💔❄️The Ballad of Blood and Snow❄️ - Chapter 5: The Final Love Song
Chapter 5: The Final Love Song
Winter came once more in the second year after Elara’s death.
The capital city of Valencrest blazed with thousands of golden lights on the night of the Golden Wolf’s coronation.
Nobles and envoys from across the continent gathered within the magnificent royal city to witness the ambitious prince ascend as the most powerful king in the North.
Music echoed throughout the grand hall.
Wine overflowed from crystal goblets.
No one knew that…
Darkness had already entered the city hours earlier.
Beneath the thick snow surrounding Valencrest, groups of black-cloaked warriors moved silently like shadows.
No battle cries.
No thunder of horses.
Only a terrifying silence.
The Ghosts of the North had arrived.
Rowan stood atop the western watchtower, gazing at the dazzling lights within the capital.
“My lord… everything is ready.”
Behind him, Kaelen slowly emerged from the curtain of snow.
His black armor reflected the cold moonlight.
His long cloak shifted gently in the winter wind.
One year ago, his eyes had still carried sorrow.
Now…
Only an icy emptiness remained.
Kaelen lifted his gaze toward the distant royal palace.
That place should have been where Elara became queen.
Instead…
She lay beneath the cold snow at Black Thorn Castle.
Kaelen slowly tightened his grip around the old handkerchief in his palm.
“Begin.”
His voice was quiet, yet colder than ice.
And in the next instant—
A series of violent explosions erupted from the eastern supply district of the city.
Boom—!
Flames burst into the night sky.
Alarm bells immediately rang throughout Valencrest.
“The city is under attack!”
“Invaders!”
Citizens fled in panic through the snow-covered streets.
Meanwhile, black-cloaked warriors swiftly seized the city gates, watchtowers, and main roads.
Everything happened so quickly that the royal army could barely react.
Valencrest descended into chaos.
Inside the grand hall…
The coronation ceremony was interrupted by screams echoing from outside.
The future king shot up from his throne.
“Who dares—?!”
Suddenly, the massive doors of the hall burst open.
Raaammm—!
Freezing wind and swirling snow flooded into the chamber.
And Kaelen walked in.
The entire hall fell deathly silent.
No one dared speak.
The man standing amidst the snowstorm looked like a spirit risen from the depths of a winter hell.
Black armor covered in frost.
A cloak billowing behind him.
Eyes so cold that the very air seemed frozen solid.
The prince’s face turned pale.
“Impossible…”
He stumbled backward behind the throne.
“You were supposed to be dead!”
Kaelen did not answer.
He simply walked forward step by step.
The sound of his metal boots echoed across the silent hall.
The royal guards charged toward him.
But within moments…
Every one of them had fallen.
No one could stop Kaelen from reaching the throne.
The prince trembled violently.
“Wait… we can negotiate…”
Frantically, he pointed toward the chests of gold behind him.
“I can give you power! Wealth! Even land!”
At last, Kaelen stopped walking.
Then slowly, he pulled an old piece of white cloth from inside his cloak.
Elara’s handkerchief.
The dark crimson stains still remained.
Kaelen threw it onto the stone floor before the prince.
“You remember this, don’t you?”
The prince froze.
Kaelen looked down at him.
Those eyes…
Contained no emotion whatsoever.
“The moment she fell into the snow…”
His deep voice echoed through the grand hall.
“Everything you had already came to an end.”
Outside the palace…
Valencrest drowned in fire and snow.
Bells rang endlessly through the chaotic night.
The prince collapsed to his knees.
For the first time in his life…
He felt true fear.
“Please…”
His voice shook violently.
“I can make this right—”
Kaelen stepped closer.
Then stared directly into his eyes.
“Don’t you understand?”
His voice was terrifyingly quiet.
“There are some things… that, once lost, can never be returned.”
No one truly knew what happened afterward.
People only knew that…
When dawn finally came…
The royal banner of Valencrest had vanished.
The once-glorious capital of the North had fallen into cold ashes.
And Kaelen…
Disappeared.
Years later, stories were still told of a man in a black cloak wandering through the northern winters.
Some claimed he had died.
Others believed he still lived somewhere beyond the endless snowy mountains.
But everyone remembered one thing.
That once, there was a prince…
Who devoted his entire life to composing one final love song for the woman he loved most.
A love song carved from white snow…
May you like
And a sorrow that would never fade.
