100
Lilith Layer
Is Lilith Layer really uninvolved in all of this?
When I hesitatingly expressed my doubt, Sebastian, Nakaban, and even Kouri’s eyes changed. The three of them were lost in thought for a while. Kouri was the first to speak.
“Could Lilith Layer really be involved in this?”
His face shows some difficulty as he says she’s still young, attending a private school. But I could guess whose face might have crossed his mind. Rebecca Dagoba is just as young.
“Even though she’s young, and even if she’s not involved, couldn’t she fulfill her father’s request to send her to a private school? Isn’t that young age perfect for doing something without knowing what it really is?”
Nakaban’s words were very realistic. Sebastian didn’t react to either Kouri’s or Nakaban’s words. Instead, he was thinking about something else.
“I’ve been thinking about this from the beginning… why does Otto Layer love his daughter so much?”
What are you saying? He loves her because she’s his daughter.
Surprised by Sebastian’s heartless, almost psychopathic words, I looked at him. Seeing my expression, he seemed to realize his slip.
“That’s not what I meant.”
He hurriedly waved his hand and then paused. It was clear he was organizing his thoughts, so I didn’t rush him for an answer. While we all waited for his words, we drank water, briefly read documents, or checked our phones. No one did anything careless to disrupt Sebastian’s concentration. Finally, Sebastian spoke.
“Layer seemed to have exposed his daughter’s existence quite a bit.”
“He didn’t go around talking about it himself.”
“Then how did you know about Layer’s daughter?”
“…Layer told me. But I’m the leader of Team 9. Layer probably told me in case something happened to his daughter…”
“Let’s say that’s true, were you the only one who knew about Layer’s daughter?”
“No, that’s not the case…”
The story of Layer’s family wasn’t a secret within the Security Bureau. It was too famous.
Layer’s family affairs, which people mostly gossiped about with an “serves him right” attitude, went something like this:
Layer married a beautiful and intelligent woman, had a daughter, and named her Lilith. His beautiful wife was a graduate of Fates Law School and, with her noble values (and rich parents), pursued a career as a human rights lawyer. In our country, being a human rights lawyer is generally a profession perfect for getting shot in broad daylight, but she not only didn’t die but fought fiercely against the mafia, conglomerates, and the government at every turn. She was a real firebrand. Yet her original personality was quiet, fitting the saying that naturally gentle people are scary when angered.
Anyway, this intelligent beauty left Layer. (The day this fact became known, my regular bar was overflowing with customers. Everyone gathered there, itching to gossip. As I always say, the Security Bureau is just another neighborhood where people live.)
While the Security Bureau generally turns a blind eye to private lives, Layer’s divorce was extremely famous. An affair with his daughter’s friend’s mother, using the Security Bureau to apply pressure, and eventually a court case… It was hard for it not to become known. Naturally, the entire Security Bureau focused on this hot scandal. Unfortunately, I was at headquarters at the time, so I was called by various people. I kept my mouth shut and was criticized for acting noble. But I didn’t avoid the gossip to be noble. Layer was a tiring superior every time I met him, and I thought knowing one less thing about him would be beneficial for our relationship. Of course, I had quite a few grievances against him too, so I let my colleagues tear apart Layer’s private life right in front of me. I had no intention of taking Layer’s side by saying nice things like “Don’t talk like that.”
Layer never mentioned that wife again. Whether he was upset or his pride was hurt, or both. That’s what we thought. But occasionally, he did mention his daughter. I don’t know if he mentioned it to others, but I heard about his daughter “Lilith” a couple of times, and some people seemed to know that he had a daughter who attended a private school.
Sebastian responded to my words:
“Did you go around talking about your private life?”
“No. Why would I?”
“Then why did he go around talking about his private life?”
“Well, in my case, it’s about being from an orphanage… I love my siblings and our father, but that’s separate from my background being a weakness. Our company is full of intellectuals, with enough Fates graduates rolling around, and many people from good families. Director Dill is like that, and Martin’s father is a real estate tycoon. So there was no reason to talk about it. But Layer could be proud of his daughter.”
“Then are you going around talking about me now?”
His question momentarily left me speechless. Is he saying I shouldn’t? But if you hold such a grand engagement ceremony and expect it not to be talked about, that’s a bit…
Sebastian shook his head, looking at my face.
“No, I want you to talk about me. I want you to sell me out completely.”
“What do you mean, sell…”
“Sell. Sell my name wherever you can. Take even the smallest benefit from it and live a little. That’s fine, but that’s not what I’m asking. So, do you talk about me with others at work? Have you ever talked about me because you wanted to, even when my story didn’t come up? In situations where it wasn’t necessary?”
No, I’m already dying trying to answer when others ask about you, why would I bring it up myself?
My face must have answered for me. Sebastian changed his words again.
“Let’s say no one knows me. Would you have talked about me?”
“Of course,”
The automatic response stopped midway. I finally understood why Sebastian was asking this so seriously.
“I wouldn’t… I definitely wouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“In our company, people who talk about their private lives… don’t exist.”
Right, they don’t.
In the end, you can’t prevent information from spreading. But if possible, people keep their mouths tightly shut about their private lives. Our main job is to harm mafia, terrorist groups (it’s not just Canaris bastards, though they’re making a fuss), political interest groups, and so on. Oh, and foreign governments too. Anyway, naturally, everyone fears retaliation, so it’s a principle not to talk about or ask about private matters. The fact that Layer’s divorce caused such a big reaction in such a company shows how much he was disliked.
― or so I thought?
Come to think of it, Layer subtly leaked information about his private life. Considering his personality, it would have been right to hide it desperately, so why did he do that?
“Then why did he go around talking about it?”
Yeah, why?
At Sebastian’s question, I blinked stupidly and then looked around. Am I the only idiot here? Am I the only one being stupid again?
Fortunately, even the know-it-all Nakaban looked perplexed. Ha ha, I’m not the only idiot. If three out of four people didn’t think of it, it’s the one person who thought of it that’s amazing, not that the three are stupid. While I was feeling slightly relieved in this situation, Nakaban cursed, “Damn it,” and roughly grabbed his tablet and started moving his hands.
“Were we deceived?”
When I asked from behind, Nakaban shook his head.
“She existed on paper. She’s definitely a real person enrolled in a private school. The problem now is whether this Lilith Layer is really the daughter with a good relationship with her father as Otto Layer described.”
“If the relationship isn’t good…”
“There’s someone else, and Layer deliberately focused on his daughter to divert attention.”
Then wouldn’t the daughter be in danger, I thought and realized. That’s why Layer put his daughter in a private school with a dormitory. Even if it was a stretch. Not because of his snobbish desires, but because she needed a fence to protect her strictly. It’s too difficult to break into a foreign private school and kill an underage girl. The country would be turned upside down, it would become a diplomatic issue, and that could lead to the group’s crisis of existence. Any group ultimately considers profit. If the future gain from retaliating against those who try to harm them is greater, they will naturally do so. However, if that retaliation only brings future losses, they won’t choose it.
I thought about Layer.
Layer, when we met again, didn’t look good and his complexion was bad. That’s natural. But let’s think calmly. Would that Otto Layer not know that he’s lost his value? Would he stay quiet in a place with no future? No, that’s impossible. He would do anything to open a path to the future. He was always an ambitious person. Having no future is scarier than death for him.
Layer must have had a joker card left. That’s why he’s taking the risk of staying with Canaris. And that joker must be inside the Security Bureau.
The next night, Nakaban attempted to video call Lilith Layer. And Lilith Layer said:
“It’s been over 4 years since I contacted my dad. We don’t even exchange Christmas cards anymore. This school? My dad pays for this school? …Wasn’t it my mom who was paying?”
And I froze. I had delivered a letter that Layer received from ‘Lilith Layer’ before. Two years ago.
But if there had been no contact for 4 years and she didn’t even know who was paying for the private school tuition, then who was the Lilith Layer who sent the letter I delivered?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
