Discussions continued another week before an in-person meeting felt possible. The chosen city was none other than London. The Queen herself suggested her own city, since neither previous factions had connections to it.


    Everyone trusted her the most, so it took little to convince them. The problem derived from somewhere else... Travelling...


    Many city-states lay in Eastern Europe, making continental travel dangerous and difficult, even for Transcended.


    Reluctantly, everyone agreed to let Vicky teleport them to London. This marked significant progress towards a better future. It required a lot of trust on their end from them, to even think about accepting.


    For the meeting, everyone could send either a three person envoy, or attend themselves, while bringing maximum two people along.


    This wasn''t for safety reasons, since nobody was stupid enough to provoke the Queen''s wrath. Everyone knew Her Majesty was proud and did not tolerate insubordination.


    Sera spoke with her advisers, or, in other words, friends. None of them wanted to attend this event. People like Lucy and Cass were interested in the city, but would''ve rather fought a battle than suffer through politics. Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    Many shared that feeling, including David and Damien. They also didn''t want to meet or even be close to the Queen. Her reputation wasn''t the best. She treated all her guests well, but her ego could barely fit inside her gigantic castle.


    Previously, while tracking Harold, he encountered the Queen. In his opinion, meeting her once sufficed for a lifetime.


    Since nobody else wanted to, Sera decided to make it a family vacation. A week later, Bran could finally walk and even run again. He still looked extremely pale, but otherwise, he was okay.


    Sera took Bran and Vicky to London. They already needed to transport several others, thus requiring her daughter''s presence.


    They departed early. Their first destination was the city-state furthest to the east, named Odesz. The smaller city laid on the northern shore of the Black Sea.


    A married couple led Odesz, but at some point they introduced elections. They still get voted to lead the city every year. They were one of the cities which stayed unaligned.


    After a quick introduction, Vicky teleported all of them away to the next city. The wife managed everything while he was away, taking two advisors for the meeting.


    The next city on their list was Kiev. The city was one of the larger ones, close to the size of Rome, both in expanse and population.


    The man leading it was a sort of dictator. He held no elections and ruled with an iron fist. His citizens, oddly, accepted his rule. Though a dictator, he was just aiming solely for their betterment.


    It was definitely a weird arrangement. The man was also very sexist and only spoke with Bran, who ignored his every word. The air turned awkward after that, so they moved onto the next city.


    Vicky had talked only a little about her feelings with Sera. Sadly, she knew her mother''s emotional state couldn''t provide the support she needed. But that''s where Bran came into the picture.


    During Sera''s preparations and virtual meetings, he and Vicky spent most of their days together. She had a lot to do, but opening portals was easy. She didn''t even have to be nearby to open them.


    The first week, they just played and got to know each other more thoroughly, but after that, they became quite close.


    Somehow, he became her close confidant. She shared all her emotions, worries and pains with Bran, and he advised to the best of his knowledge.


    He suggested Vicky to stay in contact with her mother, and to be more accommodating to her. This wasn''t necessarily for Vicky, even though Bran knew the girl hated being away from her other mother.


    In a way, Bran felt guilty about the entire ordeal. He never wanted for Bea to leave. Even if eventually Sera would''ve chosen him, he wanted Bea to stay with them, for Vicky''s sake.


    Vicky felt conflicted about contacting Bea. She knew how hurt Sera felt, and wanted to be supportive towards her mother, but she also wanted to keep a relationship with her other parent. This decision was tearing her up on the inside, so Bran helped her.


    Afterward, Vicky began sending messages, and even video chatting with Bea. This didn''t mean she forgave her mother, in fact, she was using the communication as another form of torture.


    Bran thought nothing of it. In his opinion, his support of keeping the relationship alive elevated the guilt. He wasn''t responsible for Vicky''s vengeful upbringing and vindictive compliance.


    She wanted to hate her mother, and at the same time, have a relationship with her. The only way she could manage both was by being toxic. It was most definitely unhealthy, but all of Bran''s remnant guilt evaporated upon seeing Bea.


    The woman, whose entire world fell apart only a few weeks ago, now laughed and joked with the person she cheated with.


    They weren''t actively being intimate, but only a blind and deaf person would think they weren''t a couple. Bran hadn''t once heard Bea laugh so wholeheartedly. She also seemed a lot more happy.


    Bran turned towards Vicky with concern, but all he saw was a calm expression. He hadn''t even notice, that the little girl found Sera''s hand too, and now the three of them walked together.


    Sera wasn''t taking it nearly as well as Vicky. Her head was slowly turning red from anger, and her empty left hand trembled, her knuckled turning white. Her nails even dug into her palm, drawing a few drops of blood.


    A suffocating atmosphere appeared around the love of his life, and for a split second, Sera''s eyes glowed green.


    Bea was raising a glass of some drink to her lips when she suddenly dropped her drink and cursed while clutching her head.


    After a few seconds, her eyes widened, and she began looking around the room. When her eyes landed on the three of them, they turned melancholic.


    Vicky even rubbed salt on the wound by not even greeting her mother. She led the three of them away, to a large balcony, which connected to the lounge room. There they waited until Queen Elizabeth finally showed up.