When Mark reached them he stopped in front of the group.

"What are you all doing?"

Aria was the first to look up.

"Master!" she said with a smile. "Glad you’re back."

"Yes, I’m back," Mark said, looking at the group crouched on the ground. "But... what exactly are you doing?"

"We were explaining to Zilu what her place in the hierarchy is," Aria replied with complete naturalness, gesturing to the ground.

"Hierarchy? What hierarchy?" Mark asked, frowning.

"The harem hierarchy, obviously," Ely said from the ground without looking up, still focused on what she was drawing with the stick.

"...The what?"

None of those present seemed to find what had just been said strange.

Mark crouched down slowly to look at what Ely was drawing in the dirt.

And what he saw left him speechless.

It was a pyramid.

Drawn on the dirt floor with a stick, with crooked lines, uneven letters, and a level of artistic detail that left much to be desired.

At the top there was a smiley face with the text "MASTER" written beside it in large letters and surrounded by hearts.

The little face even had an attempted crown drawn on top that looked more like a fork than a crown.

Just below, on the second level of the pyramid, it read "HEAD WIVES" followed by five small drawings that apparently represented each of them.

The first was a pair of vampire fangs.

’Rose,’ Mark thought.

The second was a closed fist with lines around it that were probably meant to be an impact effect.

’Alice.’

The third was a sword. It was the best-drawn of all, which made sense considering Ely was the artist.

’Ely, drawing her own sword with more detail than the others, of course.’

The fourth was a dagger.

’Yuki.’

And the fifth was a happy face with two pigtails on the sides and what appeared to be two tears beneath the eyes.

Mark looked at Aria.

Aria was looking at the pyramid with a satisfied expression, apparently not noticing that her representation included tears.

’...I suppose that one refers to Aria.’

Then he lowered his gaze to the next level, and that’s where things got worse.

It read "CONCUBINES TO GIVE THE MASTER CHILDREN" written in letters that spilled out of the assigned space and in some places overlapped each other because Ely had clearly not calculated how much room she needed.

Beside it were two drawings. The first was a happy face with what appeared to be small round glasses and tiny horns on top of the head.

’Cali.’

And beside it, a pair of rabbit ears sticking out of a round, faceless head.

’...Zilu.’

And on the last level, at the base of the pyramid, it read "SERVANTS" followed by names written one below the other: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon.

Mark watched as Ely finished writing the last letter of Epsilon’s name with the tip of the stick, making a period with a dry little tap against the dirt.

"And with that, the harem hierarchy is officially updated!" Ely announced, raising the stick as if it were a scepter, with a smile of satisfaction lighting up her entire face.

"..."

Mark was completely speechless at the absurdity of the organizational chart.

Until he noticed how Zilu was looking at him with very wide eyes and an expression on her face that Mark could only describe as the exact moment someone realizes what kind of situation they have just gotten themselves into.

Her rabbit ears were completely upright and rigid, pointing straight up without moving.

Her mouth was slightly open and her golden eyes went from Mark to the pyramid and from the pyramid back to Mark, as if she were trying to confirm that what she had just seen was real.

’Damn...’

"M-Master..." Zilu said in a voice that was barely a thread. "I-I didn’t know you were... that kind of man..."

Mark raised both hands in front of him.

"You see, Zilu, this isn’t exactly what—"

"Hey, Ely," Aria interrupted in a tone that had changed completely.

Aria was standing looking at the pyramid with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. Her attention was fixed on the "HEAD WIVES" section, specifically on the position of the drawings.

"Why is your sword drawn just a tiny bit higher than the others?" Aria asked, pointing with her finger.

Mark looked at the pyramid and sure enough, the sword representing Ely was drawn slightly higher than the other four symbols on the same line.

Ely didn’t even blink at the question.

"Because obviously I’m the Master’s number one," she said in a tone that made clear this was for her an established fact and not a topic of debate. "I was his first subordinate, his first wife, and I’m the head wife, so it’s logical that I’d be a little higher than the others."

"Logical?!" Aria said, raising her voice. "Since when does being first give you more points than everyone else?!"

"Since always, Aria."

"That’s a lie and you know it!"

"It’s completely true."

"The Master’s favorite is me!" Aria said, pointing to herself with both hands. "ME! My drawing should be the one that’s higher!"

"You should be grateful I put you as a head wife and not as a pet," Ely said with a half smile.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

’Please stop making this worse,’ Mark thought, closing his eyes hard.

"You heard me."

"Master, scold her, she’s insulting me!" Aria said, turning to look at Mark and pointing a finger at Ely.

Mark was about to say something, anything, to stop the escalation, when a voice he wasn’t expecting joined the conversation.

"Excuse me."

Mark opened his eyes and turned his head.

Alice was standing beside Zilu, with her back straight, arms at her sides, and an expression on her face that was deceptively calm.

"I think both of you are wrong," Alice said in a serene tone.

Ely and Aria stopped mid-shout and looked at her.

"I am his favorite, aren’t I, my lord?" Alice asked, turning toward Mark.

He stayed silent as all three waited for an answer.

"..."

Zilu, who was still crouching beside the pyramid drawn in the dirt, watched the scene with an expression that slowly shifted from surprise to discomfort, and from discomfort to something that looked very much like a strong desire to be anywhere else.

Her ears dropped until they were completely flat against her head. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"I think..." Zilu said, slowly getting to her feet. "I think I’ll go see Sarah."

"Zilu, wait—" Mark tried, extending a hand toward her.

But it was too late, he watched her walk away in the direction of Sarah’s house, and his outstretched hand hung in the air for a second before lowering slowly.

Mark let out a heavy sigh and turned to sit on the edge of the stone fountain, dropping down beside Rose and resting his elbows on his knees.

And in front of him, the argument between the three hadn’t stopped, it had actually intensified now that Alice had joined.

"I arrived first and that gives me priority!"

"Arriving first means absolutely nothing, Ely!"

"My lord, please tell them the favorite is only one and it’s me!"

"WHERE DO YOU GET THAT CONFIDENCE FROM, ALICE?!"

Mark covered his face with his hands.

Beside him, Rose was sitting on the edge of the fountain with her legs crossed and her back relaxed, watching the fight with a wide, entertained smile.

Every now and then she let out a low laugh under her breath, especially when one of the three said something particularly ridiculous.

Mark glanced at her sideways through his fingers.

"Aren’t you going to argue with them?"

Rose turned her head toward him with a relaxed expression.

"Obviously not," Rose said in a calm tone. "That argument makes no sense."

Mark looked at her, surprised, but that didn’t last long.

"Because it’s obvious that the best one and the Master’s favorite is me," Rose said with a satisfied smile, closing her eyes and shrugging.

"..."

Mark covered his face with his hands again.

’I suppose the only one who doesn’t fight about this is Yuki.’