Wren was pulled onto the dance floor with Leah clutching his hand and Diana clutching the other.

"Don’t you think this is too much?" Wren asked, his voice was barely audible over the pounding bass. "I don’t even know how to dance, by the way..."

"Shh." Diana lifted her finger to her lips and grinned, swaying slightly on her feet. "Hic... Just move your body and you’ll be fine. Look around~"

Wren glanced around and everyone was moving their bodies without a care in the world. Some were grinding, some were jumping and some were just swaying rhythmically.

The colored lights swept across the crowd in hypnotic patterns but he wasn’t drunk enough to shamelessly throw himself into it like them. He felt completely sober and painfully self-aware. For some reason, his alcoholic tolerance was at an all-time high.

Leah pulled on his hand with her face flushed red from the alcohol.

"She’s right, y’know." Leah said, her words slightly slurred. "You just need to shake your body like so..."

She let go of him and skidded back across the dance floor giving a demonstration. Her hips swayed, her arms moved above her head and her breasts bounced as she moved to the rhythm. Wren immediately averted his eyes, looking anywhere else.

’This is dangerous territory...’ he thought.

[Come on, Host~ Stop being a party-pooper and dance!]

’You know if you made this a mission, then I would do it in a heartbeat, right?’ Wren thought back, trying to tempt the system into giving him an easy twentieth mission that he could complete right here and now.

However, Nyx had already seen through his simple tactic.

[Hehe, such a basic strategy won’t fool me, Host~ You need to seduce a Celebrity, remember? Some random club dancing doesn’t count!]

’Ugh, whatever...’ Wren thought while dismissing the blue notification tab in front of his eyes with a mental swipe.

Diana had already let go of his hand to dance on her own, moving with surprising grace despite being thoroughly drunk.

She was having the time of her life. Wren took the opportunity to slowly back away from the dance floor, intending to escape back to their table where he could sit down and watch like a normal person but just as he was about to step off the elevated platform, all the lights in the club suddenly converged on his current position.

The music paused abruptly. He was standing alone in a bright spotlight while everyone else was bathed in relative darkness.

’Oh no...’ Wren thought with growing dread.

The DJ’s voice boomed through the speakers, amplified to fill every corner of the Rustic Noir.

"Hold up, hold up!" the DJ announced. "Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we have someone trying to escape! Wren the Ironbreaker refuses to dance! What do we say to that?"

The crowd booed playfully.

"Maybe he just needs some encouragement..." the DJ continued. "Some cheering to get him motivated! Let’s hear it for Wren!"

Everyone started cheering loudly, their voices creating a wall of sound that made Wren’s face turn red with embarrassment. He raised his hands defensively shaking his head.

"That’s not bad," the DJ said. "But I think he needs a LOUDER cheer! Come on, Harlow! Make some NOISE!"

They cheered even more loudly this time, the sound practically shaking the building. People were clapping, whistling, stomping their feet and Wren wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

"Alright, alright!" the DJ shouted. "Here’s what we’re gonna do! When I drop this next beat, EVERYONE starts dancing! And you all better make sure that our friend Wren here joins in! Don’t let him stand there like a statue! Are you ready?!"

The crowd roared their approval.

"Here we GO!"

The DJ dropped the beat which was an even heavier and more energetic track than before. The bass hit like a physical force, and immediately everyone erupted into motion. Bodies pressed in around Wren from all sides, moving and swaying.

Before he could react, Rita grabbed him first.

"Come on, Wren!" she laughed, her hands on his shoulders as she shook him playfully. "Move your body! Like this!"

She demonstrated with exaggerated movements before pushing him toward Diana. Diana caught him with a bright smile as her eyes glittered with alcohol-fueled mischief.

"Don’t forget our promise~" she sang, pressing close against him as she moved to the music.

Her body swayed against his with her hands finding his waist. For a few seconds they moved together, and Wren felt his resolve crumbling then she spun him around and pushed him toward Leah.

Leah caught his hands in both of hers, her green eyes meeting his.

"If you don’t know how to dance," Leah said, stepping closer, "then I could teach yo—"

His right hand was suddenly snagged by Dani, who pulled him away from Leah with surprising strength for someone so short.

"Hey!" Leah protested. Dani made Wren spin in a quick circle.

"You should lift me up!" Dani declared loudly.

"Why?" Wren asked, completely confused by the request.

"Just do it, dummy!" Dani insisted.

Wren sighed heavily. There was no winning here... He bent down, grabbed her from underneath with one arm under her knees and one supporting her back then he lifted her up above his head like she was a trophy.

Surprisingly, she was pretty light. Maybe ninety pounds at most...

Everyone around them cheered and whistled at the display. The spotlight followed them, making the moment even more dramatic.

Dani looked down at Leah from her elevated position with a quirky, triumphant smile on her lips, as if to say ’I won.’

Leah bit the inside of her lip with her hands clenching into fists at her sides.

Wren lowered Dani back to the ground carefully but before he could catch his breath, someone grabbed him from behind and spun him around forcefully.

It was Bart.

The large bartender had abandoned his post and joined them on the dance floor. He grabbed both of Wren’s hands in his own massive palms and began spinning in a circle, forcing Wren to move with him.

"What—" Wren blinked in shock. "Why the hell are we dancing together?!"

"The spotlight’s on you!" Bart laughed, his chef’s hat somehow still perfectly positioned on his head despite the movement. "You need to keep moving!"

He spun Wren around like he was a bottle being twisted, faster and faster until the club became a blur of lights and colors around him.

’This... this town is CRAZY!’ Wren thought desperately as he nearly fell over from the dizzying spinning.

When Bart finally released him, Wren stumbled backward, the world still rotating around him even though he’d stopped moving.

...

"You guys can get home all right?" Wren asked while massaging his temples with one hand.

His other arm was occupied holding Diana in a princess carry. The older woman with brown hair had both arms wrapped around his neck and was fast asleep, her head resting against his shoulder.

Leah stood on his other side, swaying slightly but managing to stay upright. They were all standing in front of the house with the pale glow of the moon covering them.

It was two in the morning. That was how long they’d spent at the Rustic Noir... over four hours of drinking, dancing, and chaos.

According to Leah, the mode of transport that would take them to Caldena for the cruise was going to arrive by eleven in the morning, so they had about nine hours to sleep and recover.

Rita nodded, looking surprisingly sober despite having matched them drink for drink all night.

"Yeah, I’ll take Dani..." Rita said.

She held the hand of her daughter, who was slumped over and barely conscious, her feet dragging slightly as she leaned against her mother.

"I hope you had fun at the club today," Rita continued with a warm smile. "Because I certainly did. It’s been a while since I’ve had a night like that."

"Yes, I did as well," Wren said politely. He nodded before stepping onto the stone steps leading up to the entrance of the house. He waved at Rita awkwardly with his free hand.

"Take care, Aunt Rita..." Wren said.

"Thank you, Wren~" Rita waved back cheerfully.

She turned and walked away down the quiet street with Dani in tow leaving their footsteps fading into the night.

Wren, Diana, and Leah entered the house as quietly as possible. Wren used his elbow to push down the door handle since both hands were occupied and the interior was dimly lit by a single lamp in the living room.

The first person they saw was Zoe, sitting on the couch watching some program on the TV. She looked up at Wren with a mischievous smile on her face with a bowl of hot instant noodles steaming in her hands.

"You look like shit," Zoe said with a grin, taking in his disheveled appearance. "You drunkard..."

Wren’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he shot back without thinking.

"At least I’m not watching porn on the TV." Wren said with a roll of his eyes.

Zoe froze mid-slurp.

’H-how did he know?!’ she thought, nearly choking on her noodles.

She swallowed hard. Yes, she had been watching exactly that just ten minutes ago before quickly switching to a cooking show when she heard them approaching. Did he have cameras hidden around the house? How could he possibly know?

Wren had actually just thrown that accusation out there as a random jab, but he was genuinely perplexed when her expression gave everything away. Her face had gone bright red, and she was avoiding eye contact.

"Fucking pervert..." Wren said, shaking his head.

"I—that’s—you can’t just—" Zoe sputtered, her face burning even redder.

Leah bumped him gently at the side with her hand on his arm.

"Is it okay if I stay with you guys tonight?" Leah asked quietly.

"Naturally you’ll stay with us tonight," Wren said.

"She should come to my room!" Zoe said suddenly, her eyes pleading as she looked at Leah. "We can have a sleepover! It’ll be fun!"

"Instead, she should go to my room..." Wren interrupted firmly.

Leah’s face brightened immediately, her green eyes widening with surprise and happiness.

"Your room?" Leah asked, wanting to confirm she’d heard correctly and Wren nodded his head.

"Yes, my room..." he confirmed.

Diana groaned softly in his arms, shifting slightly but not waking up.

"I’m going to drop Diana in her room first and make sure she’s comfortable," Wren explained. "Then I’ll come back. All of you should go to sleep since we’re heading out tomorrow morning."

Leah and Zoe both nodded in agreement.

Zoe stood up from the couch, downing the rest of her noodles in several quick gulps and setting the empty bowl on the coffee table.

"I’ll show Leah where the bastard’s room is." Zoe said, emphasizing ’bastard’ pointedly.

Wren watched them head upstairs, Leah following Zoe down the hallway then he carefully adjusted his grip on Diana, making sure she was secure in his arms.

He locked the front door with his foot and the key, checked that the windows were latched, grabbed the TV remote to turn off the cooking show, and then ascended the stairs.

Diana’s room was at the end of the hall. He pushed open the door with his shoulder and stepped inside. Once he closed the door behind himself, he let out a heavy sigh and looked down at Diana’s face.

’Why the hell is she so cute?’ Wren wondered.

Her face was peaceful in sleep with her lips slightly parted. Her dark hair had come loose from its usual style and framed her face softly.

He turned on the ceiling fan with the wall switch, then carefully lowered her toward her bed. The mattress gave slightly under her weight.

However, just as he was about to pull away, Diana’s eyes suddenly opened.

She grabbed his wrist and yanked downward with surprising strength, making them both tumble onto the bed together.

When Wren opened his eyes again, Diana was on top of him, straddling his waist and leaning down with her flushed red face hovering inches above his.

"You promised me a lot of kisses~" Diana said. "I want my kisses~"

She leaned down thoroughly, closing the distance between them.

Their lips met, and this time Wren didn’t hold back. He kissed her properly with his hands finding her waist. Diana’s fingers threaded through his hair as she pressed closer.

She parted her lips, and he accepted the invitation as his tongue slid against hers. The kiss deepened and became more intense making soft wet sounds fill the quiet room as they tasted each other.

Diana sucked on his lower lip gently, then released it. Wren tilted his head, changing the angle, and she made a small pleased sound in the back of her throat.

Diana finally pulled her face back while breathing a bit hard then she licked her lips slowly.

"You still taste amazing..." Diana murmured and then she dove down for another kiss, their mouths meeting hungrily but mid-kiss, her body suddenly went limp.

She fell sideways onto the bed, her arms wrapping loosely around him as she slumped against his side and her face pressed into his shoulder.

"I’m tired..." Diana mumbled. "My head hurts, so please stay... Please hug me."

Her eyes were already closing again with her consciousness slipping away.

Wren looked toward the door. He had told Leah he was coming to his room so she was probably waiting for him right now. But...

His arms wrapped around Diana carefully, pulling her closer against his chest. She smiled even in her sleep....

"Have sweet dreams, Diana," Wren whispered. He closed his own eyes, and despite his intentions to leave, Wren fell asleep like that with Diana in his arms.

...

"Ahem."

The sound of someone clearing their throat professionally pulled everyone’s attention.

"My name is Alfred, and I am one of the main butlers of the Merritt family..." The white-haired older man said with a precise bow.

Despite his age, he had to be at least sixty... he was incredibly fit. His posture was perfect and he looked up at Wren, for a moment it seemed like they were competing for who had the sharper more defined chin.

"I have been assigned with the job of bringing Lady Leah and her companions to the Celestine, which has currently docked in Caldena..." Alfred continued formally.

Everyone was gathered outside the house in the late morning sun.

Wren stood there looking relatively put-together despite getting maybe five hours of sleep. Diana was next to him, but she was completely unable to look Wren in the face, her cheeks pink whenever their eyes accidentally met.

Zoe was yawning repeatedly, clearly still tired and Leah stood close to Wren with an annoyed expression on her face... she’d woken up alone in his room and found him in Diana’s bed this morning. Priya had arrived early, looking beautiful as always while Dani and the rest of their friend group was also there.

Alfred motioned elegantly to the vehicle parked behind him on the street.

It was a massive luxury SUV that was clearly expensive. The body was painted deep black with chrome accents. It was long enough to have three rows of seating, with a spacious cargo area. It was not quite a limousine, but definitely built for wealthy families who needed to transport multiple people in comfort.

"You may place your luggage in the trunk..." Alfred said. "And let us be on our way, we are cutting it a bit close to the departure time, after all."

He opened the rear cargo door, revealing a spotless interior with plenty of space. Wren looked at the vehicle, then at his relatively modest suitcase.

’Damn...’ he thought enviously. ’I really want to be rich.’