64
Living in the Present
The next day, Nakaban came to our breakfast time and shook his head.
“I heard you met the mad dog of the Central Prosecutor’s Office yesterday?”
This feeling of not knowing who it is but understanding completely, what is it?
While I was nodding, Sebastian looked at me. Is that woman the mad dog of the Central Prosecutor’s Office? He seemed to be asking, so I held back with an “Mmm.” I don’t know why that prosecutor is called a mad dog either. But she certainly seemed like someone who deserved such a reputation.
“We did meet a prosecutor.”
“A woman?”
“Yes.”
“In provocative formal wear?”
“A bit?”
“That’s right, the mad dog of the Central Prosecutor’s Office.”
Nakaban sat across from us and sighed.
“I heard there was some trouble last night with the mad dog and that Section 1 chief. Usually, the woman’s side would want to keep it quiet and let it slide, but the mad dog transferred the case as soon as she got to work.”
In fact, the prosecutor wasn’t severely injured compared to what happened. But the content is serious. Tying up a woman with rope, confinement, assault (her wrists would be injured from the rope, and she’d have bruises from such a rough situation), attempted rape. Now Layer’s civil servant career will come to an end.
Moreover, aren’t we working under a female director? The Security Bureau is usually twice as sensitive to these issues as other departments. Thinking about how much Layer must be getting beaten up, it felt like karma. Come to think of it, that bastard must have been involved in massive corruption. No, a civil servant bastard who put a pretentious photo of himself in front of a yacht on his desk…
What was the name of that yacht again?
I could almost remember.
Something, the name was quite pretty. Lil, Lil… Lilith. Right, that yacht had Lilith written on it. I thought I’d seen that name somewhere before, and now I remember. I had once seen an envelope from a letter sent by Layer. It was a letter from Lilith Layer. I remember thinking, ‘I guess it’s from his daughter?’
“Did you look into Layer?”
When I asked Nakaban, he said, “Well, roughly,” and gestured at me. It was a gesture to ask everything. It didn’t feel like he only knew roughly. After some thought, I asked.
“Does Layer have a yacht, by any chance?”
“Not in his name, but in his daughter’s name. Owned by Lilith Layer, yacht ‘Lilith’. Currently worth about 22 million Leed in the used market.”
He bought a yacht worth about $250,000 in US dollars? The daughter who’s said to attend a private school wouldn’t have bought a yacht with her own assets. I heard that Layer’s ex-wife opposed even sending their daughter to a boarding-type private school, calling it pretentious and vulgar, so she definitely wouldn’t have bought something like a yacht. So this must have been Layer’s own asset.
Let’s assume Layer is a Canaris spy. Why did he become a spy for Canaris?
I was certain it was for money and the future. Layer is the chief of Section 1 in the Intelligence Department. If he wanted to engage in corruption, he could do it as much as he wanted. So it would be difficult to buy him with money alone. But what if they guaranteed his future? For example, say, the next director position.
But thinking this way, another question remains. How could those Canaris bastards guarantee a position as the Security Bureau director? Those good-for-nothings.
Suddenly, a lightning realization struck me. Layer is in Canaris. Layer is a high-ranking official. If someone like Layer is there, wouldn’t there be even higher-ranking officials there too? Someone who could push Layer into the director position?
“What if.”
As I paused chewing to choose my words, Sebastian said,
“Nom nom nom.”
I turned to Sebastian, dumbfounded. Seeing my gaze, Sebastian pointed out, “What are you doing, chew.” Did you just say ‘nom nom nom’ with that cold handsome face? Sometimes I wonder how Sebastian sees me. Like a five-year-old kid? Or maybe even a puppy?
Seeing my incredulous reaction, Nakaban explained,
“He took care of Saskia Riegel for a while. When she was young.”
As far as I know, they’re ten years apart. The age where you’d feed someone saying ‘nom nom nom’ would be around three, four, or five years old. I know that much, having fed many young kids at the orphanage.
I wonder what it was like for Sebastian to be the older brother taking care of young Saskia Riegel. He must have been a caring brother. But Michael Riegel has a wife. In other words, Sebastian and Saskia’s mother was alive and well at the time, and according to the information I received, she was always a full-time housewife, so what was she doing?
I shouldn’t ask. It feels like I’ll hear something unpleasant. I was about to change the subject. Sebastian, who always grabs my ankle and pulls me back in when I try to back out of these things, didn’t miss his chance this time either.
“Mother was sick.”
Don’t do this, I didn’t want to hear it! I didn’t ask!
“Mother was there when I was kidnapped. She had left me alone for a moment to take care of Saki, and that’s when I was taken. Mother had a hard time because of that.”
But still, she was an adult. And you were a kidnapping victim. Your mother should have been taking care of you, not you taking care of your sister.
“For a while, she found it difficult to look at both Saki and me… Ah, she’s okay now. She’s a sensitive person.”
My expression must not have been good, because Sebastian looked into my face and shook his head. Don’t make that face. It drives me crazy every time he says things like this. Don’t mind what face I’m making. Is my face the issue right now?
Sebastian, stroking my cheek, whispered as if sighing,
“When you make this face, I feel both sorry and happy.”
I’m definitely not going to ask what kind of face it is.
“Every time you look like you’re going crazy with sympathy for me, who was born with a diamond spoon, I feel like my heart is melting.”
“It’s not like I’m going crazy with sympathy.”
“Right, just extremely sympathetic.”
This bastard always has to have the last word. As I bit the inside of my lip, Sebastian gestured, saying, “Nakaban, give me the photo of Saki’s yacht.” Nakaban obliged, bringing over a photo of the yacht.
Layer’s yacht probably isn’t this kind of luxury yacht. A yacht with a jacuzzi, swimming pool, like a mansion moved onto water. I muttered to Sebastian, who shoved the photo in front of me, “Ah, yes, Saskia grew up well. That’s good.” I’ve seen this photo too. But my sympathy is a different issue, right? I was about to say that when Sebastian pointed to the edge of the photo.
“Our mom.”
Huh?
I turned my head sharply to see a stunning beauty in a daring bikini entering the pool. A young man in the water was even escorting her, holding her hand.
“Does, does Michael know about this?”
Wearing such a risqué swimsuit with a young man, is this okay with Michael Riegel? As I panicked, Sebastian laughed.
“What are you talking about? This man is a bodyguard chosen by our father.”
“Ah.”
A bodyguard is lounging around in a swimsuit like that? Wow, how is he going to handle it if bullets start flying? Is he crazy?
As disbelief filled my eyes, Kouri quietly approached, looked at the photo, and took the man’s side.
“Ah, I know him too. He’s from N country. He’s a living weapon.”
From N country?
Suddenly, I thought of Jay. Jay is also from N country.
“He must be a former child soldier.”
“You know well. He was lucky. He was practically sold as a combat slave to this country, but then his country collapsed. He was living without knowing what to do or how to live when Mrs. Riegel hired him. You could consider him Mrs. Riegel’s adopted son.”
At that moment, I felt a deep sense of revulsion. The son was kidnapped and returned needing psychiatric treatment, even having to take care of his four-year-old sister. And what? The mother who was supposedly shocked adopts someone else who’s perfectly fine? How could she do that? A feeling of betrayal surged through my heart.
Sebastian often looked lonely. He received affection from many people and acted in a way that deserved it. Nevertheless, I sometimes discovered in his expression a sadness or loneliness that no one could remove. It makes sense. Kidnapped at fourteen? A near-death experience? Such things are not easily overcome. Even among us who make such incidents our job, countless people have had to give up their lifelong livelihoods because they couldn’t overcome PTSD. For Sebastian, who had lived safely and comfortably, it must have remained a terrible experience.
Shouldn’t parents be there for you at times like that? That’s what parents are for!
As I was barely holding back my anger, Sebastian burst out laughing. The bastard seemed to enjoy seeing my face full of indignation. Because he knew I was taking his side and getting angry for him. But don’t laugh. Don’t be happy about something so obvious. I’m too angry.
“Don’t laugh.”
Even when I snapped at him, the smile didn’t disappear from Sebastian’s face. He wiped the corner of my mouth with his thumb. There must have been some sauce on it, as he naturally licked whatever was on his finger and said,
“It’s in the past. It might seem a bit strange to you, but mother pulled through. I pulled through, and Saki pulled through. We all overcame it well, and now it’s completely in the past. So don’t get so angry.”
“…”
“I’m in a good mood these days. I can finally live in the present. So don’t look back at the past either.”
I stared at Sebastian intently. He spread his arms, showing himself. As if there was nothing to be ashamed of. Being able to live in the present is a good thing. And Sebastian didn’t get angry at his mother. So I shouldn’t be angry either.
Right, just live in the present. If something like that happens in the present, I might not do anything to that lady, but I’d smash that adopted son’s head. What’s he doing acting like a son next to a wife who has two perfectly good children of her own, damn it.
I hugged Sebastian. Hugging each other while sitting in chairs put us in a somewhat uncomfortable position, but neither of us let go for a long time.
