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.
When asked where he would go if he could use flight magic to travel to anywhere Leona responds that he would like to fly to a first-class hotel where in a remote place that is hard to get to, a place most people never think to go, where he could do as he pleases: “Eat when I’m hungry, take a bath whenever I feel like it…surround myself with peace and quiet. With no one botherin’ me for stuff, I could finally get some decent sleep.”
When asked how he would endure being on a deserted island Leona says two or three days would be nothing as long as he had a little water, but also that he had never been camping before Vargas Camp: “You do remember I’m royalty, right? That’s as far from roughin’ it as it gets.”
Other characters will sometimes comment on having forgotten that Leona is an actual prince, with Azul saying, “Leona looks rather majestic dressed like that. Almost princely, even… Ah, silly me. He IS a prince” during NBC, Ruggie saying, “Leona looked almost princely in his fairy getup…wait, duh. He IS a prince” during Fairy Gala, and Jade teasing him with, “Why, it’s almost as though you’re some sort of highborn prince.”
Leona is the first marriage candidate rejected by Eliza during the Phantom Bride event for failing to join her when she suddenly begins to sing: “A princess was singing right in front of you, and you wouldn’t even join her for a duet! You’re no prince at all!” (Jack: “and Leona’s the only actual prince in our group…”)
We get occasional reminders of Leona’s unfamiliarity with certain things due to his upbringing: while he might be the most technologically-adept sports club member he uses a microwave for the first time in his life during Master Chef, and it does not go well.
Leona says, “I have chefs serve me warm meals every day, at home and here at school. That’s the life I’ve lived. Is it that hard to imagine someone who’s never had occasion to use a microwave?”
The chef compliments Leona’s performance (outside of microwave usage) and quick learning and Leona responds, “I wouldn’t want to squander this chance. I’d like to spend the rest of the class focusing on learning how to use the microwave.”
According to Ruggie, Leona also once mistook a picture of Ruggie’s home for a doghouse (Leona: “Did I…really do that?”), saying that he wishes his prospective was just as warped from a life of luxury, but Leona says he is practically a commoner himself.
Other hints we have received about Leona’s life at the palace is his having outfits custom-tailored, having yogurt included in his breakfasts by chefs, receiving VIP invitations to NRC’s spelldrive tournaments and receiving visitors for New Year.
Kalim says he talked to Leona about how fun it is, but, Kalim says, “he just made a face for some reason.”
Leona says, “The wealthy families of the Scalding Sands are way richer than royalty in other lands. If you wanna butter someone up, Kalim’s your best bet, not me,” but Leona does seem accustomed enough to having money, purchasing a 45,000 madol (450 thaumark) blanket for himself during New Year’s (“I’m gettin’ it ’cause I think it’s worth it, not because it’s expensive. I’m not into throwin’ money away like that”), and not knowing how much his Vargas Camp outfit costs because he just buys what he likes: “All that matters is it looks decent on me.”
When Ruggie scolds Leona for keeping his valuables out in the open Leona responds, “So what if my stuff gets stolen, anyway? It’s no big deal,” but this might not be entirely true, or at least not for his necklaces: Leona does not let Ruggie steal a necklace that he drops during Vargas Camp, asking for it back, and when Ruggie accidentally loses another of Leona’s necklaces Leona seeks him out specifically to ask about it (Ruggie: “You never care about any of your jewelry, so why NOW of all times…?”)
In order to protect Ruggie, Jack lies to Leona about having been asked to polish the inlaid jewels.
Leona says that his birthday party at NRC is “pretty meager compared to the parties (his) family throws,” but he appreciates how casual it is.
Leona does not seem to be fond of parties/social gatherings, saying, “I wouldn’t go to some stupid social even if you begged me” about the Glorious Masquerade event, initially refusing a party for a portrait in a vignette, saying he “hates formal junk” on the subject of the opening ceremonies and saying outright during Fairy Gala that he hates things like “capricious parties and festivals.”
Leona seems to dislike tradition, which is something he has in common with both Jamil and Idia.
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 