Growburn Village – Suspicion

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-Tap, tap, tap!

Annie grabbed Jade and ran away from Lena, eventually ducking behind a building.

“Let’s wait here for now.”

“Annie, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“Just a moment.”

Annie didn’t answer Jade’s question, instead hiding behind the wall and quietly watching Lena and Carlson walk away.

“Phew… I think they’re gone.”

Once they were completely out of her sight, Annie turned to Jade again.

“What’s going on? Is it something Lena can’t hear?”

“Jade, don’t you think there’s something strange between Lena and Carlson?”

“Those two?”

Jade pondered Annie’s words for a moment before speaking.

“Well, yes. Lena’s been treating him too harshly lately. Carlson did make a mistake at first, but he seems to be reflecting on it a lot…”

Jade looked embarrassed, as if remembering Lena’s insults towards Carlson.

“Right? But the funny thing is, they’re often together. If she really hates him, she should stay away. Don’t you think there’s something going on?”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes!”

Annie suddenly remembered something and slapped her forehead.

“Come to think of it, when the carriage stopped earlier, Lena and Carlson went to take care of something together.”

“It does sound strange when you say it like that… But wouldn’t it just be a coincidence? Why would Lena do something like that?”

“I’m telling you, there’s something between them!”

“Haven’t you been reading too many weird novels? If what you’re saying is true, it’s like they’re having a secret affair.”

But Jade didn’t agree with Annie’s idea.

“W-well, it could be!”

“Sigh… What do you think of Lena? It’s only been a few days since Lena met Carlson, how could she suddenly be having an affair? And it’s hard to say it myself, but…”

Jade hesitated, her face turning red.

“Lena even fed me food directly the other day. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to think that she has feelings for me rather than Carlson? And I received a gift from Lena in the carriage.”

“A gift? You received something from Lena too?”

“Haha, I did, but it’s a secret. Anyway, your worries are just unnecessary thoughts.”

What a carefree guy. Who knows when people’s hearts will change? Annie lowered her head and sighed deeply in her heart.

It was a mistake to expect anything from this guy. It’s not like he has no sense at all, but when it comes to Lena, he can be so frustrating.

Besides, Jade has been busy lately, dedicating his free time to training. She understood the pressure he felt as the Hero, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Anyway, there’s no way Jade would notice Lena’s condition like this.

‘This is what I think is right!’

Her gut was telling her.

Lena’s excessive rejection of Carlson was actually an attempt to hide something between them.

What if their secret was that affection was budding between them, and they didn’t want us to find out?

In the romance novels she sometimes read behind her brother’s back, it was common for people in secret relationships to act like enemies in public.

‘What if Lena gets stolen away like this!’

Annie was hoping that Jade and Lena would get together as soon as possible.

Anyone who had seen them caring for each other at the Academy couldn’t help but root for them.

“I can’t do it alone. Let’s investigate together, please.”

Annie grabbed Jade’s arms with both hands and shook them, pleading. Jade nodded.

“Okay, but let’s go find a store to get groceries first. It’s getting late.”

“Ugh…”

Annie realized that Jade wouldn’t help her, seeing his reluctant agreement.

In Annie’s mind, any man should prevent another man from approaching the woman he likes.

But Jade didn’t seem to feel any sense of crisis at all.

‘If that’s the case, I have to do it myself!’

Annie decided to uncover Lena’s secret on her own.

**

Annie stayed in the village and began to monitor Lena all day long. Whenever Lena moved somewhere, she would follow her.

Once, when Lena was training in the open space in front of the inn, Annie hid behind a tree and secretly watched her.

‘Maybe she’ll secretly meet Carlson while training?’

“Lena, you became a 5 Star a while ago, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to be a burden to you, the Hero. So I worked harder too.”

“Let’s spar lightly without mana for now.”

“Okay. Now that you’re the Hero, I won’t go easy on you like before.”

Lena was training with Jade, chatting amicably.

‘This can’t be…’

If this was the case, her guess might be wrong. Annie began to feel uneasy for no reason.

Still, Annie didn’t give up easily and followed Lena.

Annie saw Lena heading to the bathroom on the first floor of the inn.

Lena, in the bathroom?!

Annie imagined all sorts of things and cautiously approached to observe the situation.

Of course, nothing happened in the bathroom.

**

Annie was sitting on the first floor of the inn, watching Lena read a book.

Then, a crisis came to Annie.

Lena, who was reading, closed her book and began to approach Annie.

In fact, no matter how careful Annie was, she was lacking in many ways since she hadn’t learned tracking separately.

“Annie, do you have something to say to me? I’ve been following you since earlier.”

“!!”

Annie was very embarrassed by Lena’s sudden approach.

Was my stalking too clumsy?

I was sure I was as natural as the background. Anyway, if this goes on, she might find out that I suspect Lena.

In this case, Annie decided to put on a straight face and insist that nothing was wrong.

“No. It just seems like our paths keep crossing. It’s so strange!”

“Really? But the Magic book in your hand, you’re holding it upside down.”

“Oh, uh…?”

-Thump!

Annie quickly turned the book over.

“…Thanks for telling me.”

“If you want to say something to me, you can. Okay?”

“Uh-huh…”

Lena looked at Annie strangely, but she didn’t say anything more and let it go.

I need to be a little more careful.

Annie breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that she had overcome the crisis.

**

Annie was lying in bed, tapping her forehead with her Wand.

-Tap, tap.

This was one of her habits when things weren’t going well.

“It can’t be a misunderstanding…”

She had been monitoring Lena, but midnight had come without any gains.

It even seemed like she was distancing herself from Carlson even more after being monitored. Did she notice my tracking?

“Ugh. Let’s just go to sleep.”

Just as Annie was preparing to go to bed with a gloomy heart.

-Creak.

Annie heard the sound of a door opening from outside.

‘Could it be?’

Annie quickly ran and carefully opened the door, observing the hallway through the gap.

Then, she saw a faint figure in the darkness. Annie recognized the person.

It was Lena.

She was looking around cautiously, as if worried that someone might see her.

Where is she going in the middle of the night?

Annie wondered and carefully began to follow Lena.

Lena continued walking and stopped in front of someone’s door.

‘That’s… Carlson’s room?’

Annie cheered inwardly.

Finally, she had a chance to find out about the hidden secret of Lena and Carlson that had been tormenting her all day.

‘Oh, but Lena going to a man’s room at night means…?’

-Knock. Knock.

Lena gently knocked on the door twice. She seemed to be careful not to wake the other people at the inn.

-The door swung open.

Carlson appeared immediately.

“You’ve arrived. Please, come in.”

Carlson grabbed Lena’s arm and pulled her into the room.

Creak— Thud.

Was it because Lena hurriedly closed the door as she was being pulled in?

The door stopped without closing completely.

Annie tiptoed closer, put her eye to the crack in the door, and looked inside.

“Gasp!”

Annie suppressed a scream that was about to come out at the amazing sight before her.

Lena was quickly taking off her clothes in front of Carlson.

Annie rubbed her eyes with her fingers, wondering if she was seeing things wrong. But the sight before her didn’t change.

While Annie was frozen in shock, she threw off her underwear and became naked.

“I’ve been holding back a lot since earlier…”

“You’re impatient. I made you feel good last time, so how about you serve me today?”

Carlson lay down on the bed. Then, he put his hands behind his head and looked at Lena.

“You know what to do, right?”

“…You’re teasing me.”

Lena went over and lowered Carlson’s pants. As soon as she lowered his clothes, a huge pillar popped out.

-Thump.

‘That’s a man’s penis…?’

Annie couldn’t help but be flustered by the sight of the penis for the first time.

It was much bigger and more hideous than she had imagined. The shallowly exposed blood vessels on the surface were even frightening.

Surely that whole thing isn’t going into Lena’s body?

While Annie was flustered, Lena stood on Carlson’s pillar in her naked state. And she carefully tapped the penis as if testing its elasticity with her hand.

Then, Carlson’s penis was pushed back for a moment, but it stood upright again like a tumbler.

“You’re still energetic today?”

“No one wouldn’t be when they see Lena.”

“You’re just a beast for doing this even after what happened last time.”

Soon, Lena stopped playing around and grabbed the penis with one hand. And she rubbed her glans against the entrance below to align the position.

But Lena couldn’t insert it easily, and she groaned for a few seconds, rubbing the penis below.

“Is it not working?”

“W-wait…”

“You provoke and tease me so much normally, but you’re clumsy when it comes to sex.”

“Ugh…”

Carlson was happily watching Lena’s clumsy appearance.

“Got it!”

Eventually, Lena succeeded in aligning the position and slowly began to lower her body.

Squeak—

“Haaah…”

Carlson’s penis gradually dug into Lena’s lower body and began to disappear.

“Haa, haa…”

Lena stopped for a moment after inserting about half of it to catch her breath. It seemed difficult to insert the rather large penis all at once.

But Carlson didn’t let that go.

“Are you having a hard time? Then I should help you.”

“W-wait a minute!”

He grabbed Lena’s waist and slammed her down as is.

-Thwack!

“Haaang?!”

“How is it? It went in deeper than other positions, right?”

“Heue, haa…”

Lena couldn’t answer Carlson’s question. She was just panting and trembling from the pleasure of the penis hitting her cervix.

‘What is this?’

-Thud.

Annie, who was watching the room, lost strength in her body and collapsed to the floor.