Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 11.

 It has been an exhausting and disturbing day... Princess Rani arrived this morning and once we had exchanged formal greetings, she offered her condolences on the loss of my child... my bood ran like ice in my veins... she went on to murmur sympathetically about how difficult things must have been and I felt Azusa's fingers flex on my arm and I knew her thoughts were the same as mine... How... has Rani come by the knowledge she has of my son's death...? Her source of information must be extremely close by... I found it incredibly hard to remain serene; I do not know how I have made it through the day...  Every mouthful of tea has stuck in my throat and I have had to force myself to murmur polite platitudes and pretend that nothing is out of the ordinary when things which should have been completely private are apparently known where they should not be...

The hour grows late but I cannot bring myself to attempt sleep until Sasanuma has returned because I must know if he has managed to uncover Rani's source of intelligence...