Year of the Boar, Tenth Month, Day 7.

Yuika has made it clear that she intends for me to manage the visit by Princess Rani. I do not know whether to be flattered or irritated; it is as if she wishes to absolve herself of all repsonsibility for her own House. No. Not 'as if'. She does. Of course she does. It has been a long time since she was capable of running her House... if indeed, she ever has been. Not all of it is her fault, I know that. In her position, I would likely have disemboweled myself long ago; it is testament to Yuika's resiliance that she lives to see each day but part of me cannot help wonder why she continues to put herself through such agonies. Surely at some point, she must take back control or... end it all...? Still, I am no expert in these matters so what do I know of it... I would insist the physician do something if I were not convinced he would simply pour sedatives or opiates down her throat. I hate to admit it but I may be out of my depth. I now have an inkling of how Nanami must have felt; trapped... unable to help Yuika but unable to leave lest she be responsible for further harm coming to Yuika. Why that should even bother me, I still do not know but I do feel responsible.
On a positive note, I believe I may have found a replacement for Nanami. She will need some significant training but since Yuika seems to have given me a reasonably free rein with the Diplomats, I do not think anyone will be particularly suspicious of me giving my maid more training so she is better equipped to support me as I take on new duties. The girl in question, Ryouko, has been serving me more or less since I arrived and although I was not sure about her at first, she has proved herself reliable. She can read and writes a little thanks to Yuika's insistance that all of her staff do, and when I have sent her on small errands, she has carried them out without question and to the letter. More importantly, I observed her watching me somewhat furtively when she believed I was not paying attention. Since I noticed that, I have seen her watching others about the court as well and I am convinced that all of these qualities will make her an excellent replacement for Nanami. Of course the price I must pay for using Ryouko to replace Nanami is that I must then find a replacement for Ryouko. If indeed, I can get Ryouko to agree. I must also find a way to convince Atsuko that Ryouko would be better placed to serve Yuika than she is to serve me...