"Where did you go, Adrien?" Gabriel's stoic feature greeted the blond as he entered the house.

"Father," his posture remained stiff and a bit wary at the man's sudden appearance, "I thought you'll be back next week."

"After the fiasco that happened on your leg, I don't think I can manage to tear my eyes away from you for a day."

"You really don't trust me, do you?" his low murmur was barely unheard by the fashion tycoon.

"Adrien - "

"I went to Dupain-Cheng's bakery," was his son's coolly answer "I paid Marinette's parents a visit after months of not showing my face."

"How are they?"

Adrien tried to brush his concerned tone then shrugged nonchalantly "Still mourning for the loss of their child."

"I see." his eyes immediately darted towards the paper bag on his side "They even managed to give you a take-home gift."

"These are wheat bread, and I'm planning to hand this over to our chef for tomorrow's breakfast. I ate just right amount of carbs today if that's your concern. Now if you may excuse me, I have to review my Trigonometry for tomorrow's quiz."

"Adrien?"

The boy stopped his tracks then looked back at his father who remained unmoved on his spot "Yes, Father?"

"Please be careful with your surroundings, and make sure that you're away from Akuma attacks."

"Father?"

"Yes, Adrien?"

The paper bag crinkled slightly when he clenched his fist "Do...do you still blame the Order of Miraculous for Mother's death?"

"They failed to disclose the hazards of surgery," was his cold reply "But because of the negative image of the magus' blood in society, I can't openly sue them."

"In the end, it's just you and your selfish brand," he scoffed under his breath.

"Adrien!"

"Good night, Father. Have a safe evening."

Adrien immediately rushed towards his bedroom then slammed the door shut behind him. Once he secured the locks, he waited for a few moments in case someone will knock and call his rude behavior before he slid himself to the floor and shuddered.

He didn't know what made him do that; he rarely voiced out his reasons towards his father, and never once he deliberately challenged him for a discussion, especially on sensitive topics. Maybe his knowledge of Ladybug's identity and her connection to the Miraculous prompted him to act that way.

He closed his eyes as he collected himself, and when he felt a movement in his room, he swiftly grabbed his saber that was perched on his table then aimed it to the intruder's throat.

"Who are you?" the blond growled at the old man in floral shirt and brown khakis "And what are you doing in here?"

The man eyed the blade interestingly with both hands raised in the air as if surrendering "Allow me to introduce myself - but before that, could you please move your sword away from my neck?"

When Adrien didn't do his bidding, he took a deep breath then snapped his fingers. The blond shrieked when his saber vanished from his grasp then teleported to the man's hands.

He fell down and scrambled to the ground "Yo - you're a magus?!"

"Most people call me Master Fu," the man smiled, throwing the saber on the other side of the room then extended his arm to the flabberghasted boy "And I'm here to talk about Ladybug."

Adrien looked at the offered hand with apprehension "Am I gonna be Cataclysmed again?"

Fu snorted indignantly "Oh no, young Agreste. Only Plagg and his Chosens can do that spell. And no, I'm not planning to erase your memories."

"How will I know that you're not tricking me?" he retorted angrily "That you're trustworthy?"

"Let's just say I have an idea why you have high-caliber suppressants kept in your medicine cabinet, and why you often use your photo shoots as an alibi whenever your catastrophic nature goes haywire."

All of the blood drained out from his face when the old man leaned down with a smug "You, Adrien Agreste, bears an ancient magus blood called Destruction, one of the most powerful Miraculous in the world."