ã€ŠTo End All Warsã€‹


 Chapter 1: IN NO MANéˆ¥æ©² LAND

    Dorning of machine-gun fire, ear-splitting explosions, rifle fire whizzing overhead, and the occasional screams of pain of injured soldiers. That is all that a person can hear in this godforsaken place. But out in no man''s land lies a quiet whisper ¡°1, 2, 3¡± BANG, BANG, BANG, "That should take care of the machine-gun nest." The shooter says as he slowly crawls and makes his way back to the friendly trench. As he jumps into the trench, he hears a soldier call out to him, "Nice shooting out there Caspar, that should keep them off our necks for a while, but you should head in, the Colonel wanted to see you as soon as you got back."

    The shooter is Caspar Hahn, A young man from Herzen, the capital of Urmacht. He was sick, or so he was told by his father and was sent to join the army to ''cure'' him. But contrary to his father''s beliefs, Caspar enjoyed the military, he liked the camaraderie and brotherhood that he seemed to find, but most importantly, it satisfied a primal, more vicious urge within him. Anywhere else and he would have been called a bloodthirsty monster, but in the army, he is called a hero, and so, is judged like one.

    Caspar''s mind stopped churning as he found himself standing in front of a room at the back of the trench, the guard recognized him and let him in. In the room, there were a handful of frowning people gathered around a table with a map, seemingly perplexed about something the map had to offer. The centermost man raised his head and smiled.

    "Ah, sergeant Hahn, I hear you did some good work out there today!"

    He looked at Caspar with his disheveled black hair and abyss black eyes. He thought about how this man, with his slightly above average height, was the best sharpshooter and reconnaissance soldier.

    "Just doing my work, Colonel," Caspar replied. The man in front of him was Colonel Johann Fritz, commander of the 23rd infantry in control of this part of the trench and his superior.

    "I have a mission for you, sergeant Hahn, our intel shows that the bastard Borpiden and Oskiuumen forces are planning an attack with poison gas."

    Caspar''s face hardens, he knows what poison gas is capable of. He was subjected to it when he was a part of a force defending a fort farther east. They were caught unprepared, and many good men and soldiers died, and the result, they no longer have control of that fort. The Colonel sees the trepidation in his face and replies, "Don''t worry, this time, we are prepared. We are also expecting reinforcement from the southern line, they are supposed to be here by now, but we can''t seem to find them."

    Caspar looks down on the map, directly east of them is the enemy trenches, while their own trenches extend farther south and north, to the south of the enemy trench, there is a forest behind which there is a hill that is fortified with machine-guns and artillery. If reinforcements wanted to get here undetected while still in a position to flank the enemy line, they would have to sneak through the forest undetected.

    Colonel Fritz notices where Casper is looking and nods. "We believe that the reinforcement troops are either stuck or lost within the forest." Caspar stands in attention, waiting to receive his orders. The Colonel continues. "Your mission sergeant Hahn is to go into the forest undetected, locate the reinforcements, and aid them in whatever situation they are facing." Caspar salutes and replies, "Yes, Sir!".

    ----------------------------------------------

    "Your highness, our sharpshooters are all out of action, we can''t keep going, or the enemy sharpshooters and artillery in the hill will be picking us off until none of us are left." Says a middle-aged army commander to a younger man. "And if we pull back to our original position, we would be facing the same problem. If we pull back right now, the 23rd would be overrun, and we might lose the entire trench line." This young man was a prince of Urmacht Lothar Von Elsler and could be said to be the perfect embodiment of the word ''prince'' with his tall stature and his cleanly made brown hair, looking dashing in his military uniform. But don''t let his handsome looks deceive you, he is a through and through genius. If it was not for an enemy patrol going way of their route to pick some fruits from the forest, they would not have been found out. But be luck what it may, they are now pinned down by enemy sharpshooters and artillery from the hill.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "We only have one choice now." the prince continues as he runs his hand through his hair. "We have to capture that hill and facilitate a charge into the enemy trench."

    "But, your highness!" replies the flustered advisor., "That would be suicide." he continues. Lothar looks him in the eyes and replies, "That it may be, Carsten, but I would rather be shot and killed attacking my enemy, not running away from him.".

    While they were conversing, a soldier rushes in from the direction of the front line. The soldier stops ahead of the prince and salutes, "your highness!". Lothar turns to look at him, "At ease, soldier, what brings you here?" the soldier relaxes his stance and continues, "The enemy return fire seems to be slowing down, and some of the scouts say they hear the sounds of an attack on the hill!" Carsten, the Advisor, looks at the soldier and jests, "Ofcourse soldier, are we not attacking them right now?" the soldier, flustered from the unexpected reply, continues, "Not that my lord, they seem to be under attack from another direction!". Lothar lowers his head to think frowns for a second, then quietly whispers, "Another direction?" slowly, he raises his head and smiles, "Maybe our suicide has a chance of actually working."

    He turns to his advisor and asks, "How are our mortars doing?". Carsten thinks for a second, "They should be mostly intact since they have been keeping their heads down because of enemy sniper fire.", Lothar nods, "Tell them to keep their heads high and unload all that they can on top of that hill, if the enemy is not shellshocked by the time we get up there, they will be tasked with cleaning the trenches for a month!", he takes a breath and continues, "Tell a third of the men to fix bayonets, we will charge until the first position halfway up the hill, with the rest providing cover, then the remaining men will move up after the first unit secures the position."

    Everyone around quietly stares at their usually intelligent commander, thinking of where such an irrational order comes from. Lothar notices the stares and steadily explains. "The unit that is attacking the hill right now should be a detachment of the 23rd. We were supposed to have already arrived there and set up positions, so they must have sent a detachment to look for us. "He takes another look at the crowd of people that have formed listening to him and encourages. "Our brothers are currently fighting on the other side of that hill, brothers that WE were sent to HELP!, are we going to leave our brothers to die in enemy territory while we escape?".

    The stunned and now energized crowd replies in unison, "NO!". Lothar smiles and continues, "Then charge up the hill to help our brothers and push those invading bastards back to the freezing purgatory of Oskiuum!". Carsten turns his smirking face to the rest of the men while thinking, ''His highness always had a way to convince people to do the impossible.'' He takes one last look at the men and shouts, "YOU HEARD HIS HIGHNESS, EVERYONE TO YOUR POSITIONS, REMIND THOSE BASTARDS WHY URMACHT IS CALLED THE CONQUERORS OF THE EAST."

    On order, Mortar men rush out from their foxholes into their dugouts, swiftly sending bomb after bomb up the hill. The defending sharpshooters, too stunned by the swift reversal of roles, had no time to fire back before they were forced to dive into their foxholes to escape the explosive rain that has befallen them.

    Another unit of infantry in Lothar''s army bided their time while fixing bayonets, waiting for the signal, waiting for the explosions to stop. And stop it did. After unloading hundreds of pounds of explosives on the fortified hill, the shelling suddenly stops, to the defender''s relief. The relief did not last long, though, for they started hearing the cries of over a hundred men getting closer and closer. They peak out to see what is causing all of that noise only two witnesses a large number of men charging at them with the cold, unfeeling glint of steel bayonets on the edge of their rifles.

    The defenders quickly rush out to assume their positions, but they are too late, the enemy is already upon them. They only manage to fire a few shots before they are embroiled in close quarters combat in their dugouts.

    No matter what situation they were in before, an Urmacht soldier is always worth ten soldiers from any other nation. Army professionalism in Urmach is so advanced that a confederacy elector once said, "Every nation has an army, but in Urmacht it is the army that has a nation." The soldiers fight with such ferocity and skill that the Oskiuum-Borpiden defenders have no choice but to surrender or die.

    After the successful charge and capture of the midpoint up the hill, Lothar uses the momentum to continue the attack to the top of the hill. With the battle on the summit ongoing, Lothar notices a single man, easily cutting down soldiers that are closer to him while using his rifle with expert precision to take down enemies that are farther away, rushing from position to position like a ghost, unaffected by the chaos all around him. Almost as if he was bringing order to the chaos, proclaiming to the world, "I have arrived, now, you have no choice but to die."

    Slowly, as the last of the enemy is either cut down or captured, the battle comes to an end, Lothar looks in confusion and asks, "Where is the detachment from the 23rd?". From behind the crowd, he shows up, the ghost that intrigued him during the battle. With hair and eyes as dark as the abyss itself, even the mud and grime of the battlefield cannot cover the aura of heroism and bloodthirst that he commanded, creating a contradictory image that captures you in his presence. Caspar reveals a devilish smile that stuns Lothar and replies, "I am the detachment."

 Chapter 2: YOU CANT HANDLE THAT?

    Lothar look''s towards Caspar with renewed intrigue, "What is your name, soldier?". Caspar smiles and gives an overexaggerated bow, "This lowly one, your highness, is sergeant Caspar Hahn of the 23rd infantry, advanced reconnaissance and sharpshooter division." Carsten, the advisor, chimes in angrily, "How dare you speak to his highness with that tone and attitude?"

    Lothar cuts in feeling amused, "Now, now, Carsten. No need to get angry on our legendary ghost of no man''s land."

    "Ghost?" asks the confused Carsten.

    Lothar returns his sight to Caspar''s amused grin. "The legendary ghost of no man''s land. The dead man of fort Antlecht. I did not imagine that after that disaster at Antlecht, you would be assigned to the 23rd."

    Caspar''s smile drops, and he lowers his head at the mention of Fort Antlecht. "After that hell in Antecht, most of the battalion was either dead or out of action, the battalion had to be disbanded, and whatever troops managed to survive, was reassigned to other units."

    Caspar raises his head, showing a determined face as he continues, "I did not want to leave the northeastern front, I want to face the bastards that did that and kill them myself. So, I chose to be assigned to the 23rd infantry division."

    Lothar nods at Caspar''s now stern countenance and responds, "Your determination, I have received it. But enough about the past, right now we have to worry about the present." Lothar turns to Carsten and orders, "Now that we have captured the hill, we should send word to Colonel Fritz that our plans have changed. We are going to initiate an attack on the Bropiden trench from our current position, then 23rd will use the confusion and go in an all-out attack on the trench. we will have captured their position by tomorrow''s sunrise."

    Caspar salutes Lothar and replies, "Yes, your highness, Colonel Fritz will receive the message." Lothar looks at Caspar with an amused smile, "And where do you think you are going, sergeant?"

    "Delivering the message, sir...?" replies Caspar.

    "You just marched through the enemy-controlled territory and fought a hard-won battle. And now you want to march back to the 23rd then participate in another possibly more intense battle?. No matter how legendary you are, sergeant, you are still human."

    Caspar attempts to interrupt, "But your high...", "No buts sergeant, I need you to be in top condition for our next attack, and for that effect, I order you to stay here and rest, someone else will deliver the message."

    "Yes, your highness." Answers Caspar in a defeated tone that amuses Lothar. "Don''t feel down, Hahn, you will see battle, I guarantee it."If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "Have you eaten yet, Hahn, we have apparently captured many Oskiuumen supplies, although those bastards are rotten at almost everything, one thing they perfected is their food. Have you ever had Oskiuumen food, Hahn?"

    "No, your highness!" replies Caspar in anticipation. ''If even a prince is praising the food, then it must be good.'' Caspar thinks to himself. the still smiling Lothar turns to Carsten and orders, "tell the supplymen to use the Oskiuumen ingredients and cook a feast for the men, after such a battle, they deserve it." The men cheer at the prospect of having good food while Carsten replies, "Your highness, are you truly sharing a table with that rude man?" glaring at Caspar.

    "Don''t I usually eat all of my meals with the men?" asks Lothar. Carsten attempts to cut in, "but...". Lothar ignores him and continues, "I also feel that he would make quite an interesting company." Thinking about what chain of events managed to create this surprising and contradictory man. Carsten, noticing the interest hidden deep within Lothar''s Hazel eyes, sighs in defeat, "Ahh..., as you command your highness."

    ---------------

    Under the prince''s orders, food is swiftly prepared and served to the seated men. On a particular table sat three men deep in thought. Carsten, trying to figure out what his prince finds fascinating about that man. Lothar, trying to understand more about Caspar from his actions. Caspar is wondering what the delicious food tastes, while occasionally stealing glances of the handsome prince and thinking to himself "How can God be so unfair, to create a man so perfect, a man that has immense power, by all accounts is an unparalleled genius and also giving him a perfect face."

    Lothar notices the glances he is receiving, believing that Caspar is only waiting for him to start eating first on account of his rank. Lothar picks up a spoonful of food and says, "Dig in, but be careful not to choke."

    Caspar, noticing that Lothar and Carsten have started eating, cautiously picks up a portion of food and starts to eat.

    Lothar, who is enjoying his food from across the table, suddenly notices as Caspar''s face turns into a deep shade of red, and sweat is starting to build up upon his brows. Lothar, frightened by the sudden change, asks in a hurry, "Caspar, are you alright? Are you choking?". Caspar slowly raises his red agonized face and his blurry and teary eyes. Lothar is sunned by such a display and thinks to himself, "How can the MAN who usually acts like a God of War make such an adorable expression." Caspar continues with a soft choked up voice, "s.. , spicy."

    The stunned and captivated Lothar pushes his water to Caspar as he laughs, "Ha Ha Ha, you are telling me that the legendary ghost can''t handle THAT?" Caspar vigorously shakes his head from side to side to the amusement of Lothar, then proceeds to down the entire cup in seconds. Lothar keeps staring at the red-faced and bleary-eyed Caspar and asks, "Better?", Casper replies, still in a soft voice, "A little bit."

    Lothar proceeds to push some other dishes towards Caspar''s side and says, "You should eat these, they are not spicy, avoid the others." Caspar shallowly nods as Lothar continues, "But I am really curious now, how does a man like you end up finding themselves in the army?" Caspar looks at Lothar, looking a fraction bit sadder as he replies, "My father wanted me to." Lothar ignoring the change in Caspar, continues, "That''s not all of it though, is it? A man does not simply throw himself into battle like that just because his father asked him to."

    Caspar sits there for a couple of seconds, trying to formulate a response before answering, "Back in Herzen, I searched everywhere, but in the end, I couldn''t find myself." Caspar looks at Lothar and Carsten, who both are stunned, not expecting such a response. He then continues, "So I thought, maybe if I change the scenery, the setting; if I changed my life, I could find an answer."

    Lothar, whose eyes are now burning with more curiosity about the man in front of him, replies, "I was expecting an answer more along the lines of glory, honor, or defending my family. But I truly do wish you all the best in finding your answers." Carsten, whose opinion of Caspar slightly improved, nods in agreement.

    Caspar returns a bewitching smile that farther drags Lothar into his world and replies, "Thank you."

 Chapter 3: CLOSE ENCOUNTER pt.1

    Some men were checking their weapons and equipment, some striking a conversation with their comrades, others praying for a successful mission. There is no one specific way to deal with stress, especially stress that stems from a genuine possibility of death in the coming hours.

    While the men were getting ready for the imminent battle. Lothar, Carsten, and Caspar were in a meeting with various company and battalion commanders, attempting to hash out the final details of their upcoming attack.

    Carsten looks around the room, he frowns once he notices Caspar. Straightening out his stance, he turns and looks at Lothar.

    "Your highness, I understand that this meeting is to decide on the final details before the battle."

    Lothar sighs softly, realizing the reason for his loyal advisor''s question as he answers.

    "Yes, it is."

    Carsten continues, "Then forgive me for being rude, your highness, but why is a non-commissioned officer, especially one that is not leading men, is participating in this."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Carsten was relatively flustered since he had just questioned his prince in the presence of several officers. He was not purposely making it difficult for Lothar, he was genuinely curious. It was also better for him to ask about it right now, rather than allow the officers to make up their own wild stories later. Although Lothar had commanded some small skirmishes, this was the first significant conflict he had command over. So in Carsten''s mind, everything had to be perfect.

    Lothar slowly swings his head from one side to the other, taking in the officer''s varying expressions. He knew that some of these men were loyal enough that they would take their own lives if he asked them to. Of course, Lothar would never ask that from them. These were the men that followed him from the start of his military career. They were his true seat of power.

    The others were officers that he picked up after being assigned his current position as commander, Lothar has yet to foster in them the absolute trust that he required, for that kind of faith, is only gained after showing them his true capabilities.

    As he was scanning the room, he saw Caspar standing there, with what he thought was an uncharacteristically stoic expression. "Or is it that he is normally stoic, and before was an exception." Lothar thought to himself.

    Lothar kept his hazel eyes intertwined with the deep abyss that was Caspar¡¯s eyes as he addressed the rest of the officers.

    "As you may or may not know, sergeant Hahn here is the number one reconnaissance unit in the 23rd infantry division, and he knows the battlefield like the back of his hand. Is that not correct, sergeant?"

    Caspar, trying his best not to reveal a proud and satisfied smile for being able to shut that advisor up replies.

    "As you say, your highness."

 Chapter 4: CLOSE ENCOUNTER pt.2

    Lothar was trying his best not to laugh after seeing Caspar''s childlike expression, but he clears his throat as he returns to his usual demeanor.

    "Sergeant Hahn, would you please describe the finer details of the enemy position."

    Caspar finally straightens his stance and turns serious,

    "Yes, your highness."

    He then looks at the map sprawled on the table, pointing at the southern tip of the enemy trench line, where the battle is supposed to commence.

    "Due to the existence of this defensive hill and forest, the end of the trench does not house a large number of troops and equipment."

    Lothar and the present officers nod. Caspar pulls his hand from the map and crosses his arm in front of his chest as he continues.

    "But that would not be the best place to attack from."

    The officers frown at the unexpected statement. Lothar raises his brows as he asks. "Ohh..., and why do you say that?"

    All eyes in that room now rest on Caspar, but he acts as if none of that exists explained.

    "I''ve spent a lot of time in the edges of the forest."

    Caspar smiles to build up anticipation then continues.

    "And I have noticed that that part of the trench does not receive supplies."

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    One of the officers then suddenly proclaims.

    "How stupid, do you expect us to believe that those men are fighting without food or ammunition?"

    Caspar turns to the officer with a smile as he continues.

    "Exactly, if they are not getting their supplies from the mainline, that means that they are getting them from this hill."

    Lother exclaims as he cups his chin with his right hand. "I see, that explains the excess supplies on the hill." He nods then continues, "But if you are not able to spot them moving the supplies, that means that they have a secret passage of some sorts through the forest."

    Caspar, seeing that Lothar has figured it out, answers immediately. "Yes, the path leaves from behind the hill and reaches the trench from behind, and I know where that path is."

    Lothar smiles as he realizes what Caspar is pointing towards.

    "Gentlemen, I believe our plan is set."

    ------------------------------------

    The night was dark and quiet. It was midnight or some time close to that, the men did not care what time it was. The army was slowly and quietly marching through a path in the forest. They knew that the battle had already started, the 23rd started their distracting attack when the sun began to set.

    The 23rd''s role was to distract and tire out the enemy so that the prince''s force can flank their position. At that time, the Oskiuum-Borpiden will be stuck between the prince''s army and the 23rd.

    As they were getting closer and closer, they started distinguishing the sound of small arms fire from the deafening explosions of artillery. The men start checking their rifles while raising them and getting ready to fire.

    Soon, they pass through an unusually thick brush and stand there stunned. Not even thirty feet in front of them were men rushing while loading artillery and moving boxes of ammo. One boy, from the looks of it not even twenty yet, rushes back to get more ammo boxes for the front line. As he reaches the rear area, he sees that behind his friends, a group of unknown armed men, standing.

    The boy drops his empty box on the ground as he started shouting in Borpiden. "ENEMY!!"

    And on that shout, All hell broke loose. Men from the Urmacht army started firing indiscriminately. The surprised Borpiden tried to run away from the rain of bullets hunting them from behind, but it was too late.

    The prince''s army charges into the cover of the trench, hunting their escaping enemies down, be it by rifle or bayonet. Lothar and Caspar stand on the edge of the trench, watching as the enemy is being cut down like straw.

    Lothar sighs at the terrible discipline of the Borpiden army as he says to Caspar. "And that Hahn is how the battle begins."

 Chapter 5: THE FINAL SHOT

    "Well, your highness, we should be joining the battle now."

    Caspar was itching to join the unrestrained combat occurring through the trench. Carsten sighs in desperation, knowing what the next step of the plan is.

    "Seriously, your highness, I can not understand why you insisted on joining the battle in person in the first place."

    "Our plan is to swiftly take advantage of our position and launch several offensives on close enemy-controlled areas and towns."

    Lothar explains as he seriously studies the tide of battle occurring within his sights then continues.

    "And to that effect, I need to be here when the battle ends to assess the location and feasibility for each attack."

    An extremely excited Caspar jumps in as soon as Lothar finishes his explanation.

    "More importantly, your highness, we should jump in now if we actually want to be part of the attack."

    The battle had been going widely in favor of Urmacht. It was a surprise attack by a superior force in an unexpected location. The Borpiden forces had no chance to fight back before being consumed by confusion and fear. It would not be unfair to call this a slaughter instead of a battle.

    Carsten frowns and glares at the peasant that has been leading his prince astray and into danger. While Lothar finds Caspar''s childish expression funny as he thinks to himself, ''Who would believe that such a childlike and innocent excitement is used in war.'' he then answers with a smile.

    "I guess we should join in."

    -----------------------------

    The battle is quickly won. It was not a hard-fought battle as most expected. From the start, the odds were stacked heavily against the Borpiden army. That, with the fact that their Oskiuumen leader decided to take his own life when their loss was assured. Brought the men''s morale into an all-time low, and they surrendered in mass, although some pockets of men decided to fight to the bitter end.

    "It is an honor to see you again, your highness!"

    Colonel Fritz and his forces were able to coordinate a charge into the trench while they were in anarchy, and had finally met up with his reinforcements.... and the man he sent to find them.

    "You too, sergeant Hahn."

    Caspar salutes the Colonel in response as Lothar answers the Colonel.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    "Indeed, it is Colonel, but although I want to stand here and talk, we need to move fast before the Oskiuum-Borpiden forces regroup and dig in."

    "Yes, your highness."

    Answers Fritz knowing that they have a golden opportunity to win this front if they act fast. Soon they start planning their numerous attacks on enemy-controlled towns and areas around them.

    ----------------

    "Where am I?" A soft, hoarse voice speaks.

    ''That''s right, the enemy attacked us from the rear.'' The owner of the voice thinks to himself as he starts to look around him.

    "Bazyli!"

    The voice whispers as he crawls to a man lying face down beside him. Once he arrives next to him, he starts tapping and shaking him.

    "Bazyli, wake up! We have to get out of here! Bazyli! BAZYLI!"

    He uses what strength he has to turn the man over...

    "No, no, NO!"

    Bazyli was his close friend, he never had a sibling, but he knew that the friendship he had with Bazyli was closer than what most siblings had. They used to play in the village fields together when they were young, and swim in the river in the summer months. And when they were conscripted into the army, they swore to watch each other''s back and safely make it back home.

    And now, in front of him, his best friend lies in a pool of his own blood. His face broken and caved inward from the force of someone bashing him with a solid object. He could see his friend''s pulped brain seeping from his torn skin and broken skull.

    He attempts to get up and hold the body of his friend as he feels a sharp pain from his abdomen. He looks down to see a large stab wound going through his stomach as he suddenly remembers being stabbed by a bayonet then hit across the face with the butt of a rifle.

    "NO! Lucyna, Regina!"

    He calls his wife and daughter''s names as it slowly dawns in him that these might be the final moments of his life. As he sits there, reminiscing about the happy times from before the war and thinking about the future that might have been if it had not been for this pointless war, a sudden uncontrollable rage washes over him.

    ''It''s all those Urmcaht scum''s fault, They killed Bazyli! They killed me! They robbed our future from us! I want to kill them ALL!''

    He looks around and finds his trusty rifle, he didn''t even get to shoot it before he was stabbed. He grabs hold of it and uses it as a crutch to get up. He looks at the mutilated body of his friend one last time then slowly with the help of his gun walks out, looking for a like to take.

    As he takes a couple of steps out of the corner he was in, he starts hearing sounds.

    ''It''s not Borpiden'' He thinks to himself, it does not sound Oskiuumen like their commander once spoke either. ''It has to be Asteric, only the people from the confederacy speak Asteric''

    He peaks around the corner to see who is speaking Asteric. He sees a group of men surrounded by a contingent of guards pointing on a map.

    ''They have to be some Urmacht commanders planning something.'' He keeps on watching in secret until he notices that all of the men are speaking to a better dressed brown-haired young man around his age, and when he speaks, they all listen.

    He quickly determines that the brown-haired man is someone important, and so chose his target. He raises his rifle with his shaky hand and moves his powerless body around the corner and shoots.

    BANG!

    He watches as a black-haired man pulls the brown-haired one to the ground, then all he can hear is screaming. He smiles and thinks to himself, ''At least I got someone important before my death.'' as the guards raise their own rifles and shower him in a rain of lead.

 Chapter 6: HONESTLY

    Caspar listens to Lothar, Fritz, and the other commanders ironing out the last aspects of the attack as he notices a man covered in blood walking around the corner with a rifle in hand. At first, he was confused, thinking that it was a soldier returning from the front to report something. Then he notices the uniform the soldier is wearing.

    Caspar jumps towards Lothar as he shouts.

    "WATCH OUT!"

    But he was too late.

    BANG!

    As the sound of the shot echoes in the room, Caspar had already dragged Lothar to the ground and covered him with his own body. The room bursts into anarchy as Carsten screams, asking about the prince. The guards raise their rifles and shoot the blooded assailant who falls without any resistance and with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

    Caspar sees the man fall dead and looks at the other fallen man underneath him with unrestrained worry written all over his face.

    "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

    Asks Caspar as he runs his hands all over Lothar''s body to check for any wounds. Lothar, stunned by what had just occurred and by how Caspar had reacted, finally realizes fully what had just happened. This was an assassination attempt if you could call it that since they are in an until recently an enemy position.

    Throughout his life, there had been many attempts to kill him. Some were even closer to succeeding than this. The man was weak and unsteady, the recoil of the rifle had pushed the bullet way off its intended target. But everyone else had not yet realized that.

    Lothar looks at the face that is mere inches away from his own and says.

    "Get off, you''re heavy!"

    As he speaks, Lothar, from his close proximity, starts noticing the intricacies of Caspar''s countenance. His sharp eyebrows and eyes, his straight nose, and particularly full lips. He then spies the stunned look of horror and worry from Caspar. He almost laughs at the new complicated expression that he learned Caspar can make.

    After a few seconds of staring at the perfect smiling face underneath him intoxicating him. Caspar blushes slightly as he rushes to stand up while helping Lothar to his feet. But not before Lothar notices the slight blush and deepens his smile.

    "Are you alright, your highness?"

    Asks Caspar, trying his best to contain his emotions. He knew what he was feeling then. It was the reason his father sent him to the army in the first place. He was attracted to men. He thinks to himself, ''He is a PRINCE Caspar, you have to understand your position!''If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Lothar, now standing, takes one look at the corpse of the man that tries to take his life then answers.

    "I am fine, the bullet didn''t even graze me!"

    The room collectively releases a sigh of relief, Lothar was the commander of this front and a prince of Urmacht. If something were to happen to him right now, they at the very least would get court martialed for allowing him to be in a position to be killed and not sufficiently protecting him.

    Carsten rushes to Lothar''s side, checking him over for any injuries as he says.

    "That''s why I was against the idea of you entering the trench before it was cleared..."

    Lothar cuts the worried and clamoring Carsten off sternly.

    "Carsten! This is war, nowhere is ultimately, and I am the leader of this army. I also have to be here for the next phase of the operation."

    Carsten lowers his head as he answers softly.

    "Yes, your highness."

    Lothar looks at the depressed Carsten as he continues.

    "Besides, I am completely unharmed. There is no need to speak more of this."

    He looks around the room at the other commanders.

    "You all have your mission details, go accomplish them."

    The people start filing out to get their men ready. As Caspar is leaving, he hears Lothar speak out to him from behind.

    "Stay here for a minute, Hahn."

    He turns and stands in position, waiting for the prince to continue.

    "You can leave, Carsten."

    Carsten takes one last look at the rude man that saved his prince as he proceeds to also leave. Soon Caspar and Lothar are by themselves, staring at each other in silence.

    Caspar, though, could not endure the silent staring contest for long. Usually, he would not mind staring at a handsome man, but after the thoughts that have clouded his mind earlier, he feels a bit bashful as a slight blush appears on his face.

    "You needed something, your highness?"

    "Lothar." answers Lothar.

    "What?" replies Caspar, confused by the purpose of Lothar stating his name.

    "When we are in private, you may call me Lothar, and I will also call you Caspar" answers Lothar with a smile.

    "L... Lothar" replies Caspar softly, with his blush ever so slightly deepening.

    Lothar smiles, hearing Caspar call him by his given name.

    "I wanted to thank you, Caspar, what you did could have saved my life."

    "It''s alright, your hi... Lothar, anyone around would have done that." Answered Caspar, remembering midway to call him Lothar instead of your highness.

    "You were the only one that actually did it, though. And for that, I will make sure that you are properly rewarded when we make it back to Herzen, not that you need any more merits."

    Continues Lothar with the ever-present smile he usually has on his face while admiring the slight blush on Caspar''s face, which helps to accentuate his somewhat delicate features.

    "Thank you, Lothar."

    "But for all that to happen, we need to accomplish our mission and end this war. So, Caspar, be safe out there. I want to pin those medals on you while you are still living. You are dismissed."

    Caspar nods as he proceeds to leave to get ready for his mission, but before he gets too far away, he turns to face Lothar, with shyness even more evident on his face and says before rushing out.

    "You too, Lothar. Stay safe."

    The dumbstruck Lothar stands there, taken by the expression that Caspar had shown, only finding himself more rooted in the entanglement of that man as he says for nobody else but himself.

    "Honestly, That man..."

 Chapter 7: PRESS THE ATTACK

    "What are we doing again, sarge?"

    "Apparently, there should be a small contingent of Borpiden units in a town two miles from here. They use that town as a supply depot that is close to the front line."

    Caspar looks at the small twelve-man team that he had been assigned for the mission. The mission is not supposed to be difficult, attack the town, and either capture or destroy their supplies.

    Without supplies in the area, any offensive or defensive actions, the Oskiuum-Borpiden army plans to take will be tens if not hundreds of times more difficult.

    "Our mission is to capture that town, and either transport or destroy their supplies."

    It was a quiet march, no enemy patrols in the area, no civilians wandering around close to the town, there wasn''t even any wildlife roaming or grazing the overgrown grass.

    The uneventful quiet did not set Caspar and his soldier''s minds at ease, though. Somehow they knew that something seemed wrong, that this was merely the calm before the storm.

    It was not long before the town came into sight. Everything seemed normal, abandoned buildings, overgrown fields, and the occasional patrols going around the town.

    The main roads heading into and out of the town were covered in sandbags, there also seemed to be some machine gun nests providing a field of death covering the passages.

    Looking at the town did not seem to ease the soldier''s minds. Everything was wrong, there had just been an attack on their front line, but the town looks to be operating as usual.

    Caspar takes one more look at the town, then turns and looks at his men for a minute before speaking.

    "Well, what are we waiting for? The town won''t capture itself."

    ---------------------------

    Back in the newly captured trench line, a man is rushing to the command room. As soon as he reaches the entrance, the guards stop him.

    After what had happened with the injured gunman, Carsten had tightened the security around the prince.

    "What''s your purpose in coming here, soldier?"

    "I have a message for his highness, one of the captured officers just spoke."

    The guards look at each other for a second before letting the man in. In the room, Lothar sat at a table while staring at a map, no one knew what he was thinking about.

    He does not seem to notice the soldier''s entrance as his mind keeps wandering. The soldier salutes and hands a folded document to Lothar.

    "Your highness!"

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    Lothar raises his head from the map, takes a look at the soldier then at the paper in his extended hand.

    "What is this?"

    Lothar asks as he receives the document from the extended hand of the soldier.

    "It is intelligence that one of the captured officers just revealed to us, your highness."

    Lothar looks at the soldier one last time with his brows knitted together. Somehow, something did not seem right to him, the enemy response was too sluggish.

    No matter how much of a surprise advantage they had, or how underprepared the enemy army seemed to be. The confederacy had been fighting Oskiuum and it''s vassal''s long enough to know what kind of destruction they were capable of.

    Lothar opens the document and starts reading it, before shooting up to his feet.

    "DAMN! Since when?"

    "According to the officer, two weeks, your highness. They kept most of their army in the dark."

    Lothar stands there for a second before turning to Carsten, who is also in the room, as he hands him the document.

    "Carsten, prepare the men. We will be moving as soon as possible."

    Carsten looks at the document as his brows get closer and closer together, then he nods.

    "As you command, your highness!"

    But all that Lothar could think of as his face contorts in worry was.

    ''You better stay safe, Caspar''

    -----------------------

    Caspar and his men were already in the town, scurrying from building to building as to not get noticed by the abundance of enemy troops in the town.

    "Damn, wasn''t this supposed to be a sparsely defended supply town? What the hell is going on with all these men?"

    One of the men whispered to Caspar and the rest of the men as they jump into another abandoned building.

    "I don''t know! But we have our mission, and by god, I will finish it!"

    Caspar whispers back sternly to the rest of his men, this mission might spell destruction to them, but he knew that if he let morale slip right now, they definitely won''t be making it back alive.

    "We should be getting close to their supplies now. We will set up explosives and leave. We will try to avoid all engagements with the enemy."

    Caspar continues as he tries to calm his men down. But as soon as they peak through the window to see if the coast is clear for them to rush into the next building.

    They are greeted by an enemy patrol, as stunned as they were, staring back at them.

    It was oddly quiet for a couple of seconds, but one of the patrolmen starts shouting to alert his allies. In response, one of Caspar''s soldiers starts shooting. Chaos has descended on a quiet town in the northeastern front.

    "DAMN IT ALL!"

    Shouts Caspar, but soon they completely annihilate the small enemy patrol. Not all is fine, though, since they hear screaming and running coming closer to their position.

    "Alright men, they already know we''re here, all guns blazing, we''re going to finish this in style!"

    Caspar and his team now race to the next building to take cover as more and more men show up. The enemy starts firing as soon as they see them.

    The team gets into cover then proceeds to return fire to the enemy, after all, they were in cover while their enemy was not, yet.

    Caspar and his team fight their way through more and more enemy squads as they get closer to the town center. But soon, the battle starts turning.

    BOOM!

    The building they were in starts crumbling and crashing down under its own weight.

    "What the hell was THAT?"

    A soldier of Caspar''s team asks as he climbs up from the ground and dusts himself.

    "Artillery. Is everyone accounted for?"

    Replies Caspar as he checks the status of his team.

    "Two are missing sarge!"

    "Fuck! We need to move before they decide that one shell isn''t enough."

    Caspar and his team keep moving until soon they find themselves in front of a heavily guarded building.

    "What in heaven''s name is in there?"

    "I don''t know, but the more they want to protect it, the more I want to destroy it."

    "Alright, men, if whatever is inside is worth that much to them, then maybe if we capture it, they would be less likely to keep attacking us."

    Caspar cobbles up a quick and dirty plan to storm the heavily defended building, and soon they get to implement it.

    The team mounts a hard push into one of the side entrances of the building, the enemy defended well, but Caspar puts his rifle to good use.

    Headshot after headshot from medium range quickly whittles down the defenders. Caspar soon notices something, the defenders are speaking Oskiuumen, not the Borpiden that most ground soldiers speak.

    The way Oskiuum does war is they do not deploy their actual Oskiuumen army unless it is for main engagements or essential missions. Usually, they use their vassal''s men as cannon fodder to hold the fronts or to throw at and soften Confederacy defenses.

    Caspar does not dwell on it for long, though, since as soon as they enter the building, they blow up the entrance so that no one can follow them in from that entrance.

 Chapter 8: THE CAVALRY ARRIVE

    Horses galloped across the overgrown fields that Caspar and his men had marched on earlier today. The light from the dusk sun cast the long shadows of the horsemen over the relatively flat land.

    "We are almost there, your highness!"

    Proclaims a Lieutenant to Lothar. The small town Caspar and his men were sent to was recently and secretly converted to a forward command base for the Oskiuumen high command.

    It was heavily defended, no twelve-man team would be able to take it out alone. But if the Urmacht army does manage to capture the town and with it, whatever commanders in it, that would shorten the war if not end it outright.

    As Lothar''s mind keeps churning, half about the possibility to end the war and half about the men he sent to capture it. They start seeing their destination, plumes of smoke rising atop it.

    Lothar takes a deep breath, readying himself for the battle to come before speaking to his men.

    "Alright, men, the enemy is right in front of us. Sergeant Caspar and his men have already started their attack, and from the looks of the town, they have made some progress."

    Lothar takes a deep breath, thinking about the words that he and Caspar shared before he sent him on this suicide mission, a tinge of blame creeping on his heart. But he steels himself and continues.

    "We currently do not know the status of their team. But we do know that if we capture that town and whoever is in it, we can end the war right then and there. So do not let Urmacht and me down."

    The men start getting excited about the prospect of winning this war and returning home. This stupid war began two years back as a conflict between Urmacht and Borpiden farmers.

    Due to the tense political landscape between the two nations, a small conflict between farmers about cattle and grazing grounds evolved into a full-fledged war.

    Ironically though, it is the farmers and peasants on the border that paid the harshest price. Their homes were destroyed, and their lands scarred by the trenches and ditches created by both armies.

    Even if the war ended, it would take a herculean amount of effort just to restore the land, to say nothing of returning to production.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    As the men sit there reviling in the prospect of returning home, and musing about the start of this pointless conflict, they reach the fringes of the town.

    Lothar soon orders his men to dismount and keep the horses, since attempting to use cavalry within the close confines of a town would be tactical suicide.

    The men dismount and ready their gear. The town''s entrances seem to be unguarded, and they slowly march inwards.

    As they march through the town, the meet pockets of resistance that seem to grow more numerous and fierce, the closer they get to the town center.

    The men of Urmacht remain undaunted though and push through the close quarters and the dead angles of the town until they finally arrive at an open square.

    In the middle of the square stands a half-collapsed building, from which the cacophony of battle seems rife.

    Lothar and his men charge into the building, clearing room after room, using their daggers and rifles as batons to bash enemies that are too close to shoot at.

    As Lothar and his men reach one particular room, they slowly open the door and witness a room taken directly out of hell itself.

    Bodies were strewn about the room lying in pools of blood, tables were turned over, and debris covered the ground.

    On one side of the room are men holding their rifles, pointing them towards the opposite side. While in the side they were pointing their weapons, there was a bloody man in an Urmacht army uniform sitting atop another, older man, wearing a clean and decorated Oskiuumen uniform.

    Lothar immediately recognizes the man covered in blood as he shouts in stunned worry.

    "CASPAR!"

    Caspar slowly turns his head around, still keeping his dagger on the man''s thought, and sees Lothar standing in the doorway.

    Lothar''s men charge in the room, disarming and capturing the men who are not yet restrained, as Caspar reveals a bashful smile towards Lothar and says awkwardly.

    "Umm... I might have just ended the war."

    Lothar, relieved that Caspar is still alive and well enough to joke around, bursts into uproarious laughter with tears dripping from his eyes as he replies.

    "Indeed, Caspar, You might have ended the war."

    ---------------------

    Lothar, Caspar, and the rest of the men make their way back into friendly territory with the captured Oskiuumen soldiers. Most of Caspar''s team did not make it. Nine of his originally twelve-man squad were killed during the battle. The rest, Caspar included, were riddled with injuries.

    Caspar himself had received seven bullet wounds and three wounds caused by sharp objects, even with his experience and capability in combat. Soon though, they return to the safety of the trench, and the injured get treated.

    Within the trench''s command room, Lothar, Carsten, and the now bandaged up Caspar, along with the Colonel and other officers, stand listening to the result of the interrogation of the captured commanders.

    "The commander that was captured in the town proclaims himself as General Kalinin Taras Timurovich. Commander of the Borpiden western front and relative of the Oskiuumen emperor."

    The crowd in the room stood there stunned by the revelation of their captive''s identity. They did not expect to capture the Oskiuumen overall commander of this war.

    Lothar smiles proudly as he looks at the man that made it all possible. Had it not been for Caspar''s near-miraculous victory in the town, the General would have been able to flee, and the war would have continued on.

    He smiles, deciding what Caspar''s reward would be once they returned to Herzen, then turns to Carsten and orders.

    "Send word back to Herzen. Tell them we are suing for peace."

 Chapter 9: KINGS SPEECH

    The ground shook under the synchronized march of thousands of men in clean and ironed uniforms.

    In front of them lies Herzen, the capital of Urmacht, and home of the King.

    They had won the war, and to honor them, the King had allowed them to organize a parade as the victorious army returns to the capital.

    Soon the army will be inside the capital. At the head of the army, Prince Lothar rides on a white steed with Carsten on his left.

    Surprisingly though, on his right, riding a pitch-black steed is Caspar, typically, someone of his rank would not be allowed to ride at the front of the parading army.

    But due to the heroic actions that Caspar had carried throughout the war and Lothar''s insistence, there were no objections from the Officers.

    The sun was already high above the army''s head as they enter the capital, but due to Urmacht''s northern geographical position and the season being spring, the heat wasn''t unbearable.

    The citizens of Herzen had already gathered around the main road waiting for their heroes and family members to return.

    As the army marches through the main road to the palace to pay tribute to the king, they are greeted by the cheering of the people they swore to protect.

    The men and women celebrate their heroes while some bold girls would sometimes run up to someone in the army to hand a flower or offer a kiss.

    Carsten and Caspar, though, would not allow anyone to get close to Lothar due to safety concerns, and they had already turned away some people as a young girl runs towards Caspar''s side.

    Caspar moves to tell the young girl that the Prince cannot accept flowers at this time, but before he can talk, the girl shoves a bouquet of flowers in front of him as she blushes.

    Dumfounded, Caspar grabs the flowers as the girl quickly rushes back into the crowd, where her companions laugh at her while she continues to blush.

    Caspar feels some sort of stare coming from behind him, he turns to notice that Lothar is looking at him while smiling, he realizes that there is something strange in his smile, but he can''t seem to figure out what it means.

    So Caspar flashes a smile back to Lothar, to which Lothar just sighs as he continues on, leaving the clueless Caspar stewing in his own thoughts.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Soon though, the army reaches the ceremonial square in front of the palace. The square is a grand but empty place in front of the palace, the ground is lined with slabs of marble, and in the front of the square, there is a raised platform with a dais flanked with many flags of Urmacht.

    In front of the platform are men with rifles, members of the Urmacht Royal Guard, tasked with the sole mission of protecting the people on the platform.

    The platform was filled with important statesmen, but the person that was gathering the most attention was the older gentleman sitting in the middle.

    The older gentleman was wearing a highly decorated military uniform and officers hat, he was also sporting a styled mustache and beard. He had an aura that demanded respect and worship from everyone around him.

    That gentleman was Rainer Von Elsler King of Urmacht and the man behind the rise of Urmacht as a military powerhouse.

    He was by all accounts a genius in his younger days, he was able to safely navigate the palace politics and cement himself as the leader of Urmacht.

    He also led the army in many wars both within and outside of the Confederacy, coming out victorious in all of them. His military reforms and love for talented people is the reason why Urmacht by itself can hold its own against a vast empire like Oskiuum.

    Soon, the men stood in attention in the square. Lothar and Caspar were standing next to each other in the front row, Lothar noticed Caspar glancing at him, his eyes burning with curiosity.

    Lothar chuckles softly then says in a whisper.

    "Wait until the ceremony is over, then I''ll answer whatever questions you have."

    Caspar nods shallowly as he focuses on the raised lectern.

    King Rainer stands up from his seat, clears his throat, and stands behind the lectern.

    "Heroes of Urmacht."

    He starts, and all the men focus on the King, who is addressing them.

    "You have been through hell. You saw the worst of what humanity has to offer, and I am sure that has changed you."

    The men stand there, stunned. They had not expected the King to start his speech in that way.

    "You have seen the most hellish of nightmares. Heard the most deafening of sounds. Lived in the most miserable conditions....."

    The King stops for a couple of seconds, taking in the faces of the men he sent to war, then he continues.

    "But now, you are home. You have returned to your family and loved ones."

    The men, some of whom have not uttered any complaints throughout the harshest of battles, suddenly burst into tears.

    They have gone through hell, and they are finally back, they needed the affirmation that it was over.

    "The war is over. But if war starts, I will not hesitate to send you to that hell again. Because that is your duty, your mission, to protect Urmacht. You go through hell so that the people you love do not have to experience it. You shoulder the darkness of the world so that the rest of the people can live safely in the light. And for that, you will not be forgotten. Three days from now, we shall hold a grand ceremony to honor those who have been through purgatory, and all of you will be rewarded. For now, rest. Celebrate your life and the lives of your brothers that we''re unable to make it back. For we shall all meet again in death as we did in life."

    Under the cheering and sobbing of the men, the King retreats back from the lectern and returns to the palace with his guards.

    The men start to disperse, returning back to their homes and families.

    Caspar stands there, as still as he could be, lost in his own thoughts. Lothar sees Caspar staring out into space then pats him on his shoulder to get his attention.

    Caspar turns to see the prince smiling at him.

    "Lothar?"

    Lothar''s smile deepens, hearing Caspar calling him by his first name.

    "You should go back home today, Caspar. We will meet again tomorrow, but now you should rest."

    "Alright."

    Caspar nods as he starts making his way out of the square, all that is on his mind were thoughts of his family at home, and thoughts of his father.

 Chapter 10: HOME

    Caspar was silent, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the city as he walked back the familiar roads he used to roam before he joined the army.

    Soon he rounds a corner and finds himself in a familiar street. As he stands there, contemplating the twists and turns that lead him to where he is now, he hears a nostalgic voice calling for him.

    "Caspar?"

    Caspar turns around to see Mr. Jurgen. Mr. Jurgen is a carpenter that lived on his street, Mr. Jurgen always used to make small toys for the children of the street on special occasions, and he was well-liked by the people of the street. Caspar smiles as he starts talking to him.

    "Mr. Jurgen, how have you been?"

    "Caspar! It is you! Last I heard your father telling all of us that you joined the army. From the looks of you now, it seems that you grew up into a fine hero Caspar."

    "I am no hero, Mr. Jurgen, I am only fulfilling my duty."

    Caspar smiles as he replies.

    "What are you talking about, you put your life on the line to protect us. To us, you ARE a hero. To think that the naughty and mischievous Caspar would grow up to be a soldier, man, time sure flies. You should hurry back home though, I bet your mother is worried sick."

    Caspar nods at Mr. Jurgen as he turns around and makes his way down the familiar street. Sometimes stopping and chatting with the people that he had not seen for a while.

    Soon, after walking for a while and talking to the people of his street, he finds himself standing in front of a white brick house with a red tile roof.

    He stands in front of the door for a while, clueless about what to do, until the door swings open, and a person rushes out and jumps into his embrace.

    "CAS!!"

    The person sobs as she continues to hug him. Caspar smiles at her and returns her embrace, pulling her closer to himself.

    The person who rushed out was his younger sister, Felizia Hahn, she was seventeen years old and had the same black hair that only reached down to her shoulder and dark eyes as her brother, and as they embraced her head reached his shoulder.

    ''She got taller.'' Caspar thought to himself. When he left, she was only up to his chest.

    She was his partner in crime, so to speak, when they were younger, they used to roam around the street, pulling pranks and playing wherever they pleased.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Caspar slowly snapped out of his memories as he noticed his other family members also gathering around.

    "You grew up, Fel. I don''t remember you being this tall when I left."

    "CAS!!"

    Felizia kept on sobbing and rubbing her teary face on her brother''s chest until he responded.

    "Fel, you are a big girl now, you should not be crying as much, or people will laugh at you."

    Fel nods as she pulls out from his embrace and takes a couple of steps back.

    Caspar takes the time to look at all of his family members that have shown up to welcome him. At first, he looked at his mother, who is still beautiful even with her age being forty-seven, she was only as tall as his younger sister. Caspar was considered the tallest person in his family.

    Caspar''s mother, Marie, was holding an embroidered handkerchief up to her face as her eyes were glistening with tears. Next to her was his elder sister and her husband, Natali and Patrik Hassel, Natali looked like a younger version of their mother being only twenty-eight, while Patrik had short blond hair and stood as tall as Caspar, which could be considered average.

    On the other side was his younger brother Niklas who had just turned twelve. He looked cute standing next to his nephew and niece, who were eight and six, respectively.

    Caspar had left four years ago when he had just turned sixteen, he spent a year in training before he was sent to guard the eastern border, and after four years, this was his first time returning home.

    It took him a second to gather himself before looking at his mother and asking.

    "Am I welcome in?"

    His mother sobbed as she nodded, she then grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the house.

    Soon, Caspar was sitting at a table with food in front of him, his family members were also sitting around the table, but they had already had their lunch, so he was the only one eating.

    "How have you been living?"

    That was the first question his mother asked him, no matter what happens, his mother always cared about him, the love of a mother is unsurpassed in this world.

    "I have been living well, the army is good, I made a lot of friends, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I am sorry I couldn''t send you many letters, after the first year, I was sent to the eastern front, and stuff turned kind of hectic."

    Caspar explained as he kept eating his mother''s cooking, which he had not had in a long time. It was still as delicious as he remembers it being.

    "How was it? The eastern front?"

    Patrik asks his brother-in-law, who was just a child when he left. It was every man''s dream to win glory through battle and return home a hero. Caspar also notices his younger brother''s eyes shine, waiting for his elder brother to recount tales of heroism and valor.

    Caspar stayed silent for a minute, gazing at his food. Before he raised his head and looked at his family with a smile and started recounting his tales and adventures within the army.

    "At first, I was a part of the first offensive into Borpiden land, we advanced like lightning and captured a fort deep within Borpiden, their armies were no match for us, and it was a string of easy victories."

    He Looked at the intrigued faces of his family and decided to spare them the gory details of the attack with poison gas.

    "But soon, the Oskiuum-Borpiden forces were able to push us back from the fort due to their superior numbers and our dwindling supplies. After that, I was promoted to Sergeant and reassigned to the 23rd Infantry under Colonel Fritz. I was put in charge of reconnaissance and sharpshooting."

    Niklas suddenly jumps in excitement written all over his face.

    "COOL, you were a sniper?"

    Caspar looks at his younger brother, who is sitting next to him. He smiles and rubs his head as he answers.

    "I was the best sniper, in fact. I was so good that later on, Prince Lothar himself moved me under his command."

    It was his Felizia''s turn to be excited.

    "You met Prince Lothar? How is he? Is he like people describe him to be?"

    Caspar''s mind wanders to the time Lothar told him to call him by his first name. But his train of thought is cut when his sister calls him again.

    "Cas?"

    "Oh, yes. He is even better than what the rumors make him out to be. It was also under his command that I captured the enemy general."

    Caspar continues, trying to change the topic of conversation.

    "You captured an enemy general?"

    "Oh, yes, I did."

    But Caspar''s mother noticed his attempt and had a weird expression as she looked at her son.

 Chapter 11: GOOD MORNING

    "Where is father?"

    Caspar asks as he is done with the meal and recounting his overall experience in the army.

    His mother looks at Caspar with a lost look on her face as she answers.

    "He is still at work in the ministry. He should be coming back in an hour or so."

    Soon though they hear a knock on the door, Natali, his elder sister, answers the door.

    "Mrs. Wendel, How are you?"

    The person who knocked on the door was Berta Wendel, their direct neighbor. She is a kind old lady that lived alone with her husband. She cared for the Hahn children a lot since she did not have children of her own.

    "Oh, I heard that little Cas came back, so I wanted to come over and check on him if that''s alright with you."

    "Of course, welcome in."

    Natali welcomed old Mrs. Wendel in, as soon as she saw Caspar she called.

    "Oh my child little Cas, you must have suffered a lot out there, come let me take a look at you."

    Caspar complied as he smiled and walked over to Mrs. Wendel. She held both of his arms as she said.

    "It is all your father''s fault for sending you to the army at such a young age. You should have been playing around in the city, not carrying those heavy guns and fighting people."

    Mrs. Wendel was very blunt, and due to her old age did not care what other people thought of her.

    "It''s alright, Mrs. Wendel, I wanted to join the army and do something productive for once."

    Caspar''s soothing calmed Mrs. Wendel down as she sat down with the rest of the family and started asking everyone how they were.

    While they were conversing and having fun, the door opens and in walks a middle-aged man with back hair with streaks of silver, he was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase with his right hand.

    He stands there for a minute, looking at Caspar and the rest of his family. The atmosphere was obviously tense, he stood there for a couple of seconds until Mrs. Wendel breaks the silence with a frown.

    "Oh dear, look at the time, I should be heading back before the old man back home starts worrying."

    Marie, Caspar''s mother, walks Mrs. Wendel to the door as she says.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "Thank you for the visit, Mrs. Wendel, We will invite you later to the celebration for Caspar''s return."

    Soon, Mrs. Wendal leaves, and silence returns until Caspar''s father, Jakob, asks his son.

    "How have you been, Caspar?"

    "Alright... I guess"

    Answers Caspar awkwardly. His father was one of the main reasons he joined the army. He did not hate his father, but things got awkward very quickly once Caspar told his parents that he might be attracted to men.

    To Caspar''s surprise, His father puts his briefcase down as he walks towards Caspar and pulls him into a tight embrace.

    "Welcome home, Caspar..."

    Caspar can hear the concern from his father''s breaking voice as his eyes start getting watery, and he hugs his father even tighter.

    Marie, Who is the only other person that knows the whole story starts quietly crying again.

    It is only at this moment that Caspar finally feels that he has returned home as tears start flowing down his face.

    "I''m home... Dad!"

    -----------------------------

    The entire family gathers together and talks for the rest of the day, before retiring back to their rooms for a night of sleep.

    Even his sister and brother in law decide to spend the night here even though they have their own home so that their children can get to know their uncle more.

    As Caspar lays in his bed in his quiet room that remains unchanged even after four years relishing in the comfort that he felt today, he suddenly remembers Lothar''s words from the square.

    "He said he will see me tomorrow, but we did not choose a place to meet?"

    Caspar talks to himself as he rests on his bed.

    "Oh well, I guess I''ll see him at the ceremony in three days."

    Caspar throws the conversation to the back of his mind as he drifts into dreamland, not knowing what chaos those words will cause tomorrow.

    ---------------------

    Caspar wakes up at first light, a habit that he picked up from four years in the military. It takes him a minute to figure out where he is until he finally remembers what happened yesterday, and a satisfied smile appears on his face.

    Caspar washes up as soon as he gets out of ben and makes his way downstairs. He looks at the empty living room and dining room as he makes his way to the back yard.

    As soon as he goes through the back door that leads to the yard, he sees some chairs. He makes his way to his father''s chair and sits down to look at the sun that has started to rise.

    His father always liked to sit on this chair when the weather was good, he would sit here for hours reading his newspaper while smoking his cigar.

    "I can hear you walking, you know!"

    Caspar says, knowing who was trying to sneak up on him.

    "Damn! I thought I had you."

    Felizia walks up and sits on the chair right next to Caspar.

    "Why are you up so early?"

    Caspar asks since his sister was never a morning person.

    "I heard you waking up in the room next to mine, so I woke up."

    "Was I too loud? sorry."

    "No"

    Replies Felizia as she softly shakes her head with a smile.

    "It''s just that that room had been empty for a long time, so I just kinda woke up when I heard you."

    They both stay quiet for a couple of minutes, enjoying the sunrise until Felizia finally speaks.

    "I missed you, Cas."

    Caspar smiles and replies.

    "I missed you too, Fel."

    Soon though, the quiet is broken as the rest of the family wake up. Marie and Natali were preparing breakfast while Niklas was playing with Wulf and Lore, his nephew, and niece. Jakob was reading the morning paper while talking with Patrik while Felizia would jump into the conversation every once in a while.

    ''It''s good to be home'' thinks Caspar to himself as he sits next to Felizia in the living room, until they hear a knock on the door.

    "I got the door!"

    "No, I got it!"

    Wulf and Lore were racing to see who would get the door first.

    As soon as they open the door, they see a tall and handsome brown-haired young man standing at the door. Next to him is an older middle-aged gentleman who seems to be frowning.

    The handsome young man greats the children.

    "Good Morning young ones, is Caspar home?"

    Caspar, stunned and confused by the familiar voice, turns and looks at the door, only to see the man he was thinking about last night standing at his doorstep.

    Lothar reveals a smile that takes the breath out of Caspar''s lungs as he greets.

    "Good Morning, Caspar!"

 Chapter 12: MEETING THE PRINCE

    Caspar rushes to the door with his casual clothes as he confronts the smiling Prince.

    "Y... Your highness, What are you doing here?"

    Lothar pats Caspar''s shoulder as he replies.

    "Why? Am I not welcome here?"

    "That''s not what I meant, your high..."

    "Lothar!"

    Lothar cuts him off.

    "We are not in any official setting, so call me Lothar."

    Caspar stands there, dumbfounded by the Prince that decided to visit his house without prior notice.

    ''Oh right, he did say that we would meet today, BUT THAT''S BESIDE THE POINT.''

    Caspar broods to himself before replying to the ever-smiling Lothar.

    "Lothar."

    Caspar replies after a minute of silence to hear a harrumph coming from behind Lothar.

    He looks at the man who made the sound before calling out.

    "Carsten?"

    Carsten frowns at the rude boy before replying.

    "It''s Sir Grau to you, Sergeant Hahn."

    "Oh come on, Carsten, we have been through a lot together, haven''t we?"

    Carsten''s frown deepens as he continues arguing with Caspar.

    The advisor always seemed to have something against him, so Caspar decides to tease him since they are not currently in the army.

    "Honestly, I don''t understand what his highness finds so interesting about you!"

    As they continue to argue in front of Caspar''s astonished family, Jakob, Caspar''s father, walks up to Caspar and asks.

    "Caspar, would you mind introducing us to your guests and welcoming them in. After all, we can''t leave them standing outside."

    Caspar finally realizes that he is making a Prince wait outside his house as he quickly invites them in.

    "Oh, welcome in, don''t keep standing out there. We are having breakfast soon, so you could join us if you wish."The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Lothar chuckles at Caspar''s childish behavior as he replies.

    "We would love to join you."

    After inviting Lothar and Carsten in and offering them seats in the living room, Caspar starts introducing them to his family.

    "Everyone, This is his highness, Lothar Von Elsler, Prince of Urmacht, and commander of the eastern front during the war."

    "Good Morning."

    Replies Lothar as Caspar continues introducing Carsten.

    "And this gentleman is Sir Carsten Grau, the Prince''s advisor."

    "Good Morning."

    "An actual prince! Cas was telling the truth!"

    Whispered Felizia as she looked at Lothar in wonder and amazement.

    "It''s our honor that a Prince would visit our humble home!"

    Marie greets Lothar while Jakob nods at his wife''s response.

    "Not at all, Madam, Sir. I owe Caspar my life! if it was not for him, I might not have been able to make it back to Herzen in one piece."

    Lothar turns to Caspar, who is still shocked by the strange turn the conversation seemed to be heading.

    "I also would like to believe that Caspar and I had built quite the friendship after going through everything, so no need to stand on ceremony around me!"

    "That can''t be your highness!"

    Replied Jakob.

    "Of course it can, Caspar and I are already on first-name basis. You are his parents and family members, so I can''t have you be so strict, or Caspar would think that our friendship is weak. Isn''t that right, Caspar?"

    Caspar smiles weakly as he replies, knowing what Lothar wants him to say.

    "That''s right... Lothar."

    To which Lothar smiles proudly and nods.

    Soon, the family and two unexpected guests sit around the dining table, Caspar was sitting between Felizia and Lothar, who to the left of which sit Carsten.

    Breakfast consisted of fried eggs and thick slices of bacon. There were also slices of bread and a wheat gruel. It was a hearty breakfast meant to get a person ready for a day of hard work, but the prince seems to be enjoying the simple breakfast, throwing praises at Marie and Natali for their excellent cooking. Forcing Caspar to shake his head at Lothar''s shamelessness.

    "Excellent cooking madams, I have to say, I haven''t had a meal this filling in a while!"

    Felizia looks at Lothar, disbelieving that a prince would, in all honesty, like this simple meal, so she asks.

    "Even though you are a prince?"

    Lothar looks at Felizia, seeing the same childish mischievousness that Caspar shows to him sometimes, he smiles at her as he replies in all honesty,

    "Even though I am a prince, I was also serving with your brother in the north-eastern front, so I ate the same things that the others did."

    Felizia and the rest look at the Prince in amazement. They thought that the Prince would have his own different meals separately from the rest of the army.

    Usually, that would be true, but Lothar decided early on to get closer to his men, so he ended up having his meals in the mess hall with the rest of the army.

    Lothar smiles, remembering an incident with a certain someone weak to spicy food. He turns an evil smile to Caspar, making him shudder for a second before addressing the people around the table.

    "This reminds me of the first time Caspar had Oskiuumen food."

    "Really, you had food from Oskiuum?"

    Niklas'' eyes shine as he turns to his elder brother and gives him a wide-eyed look of amazement.

    A blush creeps up Caspar''s neck and into his cheeks as he quickly replies while stuttering.

    "Th... That was..."

    But before he is able to answer, Lothar ignores him and continues talking.

    "Indeed, we had just captured an enemy hill and gained control of many Oskiuumen spices and rations."

    He turns to look at the blushing Caspar before he continues.

    "Caspar''s role was essential in taking the hill, so I decided to reward him and the rest of the men by having the cooks use the Oskiuumen supplies, and spices to cook us an Oskiuumen meal."

    It was Wulf''s turn to look at his uncle in amazement and ask with his childish curiosity.

    "How did it taste?"

    Caspar''s blush deepened as he looked down at his own meal, pretending that he did not hear the question.

    Carsten, seeing Caspar humiliated, tried to further his suffering by revealing what had happened in a theatrical voice.

    "The ever so brave Sergeant Hahn took one spoonful of food before turning as red as an apple."

    At this point, Lothar had already started chuckling to himself as Carsten continued.

    "At first, his highness and I believed that Hero Hahn was choking, so his highness asked him if he was fine. Only to finally find out that Hero Hahn could not handle spice."

    As he finished his story, Carsten started laughing in an over the top manner, causing the shamed Caspar to turn annoyed, and causing a couple of soft chuckles to escape from Marie''s mouth.

    "Well, I''m glad that even out there in the front, you were able to find some comfort in friendship."

    She addressed her words to Caspar and Lothar, causing a burst of warmth in Caspar''s chest as he finally raised his head and smiled at his mother.

 Chapter 13: SWEAT AND VERY DELICIOUS

    After the meal and meeting the Hahn family, Lothar decided that he would take Caspar and that they would spend a day roaming around Herzen.

    At first, Caspar was confused with Lothar''s weird request, but he decided to comply anyway. After all, it was not like he had anything better to do.

    When she first heard that they would be going out, Felizia wanted to join them, and Jakob, knowing his son, also agreed to the idea, after all, he did not want the Prince to end up in some sort of scandal with his son. He did not know how the military had affected Caspar in that aspect. Still, after spending four years away in the war, he did not want to lose his son and push him away anymore, he had already experienced the pain of having to worry if your eldest son is still living.

    That did not mean that he had agreed with his son or accepted that aspect of him, but he decided to use softer, more subtle approaches to slowly change his son and see where he stands.

    Marie, on the other hand, disagreed with having Falizia join them, she argued that the Prince might have something important to talk to her son about, that''s why he came over and invited him.

    Marie did not really care who her son decided to fall in love with. To her, he was the baby that she carried for nine months, and nothing would change the love she had for him and her other children and grandchildren.

    In the end, Marie was able to convince Jakob and Felizia to leave the two alone, but not before Felizia had Caspar promise that he would take her around Herzen to play at a later date.

    -----------------------

    Caspar, Lothar, and Carsten had set out to roam the streets of Herzen. At first, they visited the southern market district.

    The southern district was full of shops that sold everything from food and baked goods to clothes, and also strange trinkets and gadgets that people invented.

    As they walked the wide, crowded streets, Lothar would frequently stop to gaze at some of the strange gadgets or enter a store to look at their new collections of clothes, causing Caspar to respond in schadenfreude.

    "Who would believe it if I said that the handsome man acting like a country bumpkin was the Prince that led the army to victory."

    Hearing Caspar''s words caused Lothar to give a sad, self-deprecating smile.

    "Am I really that bad?"

    Seeing Lothar''s sad smile caused Caspar to reveal a panicked smile and attempt to lighten Lothar''s mood while flailing his arms comedically.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "That''s not what I meant!"

    At this point, Carsten decides to chime in and explain to Caspar the reason Lothar was acting the way he was.

    "His highness spent most of his early life in the palace where he was not allowed to leave for his safety. At the age of thirteen, he was sent away to a special noble academy where he was to learn about everything. When he turned seventeen, he was sent to join the army as an officer and rise through the ranks, like his father, King Rainer, did before him. You could say that, until now, at the age of twenty-three, his highness has not properly seen the capital."

    Hearing about Lothar''s strict childhood caused Caspar to remember his own childhood of roaming around the street and playing with the neighborhood children.

    After thinking about it for a while, Caspar decides to take the role of a tour guide and take Lothar with him to experience all that Herzen has to offer. With a determined expression, he grabs Lothar''s hand and pulls him along the road to a location he remembers

    "Alright then, let me give you a crash course of all the fun things that you could do!"

    Having Caspar holding his hand and pulling him along, and seeing the broad smile he was showing him, Lothar is stunned. He reveals a smile of his own as he gets pulled into Caspar''s childishness and thinks to himself.

    ''Honestly, how can he still look so innocent after all that he had experienced?''

    At first, Caspar takes Lothar to a small candy shop that he remembers from his childhood. Thankfully, the shop is still open and is also run by the same old man that he would buy his candy from.

    Caspar pulls Lothar into the shop, ignoring the stares of the children, who are also there to buy their candy, as he shouts to the old man.

    "Mister! Can we have two portions of fruit-flavored taffy."

    The old shopkeeper looks at Caspar before grabbing two paper bags from the counter behind him and handing them to Caspar.

    "That will be two Mark."

    The currency of Urmach consisted of the fenning coin and the paper mark, where a hundred fennings made a mark.

    Caspar stands there for a second, remembering that he did not bring any money with him when he left his house. He turns to look at Lothar, revealing a bashful smile that elicits a laugh out of Lothar as he takes out a five mark note and gives it to the old shopkeeper.

    "Here you go. What else can we get with three marks?"

    Lothar asks the shop keeper as he hands him the money.

    The shopkeeper takes the money and hands Lothar a small bar of chocolate. Chocolate was relatively expensive since it needed a particular plant that can only grow in the southern continent.

    Caspar grabs the bar of chocolate from the old man as he then thanks the old man and pulls Lothar out of the shop.

    "Thanks, mister, I''ll come here with more money later."

    The old man laughs, maybe remembering a child a long time ago that acted the same way as he replies to Caspar.

    "Thank you for the business, and don''t forget to come again, kid."

    As soon as they get out of the shop, Caspar hands Lothar one of the paper bags before splitting the chocolate bar precisely in half and giving a part to Lothar.

    "Here you go."

    Lothar laughs at Caspar''s miserly treatment of the chocolate, causing Caspar to blush as he tries to explain himself to Lothar.

    "What? Chocolate was always expensive for me as a child, so I never had much of it, after all, a small bar of chocolate cost as much as three portions of taffy."

    As he explains, his face gets redder and redder while his voice grows softer until he is basically whispering at the end, causing Lothar to laugh even more at his expense.

    Seeing Lothar still laughing at him, Caspar gets angry and shoves a piece of taffy into Lothar''s open mouth, touching his lips in the process.

    Lothar stops laughing as he starts chewing the taffy, licking his lips where Caspar had touched.

    "How is it?"

    Caspar asks as he gazes at Lothar in excitement, waiting for his answer.

    Lothar swallows the barely chewed taffy as he looks at Caspar with a smile.

    "Sweat and very delicious."

 Chapter 13: SWEAT AND VERY DELICIOUS

    After the meal and meeting the Hahn family, Lothar decided that he would take Caspar and that they would spend a day roaming around Herzen.

    At first, Caspar was confused with Lothar''s weird request, but he decided to comply anyway. After all, it was not like he had anything better to do.

    When she first heard that they would be going out, Felizia wanted to join them, and Jakob, knowing his son, also agreed to the idea, after all, he did not want the Prince to end up in some sort of scandal with his son. He did not know how the military had affected Caspar in that aspect. Still, after spending four years away in the war, he did not want to lose his son and push him away anymore, he had already experienced the pain of having to worry if your eldest son is still living.

    That did not mean that he had agreed with his son or accepted that aspect of him, but he decided to use softer, more subtle approaches to slowly change his son and see where he stands.

    Marie, on the other hand, disagreed with having Falizia join them, she argued that the Prince might have something important to talk to her son about, that''s why he came over and invited him.

    Marie did not really care who her son decided to fall in love with. To her, he was the baby that she carried for nine months, and nothing would change the love she had for him and her other children and grandchildren.

    In the end, Marie was able to convince Jakob and Felizia to leave the two alone, but not before Felizia had Caspar promise that he would take her around Herzen to play at a later date.

    -----------------------

    Caspar, Lothar, and Carsten had set out to roam the streets of Herzen. At first, they visited the southern market district.

    The southern district was full of shops that sold everything from food and baked goods to clothes, and also strange trinkets and gadgets that people invented.

    As they walked the wide, crowded streets, Lothar would frequently stop to gaze at some of the strange gadgets or enter a store to look at their new collections of clothes, causing Caspar to respond in schadenfreude.

    "Who would believe it if I said that the handsome man acting like a country bumpkin was the Prince that led the army to victory."

    Hearing Caspar''s words caused Lothar to give a sad, self-deprecating smile.

    "Am I really that bad?"

    Seeing Lothar''s sad smile caused Caspar to reveal a panicked smile and attempt to lighten Lothar''s mood while flailing his arms comedically.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    "That''s not what I meant!"

    At this point, Carsten decides to chime in and explain to Caspar the reason Lothar was acting the way he was.

    "His highness spent most of his early life in the palace where he was not allowed to leave for his safety. At the age of thirteen, he was sent away to a special noble academy where he was to learn about everything. When he turned seventeen, he was sent to join the army as an officer and rise through the ranks, like his father, King Rainer, did before him. You could say that, until now, at the age of twenty-three, his highness has not properly seen the capital."

    Hearing about Lothar''s strict childhood caused Caspar to remember his own childhood of roaming around the street and playing with the neighborhood children.

    After thinking about it for a while, Caspar decides to take the role of a tour guide and take Lothar with him to experience all that Herzen has to offer. With a determined expression, he grabs Lothar''s hand and pulls him along the road to a location he remembers

    "Alright then, let me give you a crash course of all the fun things that you could do!"

    Having Caspar holding his hand and pulling him along, and seeing the broad smile he was showing him, Lothar is stunned. He reveals a smile of his own as he gets pulled into Caspar''s childishness and thinks to himself.

    ''Honestly, how can he still look so innocent after all that he had experienced?''

    At first, Caspar takes Lothar to a small candy shop that he remembers from his childhood. Thankfully, the shop is still open and is also run by the same old man that he would buy his candy from.

    Caspar pulls Lothar into the shop, ignoring the stares of the children, who are also there to buy their candy, as he shouts to the old man.

    "Mister! Can we have two portions of fruit-flavored taffy."

    The old shopkeeper looks at Caspar before grabbing two paper bags from the counter behind him and handing them to Caspar.

    "That will be two Mark."

    The currency of Urmach consisted of the fenning coin and the paper mark, where a hundred fennings made a mark.

    Caspar stands there for a second, remembering that he did not bring any money with him when he left his house. He turns to look at Lothar, revealing a bashful smile that elicits a laugh out of Lothar as he takes out a five mark note and gives it to the old shopkeeper.

    "Here you go. What else can we get with three marks?"

    Lothar asks the shop keeper as he hands him the money.

    The shopkeeper takes the money and hands Lothar a small bar of chocolate. Chocolate was relatively expensive since it needed a particular plant that can only grow in the southern continent.

    Caspar grabs the bar of chocolate from the old man as he then thanks the old man and pulls Lothar out of the shop.

    "Thanks, mister, I''ll come here with more money later."

    The old man laughs, maybe remembering a child a long time ago that acted the same way as he replies to Caspar.

    "Thank you for the business, and don''t forget to come again, kid."

    As soon as they get out of the shop, Caspar hands Lothar one of the paper bags before splitting the chocolate bar precisely in half and giving a part to Lothar.

    "Here you go."

    Lothar laughs at Caspar''s miserly treatment of the chocolate, causing Caspar to blush as he tries to explain himself to Lothar.

    "What? Chocolate was always expensive for me as a child, so I never had much of it, after all, a small bar of chocolate cost as much as three portions of taffy."

    As he explains, his face gets redder and redder while his voice grows softer until he is basically whispering at the end, causing Lothar to laugh even more at his expense.

    Seeing Lothar still laughing at him, Caspar gets angry and shoves a piece of taffy into Lothar''s open mouth, touching his lips in the process.

    Lothar stops laughing as he starts chewing the taffy, licking his lips where Caspar had touched.

    "How is it?"

    Caspar asks as he gazes at Lothar in excitement, waiting for his answer.

    Lothar swallows the barely chewed taffy as he looks at Caspar with a smile.

    "Sweat and very delicious."

 Chapter 15: THE START OF THE CEREMONY

    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.

    ---------------------------------

    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 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.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    "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 rais 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 though 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.

 Chapter 16: NEW UNIFORM

    The Hahn family was absolutely flummoxed when they heard about Caspar''s promotion. They had never expected that the once troublemaker Caspar would one day be promoted to be a Captain in the Royal guard.

    They spent the entire night celebrating, but Caspar had to rest early that night. Tomorrow he would have to go to collect his new uniform and equipment.

    To be honest, Caspar was excited about his promotion, but he knew that not everyone was, The nobles and higher class had monopolized those positions for a very long time. They did not appreciate someone stealing a slice of their cake.

    After all, where else would you be able to find a cushy job where you would get all of the honor and glory but without the danger and grit of war. Even ignoring all that, they all had to go to a specialized academy and go through harsh training to gain their positions.

    Now, A no-name commoner jumped over all the hoops and gained the rank of Captain no less. While having his thoughts clouded by what is going to happen tomorrow, Caspar soon found himself whisked away into dreamland.

    ----------------------

    The next day, Caspar got up early, washed up, and headed towards the Royal guard supply station next to the palace. Once he arrived at the station, he noticed that everyone seemed to be paying attention to him.

    Caspar sighed and ignored their gazes as he made his way to the Quartermaster''s station. The Quartermaster was an older gentleman, and from his looks, he seemed to have weathered a few wars throughout his time. The Quartermaster looked at him in disinterest and asked in a gruff voice.

    "What do you want, lad?"

    Caspar took a deep breath as he looked at the old Quartermaster.

    "My name is Caspar Hahn, newly commissioned Captain in the Reiksguard."

    The old Quartermaster left eyebrow shot up in curiosity as he gave Caspar a grin and said.

    "Oho, so you''re the pipsqueak that got the whole Royal guard to act as if they''re sitting on pins and needles!"

    It took Caspar a second to register what the old man said before stuttering a reply.

    "I.. I don''t...Wha..."

    The old Quartermaster laughed at bumbling Caspar and thrust his hand forward for a handshake.

    "The name is Eckardt Schuttler, Been serving in the Royal Guard for as long as I remember, If you find yourself in any trouble, you can come find me!"

    The people standing around listening to their conversation frowned at Eckardt''s proclamation. Caspar, stunned by the offer of protection, smiled at the old man and thanked him.

    "Thank you, Sir Schuttler, but I believe I will be able to solve any problem I come across."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    "Suit yourself."

    Replied Eckardt as he went back to grab Caspar his uniform and equipment. He quickly found what he was looking for and brought it up to the front. The outfit consisted of black pants that had a decorated, long silver line running all the way down the side. There were also long, shiny black military boots.

    The top consisted of a collarless white button-up shirt and a black blazer decorated with multiple silver Aiguillettes[1] running down the center of the blazer. The sleeves were also decorated with silver lines showing his rank. While on the shoulder of the blazer were Epaulettes[2] showing his rank.

    Other than that, he was also given a black fur cap with a silver skull embroidered on it. But what he was most excited to receive was the semi-straight saber, with its golden handle and handguard and black sheath.[3]

    As soon as the saber was put in front of Caspar, he picked it up and pulled it out of its sheath to inspect it. The people around visibly tensed at his action and put their hands on their own weapons.

    Eckardt looked at Caspar, inspecting his saber without a care in the world before sighing and telling him.

    "You should really look at where you are at before you pull your sword out. Do that inside the palace without a good reason or at least telling someone first, and you might find yourself being put down in an attempted assassination charge!"

    Caspar looked around for a second, realizing he was out of uniform and holding a saber in a military base, he sheathes the saber and smiles shyly in apology to old man Eckardt.

    "Sorry about that!"

    Caspar and Eckardt kept making conversation until Caspar heard a soft voice calling him from behind.

    "Umm, excuse me, Captain Hahn?"

    Caspar turned around to see a short person with feminine features blushing while looking down. Caspar got confused for a second, he did not know any young noble ladies, certainly not ones that would talk to him in the Royal Guard supply station.

    "Uh... Hello there young lady, how can I help you?"

    The feminine person raised their head with shock drawn all over their face as they complained.

    "I AM NOT A LADY! I am a soldier of the Reiksguard!"

    It was Caspar''s turn to get shocked, but upon closer inspection, the uniform that the person was wearing was very similar to the one he just got, except for some insignias denoting the rank.

    While Caspar was looking at the person, the young man decided to introduce himself with a frown.

    "My name is Sven Kindl, I am a soldier that will be serving under you in the Reiksguard third squadron."

    Seeing the hurt look on Sven''s face, and him being a member of his squad, Caspar decided to apologize for his misunderstanding with an awkward smile and a hand scratching the back of his head.

    "Sorry about that, Kindl, but what brings you here?"

    Sven decided to accept his apology as he explained the reason he called out to him.

    "It''s alright, but I was sent by the Reiksguard Commander Carsten Grau to let you know that you are to show up at the Reiksguard base next to the palace in two days so that you may be briefed of your duties and introduced to the other members."

    Caspar was stunned by the revelation that Carsten was Commander of the Reiksguard and couldn''t help but ask.

    "Wait, Carsten is Commander of the Reiksguard??"

    Sven Kindl did not know what to do about his Captain''s strange question, so he couldn''t help but reply in wonder.

    "Yes..., Could it be that you did not know that?"

    "Well, I always thought it was weird that a normal advisor would follow the prince everywhere!"

    Caspar replied with his hang holding his chin as if he had uncovered something huge. Sven Kindl, on the other hand, decided that it was better to ignore his Captain''s strange behavior and simply replied.

    "Well, Captain, that is all."

    Sven Saluted and quickly made his way out as if running away from a strange person.

    As Caspar was standing there, he heard a laugh from behind him. He turned to see old Eckardt laughing at the two''s interaction before telling Caspar.

    "Well, kid, you have a lot to learn about the palace."

    -------------

    After gathering his equipment, Caspar made his way back home, where he was forced to hold a one-man fashion show with his new uniform to his family.

    Caspar looked particularly dashing in his uniform, so much so that his mother and sisters couldn''t help praising him for his looks. But after settling his affairs with his family, especially his mother, who was glad that her son would not be assigned to some faraway place. Caspar got some rest while thinking to himself.

    ''Two days, after two days, everything is going to change.''

    ---------------------

    [1] Aiguillettes: An aiguillette, also spelled aguillette, aiglet or aglet, is a cord with metal tips or lace tags, or the decorative tip itself

    [2] Epaulettes: an ornamental shoulder piece on an item of clothing, especially on the coat or jacket of a military uniform.

    [3] Look up Prussian Death''s Head Hussar Uniform to get the look I was going for.

 Chapter 17: BRIEFING

    Two days passed by in the blink of an eye, It was now Caspar''s first official day as a Captain in the Reiksguard. As usual, he woke up and finished his morning routine before putting on his new uniform and hanging his saber to the left side of his belt and made his way downstairs.

    As he walked down, he saw his father, in his own business suit, smoking his cigar while reading the morning paper.

    "Good morning, dad."

    Caspar greeted his father as he sat next to him and sliced a piece of bread from the loaf on the table.

    "Good morning, Caspar."

    His father raised his eyes from his paper and looked at his son in his new uniform.

    The pair sat in silence for a while, each minding his own business. That is until Jakob put his paper down on the table and rested his cigar on the ashtray in front of him. Then he started talking to Caspar.

    "Your new position carries with it many new and immense responsibilities, you are one of the few commoners in history that was able to make it into the Royal guard. Most heroes throughout, no matter their achievements, always stayed within their own branch of the military and rose through the ranks there. So on your shoulder rests more than personal honor and glory. Don''t let us down."

    Caspar stayed quiet as he listened to his father speak at length about responsibility and duty. After Jakob''s speech was over, Caspar simply smiled and answered back.

    "Dad, I''ve survived battles and situations that would end the fiercest of men, I think I could handle what they could throw at me!"

    Jakob started smiling once he heard his son''s reply, the smile turned into a chuckle, then into a laugh. After he was done laughing, Jakob only said a simple sentence.

    "Do not underestimate Herzen you brat, I''ve seen people able to righteously kill you in broad daylight without using your fancy sword, and you can''t do anything about it. The waters run deep here, never forget that."

    Jakob stood up and left for work after dropping that bombshell at his son. Leaving him to sit by himself and think about the meaning of his words.

    After thinking for a while, Caspar just sighed to himself as he said.

    "sigh, I guess I''ll find out, won''t I?"

    But the look in his eye did not show the same feelings that his words did, they showed excitement, excitement to face new foes and decimating them.

    -----------------------------

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Caspar was standing in front of a large conference room, In front of him were his new comrades. Carsten was sitting at the head of the table as the Commander of the Reiksguard.

    The Reiksguard ranking system did not wholly follow the military ranking. For example, regular members of the Reiksguard did not carry a formal rank. The only people who did were the Commander, who carried the rank of Colonel, Captains, who were also army Captains, and Vice Captains, who had the rank of Second lieutenant.

    Carsten stood up from the conference table as he started introducing Caspar with the other Captains and Vice Captains.

    "Allow me to introduce Captain Caspar Hahn, who was assigned by his highness himself to command the third squadron of the Reiksguard."

    He said it in a way that told everyone that Caspar''s position and presence were requested by the Prince himself so that they do not attempt to push him too hard.

    Caspar, understanding the double meaning of Carsten''s statement, nodded to the others and greeted them.

    "Good Morning, gentlemen."

    The others nodded back to him in greeting before Carsten started to introduce them. The first person he introduced was sitting to his right, he looked tall and muscular. He carried an aura of righteousness and had a big voice, although he did not use it unless necessary, even his face seemed particularly stoic and calm.

    "This man is Captain Gunther Flugel of the first squad and Vice Commander of the Reiksguard."

    The man nodded at Caspar as he released a noise of approval.

    The second man Carsten introduced was sitting to his left, He looked like a proper noble, with his flowy blond hair, sharp features, and raised nose.

    "This man is Captain Lutz Blocher of the second squad."

    The man gave a quick nod to Caspar before looking away, completely ignoring his presence.

    "Someone else you need to know right now is the man sitting over there."

    Carsten pointed at a man sitting closer to the other end of the table. The man quickly stood up and saluted Caspar.

    "Good Morning, Sir, I am Walter Gilges, Vice-Captain of the third squad and your second in command, Sir."

    Caspar quickly nodded in acknowledgment to his second in command, but before he could say anything, Carsten promptly continued.

    "That''s everyone you need to know right at this moment, you can get to know everyone else at a later time, now I need to brief you on your duty."

    The rest of the meeting consisted of Carsten explaining everything over and over again. In reality, he did not have a lot of duties, and it all came down to four points. 1- Protect Prince Lothar at all costs, 2- Protect the royal family since the Reiksguard is part of the Royal Guard, 3- Follow Prince Lothar''s or the King''s orders only, 4- Don''t disgrace the name of the Prince or the Reiksguard.

    Soon after the briefing, Walter took Caspar to the third squad''s office to introduce everyone. As soon as they entered the office, Caspar could feel a wall of contempt and jealousy hit him in the face.

    In the room were four men all dressed in the same uniform as him, just with a less decorated blazer and saber, The first one he took note of the Sven Kindl, the quiet and feminine boy from the supply station. The second one he noticed was the red-haired man most of the contempt was radiating from.

    He was sitting with one of his legs over the other, and his arms crossed. Next to him were two men that seemed to be his lackeys, one of them looked average except for his crooked nose, while the other was taller than the rest.

    Walter soon started introducing everyone. The third squad was newly created, so although everyone seemed to know each other from the academy, this was their first time working together.

    "Men, this is our Captain Caspar Hahn."

    Then he turned to Caspar and introduced the rest of the men.

    "First of all, this is Sven Kindl, you might have met him before since he was the one that informed you of the Commander''s summons."

    Walter pointed at the man with the crooked nose, and the tall man then introduced him next.

    "This is Finn Segert and Ronald Ungar, respectively."

    But before he could introduce the red-haired man, he stood up and harrumphed.

    "Hmph. I am Arno Walch, son of the minister of war Hubert Walch. I don''t care what you did in the war, but I will not allow a commoner that had never set foot in the Royal Academy order me around."

    After saying his piece, Arno stormed out of the office, followed by Finn and Ronald.

    Seeing the situation deteriorating so much, Walter started apologizing to Caspar.

    "I am really sorry, Sir, I don''t know what got into them."

    Caspar raised his hand to stop Walter from continuing as he showed a sadistic smile and said.

    "Don''t worry about that, In the army, we had our own ways of forcing people in line."

 Chapter 18: MISSION

    The office was clean and tidy, it was decorated with a multitude of beautiful paintings and delicate sculptures. In the center of the room, right in front of a grand arched window, was a carefully crafted mahogany office desk. The chair was black leather, high back wing chair.

    Sitting behind the desk was the handsome Prince Lothar, he was pouring over some documents that were sprawled over the expensive desk.

    Caspar was standing in front of the desk, he had been summoned by Lothar but forced to wait in silence while Lothar finished his work. Patience was slowly being drained from Caspar, and annoyance was showing on his face, he was also thinking to himself.

    ''What the hell is this bastard doing? Some kind of power play? He just asked me to come here and watch him work?''

    While these thoughts were going through Caspar''s head, Lothar produced a sigh as he put his pen down, raised his arms, and started to stretch.

    "Hoooh, I''m finally done with these documents!"

    Lothar raised his head from the documents and looked towards Caspar, whose annoyance was already showing on his face. After witnessing the comical figure, Lothar chuckled before addressing Caspar with a comforting smile.

    "Hah, sorry about that, Caspar, did I make you wait long?"

    Caspar completely ignored Lothar as he harrumphed and turned his head to the side, avoiding Lothar''s smile. Seeing that, Lothar couldn''t help but laugh at Caspar''s childish revenge. But seeing that Caspar was in a bad mood means that his first interactions with his squad did not go too well, so he decided to ask him about that.

    "Seeing that you are in such a bad mood, I''m guessing that your squad doesn''t particularly like you, right?"

    Caspar''s annoyance suddenly transformed into anger as he turned to Lothar with his fists clenched and said.

    "Those pompous bastards, I''ll show them how to fall in line. But you! why the hell did you ask me to be here if all you''re going to do is read and sign papers?"

    Lothar sat there listening to Caspar berate him for doing his job with a smile before he said a sentence that transformed the mood of the entire conversation.

    "I thought having you here would motivate me to finish my work faster."

    Caspar''s anger and annoyance suddenly disappeared, replaced by a soft blush, the words that he was about to say got stuck in his throat. He was not an idiot, although he had never been in any sort of relationship, he would not fail to recognize what was going on between him and Lothar.

    They were both somewhat attracted to each other at some level, you might not be able to call it love, hell, they might not even like each other yet, but they wanted each other''s company.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Caspar knew that a talented Prince with a shot for the throne would never in a million years be allowed to fall in love with a man. He was trying to avoid being put in any disadvantageous position, but Lothar''s words always seem to have an effect of destroying everything.

    While Caspar was standing there, stewing in his own thoughts, Lothar stood up from behind his desk and started walking towards Caspar with an intense expression on his face.

    With every step Lothar took forward, the blushing and confused Caspar took a step back. The room was only so big, though, and at some point, Caspar''s back was against the wall, and Lothar was standing in front of him.

    Confused and shy about what is happening, Caspar, his blush getting deeper and deeper, attempted to reason with Lothar while stuttering.

    "W... we can''t, you''re a P... Prince..."

    But before Caspar could finish his words, Lothar put his hand on Caspar''s shoulder and spoke.

    "Caspar!"

    "Yes..." Caspar replied with a soft voice. Waiting for Lothar to reply.

    "I have a mission for you!"

    Caspar''s dream world shattered to million pieces as if someone had smashed a glass pane with a hammer, and he reflexively and unintentionally punched Lothar in the stomach.

    Lothar doubled over in pain from the punch. If anything, he had not expected Caspar to punch him, so he had no choice but to complain.

    "Hey, hey, What kind of guard punches his Prince?"

    Caspar, having enough of the whole situation, crossed his arms as he replied to Lothar.

    "That''s what you get for playing around!"

    After hearing Caspar''s reply, Lothar stood up straight, ignoring the pain from his stomach as he stared straight into Caspar''s eyes and asked with a crafty smile.

    "Oh, and what did you expect was going to happen?"

    Caspar harrumphed and ignored Lothar''s blatant attempt to goad him as he asked back.

    "So, what is this mission you need me for?"

    --------------------------

    Lothar and Caspar were standing in front of an entrance of a suite. The palace consisted of many different sections, the central section housed the royal hall, conference rooms, throne room, and the King''s residence. There were also many large suites that served as residences for the Princes and Princesses.

    They were currently standing at the entrance of one such suite. The door suddenly opens as a maid comes out and invites them in.

    "Welcome, your highness, the princess has been waiting eagerly for your arrival, please follow me inside."

    They were visiting the youngest Princess Cecilia Von Elsler. Lothar and Cecilia had the best relationship between all of the royal siblings. They truly cared about each other, and Lothar would always try to make Cecilia happy.

    After following the maid through many doors, Lothar and Caspar find themselves standing in a cozy living room. The room had a balcony that overlooked an internal garden in the palace. The balcony was set up with white tables and chairs, on one of the tables, a young lady that looked as old as Caspar''s sister, Felizia, was sitting.

    As soon as the lady saw Lothar enter the room, she jumped up from her seat and rushed to Lothar''s side while shouting his name.

    "Lothar, you''re finally here!"

    That is correct, the mission that Lothar assigned to Caspar, was helping him play with his sister. Lothar convinced Caspar by saying that Cecilia and Felizia were the same age. Since Caspar had such a good relationship with his sister, then he should be able to help him cope with the extremely playful and energetic Cecilia.

    To be honest, even from her greeting, Caspar saw the similarities between the two sisters. It made him feel some sort of brotherly connection with this young princess, even though this was the first time they met.

    Cecilia, after chatting with Lothar for a while, finally noticed the existence of another man in the room, bewildered, she finally asked her brother while staring at Caspar.

    "Lothar, who''s that person?"

    Lothar patted Cecilia''s head as he introduced Caspar.

    "This is the newly promoted member of my Reiksguard, Captain Caspar Hahn."

    Cecilia''s eyes went wide as she exclaimed at Caspar.

    "Ooooooh, So this is the person that you talk about in all your stories!"

    ''This guy has been talking about me with other people?''

    Caspar couldn''t help but wonder what this Princess had heard about him as he turned a questioning look towards Lothar.

    Lothar, on the other hand, cleared his throat in embarrassment as he replied.

    "Indeed, he is that Caspar Hahn."

    Cecilia walked over to Caspar''s side as she started looking him up and down before saying.

    "So, this is the first real friend that my brother made."

 Chapter 19: BEING PUT IN LINE

    The two stayed at the Princess'' residence for a while. Caspar and Cecilia had gotten very close to each other during this time. Caspar saw Cecilia similarly as his sister Felizia and treated her the same. Cecilia, on the other hand, felt the same brotherly affection from Caspar as she does from Lothar, so they quickly warmed up to each other.

    "Hey Cas, tell me, how was my brother like on the front line?"

    Cecilia had gotten so close that she already started using the nickname his sister used.

    "Well... He didn''t change much, Maybe acted more serious back then."

    Caspar replied to Cecilia''s question. The two had been conversing for a while about Lothar as if he was not in the room with them. The silent treatment Lothar had been getting from them has started to get on his nerves. So at one point, while the two were happily laughing together at his expense, he finally exploded. Well... It would be more accurate to call it a boil-over than an explosion.

    "I see you too have gotten quite comfortable, huh?"

    After hearing his tone of voice, a shiver went down Caspar''s back as he froze in place. Cecilia, already experienced with what is about to happen, let out a soft shriek as she said.

    "Eeeep, he''s out, Demon Lothar is out!"

    "Who are you calling a demon, First of all, you both ignore my existence and chat happily, and you Cecilia, don''t go spouting embarrassing stories without my permission..."

    Lothar''s lecture lasted for half an hour straight. Once he was done, both Caspar and Cecilia were looking at their own feet, showing a sad expression.

    ''Was I being too harsh on them?''

    Lothar thought as he drank an entire cup of water to wet his now dry throat. Once he drank his water and sat back down, Cecilia came over to his side and hugged his arm.

    "Come on, Lothar, don''t be mad, we didn''t forget about you."

    While she was coaxing him, she was also looking at Caspar, as if hinting at him to do the same. The confused Caspar saw the hint as he quickly shook his head and thought to himself.

    ''There is no way I''m doing that.''

    Catching their sneaky exchange, Lothar smiled at the two, and his mood got better. The trio then sat back down and continued conversing, not forgetting about Lothar this time.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    While they were talking, Lothar dropped a bomb at Caspar.

    "Oh, by the way, you are invited to the victory celebration at the royal hall tomorrow. As a guest that is, not a guard."

    Confused by the invitation, Caspar had no choice but to ask.

    "What? Why?"

    "You are credited with the most merits during the final battle in the war, so you are invited as a guest of honor. Don''t worry, you can come in your Reiksguard uniform, you''re just going to be expected to do more socializing than actual guarding."

    Caspar frowned at the invitation, He was never really a person for social events. He always enjoyed acting like himself and being unrestrained. Royal celebrations, on the other hand, required a lot of etiquette and posturing that he was not a fan of. He had no choice but to attend, he was already going to be at the palace doing his job, so he can''t just refuse a royal invitation.

    ------------------------

    After having dinner with the Princess and sending Lothar back to his residence, Caspar made his way back to the office of the third squad. When he was a fair distance away from the palace, he noticed that some people were following him.

    Caspar, knowing that some people are trying to harm him, walked away from the palace and the Reiksguard office into a quiet alleyway. The alleyway was decently wide so as to not limit his range of motion. Caspar knew who was following him, and he wanted to teach them a lesson.

    Just as he stepped into the alleyway, three figures walked in behind him. They were his three squad members from earlier today. Arno Walch, the leader of the trio, stepped forward and spoke towards Caspar.

    "Lowly peasant, you should know what''s good for you and screw off before some ''accident'' happens."

    Caspar completely ignored the anger behind the threat as he laughed out loud at Arno''s idiotic actions. After laughing for a while, Caspar completely deigned to answer them as he charged forward and started to fight them three on one.

    The trio were caught off guard by the sudden attack, they barely lasted a couple of seconds before they were all lying on the ground. After looking at them for a second before he turned and attempted to leave without saying a word.

    Seeing his blatant disregard and feeling the shame and embarrassment from being beaten up, Arno stood up and shouted at Caspar.

    "Caspar Hahn! Where do you think you are going?"

    Caspar turned his head to face Arno before replying.

    "The office."

    Arno was momentarily baffled by Caspar''s honest reply. Caspar had already started walking again, but behind him, Arno was getting more and more pissed off at Caspar''s disregard of him. In the heat of the moment, Arno drew his blade and charged straight at Caspar, trying to stab him.

    Caspar had already noticed the idiotic straight charge and simply turned around, the stab missed him, but that did not stop Caspar from retaliating. As the sword passed in front of Caspar, He extended his hand and grabbed Arno''s sword arm, twisting it, causing Arno to drop his sword. Caspar then proceeded to pin Arno to the ground with his hand twisted behind his back.

    Arno screamed in pain as he felt his arm twist into an unnatural shape. Caspar completely ignored Arno''s screams for mercy, as he calmly stated.

    "I don''t really care what you think of me. But I am your Captain, and you drew your blade at your superior. That can be considered treason, and in all honesty, I could kill you right now, and nobody would be able to complain, you understand?"

    Arno could only scream in agreement.

    "YES, YES."

    Caspar nodded behind him and continued.

    "Good, from now on, you three WILL fall in line, or I could promise you that you will break a bone every time we meet. I will also do everything in my power as Captain to make your time in the Reiksguard hell. Understand?"

    Caspar tightened his hold as Arno kept shouting, "Yes."

    Arno suddenly felt the weight from behind him disappear, and his arm relax. He cradled his arm in the other one as he turned to look at Caspar, who was already walking away calmly.

    Arno turned to his lackeys as he asked them harshly.

    "Why did you not help me?"

    The duo shivered in place before replying.

    "You couldn''t see his face man, It felt like he would really kill us all here. That man''s trouble."

 Chapter 20: ROYAL CELEBRATION

    Since teaching the trio a lesson, they seem to stop causing any disturbances, they still avoid Caspar when possible, but they follow orders.

    Tomorrow was the royal celebration, Caspar was nervous. Although this was not his first time in such a ceremony since he was a part of the soldier''s celebration. This time Lothar told him that he would have to interact with a lot of nobles and learn a lot of etiquettes.

    Caspar had spent the last couple of days with Lothar and Cecilia, where they crammed most of the knowledge he needed as not to embarrass himself or the Prince.

    To Caspar, this training was a thousand times tougher than any training he had done before. By the time he was done every night, he would be exhausted.

    As Caspar lay down on his bed, he remembered Lothar''s secret orders from the day. Lothar had taken him aside when Cecilia was away and told him with a stern expression.

    "No matter what happens, always keep Cecilia within your sight tomorrow."

    Caspar nodded and received Lothar''s order. Like that, Caspar slept while full of dread for tomorrow.

    ------------------------

    The next day, Caspar put on his uniform meticulously as he made his way to the Reiksguard HQ. When he arrived, Carsten briefed him and the rest of the Captains about their duties today.

    When the meeting ended, and everyone started to leave, Carsten took Caspar aside and asked him in a quiet voice.

    "Did his highness tell you about your mission today?"

    Caspar nodded gravely to Carsten as he replied.

    "Yes, but he didn''t clarify anything."

    Carsten sighed as he explained to Caspar.

    "We believe that someone will attempt to kidnap or harm the Princess today."

    Caspar was stunned, Cecilia was like a cute little sister to him, he would protect her like he was protecting Felizia, so he couldn''t help but ask.

    "Why?"The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Carsten frowned at Caspar''s question as he replied sternly.

    "You do not need to know. Your mission is to protect the Princess, and that is what you will do, understood?"

    Caspar had no choice but to acquiesce. He did not want to be bogged down in royal intrigue since he honestly did not care about it, all he had to do was protect Cecilia, and he will do just that.

    After completing his briefing, Caspar went to Lothar''s office, where the two left to fetch the Princess to attend the celebration.

    Since Caspar was not going to be at Lothar''s side for the evening, Lothar was also followed by Carsten and Captain Gunther Flugel of the first squad.

    Carsten was an essential advisor, so he will be expected to socialize, so having Gunther at Lothar''s side as well was necessary. The rest of the first squad will be protecting Lothar in person. The second squad was tasked with safeguarding Lothar''s residence and Reiksguard HQ.

    The third squad, on the other hand, were left under the command of Lieutenant Walter Gilges. Since Caspar did not know what they were capable of yet, he had assigned them to join the rest of the royal guard in protecting the celebration and inform him if anything strange occurs.

    Soon, the group reaches the Princess''s residence. Cecilia was already dressed up and waiting for them. She frowned when she saw them as she looked at Lothar and complained.

    "Lothar, what took you so long?"

    Lothar smiled at his sister and apologized.

    "Sorry about that Cecilia, Caspar was late."

    Caspar, who was minding his own business, suddenly turned to face Lothar as he thought to himself.

    ''How can he blame me for being late??? He was the one taking his sweet time. He''s doing this because he knows that I can''t argue with him in public!!''

    Caspar had no choice but to grind his teeth and glare at Lothar. Cecilia''s mood quickly got better as she laughed at the duo''s interaction, that did not stop her though from taking Caspar''s side.

    "Lothar, you should not bully Caspar and blame him for your own mistakes."

    Lothar was also holding back his laughter as he was grinning mischievously at Caspar. After hearing Cecilia complain, he had no choice but to reply.

    "Well he was too nervous, how was he going to have fun like that?"

    Caspar was stunned. He had not expected Lothar''s earlier words to not only amuse Cecilia but also calm his nerves. But he did not have much time to think about it since they soon set off to join the party.

    ---------------------

    The celebration was held in the Royal Hall. The party consisted of a portion of time where the people interacted with each other with some snacks and drinks, then there would be a banquette where the guests would have their dinner while watching performers play.

    As soon as they got close to entering, someone had called the names and titles of Lothar and Cecilia. The rest of the members in the group did not require someone to call their names when they entered.

    Everyone''s eyes quickly made their way over to the group, but Lothar and Cecilia ignored them as they first made their way to where the King and Queen were.

    The group then paid their respects to the King and Queen. Lothar greeted King Rainer as a general would greet a king. Cecilia, on the other hand, walked up to her mother''s side and hugged her with a smile.

    Even King Rainer did not know what to do with the way Cecilia acted, so he had no choice but to smile and shake his head.

    "How have the two of you been?"

    The king asked Lothar and Cecilia.

    "We have been in good condition, your majesty."

    Lothar, though, replied in his usual official tone. Seeing his son treat him like that, King Rainer sighed as he told them.

    "Well, enjoy your night today."

    The group bowed to the King before walking back into the party. As soon as they walked back, they were stopped by a man that had similar looks to Lothar. The man looked at Lothar before speaking.

    "Lothar, are you not going to greet your Eldest Brother?"

    Lothar smiled and ignored the provocation as he spoke.

    "Good afternoon, Leonhard, have you been well?"

    The man Lothar was talking to was Leonhard Von Elser, The Eldest Prince of Urmacht.