The Devil's Good Girl-Chapter 275: Her name is… Fil.

When Fil and Jackson got into the car, it was pure silence. She would glance at him from time to time, but he seemed to be deep in thought as if he was wondering how he would say it.

Fil decided to let the silence linger. Holding her hands on her lap, she rubbed her thumb to ease her rising anxiety.

"There is a story I will tell you, Fil," Jackson spoke after long minutes of silence, his eyes were kept on the road. "It’s a story about this woman who conquered an empire and destroyed it all for the sake of a man."

Fil pursed her lips, eyes on his side profile.

Jackson didn’t start with "once upon a time," but rather, the exact year and date of this woman’s first appearance in the empire.

He said this woman looked meek, soft, and innocent. She carried a beauty like no one had ever seen across all the great oceans. The person who found her was the crown prince and his war dog, who happened to be a duke.

The crown prince fell in love with her at first sight, and so was the duke. The woman could only reciprocate one love, and she chose the well-disliked duke. Compared to the crown prince, who was loved, admired, and royalty, the duke was nothing like him. The duke was scarred, hideous as people call him, and someone who belonged only in war to fight till his last breath.

Until now, even the duke didn’t know her reason.

What did she see in him?

What made him better than the crown prince?

Why him?

However, she still ended up marrying the crown prince for the sole reason she didn’t want to put the duke in a tough situation.

A year after her royal wedding, no one truly knew what was happening behind closed doors. But alas, the duke knew whatever was going on, it wasn’t good. The lights in her eyes quickly dimmed just after a year in the imperial palace. Hence, he made a deal with the crown prince to save the crown princess from the pain of abuse and violence.

"That war... is where he died," Jackson remarked under his breath. "After a long — very long battle, he ended up falling. Turns out the enemies had a very powerful ally that is beyond human comprehension, and the crown prince already made a deal with them."

Fil unconsciously clasped her chest, her eyes were still on his side profile. She felt this slight tightness in her chest, making her wonder why this story felt so familiar. She never heard such a story in the past, but it felt like she already knew about this story.

"In his dying moments, the crown princess was there. She was weeping, cradling him in her embrace." Jackson’s eyes softened as a subtle yet regretful smile appeared on his face. "He thought he was hallucinating, and he was simply seeing the only person he wanted to see and be with as a product of his dwindling consciousness. So, he didn’t wonder how she got in there or how dangerous it would be for her to be in the middle of a fierce battlefield."

"Was she... did she come?" she asked quietly, and Jackson rocked his head. "How did he know?"

"Because he didn’t die."

Fil furrowed her brows, confused. Just now, Jackson said the duke had fallen, but then, now he was saying he didn’t?

Sorrow flickered across Jackson’s eyes. "Because she loved him so much, she gave her life, her heart, her beauty, and everything to him just so he lives... forever."

"What?"

"The crown princess turns out to be the daughter of evil, a cursed otherworldly being whose very existence is a curse even to the gods," he explained further. "To seal her powers, she was given a subconscious separate from her evil nature to keep the growing darkness within her at bay. Under certain conditions, the seal might be broken. Hence, vampires kept her locked in their territory for many, many years in fear letting her out would bring out the demon that could end the world."

"Vampires?" Fil raised her brows, and this time, Jackson glanced at her briefly.

"Yes, vampires."

"If she was locked by them, how did she get out?"

Jackson shrugged. "No one knows, but it’s not like she couldn’t. She simply didn’t have the motivation to free herself from her confinement."

"Then what’s her motivation?"

"Who knows?" he sighed. "She’s a woman full of mystery, doing things without explanations, letting people wonder about the whys and hows."

Fil lowered her eyes as she processed the story he was suddenly telling her. It sounded like a dark fantasy novel. But why was he telling her such an unbelievable story?

"So, this crown princess... turns out to be a bad person?" she asked, and Jackson simply kept a straight face.

"That’s what people say, but in the duke’s eyes, she’s the kindest, the purest, and the only person he loved and he would love."

Fil couldn’t help but notice the longing in his eyes as if those words he spewed were his feelings to begin with.

"He must have loved her so much?" she blurted out, and for some reason, she observed how his eyes twinkled.

"But she loved him more."

Pain and regret. That was what she was seeing in his eyes.

Why?

Fil felt the tightness in her chest feel heavy. Was it because Jackson was talking about a story with such a look in his eyes? Was this jealousy? But if it was, then why did she feel like crying and upset at the same time?

"Jack, is this the thing you want to tell me?" she asked, only to see him nod. "Why?"

Jackson didn’t answer immediately as he slowed down on the road. His jaw clenched as his grip on the handle tightened. He took a deep breath and tried to ease the tension in his shoulder.

He pulled over to the side of the road before he slowly faced her, saying, "That crown princess, her name is... Fil."