Perhaps it was because they were in the same age group, but Giorgio and Ilya secretly harbored jealousy toward one another and were incredibly competitive. 

Giorgio had received all of Lansky’s affection and inherited his assets just for being his grandson. Ilya, on the other hand, had gained Lansky’s attention and trust due to his brilliant talent. The types of affection the two received were vastly different, and they each had their place in Lansky’s heart. Nevertheless, Giorgio and Ilya were envious of what the other had that they didn’t. 

Maybe it was because they would never be able to receive the form of love that the other had experienced. Whatever the case, the greater their longing for Lansky, the more obsessed they grew over what they couldn’t have.

{I’d rather get locked up in the mansion than be helped by that bastard… Wait, don’t tell me the password is February 9th?}

What Giorgio was most worried about was whether the password was a number related to Ilya. All the passwords in the safe house were the birthdays of artists Lansky liked. Considering that the previous password for the last door was Rembrandt’s birthday, his theory was a possibility.

Just before Lansky’s death, the artist he loved most was Ilya. This was despite the fact that Ilya’s first work was criticized as garbage in the literary world. To add to this, he was just a novice who only started getting recognition with his third work.

When you took Ilya’s current skill level and achievements into account, it was clear that Giorgio’s grandfather indeed had an excellent eye for talent. This development inevitably led to Giorgio admiring his peer while simultaneously envying him.

Giorgio had...