“So you didn’t put sugar here?” asked the prince, very suspicious, after having tasted the first bite of panna cotta.

The princess had already finished her plate and was eyeing her brother's with adoring eyes.

“No, I used natural and not at all exciting sweeteners in order to bring out the flavor of the dish” Leo explained, very satisfied with himself.

“How come you know how to cook without sugar? You seem to have had a teacher of some sort” the prince didn't seem convinced, and took the second bite staring at Leo suspiciously.

“Well, Corey has a sugar problem. Every time he eats it he gets sick, so I've learned to cook separate food just for him, and it seemed unfair to deprive him of dessert” Leo smiled, and lied, swapping his pretend brother Corey and his grandmother. It wasn't hard to remember, since his grandmother's name was Clara.

“I see…” the prince sighed, took the third bite, and then pushed the panna cotta away towards his sister, who immediately took it and finished it before Leo realized the passing of the torch.

“If I find out tomorrow that my sister didn't sleep well there will be consequences” he threatened him, before standing up elegantly and nodding to the knights.

“I’m ready to take them on” Leo bowed, still very badly, and went back to the kitchen, after giving a discreet wave of his hand towards the princess, who blew him a kiss and mimicked “I love your cooking!” which didn't escape the eyes of the prince, that decided to ignore it.

Once in the kitchen, Chevel was waiting for him, and Leo didn't even have time to think about tidying up.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked as he was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and dragged away.

“Prince Daryan has asked me to take you to your new dormitory. You'll be in a room with three of my most promising knights. They'll keep an eye on you for me from now on” Chevel explained, and he seemed really happy to finally get rid of his role as a babysitter.

Never as much as Leo, who improvised a victory dance taking advantage of the fact that Chevel was with his back turned.

He was caught mid-jump, and Chevel glared at him.

He couldn't complain of being hated, he hadn't given Leo any reason to like him.

…and probably Leo hadn't given him any reason to be trusted, but whatever. Leo was the protagonist, so he was always right!

The knight’s apartments were close to the main exits of the castle, so that they were always on the front line, ready to protect the building from any attack. And this also meant that it was the coldest area, as it was drafty and draughty.

All right, Leo could have survived. It couldn't be worse than camping, right?

Leo hated camping.

Chevel preceded him into a small room, too small for four people, and announced him to his new roommates, three men not too far from his age. Three knights, that were probably buff and very attractive. Yay! Leo had hit the jackpot.

“Attention!” the captain of the guards asked the three subordinates to get into position, then he dragged Leonardo inside the room and closed the door.

“Greetings! I'm Leonardo” the cook introduced himself, trying to appear friendly.

“This man is the cook and royal taster personally chosen by the prince. He will share a room with you and I require that you keep an eye on him at all hours of the day and night, taking turns following him wherever he goes. It's suspicious, and potentially dangerous. Do not interfere with his work unless he does something unusual and report to me or the prince. Did I make myself clear?” Chevel explained the situation, appearing much more threatening than it already was usually.

Was it possible that until then he had shown a kind facade to Leo? Because he was really scary as a captain. Leo would have never wanted to be under his direction.

“Yes, Captain!” answered the three men, determined and in unison.

Man… it was a really serious environment.

Well, considering the threat of Valkrest it was more than understandable that a lot of care was taken in the choice of knights.

Luckily Leo was a cook.

“Well, introduce yourself and give him a night robe. Alex, come tell me later what I asked before” Chevel addressed one of the guards in particular, a man with dark skin, very short hair, and more delicate features than the others.

His eyes widened slightly at the request, but he bowed his head to confirm his participation.

Leo was starting to worry.

“For the others, lights out in ten minutes!” Chevel finally ordered, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

There were a few seconds of silence in which they looked at each other, then Leo gave a hint of a smile.

“Hello, I hope we can get along!” he greeted them, trying to appear self-confident.

“I highly doubt it, kid. I'm Lionel Vinterberg, and that a plebeian like you, a man who decides to start cooking like any waitress, has a name similar to mine, is an affront!” exclaimed one of the three, a snobby blonde who looked eerily like Prince Charming from Shrek… or Jaime Lannister… who were practically the same person, let's not kid ourselves.

“Well, it's Leonardo, not Lionel... we only share the…” Leo broke off just in time, before revealing his great knowledge of the alphabet, and tried to feign ignorance “…a few letters, I think? One, or two? The sound is very, very different” he tried to pull himself out of the hostility, but in response he found only a sword pointed at his throat.

“Be silent and don't try to get out of this hostility with meaningless words. We share all the letters in my seven-letter name! What an affront!” he complained, irritated.

Actually, to be fair, they shared five letters, because the L was repeated only in Lionel and not in Leonardo, and the i was missing in Leonardo. Moreover, the name Lionel consisted of six letters and not seven, but better not to point it out.

“For real? I did not know. I can't read, or write, or count…” Leo remarked his alibi “But I know that the prince wouldn't really like me to be killed, since my sweets are the princess's favorite” he then tried to remove the Charming-Lannister’s sword from his neck.

“He’s right, Lionel. We don't want to get into trouble” Alex stopped him, and Leo was almost about to thank him, then he saw that he was staring at him as if he were an ugly cockroach, so he decided to just be indifferent towards that guy.

He turned to the last man, who hadn't yet introduced himself and was observing the situation with some amusement.

"And who are you?" he asked. It was a boy who looked younger than the other two, of Asian ethnicity, and had black hair sticking out all over the place.

“Prankit. Are we sure you're a man? I mean, you're very short, and you cook. What kind of man cooks?” he asked, eyeing him with malevolent amusement.

Leo didn't have to prove anything, but he didn’t want to risk rumors that he was an undercover woman to start circulating. He knew they wouldn't help him survive.

Better set things straight.

“Why should I pretend to be a man and start cooking? It doesn't make any sense” he tried to use The Logic™, but evidently in that world logic didn't work very well, since everyone doubted him without the slightest reason.

“To attract attention, of course!” Lionel glared at him.

Leo was already starting to miss his three friends and old roommates.

“At this point I'm starting to regret not having pretended to be a woman, but if I have to prove my gender at all costs, here you are!” now irritated, and having nothing to hide, Leo took off his shirt, and remained bare-chested.

“Is that enough for proof?” he asked, indifferent, making some sensual gestures to show his absolute masculinity.

“You're the person with the least abs I've ever seen in my life!” Prankit teased him, pointing to his flat stomach.

“Yes, well, but… come on! Nothing is good enough for you, isn’t it?!” Leo muttered to himself, puffing loudly.

“Here, night robes” Alex, his favorite so far who still wasn’t that great, threw pajamas at him that hit him in the face, and sat down on his bed, taking his sword and starting to sharpen it.

Leo changed and looked for his own.

Finally he noticed that one of the beds was without blankets and a pillow… and a mattress.

“I bet this is mine, huh?” he asked, pointing at it.

“Of course, do you think one of us could deprive himself of the mattress?” Lionel asked, talking to him as if he were an idiot.

“Of course not, knights have to sleep well... I just… you know… I have to stay up all day to cook tomorrow, so I was wondering if it was possible to give me one too?” he tried to suggest, with the utmost politeness.

“No, I need two mattresses. Earn it!” Lionel went on his bed, higher than that of the others, and lay down melodramatically.

“At least the pillow?” Leo tried to ask, towards Prankit, who obviously had two.

“I have neck problems, earn it” he put himself on the bed, giggling and making himself comfortable.

“The blankets?” realizing the trend by now, Leo turned to Alex, who had twice as many blankets.

For a moment he seemed about to take them and give them to Leo, then he caught the eye of Prankit and Lionel, who looked at him with great expectation.

So he sighed, and shrugged.

“It's cold at night” he kept the blankets to himself, without looking Leo in the eye.

Nice, bullies and peer pressure. Leo had been bullied quite a lot in high school and was really starting to get tired of these situations. Mainly because he still hadn't found a good way to deal with them, since facing bullies head-on always gave him some bruises, and ignoring them didn't stop them.

It was usually good practice to report their behavior to those with more power, but Leo doubted anyone would side with him in that situation.

In the end, he opted for the option that, at least for the time being, would make him survive the longest.

“Great, enjoy my bed” which meant ignoring the bullies and pretending they didn't bother him.

Except that it was actually cold there, and Leo was tired because he had spent the last two nights practically without sleep, the first due to anxiety, the second secretly studying Lumai.

So he took his uniform and walked to the door.

Before he could get out, though, Alex stepped in front of him, sword drawn.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked menacingly.

“I’m going back to my old room with my old friends, so you have my bed, and I have a bed too. A win-win situation for all of us!” he explained, smiling bitterly.

“Don’t you dare move from here!” Alex pushed him away from the door, and almost made him fall to the ground.

“Okay, okay, I understand. But hear my words. None of you will ever taste my cooking! I guarantee it” he threatened, pouting, and moving towards his own bed... if you could define it that way. Let's say his own wooden support.

Come on, it couldn't have been worse than the campsite, where he slept on the ground.

And the next day he had every idea of complaining to the princess in a discreet way to get at least a mattress and a blanket.

At least his main ally was a powerful one.

“Tsk, what a loss. I bet food prepared by a man is the most disgusting thing in the universe” Lionel didn't seem at all perturbed by the threat.

“Yes, for me you won't last a week, especially now that the queen is about to return” Prankit took his side.

Leo was almost hoping to leave as soon as possible. He could have paid a visit to the temple and been hosted there, who knows? Better than staying there with bullying knights and impassive princes.

“Enough talking, lights out!” Alex interrupted the conversation, sheathed his sword, and left the room, to report to Chevel whatever he was supposed to report.

Leo tried to ignore the bad roommates, and tried to sleep.

He shouldn’t have been happy at the thought of living with three buff and probably attractive boys.

He tried to focus on the positive aspects of that experience.

The princess was happy with his cooking. He was making friends with the cooks, and the prince believed his backstory.

A decent start, all things considered…