[UPDATE IN PROGRESS] Onmyou-Pocketville: Fallen Dusk

Chapter 18: The Old Melody

Lilie shuffled through all the documents she had signed already, which came from the well-sized Red Box with her Royal Cypher that a confidant had given her. It was another day where work as a British monarch had to be done, even if she considered her days at Balmoral a summer holiday.

A round handheld mirror with a walnut brass-plated frame was on the corner of her desk face up. It was inactive for the time being, only showing a reflection of the ceiling in the glass. It masqueraded as simply a portable mirror for Lilie to use when she's fixing her makeup but was secretly a tool that was helpful for communication to other realms.

She had just ended her conversation with her granddaughter, but she was still worried about her. Just like how her daughter Valerie, Malorie's mother, was with her eldest, Lilie's instincts as a grandmother kicked in like a punch in the gut whenever Malorie was separated from her, especially abruptly.

Lilie looked up. "Malorie?"

The neatly decorated room with plaid all over was empty and silent, aside from the chattering of red squirrels playing in the trees outside. Everyone in the castle was busy with different kinds of work to do, while Hana was in her room minding her own business, probably drawing or playing with her stuffed animals. Who knows what Lilie's consort Oliver may be up to.

"I forgot she's away..." sighed Lilie. "I should've let myself go there instead..." She looked back at the neatly stacked papers in the open case. "but I have all this to do, everyday. I just hope the jewel protects her well..."

As she placed all the papers back in the box to be returned, she spotted an envelope that somehow hid underneath the bottom of the stack as she was working. It was off-white, which meant that it was becoming discoloured with age, and had a strawberry red wax seal with the Omori crest stamped on it. Inside was a folded letter.

The envelope was already open as Lilie had opened it a long time ago to read it. There also seemed to be an object tucked inside the letter.

Lilie took out the letter from the envelope, which was yellowing with age. Something was indeed in the middle of the wraps, something that was roundly shaped. Carefully, she opened up the letter to read what was written in it. It was all kanji and hiragana, which was written with dark crimson ink from a calligraphy pen.

Although Lilie had an expansive knowledge in the Japanese language, and even as Onmyougo was astonishingly similar to Japanese, she was a bit puzzled reading the letter as there were some kanji characters that were a bit smudged out from being pressed.

Hmm...

The writing shifted into English all of a sudden and became even more clear to comprehend.

Oh dear, I didn't expect this to happen, Lilie thought as she pushed her glasses up.

27th Botan, of the Air Year

Dear Lilie-chan,

I hope you visit Onmyou-Kyou again soon, although I'm sure you have heaps of work to do as a new and young monarch. You were absolutely lovely with us.

Here is a magatama for you, as it holds some very important mana. I assume you already have many powerful jewels in your family's possession, but consider this a gift from Onmyou.

Your friend,
Ava Omori

The object happened to be that very magatama, carved from rose quartz and tied with a white string that made a loop wide enough for Lilie to wear around her neck.

This...jewel...it must be important...

Lilie placed a paw on the magatama, which felt surprisingly warm to the touch.