Touch His Heart

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

Therefore, when Louis visited Stein for official business, despite there being the option to stay in a guest bedroom in Stein Castle, he accepted Rayvis' invitation to stay in the Harneit residence with him for the duration of the business trip. It was the same case when Rayvis went to Wysteria; so long as the places that he needed to visit or inspect were close enough, he would stay in the Howard manor with Louis even though a guest bedroom was available in the royal palace. After they were done with work for the day and had dinner together, the two young men remained in the Harneit residence, inside the lounge with the grand piano. The both of them had agreed to begin preparing for the Grand Spring Festival tonight, as they needed time to decide on the piece that they were performing and practise both individually and together. Sitting across from each other with cups of freshly-brewed Lady Grey tea, Louis and Rayvis began with a casual conversation about the last official meeting for the occasion, the meeting in which everyone agreed for them to perform together.

"There are no fixed requirements regarding what piece we are to perform," Rayvis remarked, folding his arms as his eyebrows furrowed slightly, "meaning that everyone, King Byron and the princess included, are leaving the decision to us. However, even though we are given the liberty of selection, it does not necessarily mean that our song selection, as well as our duet itself, will not be criticized."

"I agree," Louis stated, giving Rayvis a brief nod. "Between the both of us, Rayvis..." he smiled wryly, "it does not exactly feel like liberty, does it?"

Rayvis chuckled, but it was as ironic as Louis' smile.

"You are astute, Louis, and I do not disagree with you either. You could say that this liberty is a restriction within itself, right?"

"Perhaps even more than we would have with fixed conditions."

"That is true."

When it came to discussions about the nobility from their countries, neither Louis nor Rayvis were at all inclined to glaze over the reality that was the nobility's callousness and condemnation towards everyone in general. Even if they were perceived to be too blunt or harsh, they shared the thought and belief that they were simply stating facts as they were. And facts were statements that no one could alter merely by using words that gave an illusion that reality was less severe than it actually was. Even prior to the both of them agreeing to perform and requesting to be partnered with each other, they had already been aware that should they be partnered together, as Byron had mentioned, expectations for their performance would be demanding. However, that did not quite mean that the nobility that would bear witness to their performance would be reasonable in their assessment, even when the festival was meant to have more liberty than any other occasion that came to mind.

"Louis," Rayvis began, his light blue eyes frowning as he adjusted his white cravat, "what kind of performance do you think the nobility expects us to give?"

"From my understanding, they will expect us to perform a famous classical piece," Louis replied, shifting to a more comfortable position on the dark grey sofa before reaching for his saucer and teacup. "They expect a performance that is as perfect as it is grand and beautiful, even when the word 'liberty' does not coincide with 'perfection'."

"My thoughts are similar," Rayvis acknowledged with a brief nod, his eyes contemplative. "However, I personally do not believe that the performance that they expect from us is the performance that they desire of us." His eyes narrowed in mild annoyance. "Honestly, that is where the main problem lies."

Louis shook his head. "There are only two kinds of performance that they wish to see, and neither is reassuring."

Rayvis' eyes widened marginally as Louis took a sip of his tea. "Two?"