Kai first heard those voices ten years ago, when he was fourteen years old.

It was an ordinary day with tedious lessons in the morning and a thorough defeat in fencing class by Melissa as usual.

Until the age of fifteen, Melissa was taller and stronger than Kai. Naturally, she excelled in fencing, and it was always Kai who ended up defeated.

“Ben, when will I ever be able to beat Melissa?”

Kai, utterly dejected, stroked Ben’s soft mane and sobbed. Despite his resolve not to cry, tears wouldn’t listen.

The sight of his father sighing at him made him feel even more miserable that day, and Melissa seemed even more annoying.

His tutor had assured him that he would soon outgrow Melissa, but it didn’t seem likely.

Kai had never beaten Melissa in anything – fencing, academics, even his parents’ affection.

There were days when he wished Melissa would disappear, and others when he was glad she was there.

Melissa was different from other noble ladies. She always had short hair like a boy, wore pants, and spoke roughly.

It wasn’t until Kai, poking at Melissa’s budding chest, was scolded by his father that he realized Melissa was a girl.

Annoyed, Kai kicked a stone hard.

“Ow.”

The small stone hurt his bruised thigh, a spot where Melissa had hit him with a wooden sword.

“Damn Melissa.”

Today was a day when he hated Melissa. As he rode Ben aimlessly, the sun began to set, and he found himself far from the palace.

Frightened, Kai tried to return, but Ben refused to move, standing rigidly as if scared.

“Ben, what’s wrong?”

That’s when it happened.

“Ben, what’s wrong?”

Someone mimicked Kai’s words exactly. Chills ran down his spine. It was an ominous voice. Kai, ready to fight, drew his wooden sword and looked around, shouting.

“Who’s there!”

He tried to sound brave, but the voice just mocked him.

“Who’s there.”

The voice seemed to come from the gloomy castle. Clearly, a coward was hiding and mocking him.

Angry, Kai was about to storm into Berdura Castle with his wooden sword when a guard suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

“Your Highness, you must not go this way.”

“But someone is over there.”

“No one is there.”

The guard was firm. Kai, who was actually a bit scared, turned back, pretending to be defeated. But even as he left with the guard, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone who disliked him was watching.

From that day on, the unseen beings occasionally appeared in Kai’s room, mimicking his words. Sometimes, he could feel their breath close by – on his hand, near his ear, or on his neck.

Their appearances were always bizarre and terrifying, haunting Kai’s nights.

Whenever he heard the voices, Kai would run out of his room in terror, and on those days, he would not return to his room. Eventually, rumors spread throughout the palace that the prince was haunted by ghosts.
Kai decided to pretend he couldn’t hear those voices after seeing his mother quietly crying because of him.

Ever since the tragic accident that took his sibling’s life, his mother had become extremely jumpy at even the smallest things.

She was excessively protective of Kai, her only remaining son, but the rumor of him being possessed by spirits pushed her to the brink.

“Mother, I don’t hear any sounds anymore.”

“Really? Oh, thank you, God!”

His mother hugged Kai tightly, sobbing and thanking God, while the invisible entities mimicked their conversation, giggling mischievously.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Oh, thank you, God.”

Kai felt chills all over his body from the presences still lingering around him but endured it. He couldn’t let the invisible beings distress his mother.

“Why did it have to be here?”

Kai was displeased that Ben had brought him to Berdura Castle. By now, he was unfazed by the voices whispering in his ears.

Ignoring them as if they were merely echoes, they eventually quieted down. Moreover, he hadn’t heard them recently.

But the voices he heard this time were different. They were not meaningless echoes, but clear conversations.

Kai turned his head toward the sound abruptly.

“Ah, did he see us?”

“No, look, he’s looking elsewhere.”

“Maybe he’s cross-eyed.”

“Hey, can you see us?”

Esta jumped in front of Kai, waving her arms, but Kai continued to look around, unaware of Esta and Ark.

“Ah, he can’t see.”

“Tsk. I got excited for nothing. Hey, that stupid horse is eating Stella’s carrots!”

“What? Oh no!”

The topic shifted to Ben eating the carrots. Kai was completely lost. He didn’t even realize Ben was munching on carrots.

“Hey, ugly horse! Go away! Those are Stella’s carrots! She’ll be mad at you!”

“I’ll go get Stella!”

“Quick, come back. That dumb horse is just standing there while its owner is stealing.”

“We’ll have to tell Stella.”

The voices split into two directions. One headed towards Ben, and the other towards Berdura Castle.

Kai hesitated on where to look and quickly went to Ben. He couldn’t let a malevolent presence attach itself to Ben.

Shortly after,

“Go away, horse!”