Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities

"I am not cute."

"You are around him."

"I was not."

"You touched his chest."

"I was emphasizing a question."

"You stood so close to him!"

"The space around him was crowded."

"You told him you would be alone together."

"I was informing him of my intentions."

Annie stared at her. Cassandra calmly stared back.

After a few seconds, Annie’s lips began to twitch. "You’re enjoying this."

"Yes."

Annie dropped her forehead against Cassandra’s knee and laughed until her shoulders shook. Cassandra kept stroking her hair, still wearing that small, satisfied smile.

Cassandra had heard praise all her life. People complimented her looks, intelligence, money, judgment, and leadership, but most of them wanted something from her sooner or later.

Annie wanted nothing from her. She was happy for her elder sister, and Cassandra enjoyed the feeling without trying to analyze it.

When Annie finally caught her breath, she settled on the floor beside the chair and leaned against Cassandra’s leg.

"I can help," she announced.

"With what?"

"Your romance."

"That sounds dangerous."

"I’ll prepare your hair whenever you meet him. I can choose your clothes too. Something bold but elegant, and mature without making you look too serious." Her eyes lit up. "Oh, and I can prepare the bedroom before he visits."

"Annie."

"The guest bedroom!"

Cassandra narrowed her crimson eyes. "Mostly," Annie added.

"Your assistance will be limited to hair and clothing."

"For now."

"For the foreseeable future."

Annie nodded with suspicious obedience. "Can I at least help create chances for you to be alone?"

"That depends on what you intend to do."

"I could distract Elisebeth."

"No."

"Katherine?"

"No."

"Alexandra might cooperate if I offer her something fun."

"You will not sabotage the other women."

Annie’s smile faded. "But they’re your rivals."

"They are also important to Martin."

Cassandra picked up the tablet again, though she still did not return to the report.

"Wanting a place beside him does not give me the right to remove people he cares about. I will not push them away simply because that would make things easier for me."

Annie studied her face. "You’re really okay with all of them?"

"I did not say that."

The answer came so quickly that Annie giggled.

"I dislike sharing his attention," Cassandra continued. "I dislike Elisebeth using her body to claim his arm, Katherine announcing a private call before anyone can object, and Alexandra embracing him as though physical distance is optional."

"You remembered all of that very clearly."

"I pay attention."

"Because you were jealous?"

Cassandra turned toward the windows, and Annie’s smile widened.

"Kya."

"Do not begin again."

"But you’re adorable!"

"I am reconsidering your involvement in my wardrobe."

Annie straightened at once. "I will behave."

Cassandra gave her a doubtful look. "I have no intention of giving up my place beside Martin. I also refuse to make him miserable by trying to push away people he values."

"That sounds romantic."

"It sounds practical."

"It can be both."

Cassandra considered that for a moment. "Perhaps."

Annie rested her chin against Cassandra’s knee. "When are you inviting him here?"

"I have not decided."

Annie’s head shot up. "You haven’t invited him?"

"I told him we would spend time alone."

"That isn’t an invitation. That sounded like a threat."

"It produced the desired reaction."

"What reaction?"

"He swallowed."

Annie stared at her while Cassandra lifted her glass and took another drink. A blush slowly spread across the younger woman’s face.

"Elder Sister, you’re terrifying."

"I was holding back."

That sent Annie into another round of muffled squealing. She grabbed Cassandra’s free hand with both of hers and pressed it against her cheek.

"I’m so happy for you."

The teasing left Cassandra’s face. "I know."

"You deserve someone who stands beside you."

"I know that as well."

"And Martin will."

Cassandra looked down at their joined hands and remembered his promise.

I won’t treat her trust lightly.

"He will have the opportunity," she said.

Annie smiled. "That means yes."

"It means I intend to make sure he understands what I am offering."

"Kya."

"Annie."

"Sorry."

She did not sound sorry at all.

For a while, neither of them spoke. Annie stayed beside the chair and held Cassandra’s hand while the city lights shone below. The guild report remained open on the tablet, unread, but Cassandra was in no hurry to return to it.

Annie squeezed her hand, and Cassandra squeezed back.

—

A few days later, Cassandra received another report from Night Espresso’s Level Sixty Hidden Dungeon expedition.

The ranked members who could enter had followed Rangar’s advice. They challenged the bosses they could reach, retraced known routes, checked unusual system notifications, and searched for anything that might change how the dungeon recognized their guild.

They found nothing useful. No hidden route appeared, and none of their actions triggered an access condition. The rest of Night Espresso remained locked outside.

The expedition kept searching, but every report reached the same conclusion. The answer might be somewhere inside the enormous dungeon, but none of them knew where to look next.

Martin and Cassandra had agreed to give those members a fair chance. They had earned access to the dungeon, and Martin did not want to take over the moment their progress slowed. Cassandra agreed with him.

After several days, however, the expedition had run out of useful ideas.

Cassandra stood beneath the Light Tree with Martin and the officers responsible for the search. The fourteen-day Development Project was still active, so Night Espresso had time to change its approach.

Their first plan had still failed.

"No route was discovered," Cassandra said. "No access condition was triggered. Continuing the same search would only waste the time we have left."

No one argued. They had already gone over the same logs and routes more times than anyone cared to count.

Cassandra closed the report. "We’ll try something else."

One of the officers lowered his head. "Understood."

There were no excuses and no attempt to make the result sound better than it was. Cassandra would decide on their next move soon, but she was not going to pretend that effort alone counted as progress.

Night Espresso had lost battles, made mistakes, and watched plans fall apart before. Usually, they learned something useful and moved forward.

This time, they had nothing to show for the effort.

It was the first Night Espresso operation Cassandra had ever closed as a failure.