While still contemplating on the matter, they hard some sounds in the dining area which was followed by some sweet aroma of freshly cooked dishes.
When Jean gazed in that direction, he noticed a woman who seemed to be in her early thirties setting the table.
This was the moment Jean realized that there was an indoor kitchen to the right of the dining area.
'So, she had been there all this while?'
Jean pondered.
The moment he saw the lady and spotted the door leading to the kitchen, he automatically knew that that was where the woman came from.
Now gazing in that direction, Mr. Adranis scratched his head and faced Jean.
"I think we have to postpone this session until we are done with our breakfast."
Upon hearing this, Jean heaved a sigh of relief.
It was like a heavy load had been lifted off his shoulders at the perfect moment. He needed this break dearly in order for him to come up with a proper scheme of lying to the guy.
Although this act of his could be considered despicable, he still found it important for the sake of his safety.
Getting on his feet, Mr. Adranis guided the two to the dining area. During this moment, Jean's eyes were locked on the woman who was busying herself in setting the table for them. According to her dressing code, Jean could discern that she was a maid.
She had a short stature of a height of about 5.2 feet high. She was somewhat fat with an innocent chubby face. On her head she put on a chef cap that concealed her hair.
As soon as the three got in the dining area, the woman gave them a bow before welcoming them.
"You are welcome!"
The maid said in a friendly tone.
Smiling at her, Casper responded.
"Thanks miss."
Now turning to Jean, Casper grinned.
"Jean, meet Evelyn, my friend's maid."
With that, Jean nodded gently and outstretched his hand for a handshake. Without hesitation Evelyn grabbed it and shook it gently.
"Nice to meet you, Miss. Evelyn. My name is Jean as you just heard from my friend Casper."
Jean said as he lessened his grip and let Evelyn's hand go.
"I am glad knowing you, too."
Evelyn responded.
Just at that moment, Mr. Adranis chimed in.
"Evelyn, these are my guests and I hope Mr. Wedge had briefed you how special they are before you were done preparing the breakfast. Therefore, I am hoping that you did a nice job the moment you got the message, isn't it?."
In response, Evelyn shook her head vigorously as if a foul pecking on seeds before responding.
"You know how skillful I am, sir. Get ready to be amazed."
Just at that moment, Evelyn gestured at Casper and Jean to take their seats. Without further hesitations the dual responded and took their seats next to each other.
They did this on purpose. They wanted to use any little opening to discuss their plans. But this was only going to happen if Mr. Adranis was going to leave them alone in the dining area.
Now turning their attention to the food in front of them, the two shared a knowing glance. During this moment, what was running through their mind was how sweet the food tasted. Both of them were used to eating the sweet food that Casper used to prepare, but now that they were about to put someone's culinary skills to taste, they didn't know what to expect.
Although Casper had ever tasted Evelyn's food before, it had past a long time that he had forgotten how her food used to taste.
As soon as they were served with their portion of the food, they swallowed their pride and wolfed down the food like hungry beasts. After all, they were famished from their long journey despite the heavy breakfast they took before the start of the journey.
During this moment, Mr. Adranis threw furtive looks at two as he slowly consumed his own portion. Since he understood that it was the arduous journey that had contributed to their hunger, he just let the matter slide and minded his own business.
When Jean was taking the last spoonful of the meal when he realized that he was supposed to compare the taste of the meal he was taking ro the one that he was already used to.
'Anyway, if it was awful I could have already realized it from the start.'
Jean contemplated. In the next moment, he gave Casper a questioning look before straightening up and facing Mr. Adranis.
"Sir, I must say, you must have snatched your cook from a seven star hotel if I am not mistaken."
Jean said in a respectful manner as he caressed his belly with a satisfied smile.
Letting out a genuine smile, Mr. Adranis blinked for a couple of times before responding.
"You are really good at lighting up the moods of people. You might have the reason to why this rascal had not missed me that much, for him not to bother visiting me all this while."
Just at that moment, Casper intervened.
"How could that be possible when we have barely spent a week together."
As soon as Mr. Adranis heard this, his expression turned serious before turning to face Jean.
"Is that true?"
For a moment, Jean didn't know if to agree or refute.
But when he saw Casper giving him a reassuring gaze, he immediately nodded in agreement.
During this moment, everyone was done with their meal. So, it was an easy time to contact some random discussions among themselves.
"Okay, but still, I must admit that if someone can be bored around you, then the person must be the boredom itself, and not a human."
Mr. Casper complimented.
During this moment, Jean couldn't help but let out a genuine smile. Although he wasn't some kind of narcissist individual, he was still touched by Mr. Adranis' uplifting words.
For a moment, he seemed to understand why Mr. Adranis was the perfect friend that Casper could get for himself. The guy was so sincere. He even started feeling guilty for having a mutual plan with Casper to lie to him during the arrangement of this journey.
But even with this sudden feeling, Jean still saw it important to stick to their initial plan. After all, it was his life that was at stake here.
"I appreciate your compliment, sir."
Jean said with a smile.
Just at that moment, Jean decided to comment further on the meal that they had takes a few minutes ago. He believed that by doing so, he would counter Mr. Adranis compliment towards him.
"What you don't know is that; the food I ate today is the best food I have ever tasted since I started staying with him."
Jean said while pointing at Casper who was seated next to him.
Suddenly, Mr. Adranis let out a chuckle.
As soon as Casper heard the chuckle, he felt offended and glared at Jean.
Jean had said this, deep down he knew that he was lying. He had only done that to please Mr. Adranis and it seems to have worked since the old man was in jubilation.
Casper on the other hand already understood what the boy was trying to achieve, but still, he had to depict such reaction for Jean's plan to be a success.
The two had developed a tacit understanding and they could coordinate in many tasks without communicating.
This could have looked strange since the two had barely spent a week together. And this was one of the things that made Jean to reduce his doubts whenever he was around the guy.
It seemed like fate had bind them together.
Judging by Mr. Adranis' chuckle, it could be easy to discern that he believed every bit of word that Jean said about the meal that he had taken.
This could have been absurd since his friend Casper was a proficient cook and this was proved by Jean himself.
Albeit someone could have said that the two must have spent a long time together and thus higher chances of Mr. Adranis tasting Casper's food.
But the truth of the matter was that; whenever Mr. Adranis would visit Casper's home, Casper would always prepare his meals anyhow, and thus give the old man an impression that he wasn't a good cook.
However, he always did this on purpose.
The reason he did this, was because he understood that there were higher chances that the old man could camp at his home in case he proved that he was a proficient cook, given the fact that he no longer stays with he wife because of her poor culinary skills.
That was even the reason he hired Evelyn from one of the biggest restaurants in the city when he heard of her exceptional culinary skills.
Although Jean didn't know that Evelyn was from a big restaurant, his guess was almost on point. Although this could have surprised Mr. Adranis, he still kept calm when the boy mentioned this. This was because he thought that Casper might have told him since he knew about this already.
After a long moment of silence, Mr. Adranis resounded once again.
"This rascal must be poisoning you with his disgusting food. In less than a week, I already can tell that your health is in limbos. But I don't know how long you intend to stay with him and why, else I would have suggested you stay here with me so that we could enjoy these sumptuous meals with you."
As soon as Jean heard this statement, he immediately confirmed that the old man believed his words. And this made him confused as he wore a complicated look that was hard to hide.
In the next moment, he gave Casper a dubious look. And just at that moment, Mr. Adranis noticed this and immediately his expression turned serious.
"Come clean and tell me. What is it that the both of you are hiding from me?"
Suddenly, the two were out of words as they struggled to maintain eye contact with Mr. Adranis.
(;´-｀)