108 Her Bitter Past

"You do not need to worry, Kath had called us by herself." said the woman with a smile and then turned to look at the empress who was still silent, "right dear!" 

'Kath!' The nickname sounded quite intimate to the owner of the shop who did not know how to respond. She waited for the empress to say anything as she did ot want to anger any of the party without reason.

"Alright then, it is my mistake." said the shop owner as she waved her staff to bring more sweets and tea for the new guests when Kath finally tilted her head.

"I don't know this woman.'' Though her voice was low, it was clear enough in the silent room when the face of the woman scrunched up as if she had eaten something ugly and she was neither able to spit it out or swallow it.