Touch His Heart

Chapter 2: Storm's Sun (Nico Meier)

Nico Meier first heard of Louis Howard years before the former posed as a butler in the Wysterian palace. As Byron's childhood friend along with Albert, Nico was exceptionally close to the young king's side, being one of his most trusted aides and closest friends. While Byron had always been quiet, cautious and serious, there were certain facts about him that close to no one else but Nico and Albert knew of.

A perfect example was Byron's friendship with Louis.

As a child, Nico had yet to see Louis in person, but could easily tell from the way Byron mentioned and talked about him that the then-prince was earnestly fond of the boy. Instead of using official postage, Byron and Louis sent each other private messages via their pet birds – Spinner and Lucia, respectively. Nico distinctly remembered the little bluebird that would tap against the window of Byron's room, and how Byron's expression would soften as he opened the window and took the small parchment – a letter from Louis – from the bird. Even Albert, who normally put up a disinterested front, did not hide his curiosity as to who Louis was. From an early age, Byron was incredibly well-versed in language and hence, was able to coherently describe Louis to Nico and Albert when he noticed that his friend had piqued their interest.

"Louis is learning how to run a duchy in preparation for when he becomes an adult," Byron had explained, his voice calm and quiet as they sat in a lounge together. "For a child around my age, he is surprisingly quiet – perhaps even quieter than I am." The last part of that statement had made Albert gawk as Nico's eyes widened. "But, more than he is quiet, he is exceptionally kind and deeply intelligent, even though it takes some time to get to know him well. I would even go as far as to say that he has a gentle sensitivity towards how words and actions affect the people around him."

"Can we meet him?" Nico asked, his expression as hopeful as he felt.

"He resides in Wysteria, so the chances for you to meet him in person are rather slim at the moment," Byron remarked. "However, when all of us take our proper positions here in this palace, I am sure that the day will come when the both of you will meet him personally."

Byron's words ended up being reality many years later, except not in the way that any of the three boys expected – at least, in Nico's case. Leaving Stein on his own accord, Nico had posed as a butler in order to infiltrate the Wysterian royal palace to spy for Byron, who had become king, despite the latter never giving such an order. It was in the palace hallway when Nico finally met the young man that Byron had first befriended all those years ago.

Except... that Nico was quite unsure what to think.

Clad in a long, azure jacket, Louis was already running the Howard duchy alone, and was deemed admirable for his seamless capabilities in doing so. However, Byron's description of Louis had made Nico think that he was what he pictured in his head when in reality... Louis was quite literally the most unreadable person in the Wysterian palace – in Nico's opinion, even more so than even the dangerous Sid and level-headed Giles! If compared to with anyone else in Nico's life, the only person that Nico could think of that was as unreadable as Louis was Archduke Rayvis Harneit – and even Albert could not read him! To Byron's credit, only with a single glance, Nico could completely understand why Louis was held in high regard by Byron himself. Even though he was a young man with few words, Louis soundlessly carried and maintained an unspoken, dignified air around him, every move laced with flawless elegance and grace. As an attendant, Nico was to address Louis as "Your Grace", and if he were to be completely honest, Louis was undoubtedly deserving of such a title even amongst countless members of the royal court and nobles alike. It was of no wonder that Louis was the most favourable candidate for Prince Consort – even the notoriously-strict Giles agreed without a doubt.