The girls talked for a while and kept the conversation going, but Rias didn't seem interested in that. The sole reason she had come to the grand hall was to give Jane a last deserving chance. But now that Jane had messed that up, Rias got up and prepared to leave.
"Where are you going?" Maria asked hesitantly, but in a cheerful tone to keep the positive vibe.
Rias smiled slightly at Maria and pointed her gaze at the far away balcony.
"The sun will be up soon. I want to explore the castle before the time comes."
After saying that, she left the hall.
However, Maria and the girl knew the true reason. After all, they were a part of Rias' plan.
As a matter of fact, Rias had no intention of giving Jane a last chance since she had so many opportunities but never confessed her crime. It was the girls who managed to convince Rias to do that.
Out of all the girls, Maria tried her best since she had the same case as her.
Although Maria considered Ruby to be her niece all her life, since they were of the same age, they were more like sisters. Until Maria found out that Ruby was her blood related half-sister.
Ruby had joined Rudy's harem, though her relationship with Rudy was a bit different from the rest of the girls.
Maria knew how it felt for a family member to have the same lover, but she couldn't quite imagine how Rias must have felt. Nevertheless, she could imagine how she would have felt if she found out that Ruby had fucked Rudy before she got a chance.
She wanted everyone to get alone, everyone wanted the same thing, so the sooner Rias and Jane's matter settled, the better it was for everyone.
"Why didn't you tell Rias?" Maria said angrily with a disappointed look on her face.
"What? I have to be mentally prepared for something like this. And there is no way I was telling her anything in Rudy's absence. I need Rudy to be there when I do that."
"Why do you need Rudy? Do you think he will stand up for you and back you up?" Lilim remarked.
"No, but he is my strength and my source of confidence."
"And also your shield."
"I don't understand, though." Ruby quipped. "You are stronger than Rias, right? So why are you afraid of her? Yes, you are guilty and at fault. Yes, Rias will be pissed once you tell her. But what can she do to you?"
Ruby wondered with a glint of curiosity in her eyes.
"It's not about who is strong. It's about relationships. Heck, if it was any other girl instead of Rias, I couldn't have cared less."
Maria raised her brows and squinted her eyes upon hearing that. "You mean us?"
"No. You were added to harem after me. And let's be honest, I am like… the second girl to enter Rudy's harem. You all came after me."
"Who is the first according to you?" Angelica shot a judging glance at Jane.
"You, of course."
"Oh, and you are second? What about Rias?"
"Okay, I was third. Happy?"
"Wait, are we counting in a chronological order on who met Rudy first?" Ruby questioned.
"Yes, but it's not who met first, it's who fell in love first."
Angelica raised her hand and said, "Technically, Miss Elena would be the first girl, then."
"Rias is the second," she added and continued, "And I am the third."
"I am fourth, then?" Jane wondered.
"Fourth would be Alice."
"Okay, fifth." - Jane.
"That spot goes to Alice."
"Argh! Sixth?"
"That's Reina's cue."
"Surely, I am the seventh."
"You forgot Rize."
"No, she recently joined his harem, I know it!"
"But she was in a relationship with Rudy before that."
"Fine! I am the eighth girl to join Rudy's harem. No one can refute that!"
"Uh huh." Maria waved her hand at Jane. "That's me."
"How?! You fucked him after the gambling tournament, and that was after the vampire world!"
Maria narrowed her gaze and commented, "Just because you fucked him the night you met him, doesn't mean everyone did the same. Our relationship started before he went to the vampire world to save Rias."
"Gah! Who is ninth?"
"Me, me!" Lilim raised her hand."
"No, you weren't." Angelica threw a pillow at Lilim. "Don't try to sneak into a higher spot."
"What do you mean by 'higher spot', huh?" Lilim quoted with her fingers. "We are simply talking about the order of Rudy's harem. We all are equal. Your miss Elena is the same as Ruby here."
"Yes, yes, I know. But we shouldn't lie about the order either. In fact, I think we should write it down somewhere so future harem members can know what number of the order they belong to."
"Back at the palace of the Vampire Realm, there used to be a wall where the names of Vampire monarchs and their lineage were written down." Niti stated. "Since we abide in the castle, doing the same thing wouldn't be too far-stretched."
"True," Jane nodded. "That's a great idea, Niti. I will try asking Rudy if he is okay with it. And while we are at it, I will ask if he can make our statues too."
"As far as I know, Rudy won't allow us to get statues." Lilim shook her head. "Think about it, a few hundred years from now on, when we are no longer… you know, anyone can do anything with our statues…"
"Yeah but…" Jane shrugged. "What can happen? They are just statues, you know? Think of it as an image you take on phones. Statues are just a 3D portrait."
"And when exactly has Rudy openly shown our pictures to anyone?"
Ruby nudged Maria and whispered, "Do they always switch topics like that? A while ago, we were discussing something very important, and now we are talking about statues."
"Don't worry, you will get used to it soon enough."
