Year of the Boar, Twelfth Month, Day 16. Postscript,

 It has been an exhausting day... I slept fitfully for a few sticks before dragging myself to the bath house only to find Rani in it. I hardly managed to restrain myself from rolling my eyes but somehow I forced a smile and a polite greeting as I eased my tired body into the water. I closed my eyes, hoping Rani would take the hint and either leave the bath or at least do me the courtesy of bathing quietly and allowing me to relax but of course, she did not... I endured about a stick of what appeared to be superficial conversation but I could not shake the feeling that she was probing me for some sort of information... She expressed the desire to take a turn around the garden before taking some tea which as her host, I could hardly deny so I agreed that I would meet her for a walk after I had taken care of some House business. 

Rani heaved herself out of the water and waddled off to dress and I allowed myself the luxury of remaining in the water awhile and reflected on what has happened over the past few days. I am not certain where our future lies... do I see myself wed to Sasanuma...? I do not know... I do not think so... I suppose I should talk to him about what he wants for himself... for us... We have talked much about our feelings for each other and the ... physical... side of things but not about the future...practical things... he likes living in his cottage away from the House... it keeps him objective, he says... should I ask him to move up to the House... ? I can scarcely go and live with him... is it even wise for us to be open about our relationship...? So many things to consider but for now... that must wait because I have more pressing matters to think on...

I decided not to take an entourage with me to meet Rani, limiting my company to three maids, as I had concluded that it was high time I had a frank talk with her. Sasanuma would not have approved if I had mentioned it before hand but he may well be interested when I impart what I have surmised... Once we had settled in the tea house, I simply asked her outright what the tour of the Kingdom is all about. To my surprise, she looked faintly impressed, as if I had been clever enough to catch her out... Indeed her visit had nothing to do with Diplomatic relations and everything to do with finding out which Houses she could consider as allies should she ever need to. Obviously she is lying... that is an answer which makes even less sense than a Diplomatic tour... She told me that her parents intend to go to war with the Seventh and want to know if they can count on the Ninth to side with them... She must think that we in the Ninth know absolutely nothing about what goes on outside our borders... 

I feigned surprise and told her that I would consider any proposal very carefully which appeared to satisfy her but ... I must discuss this with Sasanuma and Azusa... evidently, Rani realises that she has been compromised and has come up with this rubbish to help her explain the presence of her spies should we also have discovered those. I am not certain whether she realises that we have Rikku or not but I suppose that it would be a clever enough lie if we were to reveal that we know about him...