When Adrien arrived home, he quickly walked up to his room. He wanted to run but didn't want Nathalie to think something was up. He reached his room and closed the door, unloading the contents of his bag on his bed as fast as he could. As soon as the envelope touched the bed, he grabbed it and tore it open, retrieving a small typewritten message and a USB stick.

I am sorry you had to find out like this - the note said. His heart started pounding. It was not signed. What could it be? he thought.

Without wasting any second, he went to insert the USB drive into his computer. Only one file was inside: a video file. Adrien quickly connected his headphones and double-clicked on the video, which started playing.

"I'm not his mother." He was surprised to hear a familiar voice. After a fraction of a second, he recognized the voice was Nathalie's.

The video showed the feet of two people, who he assumed were Nathalie and Ladybug. They were talking to each other, and it looked like they did not know they were being recorded.

"You're the closest thing to a mother he's got." Ladybug said, "That's why Gabriel Agreste sacrificed himself, it's what finally made him a good father to Adrien and that's what Adrien should remember." Although no surprises there, Adrien's heart was pounding in his chest.

"Don't you want to tell Adrien that his father was Monarch?" Natalie said. And, with this sentence, his heart stopped.

What did Nathalie mean by "his father was Monarch"? That simply could not be... It made no sense... Or, in reality, it actually made a lot of sense... He was simultaneously shocked and feeling the most clarity he had in years. How could he not have seen this? How could he not have realized all the times his father was away or unavailable precisely when Monarch was active? His coldness, his selfishness, how he always tried to take Adrien away from Paris whenever a big Monarch plan was executed. Ladybug had even suspected him at some point. Everything made sense. And Nathalie knew it all along... Which meant… She was probably Mayura. But how could she? His mind was moving at the speed of light.

"The only thing I can fix is the way Adrien will remember his father." Ladybug continued.

"But that would be lying to him," Nathalie said.

The video seemed to have a small interruption, and then Ladybug continued: "I won't be lying to Adrien, I'll just tell him half of the truth. That his father sacrificed himself so you'd be cured. And there'd be someone who'd have to take care of him. This is the truth Adrien needs to know." He could not believe what he was hearing: his own lady so readily accepting to lie to him, to the whole world. He always thought of her as the most selfless and righteous person. But suddenly, she was talking like she was the villain.

"We're not supposed to know this," Nathalie replied, with a concerned tone.

"Ladybug knows. Ladybug holds the truth. The whole world will know only what Ladybug will tell it. Her words will be the truth." And with this, the video was over.

Adrien could not believe what he had just heard. How could Ladybug just confidently announce to Nathalie that she planned to lie to everyone, precisely because she knew everybody trusted her? That was a huge, awful abuse of the trust of the Parisians, of his trust. And Nathalie was involved in all of it. But why was Ladybug talking to Nathalie so openly about it? Had Ladybug been helping Monarch and Mayura this entire time? The doubt crept into his mind. No, that could not be... As betrayed as he felt right now, that did not make any sense.

His mind kept going back to his father being Monarch, and the fact that Ladybug kept it from him, intentionally. He was hurt that she did not trust Chat Noir enough to tell him. It was his father after all... But to be fair, Ladybug had no idea about the relationship between Chat Noir and Monarch. As much as Ladybug and he were close to the point where she owed him the truth, Ladybug did not know Adrien was her faithful feline partner.

Nonetheless, he could not help but feel hurt by her. In the meantime, he laid down in his bed, trying to make sense of what he had just found out. Maybe if he gave her the chance, she would share everything with him...

Ladybug was waiting for her partner on top of the Montparnasse tower. He should have arrived already 20 minutes ago.

She was about to call him again when he arrived.

"What took you so long, Kitty? I was starting to get concerned"

"I was busy," he said coldly, avoiding her gaze.

"Ohh, of course, sorry." She paused for a second "Should we start our patrol?"

"Sure, unless you have something to tell me first..." Chat Noir looked her in the eyes tentatively, but intensely.

It almost seemed like he was expecting her to say something in particular. But Ladybug did not know what it could be "I don't...?" She hesitated before continuing "I am not... Is there anything going on?" she finally asked, trying to figure out what he could be talking about.

"Never mind, let's go," he said quickly, as he extended his baton and started the patrol.

The entire hour they spend patrolling seemed like a full day to Ladybug. She would try to start a conversation from time to time, but he would either reply in monosyllables or not reply at all.

When they returned to the tower, she started "Is there anything wrong, Chaton? You seem absent."

Their eyes met, and he quickly looked away "I am fine, I will see you next time".

And, as quickly as he had arrived, he left again.

"See you next time, Kitty" Ladybug whispered, feeling worried about her partner.

When Marinette arrived home, she messaged Alya.

Marinette: Alya, I think something is wrong with Chat Noir. He barely talked to me today, he kept ignoring me and looking away from me.

Alya: Hum... strange... are you sure he was not just on a bad day?

Marinette: No, I have seen him on a bad day. He usually just tells me about whatever is going on.

Alya: Maybe he broke up with his girlfriend?

Marinette: No way, he said he was really in love with this girl.

Alya ignored her reply and went on.

Alya: And maybe now he fell back in love with you, and he is upset because he knows that now you are taken too.

Marinette: Come on, Alya... I know you shipped Ladybug and Cat Noir, but this is too much...

Alya: Ok, ok... sorry

Alya: You clearly already have a theory, so let's hear it...

Marinette: I have seen this before, tho. Whenever he was mad at me because I gave miraculouses to other holders, and did not include him enough. But I don't know what could be the case this time.

Alya: Just wait for the next time you see him. Maybe he will cool down and you'll get him to open up with you.

Marinette: I hope so...

Her phone buzzed again, but this time, the message was from someone else.

Adrien: Can I come by? I have the rest of the afternoon free, and I really want to be with you 3

Marinette: Yes, of course! I'll be waiting for you.

Marinette was suddenly feeling more cheerful. She would deal with Cat Noir later. For now, she would spend some time with her boyfriend.

Half an hour later, her mom shouted "Adrien is here, he's coming up!"

"Thanks, Maman!"

"Hey, Mari." Adrien gave her a quick kiss. "Brought you this on my way here," He said as he handed her a fashion magazine with the new autumn/winter trends.

She felt a punch in the stomach when she realized that Gabriel would not be featured in the new collection, since the company was left in a bad state since Gabriel's disappearance. It still amazed her how this boy could be so thoughtful and kind even after all the changes his life had gone through in the last years. And it still amazed her how he had fallen in love with her, of all girls, despite the amount of beautiful young women who had shown interest in him over the past years. She truly felt lucky.

"Thanks, Adrien!," Marinette said. "I prepared a movie for us to watch."

He hesitated "Hum, sure, ok"

Now, it was her turn to hesitate. "Or... we can talk, if you prefer" she stated, sensing his reluctance.

"No, let's watch your movie"

Marinette put some cushions on the floor and her laptop in front of them. They both sat down and started watching the movie.

Fifteen minutes had passed when Adrien interrupted. "Don't you think it was weird, the way my father sacrificed himself, in the end?"

Her heart skipped a bit. So this is what was bothering him. Although they had talked about his father's sacrifice several times after he came back from London, he had not brought it back up in a while. And he certainly never made it sound like he did not believe the official version... "What do you mean?" she said, innocently.

"Well, he spent his last months being so awful to you, to us... He tried to keep us apart, to bring you down, to control my life." He paused to think, "It simply does not sound like the kind of person who would make such a sacrifice... I am having trouble believing it..."

Marinette took her time before replying, looking him in the eyes.

"What made you think about this now, Adrien?" Marinette took his hand in hers.

"I am not sure... I guess I was just thinking about everything." He said, not looking her in the eyes.

Marinette looked at him for a second and then replied "Well, people can change. He probably came to his senses when the time came... Maybe he wanted to make up for all the wrong he had done."

Adrien gave up. He wanted to have an honest conversation about what happened with Marinette, but how could he tell her what he had found without ruining Ladybug's image, without making his lady sound like a villain? Marinette would certainly want to see the video and, although he trusted her, how could he justify Ladybug's actions to Marinette? Knowing how righteous his girlfriend was, she would certainly feel like Ladybug had betrayed all of Paris and maybe would want to do something about it. Maybe even tell Alya, who could post it on the Ladyblog.

No, he had to talk to Ladybug once again. If she came forward with the truth, he would ask her why she had kept it a secret. And depending on her answer, they could figure out what to do. Adrien was still upset at Ladybug about not telling him anything about his family. But now that he had the time to cool down, he started considering things more clearly. She was probably keeping it a secret for a good reason, she even had told him that certain things were better if he did not know. And he had agreed. If only she knew it was Adrien behind the mask, he was sure she would tell him. After all, it was his own family they were talking about.

As much as he needed to talk to Marinette about the most recent revelations, he would have to wait until he discussed it with Ladybug again. For now, he would try to focus on the movie.