“Madame Mildred, is it really necessary?” all day long, with the exception of the moments when he had to prepare the sweets for the princess, Leo had been relegated to the corner of the kitchen like a child in time-out, without being able to watch the work of the other cooks.

“Turn around! I don't trust you, and at least in this way I keep an eye on you and avoid putting strange things in the dishes of the prince and the princess” scolded Mildred, gruffly, hitting him on the head with the ladle to prevent him from observing the cooks at work.

“I just suggested putting some curry in the chicken! It's not poison! And spices are fantastic if well-dosed” complained Leo, who got bored easily, and would have loved to lend a hand even with things that weren’t desserts.

“Do you think you can suddenly come here and give lessons to us who have been cooking for the royal family all our lives?!” Mildred was irritated.

“No! In fact, I'd like to learn. The consommé of today's lunch was the best I've ever eaten!” Leo tried a different approach, and not a lie, because the food was actually very good.

Those cooks knew how to do it, their only problem was that they lacked experimentation. Probably in a world where work times were long, the internet didn't exist, and recipes were handed down for generations as they were traditionally done, there wasn't much room for creativity.

“Oh, thank you, Leo! I cooked it myself!” Mary smiled, very happy with the compliment.

“Wow, great, Mary! I liked it a lot!” Leo continued to give her nice words, and turned to say things to her face, but was hit again by the ladle.

“Don't distract my cooks! It's almost dinner” Mildred resumed.

Leo remained silent for a few minutes, trying not to get bored.

Then Jane approached him to cook something.

"What did you think of the bread?" she asked in a low voice, trying not to get caught by Mildred.

“Maybe a little tough, but the taste was very good” Leo answered sincerely.

“Oh…“ Jane seemed a little disappointed “Any suggestions to make it softer?” she asked then, still in a low voice.

“Well, leavening…”

“Don't distract the cooks!” Mildred interrupted the conversation, and Jane walked away, embarrassed by having been caught in the act.

A few minutes later, Anna made her way to the nearest post, though keeping far enough away not to arouse suspicion.

Leo noticed out of the corner of his eye that she was cooking a very succulent steak, which however seemed to be a little dry.

“Leo... do you have a trick to soften the meat halfway through cooking?” she asked, very worried about how the product was coming out.

“Have you added the salt yet?” the boy inquired, discreetly.

“Yeah”

“Then try with a teaspoon of baking soda. It's a trick that always works” he suggested as slowly but clearly as possible.

"Oh, right!" Anna was elated, and Mildred scolded her for being too close to Leo, who was once again left alone.

“Isn't there some cookie to prepare?” he asked, eager to do something, anything!

“No, the princess is forbidden to take sugar in the evening. She has trouble sleeping at night” Mildred shook her head. Leo was sorry to hear that. His sister also had trouble sleeping at night since she started high school. Too much homework and too much anxiety.

Usually the best method was a nice chamomile tea with melatonin, but Leo didn't know if there were such things there.

He thought about what helped for insomnia… milk, for sure, then dried fruit… ohhhh!

“Mildred…” he called the manager coquettishly. A tone that the woman had already learned to associate with trouble.

“Stop, don’t talk and don't continue your thoughts!” she imposed, threatening.

Leo beamed at her, not listening to her.

“I know lots of recipes for sweets without sugar!” he revealed, with an innocent look.

Actually, his grandmother was diabetic, so Leo had learned a lot of sugar-free recipes so as not to harm her. Very tasty recipes too.

It had served to regain her favor after that time when he had refused to take the third plate of meatloaf, which, however, she still held against him.

Mildred didn't reply right away, and actually seemed to evaluate what Leo had just said.

“I won't let you do anything, but if I gave you the chance, what would you do?” she asked, with a slightly less gruff voice.

“So, milk is excellent for reconciling sleep, as well as dried fruits. I was torn between light oatmeal biscuits to put in a sugar-free milk cream, and a panna cotta with hazelnut cream or with mint which is a natural digestive. Since it's a bit late to make biscuits, I was more inclined towards the panna cotta” Leo explained thoughtfully.

Mildred didn't answer him for a long time.

After a few minutes, Leo turned around, and noticed that she was no longer in the room.

He slowly glided towards his closest friend, Mary, who was working on the sauces.

"Where's Mildy?" he asked softly.

“I think she went to ask the prince if it's okay to add your dessert to dinner. Leo, can you tell me if salt is good?” Mary took advantage of the boy to let him try the sauce.

Leo savored it deeply, then nodded.

“More than salt, I would add a pinch of pepper” he suggested. Mary hastened to correct.

At that moment the door opened, and Leo hurried back to his narrow corner.

“You can make this… panna cotta. Make two, one for the princess and one for the prince. Obviously you will taste both, and you are not allowed to go near the sugar” Mildred joined him and gave him the okay to cook.

He could finally get up!

And it was starting to break through even the grumpy heart of the most terrifying cook in the castle.

For his third day there, things weren't going too bad, right?