Lukas opened his eyes. He found himself laying on a bed. Observing his surrounding, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. It was bright and spacious, furnished with a wooden desk and chair. On the wall opposite of him stood a large window. Outside the window, he could see multiple skyrises illuminating the night city.
A gentle breeze brushed against the glass panes, making the lights sparkle even more.
For a moment, Lukas felt like he was dreaming. He couldn't believe that he had finally arrived in this world.
But this dream-like state didn't last long. A strange sound caught his attention. Turning over, he saw a thin man dressed in black. His hair was tied back and he wore a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles. His face was clean shaven. He has the look of an intellectual.
"Young master, you're finally awake," the man said. "The Madam is downstairs waiting for you. She received the report from your school and she said that the two of you need to have a talk."
"Oh, uhm..."
Lukas looked around. He lifted himself off the bed and walked towards the door. After opening the door and stepping out, he found himself in a hallway. There were numerous doors lining both sides of the corridor.
"The Madam is down that way. To her study, Young Master."
The man pointed to the left side of the hall. They reached the end of the hallway and turned right and went down the stair. The man kept on leading Lukas until they reached a door. He knocked on the door several times before he announced Lukas's arrival. "Madam, the Young Master is here."
After receiving the permission from the inside, he swung the door open, revealing a beautiful woman who are busily working behind her desk. Her hair was tied in a bun and she wore a red gown and her face was stern as she stared at the documents in her hands. When she turned around and saw Lukas, she smiled. But the smile never reached her eyes. In fact, when Lukas saw this smile, he has a feeling that he might actually be in trouble.
"Thank you for your service, Bruno. You may leave now. I want to talk to my son alone," she said as she dismissed the man called Bruno. "Oh, and make sure to tell the kitchen to prepare Lukas's favourite dessert. I am sure that he will need it after our... talk."
"At once, Madam," Bruno said before he closed the door, leaving Lukas and the woman alone.
Lukas wasn't sure what is happening, nor does he has any clue as to what was going on. He had just woken up right after being transferred and now, he feels like he is in trouble.
[???: Don't worry, host! I am here to help you. Please accept the current deviant world's plot and act accordingly! Be careful not to go out of character or there will be a minus points when your assessment came out! Or worse, the villain would find you and dispose of you immediately.]
As the system voice left his head, Lukas's brain were suddenly filled with a heavy load of information about the world he is currently in. This world is very similar to his own world, and the body he's currently occupying is also named Lukas. The original was a young man at the age of eighteen, and the only heir of the Rasbourne family. The Rasbourne family is one of the most powerful family in the city with over a century old history in business. The woman in front of him, is the current Matriarch of the family and the original's mother. As for his father, it was unfortunate that he was simply a good for nothing. In fact, Lukas was actually not the real son of the current Matriarch but instead, a bastard born from his father and his mistress.
If one is wondering how it happens, Lukas can only explain in one word. That is, this world plot is nothing but ridiculous. For one, it can be considered an extreme miracle that both the mistress and the madam went to the labour room at the same time and both even gave birth to a son. When the mistress found out about it, she naturally switched the two babies so that her own son will live a good life. As for the real heir, she took care of the baby for a few months before staging a kidnapping of the child. Therefore, this was a story of an exchanged children living a two different lifestyle.
It wasn't until they were both nineteen that Lukas's identity as the bastard son was revealed. And what was worse, he wasn't even the child of his father as the mistress had also been sleeping with other guys at the time before conceiving him. This means that Lukas has nothing to do with the Rasbourne family at all. Not a drop of his blood belongs to the Rasbourne family which is why, when the real son of the Rasbourne family was found, he was immediately kicked out of the house. Having lived at the top his whole life and suddenly falling from grace, the original struggled to live. With no place to go, he tried to contact his friends, only to be ignored. And although he tried to be dependent and starts working, things did not go as he thought. It was as if his life was full of bad lucks, one after the other. And little did he know that all of these were thanks to the real heir of the Rasbourne family who were holding grudge towards him for occupying what was his for nineteen years.
In the end, the original died after merely struggling for five years. His cause of death was from the overdose of drugs. The real heir of the Rasbourne family was the one responsible for giving him drugs. He did it out of hatred but he never did wanted to kill him. Instead, it was all just a scheme to push him further away from being close to the Rasbourne family.
This is why when he heard about Lukas's death, the heir of the Rasbourne family felt a mixed feeling of guilt and joy. Now, the original heir could finally have everything that belonged to him in return. And what is better than this? But little did he know that because of the death of the original Lukas, the subsequent plot had started to diverge from its course.
Who would've thought that the dog blood drama didn't end when the mistress switched the babies. No one would think that one of the babies were switched for the second time. And the babies that were switched was Lukas and the mistress's baby. It was this second exchange that caused the world to collapse.
'So, system. What is actually the real identity of this body I am occupying?'
[???: The only heir of the Lucino family's Patriarch. The most powerful man who lived in B Country, Vincent Lucino. Nineteen years ago, Vincent visited A Country for a three months vacation with his pregnant wife. But Vincent has a lot of enemies after all, so they were attacked and his wife was forced into an early labour a week before her supposed due date.]
'Alright. I got the gist of the plot. So, who is the child of destiny in this world?' Lukas asked the system.
[???: The real heir of the Rasbourne family. As for the villain, we have yet to figure out who.]
"Are you not going to sit down?" the voice snapped Lukas out from his thought. He looked at the woman sitting behind the desk and he could see how the years has worn her out. At this moment, Lukas has the knowledge of the plot and what could happen in the future. So he really do not wish to slight her right now. He walked to the sofa in the study and sat down.
"Do you know why I called you here?" she asked.
Lukas had just woken up when he arrived, and was led here. Just moments ago, he did receive a deviant plotline but there were no information on what could've brought him here at this study.
"Looks like you still have no idea. Then let me remind you," as she said this, she stood up with a stack of documents in her hand. She walked over to the sofa opposite of his and sat down. She then unceremoniously threw the papers onto the coffee table in front of them. "Explain to me what is written there."
Lukas stared at the papers strewn across the coffee table and picked one up. Upon reading it, his face turned dark and he could not help but curse the original owner of the body. It was all there; his 'life' story for the past week. All the deed the original owner done was written all so clear and concise that even he was shocked.
'So, the original owner is a prodigal son... and not only that, some of the things written here can actually put him in jail!'
After reading everything, Lukas finally realised that if he wants to survive, he has to correct all the wrongs that was done by the original owner. He could also get rid of the evil people written in the documents in his life, but that is not something he wished to do for the moment. So, instead, he had decided to go through what the original owner had done in the last week of his life and try to correct those first. 'After all, it looks like his mother has a big issue on these... presents that the original owner left me,' Lukas thought as he inwardly sigh.
As he flipped the papers and read on, he could see a number of things he knew he would never done so himself, but because the original owner had done it, the pot fell on him.
'Well, I have no choice. First thing's first, let's try to placate his mother. It looks like it wasn't my imagination that I was going to be in trouble...'
When Lukas looked up to the old madam of the Rasbourne family, he could feel his leg shook. "Well, mom... I don't have any valid excuse for the things I've done in the past. I understand that I was wrong," Lukas began. "I want to make a fresh start. But before I can do that, I need to right all the wrongs that I have done. I will start with compensating for the damages that I've done to those establishment," Lukas finished in one breath.
"With whose money? Yours? I'll have you know that when I received this report, I have already frozen all of your cards. Knowing you, I don't think you even have a savings considering how you always splurge all of your money," Madam Rasbourne said to Lukas.
"I understand. That's why I want to make a deal with you, mom," Lukas replied. "I would like to loan money from you and I will return them slowly in monthly basis."
"And how would you do that? By working? You haven't even graduated from the university yet and with the amount of damages you did, it will take a while before you can even pay me back."
"I have my way, mom. Trust me. I really do want to change."
"Do you think its easy to change a habit that you've grown up with?"
"No. But I can do it! If you don't believe me, you can let me stay alone and be independent outside. Just give me one month worth of pocket money and I promise you, I won't ask anymore monetary support after that!"
The Madam was surprised by Lukas' boldness. It was like a miracle has happened right in front of her eyes. This was the only way that she could ever make Lukas change.
"But what if I refuse?" She asked.
"In that case, I can only say sorry, mom. But please think about it," Lukas said.
Madam Rasbourne sighed at Lukas' request and thought of this as his final chance to be a better person. If he failed to do so, he may end up living as a good for nothing like his father.
"Very well. I will help you pay out those money you owe to others first. I will also agree to let you be independant and live outside on your own. But, I will still send people to check up on you. If your action are far from satisfactory, then I will bring you back and discipline you myself. Is that understood?!"
"Yes, mom," Lukas replied respectfully. He looked down and tried not to think of the number of years that he needed to repay. After all, she is giving him a last chance here!
"Well, I need to go and see my accountant before I continue my work. I will tell about you living outside to my assistant so that she can prepare the place for you to stay. When do you plan to move out?" Madam Rasbourne asked.
Lukas scratched the back of his neck and took a deep breath. "Whenever you're ready."
The Madam nodded at Lukas' reply. "I'll contact her once she comes in today and she can take you to the new place immediately."
After a short moment of silence, Madam Rasbourne gave him a pat on his shoulder. "Well then... I hope you do better this time!"
With that, she walked out of the room with a confident smile on her face. Lukas stared after her and sighed as he thought about what he had just done. This was really his only chance. 'Despite being strict, I can feel that she truly dotes on the original owner. I suddenly miss my own mother..." Lukas thought as he leaned back on the sofa. 'I must complete my task properly so that I can return to my own world. Only in this way can I save my mother.'