Wren closed the trunk of the SUV as Alfred finished placing the last of the luggage inside without any trouble.

There was a lot of it... multiple suitcases, duffel bags, backpacks but that was expected since there were multiple people going on this trip together.

Him, Zoe, Diana, Leah, Zach, Toby, Priya, Dani, Derek. That was nine whole people going on the same journey. Wren was genuinely grateful that Leah had managed to arrange passage for all of them but still.

’It might have been a bit more comfortable if we removed some people,’ he thought, then immediately shook his head at his own selfishness. ’No, I wasn’t the one who paid, so I don’t have a right to decide who comes. Who knows? We might even become closer after this trip anyway.’

"Thank you for your assistance, Master Wren..." Alfred said as he glanced over with an approving nod. "You may go and take your seat now, as we will be departing immediately."

"Alright, thanks." Wren said.

He pushed away from the rear cargo area and walked along the side of the vehicle toward the passenger doors.

Other than the driver’s seat, there were three more rows of seating, so they could sit down comfortably in groups of three people each. The SUV was massive and custom-built for luxury transport.

He opened the first side door, and Zoe’s face immediately appeared.

"We’re already sitting here," Zoe said while sticking out her tongue mockingly. "You can move on back~"

She was sitting in the middle seat between Leah, who had the window, and Diana, who was in the aisle seat.

Diana was still looking down at her lap, studiously avoiding making eye contact with Wren. Unlike the situation with Cara avoiding him where he had no idea why, Wren actually knew exactly why Diana was acting this way. It was very cute, honestly though Leah seemed pretty annoyed about something.

"Alright," Wren said simply. He closed the door and moved to the second row, opening that door instead.

The people sitting here were Dani, who immediately perked up when she saw him, and Priya, who was absorbed in her phone and twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger.

There was a slight flush on Priya’s cheeks, though Wren couldn’t tell if it was from the content on her phone or from seeing him.

"Wrenny~" Dani called out cheerfully, extending both her hands toward him and making grabbing motions in the air. "Come join us~"

Wren sighed heavily and looked toward the very back row.

The other three guys were already settled there... Toby adjusting his glasses as usual with that perpetual analytical expression, Zach looking out the window at the street of Harlow and Derek looking directly at Wren with a raised eyebrow.

Wren turned back to Dani.

"Make room for me..." he said.

"Why don’t you sit in the middle of us?" Dani suggested with an innocent smile that was anything but innocent. "It’ll be cozy~"

Wren responded by simply pushing her further into the row until she was in the middle seat, then sitting down in the aisle seat himself and pulling the door closed.

"That’s unfair!" Dani protested. "You’re being rude!"

Just to annoy her the same way Zoe had annoyed him, Wren stuck out his tongue at her and Dani burst out into genuine laughter.

"Zoe is such a bad influence on you!" Dani said between giggles.

"Hey!" Zoe’s offended voice called from the front row. "I heard that!"

Priya chuckled softly without looking up from her phone with a small smile on her lips. Finally, Alfred walked around the entire vehicle with professional steps. He opened the driver’s side door and settled into the seat with perfect posture, adjusting the mirrors precisely.

He turned around in his seat to address all of them.

"Is everyone comfortable?" Alfred asked courteously with his eyes scanning each row.

"Yes!" came the chorus of replies from all nine passengers.

"Very good," Alfred said with satisfaction.

He reached toward the dashboard and pressed the expensive-looking start button... a sleek rectangular piece embedded in brushed metal near the steering wheel. The engine came to life with a deep smooth purr that you could barely hear inside the cabin. .

"I must inform you all that even though this particular SUV model is engineered to minimize vibration and provide exceptional stability..." Alfred said in his refined butler’s voice, "it is still highly advisable for everyone’s safety that you fasten your seatbelts before we depart."

Everyone responded immediately by reaching to their sides and pulling out the seatbelts. There was one for each seat looking perfectly positioned and maintained.

Wren was about to buckle his own when Dani suddenly leaned forward across his lap.

"I want to help you!" Dani declared, grabbing his seatbelt before he could protest.

She pulled it across his body and clicked it into the buckle with an audible snap, then sat back with a bright smile on her face.

"You should praise me," Dani said expectantly.

Wren’s eye twitched.

"Just because you have some kind of praise kink," Zach commented from the back row with his own eye twitching. "doesn’t mean you should display it out here in public like this."

"Which public?" Dani shot back immediately. "Everyone here are friends, after all."

"Just sit down properly," Wren said, ending the discussion.

The car began moving smoothly down the road with Alfred’s driving as impeccable as his talking. It didn’t take them long to leave the familiar streets of Harlow behind and merge onto the main highway heading toward Caldena.

After about twenty minutes of comfortable silence, Zach spoke up from the back.

"Is the city we’re going to even far from here at all?" he asked.

Toby opened his mouth clearly about to say something cutting but Alfred spoke first with his usual polite smile.

"Caldena is approximately a six-hour journey from our current location..." Alfred explained pleasantly. "It is situated a bit further than Bostara, which is roughly five hours away from Harlow."

"Oh, thank you," Zach said genuinely. "That’s really helpful. I haven’t actually been outside Harlow before, so I have no sense of the distances."

Alfred chuckled warmly.

"When you have completed your college studies, young master Zach," Alfred said, "I would highly recommend embarking on a tour to see more of the world. Travel is an education unto itself."

Toby turned in his seat to face Zach directly.

"When you decide you want to leave Harlow permanently," Toby said with his characteristic bluntness. "please inform me in advance. I calculate there’s approximately a ninety-eight percent chance of you remaining alive long enough to actually go on that trip, but I’d like to be prepared either way."

Before Zach could formulate a response to that, Derek jumped in.

"I don’t mind the idea," Derek said thoughtfully. "It could be a group outing or something. We could all pitch in money and make it happen together."

Toby, the dark-skinned friend with the analytical mind, leaned forward and placed a hand on Wren’s shoulder from behind. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Would you be interested in joining us on such an excursion?" Toby asked.

"Maybe..." Wren said noncommittally.

Toby withdrew his hand and cleared his throat.

"Alfred, would it be possible to play some music?" Toby asked. "To make the journey more enjoyable?"

"Certainly." Alfred replied. "What sort of music would you all prefer?"

Leah was the one who spoke up this time, turning slightly in her seat.

"What kind of music do you all want to hear?" she asked the group.

Dani spoke up first grinning mischievously.

"I want to hear the kind of music that Wren listens to," Dani said.

Leah’s lips quirked into a knowing smile as she looked back at the others.

"You want to hear the kind of music Wren listens to?" Leah asked with her tone suggesting this was going to be interesting.

"Why not?" several people said at once, even Diana was interested, finally looking up from her lap to pay attention.

Leah cleared her throat dramatically.

"Alfred, could you please play some Sable Lowe?" Leah requested.

Alfred took hold of a small remote control while keeping one hand perfectly positioned on the steering wheel. A sleek screen descended smoothly from the roof panel just above the driver’s seat.

Alfred navigated the interface with ease, opening Urath’s most popular music streaming service called Melodia and searching for the artist.

Sable Lowe’s profile appeared on the screen, complete with album artwork and statistics.

"She has ninety-six million monthly listeners?!" Zach said, blinking in shock. "How come I’ve never heard of her before?"

Alfred selected her most popular song, and within seconds, a beautiful, ethereal voice filled the cabin through the premium sound system.

"Woooohhhhhhh~ Every night I dream of youuuu... In a world where love breaks through~"

The melody was soft and romantic accompanied by gentle piano and strings.

"Ugh, you listen to love songs?" Zach asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "You know, some rap would fix your music taste entirely, man."

"Your touch is like the morning light... Chasing away the endless night~"

"I like love songs too..." Leah said with an exasperated sigh. "but that’s literally all Wren ever listens to. His entire playlist is just romantic ballads and slow songs."

"I must respectfully disagree with the criticism..." Alfred interjected smoothly. "Master Wren, this demonstrates truly exceptional taste in music. Her vocal control is remarkable, and the emotional depth of the composition is quite moving."

"Right?!" Wren said, grateful to finally have someone on his side. "Thank you, Alfred. I’m glad someone here appreciates good music."

Dani leaned her head on Wren’s shoulder as the song continued playing, and Priya finally put down her phone to listen properly.

The SUV continued smoothly down the highway, carrying them toward their destination.

...

"Woah..." Zoe breathed out in absolute amazement. She was standing next to Wren on the crowded dock, and ahead of them was the Celestine.

It was magnificent... a massive cruise ship that seemed to glow in the afternoon sunlight.

The hull was painted in pristine white with elegant blue accents that ran along the sides in sweeping curves. Intricate gold filigree decorated the bow, depicting stylized angels and clouds that gave the ship an almost heavenly appearance.

Multiple decks rose like layered wedding cakes, each one lined with polished railings and floor-to-ceiling windows that reflected the sky and at the very top, observation decks and what looked like a luxury pool area were visible.

The ship’s name "CELESTINE" was written in flowing script along the side in letters that must have been twenty feet tall.

For the first time in her life, Zoe didn’t want to say anything sarcastic or try to piss Wren off at all. She was genuinely speechless. The reaction was similar among the entire group.

"Wow," Zach said simply with wide eyes. "Just... wow."

Priya had stopped walking entirely with her mouth slightly open in surprise as she stared up at the towering vessel.

"It’s fucking HUGE..." Dani said bluntly, craning her neck to see the top decks. "How does something that big even float?!"

Toby adjusted his glasses with one finger, his analytical brain already processing.

"Did you know," Toby said. "that the statistical chances of a modern cruise ship sinking are approximately one in ten million? The engineering required to keep a structure of this size stable and functional is genuinely impressive."

Derek just whistled low and long, clearly impressed beyond words.

The dock around them was packed with people... families with luggage, couples taking photos, crew members directing traffic but their group was currently standing at the VIP entrance, which was notably separated from the main passenger boarding area.

A red velvet rope cordoned off their section, and security personnel in crisp uniforms stood guard. Leah smiled warmly as she watched everyone’s reactions, clearly pleased that she could give them this experience.

Several maids and butlers in formal Merritt Maritime uniforms descended the gangway and approached their group professionally. They immediately began gathering luggage and offering to escort them aboard.

Diana looked back at Wren, noticing that he was strangely staying behind while everyone else started moving toward the ship but she was swept along with the crowd as Leah linked arms with her on one side and Zoe chattered excitedly on the other.

She soon disappeared through the grand doorway. Wren turned to Alfred, who had remained standing beside him.

"So Alfred, why did you tell me to wait beforehand?" Wren asked with some confusion. Alfred’s expression became more serious, though still perfectly polite.

"Lady Isabel Merritt of the Merritt family has requested an audience with you once you board..." Alfred explained. "She wishes to speak with you privately."

Wren’s eyes widened in shock. Leah’s mother wanted to see him? That couldn’t be good. He took an involuntary step backward and bumped directly into someone behind him.

A woman’s startled gasp filled his ears, followed by the sound of objects clattering to the ground.

"I’m so sorry!" Wren said immediately, spinning around.

The woman had a dark hoodie pulled up over her head, the hood drawn so far forward it shadowed most of her face.

She wore oversized designer sunglasses that covered a significant portion of her features, completely obscuring her eyes and most of her cheekbones.

Her hair was tucked entirely inside the hood so he couldn’t even tell what color it was. She’d dropped her phone, which now lay face-down on the dock.

Both of them bent down at the exact same time to retrieve it.

Their hands touched as they both reached for the phone, the contact lasted only a fraction of a second but Wren felt her fingers... they were soft and delicate with perfectly manicured nails.

Her breath caught audibly and she froze for just a moment then she seemed to force herself to speak, making her voice deliberately bold and steady, though Wren could hear a slight tremor underneath.

"I... I... Thank you," she managed to say.

She grabbed her phone quickly and stood up, turning away. Without another word, she hurried toward the VIP entrance, her expensive sneakers quiet on the dock as she practically jogged up the stairs leading to the boarding area.

The security guards at the VIP checkpoint verified her credentials so clearly, she was an authorized VIP passenger and waved her through without issue.

She disappeared into the ship. Wren stood there for a moment, staring at where she’d vanished.

"Do you know who she is?" Wren asked Alfred.

The butler shook his head slowly.

"I’m afraid I do not know at all, Master Wren..." Alfred said. "Though her behavior suggests she may be someone who values privacy rather highly."

Wren looked at the Celestine again, taking in its massive size and angelic design. Somewhere on that ship was a famous woman he needed to seduce as Mission Twenty was about to begin.

’I guess it’s time to seduce a famous person.’ Wren thought.