Year of the Boar, Tenth Month, Day 20.

I am glad to report that I have been able to move into a new chamber which has the benefit of an ante-chamber. I am extremely pleased about this as it will mean that my maid can now stay with me and fend off unwanted visitors.
It has also occurred to me that I have been incredibly stupid regarding the "Yuuta situation"; all I really needed to do was have him removed and put in a cell. All this angst I have been causing myself is really quite idiotic and I feel a great sense of relief now that I have had this moment of clarity. Also since I have moved my chamber, I have taken pains to thoroughly look around and I have a plan for creating a more secure space for my secret things. I also believe that there is scope to build somewhere to hide myself should I ever need to... Quite why that has occurred to me, I could not say but as I was inspecting the inside of the closet, I realised that it was far bigger than I needed it to be and that I could probably sleep in it if I wanted to... then the thought just grew. I do not know how I will be able to get the false wall built in secrecy; I have no carpenters on my payroll but I can give that some thought at a later date.
I am certain my secrets are hidden for now though and that Yuuta will not be a problem moving forward. Now I must turn my attentions to the delegation for I hear that they are only a day or so away...

Year of the Boar, Tenth Month, Day 19. Postscript.

Words fail me. I am rarely speechless but now... I just may be. I returned to my chamber after a screaming argument with Yuika to find Yuuta in my chamber. He was actually looking through my things when I crashed through my door and did not have the decency to look even faintly apologetic. I was in such poor humour that I did not actually notice him until I had slammed the doors behind me and walked into the middle of the room. Thank the gods I have always had the foresight to keep my most private things hidden in secret places so there was no danger of him reading these papers but the thought of his hands on the few things I do keep about my chamber makes me feel just a little bit sick.
I just simply cannot get over the fact that when I finally collected myself enough to take him to task, in terms with which I will not defile my pages, he actually told me that while he was amused by my games, I ought to know my place. Which is apparently in his bed whenever he decides he is in the mood. The arrogance!
I must admit that I was not entirely sure what to do... I was a little afraid, in that moment, that I would find myself a victim but I managed to stop my hand from shaking long enough to get a grip on the handle of my knife and I felt calm then. Calm enough to do what was necessary and it is with a small amount of satisfaction that I can write that I sliced off his beard. After getting close enough to let him believe that I acquiesced, of course.
That small act renewed my confidence and once I had done it, I took his braid in my hand and held my blade to it, raising my eyebrows at him. I asked him, hissing, if he remembered what I had said to him. At least he had the good grace to look a little shocked; as if he could not believe that I had been serious. Not that he apologised or made any attempt to leave so I dropped my hand to his groin and then I told him that I was completely serious and that he had less than a fraction of a stick to remove his scorbutic behind from my rooms and from my life because if he didn't, the next time he saw me, the blade would be considerably bigger. And then... and then ... I jabbed him with it... Now there is a trail of bloody droplets on my tatami and I sit here shaking.
I will call for Atsuko when I have calmed myself and see about moving my chamber elsewhere. I do not think for one minute that a man who has the lack of courtesy to enter a woman's chamber uninvited when she is not there, would not see my knife as an affront to his pride... As if I do not have enough to deal with at present... but I cannot feel afraid every time I return to my room that he will be in here waiting to exact revenge for my slight... Worse still, Yuika will have to be told and she will have to deal with him because there is absolutely no chance at all that this will not escalate...

Year of the Boar, Tenth Month, Day 19.

Ryouko reports that she has spoken to Yuika and reminded her that the delegation is imminent. Yuika, apparently, has agreed to have Ryouko treat her hair and skin with some sort of conditioning unguent. This is, I suppose, good news of sorts but in of the fact that Yuika can barely be relied upon to have a polite conversation, I am not convinced that the state of her hair or skin will matter. She refused to see me this afternoon and although I could have insisted, I decided to leave Ryouko to deal with her instead since I will likely have a battle on my hands when it comes to making her eat later this evening.
There has been gossip about the House concerning Yuuta although the gossips in question cannot seem to make up their minds whether it is my bed or Yuika's that he frequents. I do not know whether this has reached Yuika yet but if it has, it will have served only to make her even more upset. I am fast losing my temper with this nonsense; I promised myself I would stand for Yuika and for Dying Crane, that I would help her to recover but it seems that I may have bitten off far more than I can chew... I am not equipped for this. I cannot get through to her with gentleness or with anger. It seems as though she has chosen to forget her own promise to see that I am safe from Yuuta already and so it would appear that I have no sway over her at all. I do not know how to mend this situation.
I will stay for the delegation if only because I wish to see Rani. I still have not decided whether to let it be known who I am or whether to stay in the shadows but either way, I need to see how that particular land lies... Once Rani has moved on, I will decide what to do next although it occurred to me this morning that if my visit to Purple Lightning coincides with hers, it could be somewhat awkward and so I most certainly need to discover her intended route through the Kingdom...

Year of the Boar, Tenth Month, Day 18.

As if I did not have enough with which to concern myself at present. Yuuta, the insufferable toad, decided that he would try to press his affections on me again last night. I would have been less irritated had he arrived at a reasonable hour but he chose to present himself at my door just shy of the hour of the cricket. Did he imagine I would be sufficiently tired that I would simply acquiesce or does he now imagine that we have moved beyond even the most perfunctory courtesies? When I told him that I was tired, he actually said that I did not need to be otherwise, he would be active enough for the both of us and took my wrist in his hand and tried to pull me back into my chamber...!
I sit here smiling to myself at the look on his face when he realised I held a blade at his groin. I told him in no uncertain terms that not only did 'no' mean 'no' but that it now permanently meant 'no' and that if I were to so much as see a strand of his beard anywhere near my chambers again, he would find himself missing a fundamental part of his anatomy! I saw something in his eyes; the briefest of calculations... could he force the issue or would I seriously harm him... I am relieved that he chose to believe me capable of carrying out my promise and, after dishing out some fairly unpleasant comments as to my breeding, he left.
I do not see that I have any choice but to bring this to Yuika's attention because if he chooses to return and push this issue, I will most certainly make good on my promise and I have no wish to find myself a guest in the House oubliette having injured him grievously. How I will go about that, I have no idea since Yuika still refuses to talk to me. Ryouko may have better luck although Yuika has yet to say a single word to Ryouko other than to mistakenly call her 'Atsuko'.
On that note, I have myself a new maid. She seems like a decent girl with no ambitions other than to do her job well so I do not see that she is ever going to take on 'extra' duties but perhaps, in time, she will become an ally and there is an awful lot to be said for that...

Year of the Boar, Tenth Month, Day 17.

I have been run ragged this past day or two trying to ready the House for the delegation. The Diplomats finally appear to have decided that they would prefer to keep their posts for now and have begun cooperating more fully. It is with relief that I can therefore report that Court silks are laundered and pressed as is the servants' livery for such an occasion.
The House has enough to clothe every servant who will be seen by any of the visitors for six days if each one of them wears the same set for three days. The laundry will be working 24 sticks a day in shifts so the servants, at least, will look pristine for the duration of the delegation.
Further to this, the sleeping arrangements have been finalised; each visiting servant will share a room with one of Dying Crane's servants excepting Rani's personal maids who will share the ante-chamber as Yuika's do.
We have no information from the scrolls about whether this is the custom in the Seventh but since they are visitors, they will just have to adapt to Dying Crane's customs on this issue since the House is not designed in a way which would allow Rani's maids to have rooms close enough to her should she need them during the night.
I feel a good deal more settled about matters than I have recently and were it not for Yuika's quite abominable behaviour, I would be actively looking forward to this delegation. The idea of hearing about the Seventh first hand instead of having to read scrolls is so exciting but it is marred by the situation in the House. If Yuika does not start behaving appropriately then the rest of Rani's tour will no doubt be accompanied by gossip about how dreadful Dying Crane's Hospitality was. Why I should care about that so much, I cannot say but I do not that I do not want my name mentioned in relation to a terrible stay at Dying Crane...
It occurred to me belatedly that word may reach Pale Twilight, by which I mean Mother of course, about the fact that I am here and managing the Diplomats and therefore, the House. Perhaps I should speak to Yuika about introducing myself as someone else. Am I also to wear Dying Crane's silks and not Pale Twilight's? Can I make such a bold move and distance myself so completely from my own House? If I do that... will there be any going back...? Do I want there to be...? One thing is certain; if I do choose to wear my own silks and give my name and rank, Mother will absolutely know where I am once Rani and her delegation reach Pale Twilight, if gossip does not reach her faster than that. While I might have left Pale Twilight in search of answers at Purple Lightning before that, there is no way Yuika will cope with a visit by Mother's representatives...  This requires more thought, especially in light of Yuika's current attitude.
 I did, indeed have to drag her into the Hall to eat as I will continue to do if she cannot be trusted to go herself but my punishment for that is a complete lack of cooperation on any matter at all. She will not answer questions about the arrangements for the delegation, she will not sign any orders allowing me to assign duties or order consignments we will need. I have had to acquire her seal by asking Diplomats go and ask her about completely unrelated matters and hope that she does not notice what she is signing.
She has been sitting on her verandah seemingly looking at her garden for sticks on end, speaking to no one and refusing to be coaxed into even going to the bath house. I am at a loss. I know I am doing the right thing; it is not as if I torture her for amusement or for my own gain and what I cannot understand is why she has suddenly begun to act as though I am an enemy who wishes her harm...