"By the way, where’s Rafine? Did she go out?" Alvaron asked Anastasia, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Anastasia smiled gently and shook her head.
"No, dear. Rafine is in her room," she replied softly.
Alvaron’s frown deepened, clearly showing his dissatisfaction. "How can she be confined to her room when the Prince and Princess are about to return?"
All this time, he had always praised Rafine and never scolded her. Yet now, for the first time, he was displeased.
Still, his frustration was understandable. Nolan and Elina were their heroes—the ones who had resolved the crisis in the eastern region.
Yet the girl had acted inappropriately, locking herself away just as Nolan and Elina were about to leave.
"I’m here, Father."
At that moment, a sweet voice came from behind them. They all turned to see Rafine.
But strangely, she wasn’t wearing her usual casual dress. Instead, she wore white armor.
Her long hair, normally flowing freely, was tied up in a ponytail. Where she usually exuded a noble, graceful aura, now she radiated a heroic presence unlike anything they had ever seen.
Alvaron stared at her in disbelief, taking her in from head to toe. "What happened to you, Rafine? Why are you wearing that armor?"
Rafine smiled faintly and walked toward them. She stopped beside Elina and Nolan before speaking. "Father, please allow me to accompany Prince Nolan and Princess Elina to the palace!"
Nolan: "( ˵ •̀ □ •́ ˵ )"
Elina: "( ˵ •̀ □ •́ ˵ )"
Both of them were startled, their eyes fixed on Rafine, who ignored their astonished stares.
She kept her gaze firmly on Alvaron, as if to assert her resolve.
"You... You..." Alvaron stammered, stunned, unable to believe what he had just heard. "Do you realize what you just said? Going with His Highness Nolan and Her Highness Elina? Rafine, don’t be ridiculous."
He shook his head, his refusal firm. "You are the heiress of the Austin family. Please don’t act so foolishly."
But Rafine didn’t back down. Instead, she grew even more resolute. "Father, please listen to me."
Her expression turned serious. "I’m doing this for the Austin family too. After we defeated that sea monster, you had no choice but to give Princess Elina family support. But why didn’t you?"
Her words left Alvaron momentarily speechless. Before he could respond, Rafine continued in a calm, almost indifferent tone: "Surely you already know why Princess Elina came to the Eastern Region to help resolve this crisis, don’t you? Answer me, Father."
With the Austin family’s intelligence network, discovering the reason would not be difficult.
Previously, the Emperor had offered the candidates for the throne the chance to go to the Eastern Region to help resolve the crisis.
But no one dared take the risk, and Rafine had understood their hesitation. The danger was extreme—any candidate who went might have been killed by the sea monster.
Yet, despite the risk, Elina had stepped forward decisively. She even ignored the Emperor’s advice, insisting on helping the Eastern Region.
Her sincerity and courage proved that she deserved the Austin family’s support.
Nearby, Nolan, who had been watching silently, glanced at Alvaron with curiosity.
What will he choose? he wondered.
Over the past few days, Nolan had been observing Alvaron, curious to see how he would act.
Elina had successfully resolved the crisis in the Eastern Region—a remarkable achievement.
Yet Alvaron had still not given her the Austin family token, and it clearly left Nolan dissatisfied.
If Alvaron had chosen another candidate in the battle for the throne, the Austin family might have ceased to exist once Elina ascended. After all, the Marquis Valmire family was ready to take their place.
"Dear..." Anastasia looked at Alvaron, her eyes filled with a complicated mixture of emotions.
She had never expected her husband to keep such a cunning strategy. Initially, she had been certain he would immediately grant the Austin family’s support to Elina.
But he hadn’t—and that disappointment weighed heavily on her.
"I..." Alvaron hesitated, unsure how to respond.
In truth, he had a hidden motive for not immediately supporting Elina. He wanted to observe how the battle for the throne would unfold before making his move. What he hadn’t expected was Rafine bringing up the issue in front of Nolan, Elina, and Luvistar.
His face flushed red, a mix of embarrassment and anger.
"By the way, Father, I forgot to mention one thing," Rafine said, a faint grin playing on her lips. "In the agreement I made with the Blue Moon Trading House, there’s a provision requiring our family to support Princess Elina."
"What!?" Alvaron’s eyes widened in shock. "Why didn’t you tell me about this?"
His voice was hoarse, heavy with both anger and disappointment.
"It’s not that I deliberately didn’t tell you, Father. Like I said, I simply forgot." Rafine shrugged, feigning innocence.
Alvaron gritted his teeth, his voice heavy as he demanded, "Why did you accept the offer?"
"I—no, we—had no other choice," Rafine replied, her gaze steady. "If we don’t take a loan from the Blue Moon Trading House, the Eastern Region will suffer even more. The only alternative would have been to turn to the Red Obsidian Trading House. You know what conditions they would have demanded, don’t you?"
Alvaron fell silent. Of course he knew—the Red Obsidian Trading House would have required support for Zarak.
He wasn’t unaware of the situation in the Eastern Region. Almost all the noble families there were stagnating, lacking the capital to expand.
The Red Obsidian Trading House offered loans with steep interest rates. At first, few families accepted. But after the sea monster’s attack, the region’s economy collapsed, and many noble families fell into poverty.
Eventually, they accepted loans from the Red Obsidian Trading House, which bound them to support Zarak.
Suffice it to say, Zarak had become the strongest candidate, holding the majority of favorable votes in the Eastern Region.
"Rafine, I never imagined you’d grow up to be such a rebellious girl," Alvaron murmured with a long sigh.
Yet there was no anger or resentment in his words—only a deep sense of helplessness.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a mysterious red token. Its flaming emblem glimmered brilliantly in the morning sunlight.
He approached Elina and handed it to her.
"This is a special token of the Austin family, Your Highness," he said solemnly. Then, drawing a deep breath, he declared, "Today, I, Alvaron Austin, pledge the Austin family’s full support to Elina Lorian in the battle for the throne!"