The Devil's Good Girl
Chapter 175: Latrice

Chapter 175: Latrice

In an era where a simple scar could affect one’s reputation as a human being, the Duke of the South, Jackson had long accepted he would never be accepted more than just a war mongrel. Other than offering his body to fight for the Imperial Family and the Empire, and spending the rest of his life on the precarious battlefield, he believed his life would’ve been otherwise meaningless.

But for the first time, someone looked at him without any trace of disgust. It was also neither a look of fear nor pity. It was something else; something he could never properly articulate because it was something he had never looked at before.

With such a small frame and stunning facial features, the crown prince foolishly assumed that the mysterious woman was harmless. The crown prince deemed her as a damsel in distress, lost in the forest. He took her back to his castle, disregarding any other ploy at play and believing every single word that came out of those thin and slightly pale pinkish lips.

Jackson kept wondering how the prince so easily fell for a woman with no title, no history, and no memory. But the more he wondered about it, the more he questioned himself.

Why did he allow it?

Why did he allow the crown prince to take her back to his castle? While the crown prince argued with his people who were warning him about her, why did Jackson stand quietly on the sidelines? Why was he playing along? He knew better than the crown prince. It was his duty to protect the prince and cut off any possible threat that might endanger his life.

But... why did he not do anything when everything about that woman was suspicious? They didn’t even know her name.

"Latrice," the crown prince’s voice snapped Jackson back to the current lapse. He tapped his desk and then leaned back against the chair, eyes on the duke, who was standing quietly in front of the window.

Jackson slowly turned his head, only to see the crown prince’s charming smile.

"That’s her name," said the crown prince. "Latrice."

"She has no name."

"I’m giving her one." A smug smile dominated the crown prince’s face and that second, the Duke knew the former had a foolish plan. "A name and a title. No one will talk badly about her if I give her enough identification, am I not correct?"

"Your Highness." Jackson walked in the same spot, facing the foolish crown prince squarely. "That is absurd. What do you plan to do with her by giving her a name and a title — you barely knew the woman."

"And so were the ladies listed as candidates as crown princess. I do not know them aside from their names and which noble house they came from," the crown prince argued strongly. "The only difference between her and them is that I do not want them."

Jackson’s jaw tightened. He knew the crown prince better than anyone else. They had been together since childhood, and the crown prince might be foolish in many ways, but he had his ways to get what he wanted. Jackson holding the title of the Duke was proof the crown prince was more than meets the eyes.

"A crown princess will be an empress once you ascend the throne," Jackson rationalized. "You needed an empress to help you manage the court and the empire. Someone who will balance the power."

"And the empress is also someone who can challenge my authority." The crown prince argued calmly. "I do not want that."

"Your Highness, if you want to keep her, you may do so but as a concubine."

"No." the crown prince shook his head. He paused for a moment, pushing himself away from the chair. He then walked toward the window, standing several feet from Jackson.

"Jackson, when I saw her the first time, I couldn’t believe my eyes. She is stunning; I’ve never seen a beauty like her. Even in her chemise, she would still look a lot better than women in their best dress," he shared with a subtle smile. "However, what I felt is more than my astonishment at her beauty."

"It was... magical." He slowly placed his hand across his chest. "My heart raced the moment I laid my eyes on her. I almost shed tears upon seeing the blood and pain I caused her, and that second, I knew... it was love."

Love...Jackson nearly asked what that word meant.

To speak of love when marriage was nothing but a trade and children were born to compete with one another, love was such a foreign word. Not just to the crown prince, but also to the duke. However, unlike the crown prince who accepted his emotion so easily, the duke couldn’t.

"Love at first sight," the crown prince worded with a smile, facing Jackson slowly. "I want to make her my wife, my crown princess, and my empress."

Although the crown prince’s heart was true, his other intentions were also true. A crown princess that wouldn’t challenge his authority was probably the best for him. The problem was...

"The court won’t accept a mere baroness as the crown princess," Jack reasoned, only to see the crown prince smile.

"Help me, Jack."

Jackson just stared at the crown prince, studying the man he pledged his loyalty to. The man who handed him the title of Duke despite being a bastard, and also the man who helped him escape the previous duke’s abuse. He owed his life to the crown prince and, as his loyal subject, he knew he had to help him no matter how ridiculous his plans were.

"I understand, Your Highness," Jackson lowered his head in surrender. "I’ll let her use the House Fitzroy’s name."

"Take her back to the South," the crown prince smiled in satisfaction. "Until she learns everything about the South and is legitimized as the duke’s cousin, keep her safe."

He slowly peeled his eyes away from the duke, setting it back on the window. "As for me, I’ll delay the selection and make preparations to make her my wife."

"Understood." Jackson lowered his head, grasping the entirety of the crown prince’s plans.

One would say the crown prince was being rash, but some would say he was truly worthy of the crown. Making the woman he desires to join the House Fitzroy would grant him a stable footing in the court. It was also his way of telling the empire the House Fitzroy, the noble family who had the most military strength was under his control.

In other words, he would get the woman he wanted and military strength from the House Fitzroy and the Imperial family. Jackson shouldn’t have agreed, because doing so would put him in a tight spot. Yet, he did.

It was his duty to support the crown prince... or was that all the reason there was?

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