Growburn Village – The Hero Party’s Groom

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After the brief commotion, the carriage continued on its way without any major problems.

The road to Growburn Village was not heavily traveled, and as they went further, there were more and more places where the road was unmaintained and neglected.

As the road conditions worsened, the carriage wheels got caught on rocks and shook.

-Rattle, bump!

Carlson apologized to the passengers as he drove the carriage.

“I’m sorry. The road conditions are not good, so it will be a bit uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay! We know you’re trying your best.”

“Haha! Thank you for understanding.”

Carlson was relieved by Jade’s gentle voice, as if his efforts were paying off. They endured the rattling of the carriage and continued vigorously towards their destination, Growburn Village.

As the sun, which had brightly illuminated the dense forest, disappeared and the surroundings began to darken.

-Tap, tap, thud.

Carlson stopped the horses in front of a small village that appeared by the roadside.

“It’s late today, so let’s rest in this village for a while.”

The journey to Growburn Village was quite long, so Lena and her party had to stop at villages along the way to rest.

“Oof!”

Carlson jumped down from the driver’s seat, stretched, and approached Lena and her party.

“I’ve been to this village quite a few times. I’ll take you to an inn I know. You won’t be disappointed.”

Lena and her party followed Carlson’s lead and entered an inn near the entrance of the village.

The inn Carlson chose seemed to have a long history, as the furniture showed the passage of time.

Most of the villages located on the outskirts of the kingdom had small populations. This was because many villages had been abandoned during the past war with the Demons.

It had been 10 years since the war ended, and people were slowly returning to their hometowns.

Because of this, there were hardly any diners on the first floor of the inn even in the evening.

“Auntie, it’s been a while.”

The middle-aged woman at the counter quickly recognized Carlson, who greeted her, and greeted him happily.

“Oh, Carlson? Looking at the people behind you, it looks like you’re here on business again.”

“Yes, I’m here to get a few rooms.”

“How many do you need?”

“Well…”

Carlson chatted with the innkeeper as if he was used to it, and after a while, he got the rooms and returned.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Here are the room keys.”

He handed the keys to Lena and her party, who were standing there blankly.

“Uh… one room for each of us?”

Annie was curious and asked Carlson why there were so many keys.

“Yes, I made it so you can sleep comfortably in separate rooms.”

“Ooh… thank you!”

Annie thanked Carlson and bowed her head. But Lena grabbed her shoulder as she was about to go down.

“Annie, wait a minute. Why would you get four rooms… are you trying to rip us off with the innkeeper or something?”

Carlson was saddened by her aggressive reaction.

‘This lady has been prickly since the first time I saw her.’

She was kind and friendly to her companions, but cold to him.

He was upset that he had gotten the rooms cheaply in an attempt to gain some favor.

He must have made a bad impression on her by looking at her body with lustful eyes when they first met.

“Lena, don’t be too harsh on Carlson.”

Jade tried to stop Lena from arguing. In his position, it would be a disaster if a fight broke out between them.

“Sorry, but it’s good to be sure, right? There are so many people in the world who try to scam you.”

“That’s definitely not the case. The price is the same as if you were using two rooms. I just asked for a discount.”

“If that’s the case… I apologize. I suspected you based on assumptions.”

Lena readily admitted her mistake. But the look of suspicion did not completely disappear.

“It’s okay.”

Kay could easily overlook this kind of behavior from his ideal woman.

‘…Because she’s pretty.’

When he was working, there were many times when people he didn’t even like would nitpick at him about everything.

Compared to that, Lena’s suspicion was cute.

“Well, we’ve got the rooms, so shall we eat here first? Carlson, would you like to join us? We’ll pay.”

Jade felt sorry for what happened earlier. So, as an apology, he offered to have dinner with Carlson.

“I’m too tired. I’ll go up to rest first. I have a simple meal that I brought with me.”

Of course, Carlson was eager to eat with Lena, but he had been driving the carriage all day and his physical condition was not normal.

“Ah…. You must be tired from driving the carriage all this time, so go and rest.”

“I hope you enjoy your meal.”

He was seen off by Lena and her party and went upstairs in the inn.

“Where should I sit….”

Lena looked around the first floor, looking for a place to sit, and found a pile of beer barrels on one side.

‘This could create an interesting situation.’

Lena immediately started planning something. And she put it into action right away.

“Shall we have a beer?”

“Beer? I’ve never had alcohol before. My brother told me not to drink things like that.”

“Again with your brother? At this point, I’m really curious about what kind of person your brother is.”

This was beyond affection for his sister and was at the level of overprotection. Jade made a face as if he was fed up with Annie’s brother’s love for her.

“But it’s our first trip with friends, so let’s have a drink. Jade, is that okay with you?”

“Shall we? I’m in!”

“If Lena wants to. I didn’t know you liked alcohol.”

“I don’t particularly like it either. I just wanted to drink and talk with you guys for once.”

Jade had never seen Lena put alcohol to her lips. The Lena that Jade knew was always a self-disciplined person.

In his mind, she was the kind of person who would live a life abstaining from alcohol and cigarettes.

Suddenly, Jade imagined Lena drunk.

‘Jade…. I’m dizzy….’

Lena slurred at him with a flushed face and tangled pronunciation. It was a scene he wanted to see just thinking about it.

Then, he would support the completely drunk Lena and take her to her room. And then-

“Ahem!”

Jade, who had been grinning foolishly, came to his senses.

And then he thought he was crazy.

Ever since receiving Lena’s short gift, Jade’s imagination had been going in that direction.

Anyway, drinking alcohol was not a bad thing for Jade.

“I suddenly want to drink too.”

In the end, Jade became enthusiastic about drinking alcohol.

‘Jade is becoming a full-fledged male.’

Lena was watching the scene with a faint smile, without him knowing.

“Then I’ll order. Three beers, please!”

Annie raised her hand and called the innkeeper.

And so, Lena and her party began their first lively drinking session.

**

Growburn Village is not a popular area, so the road to it is not well-paved.

Carlson would sigh whenever he had to go that route.

This would easily tire the horses and cause a lot of complaints from the customers.

But he liked this job.

That’s because he got to go with two beautiful women.

The short, red-haired woman was not Carlson’s type, but the tall, slender, blonde woman’s style was perfectly his ideal type.

Moreover, the volume of her breasts, which could not be hidden by her clothes, and her firm thighs, which seemed to have been honed through training, naturally caused blood to rush below.

She was more attractive than any woman he had ever met.

Perhaps that’s why Carlson made a mistake in front of her that he wouldn’t normally make.

He stared at Lena’s face and body for a long time.

‘What can I do if my eyes are drawn to her….’

No man could resist such a thing.

And so, Carlson and Lena’s party started off on the wrong foot from their first meeting.

While driving the carriage, Carlson overheard their conversation and briefly considered approaching her when he learned that she was a commoner, not a noble.

He had ruined his first impression at the store, but Kay was not the kind of person to give up on a challenge so easily.

But it was one mountain after another.

“Jade, what do you think of the clothes I’m wearing right now?”

“Your clothes? Uh… I think they’re pretty?”

“Don’t just say that. Tell me in more detail.”

“Yeah, Jade, what’s with just ‘pretty’?”

After listening to the conversation in the carriage, it was clear that Lena had feelings for a man named Jade.

Unlike with him, the way she spoke to him was undeniably affectionate.

‘Tch… too bad.’

He was eager to approach her.

But it’s best not to mess with a woman who has a boyfriend or someone close to her.

If he didn’t know his place and flirted with her, he might get stabbed by the angry man’s knife.

When he arrived at the inn and got the rooms, he was even scolded by her for being misunderstood.

“Are you trying to rip us off with the innkeeper or something?”

“That’s definitely not the case.”

After that, Carlson declined the meal that Jade offered as an apology. He knew that if he joined Lena, he wouldn’t hear good things from her.

-Thud, thud.

Carlson trudged up the stairs powerlessly.

“Haa….”

He couldn’t help but sigh.

With this kind of reaction, it was clear that she didn’t like any of his actions. He had definitely made a bad impression.

Fortunately, the customers Jade and Annie were kind and treated him well on the way, so they forgave his initial mistake and liked him.

But the most important person, Lena, still didn’t like Carlson at all.

‘I’m completely screwed….’

Before he could even try anything, Carlson’s unrequited love seemed to be coming to an end.

But in the middle of the night, an unexpected opportunity came to Carlson.