Touch His Heart

Chapter 4: Ballad of Flowers and Ice (Rayvis Harneit)

The Grand Spring Festival was an event that was to take place when the snow had melted and the flowers had blossomed beautifully throughout the land. As agreed upon in a number of diplomatic discussions between Wysteria and Stein, it was a joint effort to promote harmony and friendship between the two countries, both of which still had their share of distrust for the other from both the nobility and regular citizens. Throughout the past few months' planning and preparation for the event, the princess, Louis, Giles, Leo, Alyn and Sid had been on the receiving end of sarcastic remarks, protests and attempts of sabotage from the nobility of their country, and they were more than certain that on Stein's side, King Byron, Albert, Nico, Rayvis and Robert, who was currently staying in Stein Castle in order to paint new landscapes, were dealing with the exact same problems. However, regardless of how vocal and multifarious the opposition was, both sides adamantly refused to give in, for the sake of strengthening the bonds of the two countries that had been both distant and estranged for too long.

As the word 'festival' suggested, this particular occasion was to be much less rigid and bound by rules in comparison to their typical celebrations. Things that were not normally included in intercountry gatherings, such as the art of fencing, painting, and friendly competitions, were to be showcased by members of the royal palaces. One of the most anticipated performances was a musical duet with one representative from each country. During the meeting as to who each side's representative would be, both Wysteria and Stein had each already had one person in mind, except that each had placed an additional requirement on the table. The fact that both sides' request to the other somehow aligned perfectly had caused the room to burst with utter shock and astonishment, with Sid barking out a guffaw and Nico and Leo sharing twin grins, and even Albert nearly choked out a surprised cry.

"It appears that both sides are in mutual agreement, then."

Clasping his hands together over the surface of the table, Byron shifted his attention towards the two chosen representatives – both who had specifically requested to perform with the other – a satisfied smile glimmering in his calm, grey eye.

"I have high expectations for your duet, Duke Louis Howard and Archduke Rayvis Harneit."

Rayvis was Louis' duet partner.

Despite the both of them being arguably the most outwardly emotionless and poker-faced of everyone gathered in the room, when the agreement that they would be partners was made, Rayvis and Louis softened their expressions as they gave each other small, genuine smiles that close to no one got to see gracing their faces, a sight that had made Nico, Robert, Sid, Leo and Albert all internally remark – or complain, in some instances – that those two boys should smile more, and not just at each other. Most of the group thought that Louis and Rayvis were so similar that they could be considered twins from different families, regardless if phrased in dissimilar manners, and it was not even a secret. If Louis was to be truly honest, among all the nine other boys in the group, he believed that the person that he shared the most similarities with was definitely Rayvis. Cordial at best to strangers, Louis and Rayvis were not at all inclined to readily give their trust to anyone, regardless how long they had known the people in question, as introverted as they were outwardly cold and distant. Neither did they have any issue with sending silent but sharp remarks slicing through the air should they be deemed necessary, especially when someone else said something out of the line. Needless to say, they were sincerely comfortable with each other, except that they were not only mutual acquaintances with similar characteristics:

Louis and Rayvis were each other's closest friends. Alongside the fact that they knew how well-versed they were with their instruments – the piano and violin, respectively – that was the main reason why they requested to perform with each other over anyone else and did not hesitate to say it. While their permanent residences were in Wysteria and Stein respectively, much akin to how Louis and Byron communicated, the duo sent letters to each other via official mail, with Louis' pet bird Lucia often serving as the intermediary when Louis was the initial sender, keeping close contact in regards to their countries' conditions and their personal lives.