For this meeting, Sera returned to New Athens. Much remained undone in Rome, yet David and the others handled it all. Sera''s role was solely supportive and symbolic.


    The prisoners acted much more nicely when she stood nearby. They usually stared at her like she was some legendary person, which wasn''t entirely inaccurate.


    It was surprising how well all the prisoners acted. Sera was afraid they would cause trouble, and would annoy Rome''s citizens, alienating them from the Angelic Order.


    These concerns quickly disappeared. She ensured her cities received live feeds from both the Federal Alliance and the United Front. The prisoners became especially angry when the news spoke about the Second Battle of Rome.


    They essentially labeled each surviving soldier a deserter, forbidding their return to the Federal Alliance''s cities. Sera knew exactly what the Central Command was trying to accomplish.


    To negotiate for the prisoners, they would need to open communications with the Angelic Order. People would see their opening of communications as backing down and admitting defeat.


    They also didn''t want the prisoners spreading information about Sera and the Angelic Order. She let a few select prisoners to explore the city, however they wanted. Groups of prisoners ventured from the restricted zone each day, only to return shocked.


    Their leaders sprouted propaganda about citizen welfare. They were told Sera was a dictatorial, iron-willed ruler. This obvious lie quickly fell apart after the first group returned.


    Currently, after two weeks, every ''deserter'' had a new permanent home assigned within the city. They also spoke with their family members, and most agreed to the relocation.


    Rome required further work, however, this meeting held greater significance. She also wasn''t doing much there. Her leisure time mostly involved her daughter; however, Vicky had a heavier workload.


    She constantly needed to open and close portals, teleport between cities, and hold back her tears.


    Vicky wasn''t adjusting well to living without Bea. Each night, she cried herself to sleep while clutching Sera, like she feared abandonment by her other mother.


    This caused Sera''s hatred to grow towards her past lover. Vicky might''ve been angry with her, but instead of giving her space for a few weeks, she ran off with her affair partner like a coward.


    She didn''t understand how, but thinking about Bea caused her anger to surface. It was similar how she felt a small amount of love towards Vicky, but much stronger. The feeling destroyed her emotionless state, which was very much impossible.


    Sera talked a lot with Bran about it, but he had little insight to give. He was still bedridden since the incident, but at least he can go to the bathroom on his own. She and Melinda took turns taking care of him, and a few times, even Vicky joined them.


    Her daughter seemed much more open to Bran, and he didn''t push her away. They were bonding faster than Sera had expected, and only now did she realize why Bran never tried before.


    At first Sera thought, he didn''t like Vicky, but seeing how much fun the two had, the truth became obvious. If he would''ve tried to bond with Vicky before breaking up with Bea, then everyone would''ve considered his actions to be alienating.


    Sera plastered a small smile on her face, which helped bring the other leaders'' walls down further. Her joke even got a few chuckles, mostly from Otto, but that still counts.


    "Indeed, so we should get to the point. I assume everyone heard what happened in the past two weeks, but if you didn''t, Ms. Seraphine will remind everyone, since she was the perpetrator of these events."


    There was no accusation in Elizabeth''s voice. She even seemed a bit impressed. The Queen''s assignment didn''t offend Sera either. It even made sense in her opinion and gave her more control over the conversation.


    "As you know, the Second Battle of Rome went down two weeks ago. The Angelic Order won an overwhelming victory, with Otto''s help. I used my agents to push our victory past everyone''s propaganda, which led to Napoleon and the Central Command showing their true colors."


    Sera took a deep breath and looked straight into the camera. Her face was full of anger towards Napoleon''s and the Central Command''s actions. But her eyes told a different story. In them, they could clearly see exhaustion.


    "Both parties killed millions of their own people, just because they disagreed with their rulers'' actions. This alone is horrible, but if it wasn''t enough, both Napoleon and the Federal Alliance have a singular goal in mind... They want to conquer Europe!"


    The lack of surprise among the leaders was evident, yet most of them appeared uncomfortable. They all knew the truth already, but they hadn''t accepted it yet.


    "To be honest with all of you, I had enough of all this war. Everyone has their own problems, and I would rather focus on my people''s wellbeing, then send them to die in faraway places. The problem is, if we want to stop the war, we have to fight!"


    On the leaders'' faces, acceptance and agreement began to show, while both Elizabeth and Otto nodded along. After a few seconds, the Queen spoke.


    "For this meeting to have any significance, we need to make one simple decision before we continue. We all have the same goal, and we all have the same enemies. I propose an alliance between all our cities, armies, etc. Everyone who disagrees should leave before we start making plans!"


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    Elizabeth stayed silent, waiting for anyone who wants to leave. Nobody did. A small satisfied smile grew on her face, and she nodded once with delight.


    "Good, then let''s begin. We have a lot to talk through, so I hope all of you freed up your next few hours!"


    Everyone chuckled a bit, then the planning began in earnest. It took them half a day to work out an agreeable alliance, where no one would be the dominant party.


    There were other discussions too, for example about armies, generals, where to strike next, how to defend attacked cities. Sera led most of these conversations, since she was the most experienced in war out of everyone.


    After the meeting, Sera headed to her room. It was late at night, so when upon entering, she found Vicky and Bran sleeping peacefully in her bed.


    Sera quickly changed out of her usual clothes and climbed into the bed as well. She fell asleep quickly, cuddling the man he loved and her daughter.@@@@