It is possible that Leona prefers not to advertise his royal lineage: when Skully accurately guesses Leona to be of royal blood due to his thoughtfulness, intelligence, and lion heritage, Leona interrupts him before he can reveal the information aloud.
Leona asks Kifaji, “What’s it to anyone else whether I act ‘royal’ or not?,” and during NRC’s Halloween party a visitor recognizes him as a spelldrive athlete from TV rather than as the second prince of Sunset Savanna.
After Leona tells the Cloudcalling group that one of his responsibilities as second prince is teaching rules, best practices and etiquette to tournament winners they laugh in his face, with Leona himself saying he is ill-suited to the task, but this may not be true: he disapproves of Skully’s habit of kissing people without warning, for example, saying Skully is not a gentleman: “Who kisses someone’s hand without asking first? That’s the opposite of classy.”
As second prince Leona’s duties involve being the leader of the “Sunset Warriors” which, present-day, is only a title given to the winners of the Cloudcalling tournament, to whom he is supposed to give guardian lessons. Leona himself has also undergone the lessons, saying “they were forced upon (him)” by Kifaji.
Leona says that whenever camera crews from major newspapers would swarm around for pictures for royal events he would “make (himself) scarce,” saying,
“I can’t stand those ‘heartwarming family moments’ meant to bolster the royal family’s public image” and “I don’t see why I ought to be subjected to boring affairs, much less pretend to be all perky and happy-go-lucky all the while.”
Idia tells Leona he is really “unsuited to the whole ‘prince’ gig.”
Another responsibility of Leona’s as prince is taking part in regular fire drills: “It’s a hassle, but participation by royals is mandatory to set an example for the citizens. Those drills tend to draw a crowd, so they’re a pretty big event in their own right.”
Leona says that he has “accidentally missed one or two before” and they are “basically just practice spraying water,” but it is entertaining for onlookers:
“They get to enjoy the spectacle of royals being bucked around by a giant hose. Supposedly, the citizens are touched by the sight of royals striving to protect the kingdom…But the entertainment value lies elsewhere, if you ask me. Dust clouds getting clothes all dirty, smoke getting in people’s eyes and making their faces scrunch up…Not to mention proud manes getting all soaked and pathetic. You don’t get to see that every day.”
Leona comes up with his own pose during Fairy Gala that impresses Rook and Cater and even earns Vil’s approval, explaining, “I’ve had to do a lot of posing for paintings and commemorative photos back home. This is basic stuff.” (Cater: “Sometimes I forget you’re royalty.”)
At the end of the Cloudcalling event Leona intentionally drives through a puddle, splashing water and mud on his passengers.
When Vil asks what happened to all his best practices and etiquette of the day before Leona responds, “Rules, best practices, etiquette…?Thought you all said I didn’t know anythin’ about that stuff,” revealing that he maybe did not dismiss their comments and laughter as easily as it may have seemed.
He says, “Givin’ the Sunset Warriors guardian lessons, old customs, the stubborn old men that cling to them…I ain’t got the patience for any of it!”
Vil asks him not to take out his stress on the rest of them.
It is possible that, as a prince, going out into public with a retinue is something that Leona has in common with Malleus: when Leona asks Malleus about going into Foothill Town with his “whole posse” Malleus says, “There’s no need to trouble guards over a mere student’s shopping trip,” and Leona responds, “Yeah, I hear that. It’s way more relaxing to run errands or walk around when l’m alone and can take my time.”
Malleus comments that Leona seems to enjoy life at NRC and Leona says, “No one from back home can hover over me when I’m on campus, so I can go wherever I please. And as long as l’m here, I can wear what I want.”
Leona has a voice line about “plenty of people back home who were all too happy to nitpick (his) fashion sense,” so it is possible that his fashion taste is also controlled or at least disapproved of for one in his role as prince.
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 