Laws Of Royalty ✅

CH13; BEFORE.

HADEWA CALIPHATE,

NIGERIA.

The day before Muneer and Aali visited the Tayyu household, something happened.

"Who is Aria?"

Shehu who remained standing, yet hidden by the wall leaving to another exit in Aali's chamber didn't waste a second before he answered, "She's Maya's sister—her only sister" He added, emphasizing on the word for he knew it's importance.

Aali who sat on one of the couches in the living room, legs apart slightly and elbows resting on each caressed his stubble with his index finger and thumb, brows drawn in deeply. He had on a Calvin Klein Jacquard hoodie and raven sweatpants he randomly took out of his closet. He was never one to stress himself over what to wear when he has no plan of going on—especially not after returning home and meeting things he least expects. "You mean..." He trailed off, his voice low enough for only Shehu to hear.

He didn't have to complete his sentence—they both knew what he meant. It's better than saying it out loud.

The palace walls have ears after all. That statement isn't an empty one, the walls really do have ears, though figuratively but they serve their purpose.

Shehu nodded, though knowing the Prince can't see him. "Yes, Your Highness" He said, "She is the one"

Aali blinked, blowing out a low breath as he gritted his teeth. Bringing his hands down, he intertwined his fingers; tightening his hold around them slightly as he connected the dots. It didn't take long for him to do so, "Then that means the wedding..."

"...The ones involved are just pawns" Shehu concluded the sentence in the Prince's mind. Though internally he's a bit curious as to whether the Prince really didn't know of this till now. He knows better than anyone. If he dares say, he knows him better than Amadu who had been serving the man since he was a child.

He has seen the things that man can do, and he knows he's much smarter than this. He might just be pretending to not know; it won't be surprising. After all, the man is great at pretending to be completely unaware of things happening around him. He had done it before, and he's still doing it again. The question is, why is he doing so at the moment?

Nevertheless, Shehu decided to not say a word about it.

Aali didn't say anything for the next couple of minutes. He simply kept tapping his foot on the carpet slowly—the wheels in his heard turning fast and eyes, fixated on a particular spot staring into space. The looks in his eyes were calculating, something Shehu had grown accustomed to seeing.

The words the Prince muttered afterwards didn't come as a surprise to Shehu. "That's all. Thank you. You may go" He said.

Shehu silently slipped out through the back door. It's a pointless effort though, and he knew that, because there are only a couple of things that remain unknown in the palace.Just as the walls have ears, the place has eyes everywhere too.

The minute Shehu was away, Amadu made his way over to the Prince immediately, his steps even. "What will you do now?"

Aali leaned back on the couch, crossing his legs in the process—lips set into a tight line as he concluded his decision. "See, there are certain things to know in situations like this" He started, glancing at Amadu with a slight tilt of his lips upward, "You can only win if you're always a step ahead"

"So..." Amadu never hid the fact that he's not as quick witted as the Prince. Heck, in all his years in the palace, he had never seen anyone as smart as the man. Really.

Aali gestured to the folder that sat on the center table, which Shehu brought to him earlier. It contains all the information he would need. It doesn't contain everything, but rather, the information which will be needed at the moment. "Her" His gaze moved to the picture of Aria that remained on top of all the papers, "She's the answer to all this"