The Boy

According to the final estimates, Cynthia Duketh was worth upwards of $2.5 BILLION. (2,500,000,000.00). That was her public net worthwhile her real one should have been somewhere around $4.8 billion, almost double the initial estimates.

This money was stored in the form of properties, bonds, and stocks under the name of various nonprofit organizations. This included orphanages, charities, and other groups that help the suffering public for free.

Sure, she used small chunks of the money to make the world a better place, but she was still keeping the largest of portions for herself.

Mommy: I will have them keep digging. I don't know what else they might have missed.

Daughter: That's a good idea. I feel that we have been too lenient these days.

Mommy: Ever since your father returned, they have been getting less work.

Daughter: Then add some more. Have them investigate the entire Duketh family and their history. Also, have them look back into Cynthia's death.

Mommy: Hmm... it does make no sense that she didn't have any security around her despite all that money. Don't worry, I'll make sure that they get deep into that.

Daughter: Thanks for all the help mommy! See ya soon.

Mommy: Take care dear!

And with that, their conversation was over. The system wanted to send some emojis to her mother but she sighed in regret as the app they were using doesn't support that feature.

"Ugh..big bro really needs to work on his app. Who knows what eccentric hobby he's picked up this time.." The system rolled back her eyes at the thought of her brother. She has seen him never show attention to any of his projects once he's started them.

He always gets distracted by something new or goes to check out a new planet. He is somewhat of a thrill-seeker who goes after anything novel.

The app she used to talk to her mother was one of his creations but he hadn't improved upon it since the initial release.

...

"Ugh.." Cynthia groaned while putting an ice pack on her head to cool herself down. Her head was overheating from all the work she had to put in today.

Her older self was able to work for hours on end, making her way through hundreds of documents a day while her current self can even do a couple of hours of intense studies.

She had once hired a young lady with powers that help relax the mind and soothe the body. This lady would often use her powers on Cynthia to keep her function at the optimal level.

"Even if I wanted to hire her now, it would be impossible...heh."Cynthia remembers that the young lady should only be 5 years old at the moment and has not awakened her ability yet.

She looked down at the laptop screen in front of her and a wide smirk appeared on her enchanting face.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch the target by the..."Cynthia playfully decided who she was going to kidna...borrow from this world. She was just permanently lending the child to another world.

"Steven Dallas, from the Dallas Orphanage, I choose you," she said while whining at the profile of a young boy with light auburn hair and mellow brown eyes. His face isn't that pudgy and seems to be nearing malnutrition.

This boy, only 6 years old had nothing striking about his looks. His current facial features made one assume that he will look just like the average boy next door.

He filled all the requirements of the king and herself, everything from his appearance to the good mannerisms that were written on his orphanage profile.

"Let's see the orphanage is located here and the best way to enter is... I should exit like this." In her head, Cynthia had already thought of a basic infiltration and escape plan. She even came up with ideas for emergency exits in case something went wrong.

As she was finishing up her plans, the system questioned itself 'Does my host have any morals?' The system could not understand how Cynthia could just kidnap a boy who might be satisfied with his life and toss him into a foreign world.

I was wondering how it should teach its host some morals. 'Should I give her a reward if she chooses a boy whose life is tough?'

The system wondered if it gives her a mission that rewards her for picking a child in need but decide against it.

'That would be counterproductive. I need her to learn and tossing some treats isn't the best way.' The system decided it had to take the tough route. Its job wasn't just to grow its hosts but also to grow itself.

DING!

[ Mission: The system does not condone harming the lives of innocent individuals. As such, the host must complete this trade by assisting a child in need. Failure will lead to severe consequences.

Reward:NONE

Failure: ???]

"Eeek!"

Cynthia was shocked by the sudden appearance of a mission and left a small sequel as she was too engrossed in her planning. And unlike its calming blue color, the system board was dyed in red.

This gave out clear warning signs to her human mind after she read it, Cynthia felt that this task of hers had become a little too much to handle. She had already tossed what very little morals she had to convince herself to kidnap a child.

Now that she had done that, the system now wanted her to be a saint and provide a new life for someone who really needs it.

As her head throbbed, she had no choice but to redo her search as she had no idea what this severe punishment for noncompliance with the system would be.

It didn't take her long as she found a child in the same orphanage that seemed to have been neglecSome kids were were actively bullying him. This orphanage wasn't that well off but still did its best to provide help to its inhabitants.

Honestly speaking, the child had much better features than the previous candidateditte but his skin was a tan and his face had this tired look to it. Based on the latest medical reports, he was also somewhat taller than most kids his age. Already 4 foot 11.5 inches at age 8 is great and with enough care, he might be over 6 feet or taller later.

"The king did want someone with a good physique." Cynthia thought as she guessed that he might be trained in some sort of martial arts.

Even though he has not much resemblance to the king but he had brown hair and eyes. The king had said that it would be fine since children are not guaranteed to look like a certain parent. He just preferred if they looked like him for convenience's sake. It would make it easier for the ministers and nobles to believe him.

"Regardless, one could just say that the boy looks like his mother." is the excuse that was pretty obvious.

TUK! TUK!

There was a knock on her door as Cynthia's ears perked up to the familiar energetic voice.

"Its time for dinner big sis!" shouted Lily as she stood in front of the door with impatience, carefully listening as she heard the very light footsteps of her sister as she approached the door.

With a click, the door was unlocked and Cynthia came out. She took one look at Lilly and flashed a quick, yet deadly gorgeous smile that made Lilly want to screenshot the moment into her mind.

"Awww." she said in a faded voice as the smile lasted only a moment before Cynthia donned her usual cool gaze and unafraid expression.

'I gave her a smile. Why was it so short though' Cynthia walked down the stairwell as she thought while having the somewhat grumpy Lilly behind her. The younger of the siblings was disappointed that the smile didn't last long.

'Maybe the muscles in big sis's face are stiff from not smiling for so long.' The girl quickly thought of an explanation for why her sister's smiles were so fleeting. She even began ways to soften Cynthia's face.

She did not want a stone statue for a sister. She wanted to squeeze her sister's cheeks and stretch them like play dough, or mochi.

Dinner was uneventful today as the table was practically empty. Only the females of the house were present. When Cynthia politely asked Alison why that was the case, she got a frank reply.

"The father and son duo flew over to Astrid City this afternoon. Governer Sanchez is holding a birthday for his only daughter. Your father is good friends with him."

Cynthia heard this and then just nodded in understanding and went back to eating. Lilly on the other hand was not satisfied easily and is quite the curious cat.

"Why would brother go there as well then?" she asked cutely.

At this question, Alison paused for a bit and looked her daughter straight in the eyes, and then sighed.

'Why can't this daughter and youngest son of mine inherit their father's intelligence.' The disappointed mother was at least glad that Antoine can understand things without them being directly told to him.

'You know, let's see if this illegitimate girl is up to par.' She then turned her head slightly and looked at Cynthia directly.

"What do you think? Why do you think Antoine went as well?"

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Hey everyone, the author here! I was gone for a long while. I know I gave no warnings but that's just how things go in life. I was swamped with finishing up all my college finals and assignments as I took too many classes this semester. This led to an imbalance in my free time.

BUT, now that summer is here. I'm back on track for daily chapters. This little story is a hobby of mine and I can't get rid of my hobbies that easily. Expect more action, romance, and all sorts of drama coming your way, on a Webnobvel Server near you.