A day passed in a blink of an eye, Lothar managed to locate Oliver's father, he was an artilleryman assigned under Lothar's main force. The man was ecstatic to meet his family but appalled to find out about the state they were living in.
His wife had passed away some time ago, so Oliver was left in the care of his father and his grandmother. Once his father left to join the army, his family's financial situation deteriorated, the grandmother did not tell Axel about the situation since she did not want him to worry about them and get hurt.
But with Axel's return, their financial situation seemed to get better since he made some money as a soldier.
After solving the situation with Oliver, Caspar spent the rest of his day with his family, he would play with his younger brother, nephew, and niece sometimes. While other times he would take his younger sister out to play around. All in all, he spent the day playing around.
When the day of the ceremony came about, Caspar washed up and put on his military uniform, his mother was standing in front of him with tears in her eyes.
"My son has already grown up! You look so dashing in your uniform. Hopefully, you get promoted and assigned to a safe place in the capital."
Caspar smiled wryly as he comforted his mother.
"Mom, no matter what happens, I will be fine."
His mother nods sadly as his father pats him on the shoulder.
"Your mother just worries about you, last time Prince Lothar said that you were essential in winning the war, who knows, your reward might be more than you anticipated."
At that moment, Jakob did not imagine how right he was.
"Maybe, dad, maybe."
After hugging and saying goodby to his family, Caspar opened the door of his house and headed towards the square where the ceremony is taking place.
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In the square, a stage was set up, on the stage stood Lothar, the King, and all the important officials and statesmen.
The only people that would be called up to the stage were people who proved themselves essential during the war, people who contributed the most and expected nothing in return.
Everyone else would be rewarded after the fact by their direct superiors.
The soldiers were standing in attention in front of the stage, while citizens were standing on the sides, hoping to join the festivities.
As the ceremony was starting, the King stood up from his seat on the stage and addressed the crowd.
"Heroes of Urmacht, today, we gather to honor those who went above and beyond what was asked of them to ensure that their mission is completed. The men who risked life and limb so that their brothers and sisters might be safe, and to that extent, we will honor them as heroes. I shall start this ceremony by honoring my son Lothar, Commander of the army, and the man who led them to victory."
At this point, Lothar stood up and walked to his father's side, the King grabbed a medal that was presented to him by an aid and declared Lothar's accomplishments.
"Prince Lothar led his forces through enemy territory to reinforce the trench controlled by the 23rd infantry, during his march through the forest, they were attacked by an enemy force from a nearby hill. In the chaos of the moment, Prince Lothar was able to rally his men and capture the hill, turning the tide of battle in the process, he then went to capture the enemy lines, which pushed the tide of battle even more to our favor. Later on, due to information obtained from a captured enemy officer, he was able to lead his men and capture the Oskiuum high commander, resulting in a victory for Urmacht."
After declaring all of Lothar's accomplishments to the crowd, the King pinned the medal onto Lothar's already decorated chest. Under the cheering of the crowd, Lothar first bowed to his father, then to the masses.
The king smiled and took some steps back, giving the stage to Lothar so that he can address the people and reward his men.
Lothar smiled at the people before opening.
"I am honored to stand here today and accept such commendations for the mission I was asked to accomplish."
Lothar stood there for a second, his eyes darting through the crowd, looking for one person. Once his eyes landed on Caspar, he smiled and continued on with his speech.
"But all of these actions I was praised for were not completed by myself alone, but with the help and support of the many men that put their lives on the line in the front lines."
The soldiers standing in front of the stage puff up their chests and raised their heads proudly. After all, they were the ones actually doing the fighting, and they did deserve the recognition that Lothar was giving them.
"And at this moment, I want to honor one such soldier in particular. He was one of the men that almost died at fort Antlecht but still stood up to fight again. Without him spearheading the charge up the hill, my forces would have been stuck in the forest for far too long, and our front line would have crumbled. I owe this man my life, for he stood in the line of fire so that I would not be shot. And he was the one that actually captured the Oskiuumen general. By the time I had arrived, he already had a gun pointed at his head."
The crowd started whispering to each other, while the King and his officials looked on in interest. They had all read the reports and heard about what had happened. Now they were interested in seeing this hero that had almost single-handedly won the war.
Lothar ignored the noise that had started as he kept his eyes at one person in the crowd.
"Now, I call upon this hero so that he could also be honored. Sergeant Caspar Hahn, would you please proceed to the stage."
Within the crowd, Caspar smiled wryly at how he was presented and walked forward from the line he was in. The people were shocked by how young Caspar looked, some even thought that this was a joke. Caspar ignored everything happening around him as he slowly made his way to the stairs at the side of the stage.
Soon, he was standing in front of Lothar. To his left were the King and officials, to his right were his brothers in arms and the citizens of Herzen, but he only looked straight at Lothar and gave a defeated smile, he did not expect his actions to be announced to the world in such fashion.
Lothar looked at Capar as he whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear as he pinned the medal on his chest.
"I told you that you would be rewarded, but that's not all."
Lothar backed off to face the crowd as Caspar looked at him in confusion.
"Due to Sergeant Hahn's actions, I have also decided to give him a reward as well."
The mass of people quieted down as to hear the subsequent rewards the Prince would be giving.
"Caspar Hahn will henceforth be promoted to the rank of Captain, and I also offer him a position in my personal unit, The Reiksguard."
The crowd almost exploded at the revelation, The Reiksguard were considered a part of the Royal Guard, and only people that come from a noble background and that have attended a specialized academy were allowed to join. So now, with the induction of a commoner into their ranks, with the rank of captain no less, it had set an enormous precedent.
Lothar ignored the enthusiastic crowd and the disapproving expression of the nobles and officials as he turned to the stunned Caspar and asked.
"What do you say, Caspar Hahn?"
Caspar smiled as he gave Lothar a proper military salute.
"I would be honored, your highness."
Lothar smiled back at Caspar as he replied.
"Good!"
Unbeknownst to them, though, that at the corner of the stage, a man that looks somewhat like Lothar was looking at them with his eyes narrowed. He frowned for a second before revealing a wicked, scheming smile.