The Truth - Part 4

"So, how are you enjoying the meal?"

It annoyed Olivia. It really did. Sitting at this ridiculously expensive dining table along with the man who could not keep his eyes from wandering over to the girls. Granted, Olivia was the same in that respect sometimes. But while that was the case there was also the fact that the two girls beside the chief were acting so timid, that it seemed like just a strong breeze would cause them to jump out of their skin. The way they had acted all the way through the meal just reinforced the fact that it wasn't her they were afraid of. It was as if doing something that the chief would dislike, was what scared them.

There was so much wrong with this scene and the village as a whole. But while that was the case…

…She could not deny that the meal was excellent.

He may be a sleazy snotbag…but he had some great chefs cooking for him.

"It is lovely." Olivia ended up saying on impulse. She just couldn't deny it and felt it had to be said.

She didn't go so far as to say my compliments to the chef, as that would have made it seem like there was a friendly atmosphere here and not the tense and awkward one that everyone aside from the chief had noticed. Although, the sentiments were still there, as the chef really did well.

"I'm…glad that you enjoyed it." He said with a grimace as he responded to Olivia.

She was sure he was hoping either Lyrika, Philly or Ameril would be the ones to reply, telling him how great he was for finding amazing chefs like this.

If anything, while the girls were very much enjoying the food, Olivia was showing their appreciation of the meal for all of them, with how she was scoffing it down.

It had occurred to her that there may be poison in it, given the chief's distaste for her. But given that they all had the same food, it was unlikely that the chefs would have made everything separately from each other so poison would only affect one person.

On top of that, their host had sampled some of the food, Olivia's to be precise, to show there was no foul play. It wasn't so strange, generally any noble would have a taster sample the food on their plate, but given the lack of a taster for Olivia and the girls, as well as not having one for the chief due to the lack of staff, he had tried it after Olivia requested it, begrudgingly doing so after the threat of them all leaving was stated.

Among the girls, Philly and Lyrika were digging in with almost the same amount of gusto as Olivia, it being better than the food they were used to. Ameril on the other hand was taking her time, it probably being below the average she had eaten before.

The girls all gave the chief nods or short words of appreciation, bringing a slight smile to his face, before he continued with his own meal. The girls on either side of him we slowly munching their way through their food, almost as if they were not very hungry or maybe they had other things on their minds.

Either way, it was concerning for Olivia and the rest of the girls, them all having easily spotted it.

During the meal, they did not bring up this fact. Drawing attention to it may have caused some problems for themselves and the two girls with him, so they focused on just minor topics. Things like what they had done in their travels, how they met, what the chief had been up to and if any of them had any plans for the future. It was small stuff that didn't really matter to either party, but it kept the meal from being a long and awkward silent affair.

But before long, the meal was over. Olivia had devoured it faster than the rest but played it cool by eating small amounts once it neared its end. Everyone noticed but kept quiet about it.

With it being over, their host for the evening stood as a couple of people, servants, came out to collect their plates.

"Thank you for joining me this evening. It has been wonderful spending time with you…all. I know you said before about not being able to stay at my manor, but with it being this late, it would be cruel of me to let you leave and brave the darkness."

There it was. They were all expecting it which was good, as if they were the ones to request it, it might have seemed a bit fishy. Now, however, they had a plausible reason to be in the chief's manor which would give them the ability to do some snooping.

"Thank you. You have been a very gracious host and are honoured that you would let us stay the night in your lovely home."

Yeah, that wasn't Olivia saying that. Ameril being the most well-spoken of the group, used her understanding of nobles to respond and butter the chief up. After she said that, he almost blushed before walking to the door to show them to their rooms.

"You are too kind. Now please, come this way so I can show you where you will be staying tonight."

Up the stairs, they ended up in a small hallway with many doors along it.

"There are quite a few rooms available and there are more than enough for you all to sleep in."

He then proceeded to show them four doors all in a row, saying they could take their pick of where they wanted to rest.

A quick peak inside and they found they were all the same. They were rooms made for high-profile guests. Or as best as they could be for a village. Inside was a large double bed, dresser, washbasin, screen divider and a wardrobe. All the essentials for a short stay away from home.

"Please take your pick. Oh…and my room is right at the end of the hall, just in case any of you have any…questions for me or the like."

"After giving all of these to us there aren't many rooms left. Where do Beatrix and Kathleen stay?" Olivia quickly asked, wondering if they could find a way to talk to them when everyone in the manor was asleep.

"Huh. Oh, errr. They do not live in my manor. I did ask for them to stay here, but…well, they preferred to stay in their family homes in the village. Now, I best be heading off. There are a few things I have to do before I turn in for the night. Good night to you all."

They all responded, telling him to have a good evening. Then once he was out of sight, they headed into one of the rooms.

…

"Okay. What now?"

That was the question that Lyrika voiced but was also on everyone's mind.

"Well, we need to search this manor. But, we should probably wait till the chief is asleep before we do anything. We don't want to be wandering around and bump into him."

"Even more so since he will probably think one of us is joining him for the night if we do."

A shiver ran through all the girls as Ameril brought that up.

"We should probably use some of the other rooms rather than just stay in this one. It will look a bit odd if someone comes to check on us and finds all four in one room."

It was only a slight possibility. But it was entirely possible that one of his guards would make the rounds and see them. Or, of the very few servants in this place, they might come to check if they needed anything. So, rather than have questions asked about why all four of them are camping out in one room that had a single double bed, it would be better if it looked like they were actually going to sleep.

"So, we just each use one of the four rooms.?" Lyrika asked.

"Should we split up completely? I don't feel very safe here, so I would prefer not to be on my own." Ameril voiced her very reasonable concern.

"Well, they are double beds. So having two to a room wouldn't be a problem." Olivia raised.

Oh but a problem it would be, because as soon as she said that, Lyrika and Ameril both looked at her and said the same thing.

"Who's going to stay with you then?"

Hearing that Olivia was a little flattered. Who wouldn't be when you had two beautiful women asking that sort of question?

Although that feeling was short-lived when she saw the stink eye the girls were giving each other. It would seem that while there was the opportunity to share and enjoy some time together like they had done before. That was only part of what the girls were after.

If anything it seemed like they were trying to one up each other.

Well, Olivia decided she needed to stamp that out for the moment.

"I'm pretty sure it was agreed it would be Lyrika the next time."

The smug grin on Lyrika's face as Olivia said that caused a frown to appear on Ameril's. But what she said next, sent a frown straight to both.

"But what does it matter? We don't have time for that, and given where we are, shouldn't be doing it anyway. Given all that, I think me and Philly should stay together."

Olivia congratulated herself on solving the situation, given the mumbling that she heard from Lyrika and Ameril. She pretended not to hear the lacklustre "Sure" from Philly, not really caring about where she was staying.

So, without further adieu, they all headed into their respective rooms, got ready and prepared for the night ahead where they would be sneaking around to try and figure out what was going on around here.