The prince did not believe a single word that had come from the lips of that mysterious and suspicious stranger.

But he had no way to prove he was lying, because his story actually made sense.

So he was very irritated, quickly leafing through a pile of books that he hoped might have given him some answers.

A knock on the door interrupted the important study.

“Come in” he said absently, closing the books and stacking them to one side.

Chevel and Persian, his two most trusted advisors, entered the room, somewhat uncertain.

“So, have you discovered something?” asked the prince, full of expectations.

“I don't trust him!” Chevel immediately began. He hadn't hidden his hatred for the cook, so Daryan wasn't surprised by his vehemence.

"Me neither, but do you have any reason to doubt his story?" he asked, pressing for more information.

“I have done very thorough research, and there seems to be nothing strange in what he said. Indeed he may be a bit suspicious, but the information matches” objected Persian, biting his lip a little uncertain, and earning an irritated look from the knight.

They were like a little devil and an angel on Daryan’s shoulder, always against each other.

“Okay, answer my questions… he's a man, are we sure about this?” he asked, mainly addressing Chevel, who nodded.

“Confirmed by Alex a few minutes ago”

Daryan crossed out a note he'd jotted down, and removed two books from the pile.

“Has he given any sign of knowing facts and information that he couldn't have known if he were a simple citizen of Lumai?” he asked again, addressing both of them.

“I don’t think so. To be fair, he is quite ignorant. Maybe too much” observed Chevel, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, it didn't seem like it to me. On the contrary, he has a very meager vocabulary, and rather commoner manners” for the first time, Persian agreed with Chevel.

Daryan crossed out another piece of information, and pulled several books from the pile.

“Okay, then… did he give any sign of knowing something more, like possible future events? Maybe with some facial expression, or a slip…” before Daryan could even finish the question, the two men answered in unison:

“No, absolutely not” shaking their head.

Daryan snorted, and looked back at his notes.

“Some divine light?” he asked, starting to lose hope.

“No” the two men answered together again.

Daryan was silent for a few seconds.

“Does he hate anyone? Did he give a sign of hating someone at the Royal court?”

“Yes, I think he hates me. He’s very unpleasant” Chevel hastened to answer, but it wasn't the answer Daryan was looking for.

“Everyone who knows you hates you” observed Persian, mostly to himself.

“What do you mean by that?!” Chevel was indignant, and clenched his fists.

“You're not here to quarrel... I mean a hidden hatred, which is barely noticeable” he explained himself better.

“Oh, then no. He really seems to adore the princess, like everyone else, and has already made friends with some cooks” Persian explained.

“As much as I dislike him, he doesn't seem capable of hiding his emotions” admitted Chevel.

Daryan crumpled up the sheet of paper with his notes and tossed it with great precision into the garbage.

Then he snorted, annoyed, and stood up, to look out the window and try to clear his head.

The more he thought about it, the more implausible his initial theory seemed to be.

He looked at the titles of the books he had read in preparation for this interrogation:

"Help, I ended up in a parallel universe and I don't know how to get out"

“The god from another world has a crush on me”

“A woman among the royal guards”

“I went back in time to get revenge on my Aunt Carlina”

“This time they will be the ones to bend the knee”

“My girlfriend is not of this world…literally”

And other books with similar themes.

It had probably been a stupid thought to hope that the strangely dressed stranger who had appeared from nowhere and ended up in a super visible trap was an Isekaied boy from another world.

…but damn if Daryan had hoped for it!

Only he couldn't say it clearly or make it obvious he was thinking that. The cook could always be a spy aware of his literary interests.

And then the first rule of any isekai was that the isekaied person would never admit that he was from another world.

Phew, what a difficult situation!

Daryan didn't know what to think anymore, now that his strongest theory was almost completely debunked.

After all, Leonardo had answered his questions too well to be from another world. He knew of the deities, of the districts. Maybe he had read it all in a book, but what narrative book was so…

“Persian, are there any missing books in the library?” he asked, seized by a sudden doubt.

“No. I mean, this morning I thought a book about Lumai was missing, but I found it a minute later under an armchair” admitted Persian.

Well, the cook hadn't had access to the library that morning, surely he hadn't read anything from there.

If he could actually read.

The more distant the isekai theory got, the more Daryan began to suspect that he really was an enemy spy. Even if it didn't make sense to send such an obvious spy.

“Okay, thanks for the info. Now I can handle it” he dismissed the councilors with a wave of his hand, and returned thoughtful.

“Will you drive him away?” Chevel asked, very hopeful.

“No, are you crazy? If I kick him out now Opal would hate me for life! I’ll wait for my parents to come back and I hope they will kick him out. For now, let's keep an eye on him. Oh, and do you know of a way to make sure a person isn't immune to poisons without poisoning them to death?” he finally asked, struck by an epiphany.

“Uhm…” Persian didn't know how to answer.

“I have the perfect idea!” Chevel's eyes, however, lit up with malevolent intent.

“Good, then I'll give you free rein. But try to check it by tomorrow morning” he ordered his most faithful guard.

“With pleasure, Your Majesty” Chevel bowed, and walked out of the room very enthusiastic about the task.

“Your Majesty, with the utmost respect, but that boy doesn't seem like a bad person to me” Persian observed, in a low voice.

Daryan thought back to those brilliant blue eyes and his sincere smile as he spoke to the princess, like an older brother.

He thought back to his gaffes and his enthusiasm for the idea of cooking. To the expectation in his gaze every time someone tasted one of his dishes. Not as a criminal hoping his victim would die, but as a young boy looking for a modicum of appreciation. It was so… lovely.

“I know. I don’t think he’s a bad person either” he admitted in a whisper.

But he had to do what was best for the palace and for his people.

So he had to stay as far away as possible from the charming stranger who still, in his heart, he was hoping was from another world.

That would have been so cool!