against her will then you can jeopardise that and place Adrien in grave danger."
It was a risky move bringing up Adrien but if Marinette was Nathalie's weakness then there was no doubt that Adrien was Gabriel's.
"You make a valid point," Gabriel said, "and you have been a loyal and true friend to me and my own these many years, Nathalie. It would be ungrateful for me to not grant you this one request, the girl truly means that much to you?"
"She mean no more to me than you and your happiness," Nathalie said carefully, "and I would really appreciate to keep her out of this. If you are in such desperate need of another Akuma I will always be your willing champion."
Gabriel smiled at this.
It wasn't quite his true smile. It lack a warmth as it always did after what happened Emilie but it was the closest thing to a true smile that Nathalie had seen in a long time, and it made her treacherous heart skip a beat.
"Then I won't Akumatise the girl," he promised, "and now that is resolved, could you check on Adrien? He had an...unfortunate encounter with Miss Rossi when she was Akumatised."
"Yes, Sir," Nathalie replied stiffly.
The matter had been resolved.
Marinette was safe, and yet...
...And yet...
….And yet, Nathalie couldn't shake off the ill feeling that she had been lied to.
She suspected that Gabriel will still target Marinette if the opportunity ever came his way again.
It was in that very moment she realised for the first time in their long friendship that she no longer believed in Gabriel's word, her trust in him was no longer absolute, and she no longer only held the Agreste family in her heart.
Marinette had become just, if not more so, important to her as the Agreste family.
It was then when it finally, after nearly a year, occurred to Nathalie what had actually happened since the day she met with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and had been charmed into taking her on as an ally in securing the Agreste family happiness.
Nathalie had become compromised.