Von Palen continued, gazing into the distance, and said expressionlessly:
"Wolfgang, that guy, was my closest comrade-in-arms. I always thought he would stand firmly by my side, no matter what."
Upon hearing this, Bowerman's face darkened, and he said indignantly, "Your Majesty, forgive my insolence, but he is a shameless scoundrel who is still plotting to overthrow your regime when the country is in peril. This despicable bastard has only now revealed his ambition."
Von Palen remained expressionless, not even responding to Bowerman's words. He simply continued muttering to himself:
"Seventeen years ago, when I was just a lieutenant colonel in the army, the Kosovos were always harassing my hometown of Franca. They took advantage of the fact that it was on the border and bullied us time and time again. One day, they did something that I could not tolerate, so I led my troops to fight back and wiped out that Kosovo border force."
Upon hearing this, Bowerman immediately said, "I was deeply impressed, Your Majesty. The victory at Franka was our..." He stopped abruptly, realizing something, and his expression instantly turned somber.
Von Palen ignored him and continued, "It was a brilliant victory. When I returned in triumph with my men, I was greeted with cheers from everyone in Franka."
“My daughters even came to greet me in person at the city gate. They hugged me and said, ‘Daddy, you are the real hero. You did what no one else dared to do.’”
Upon hearing this, Bowerman lowered his eyes and let out a barely audible sigh.
Von Palen was still speaking:
"But being a hero comes at a price."
"The residents of Franca cheered for me because they had suffered greatly from the persecution of the Kosovos and I had rescued them, but the high and mighty Federic thought I shouldn't have done it."
"When I was transferred back to Salibia to be punished, the shameless Koso people assembled an army, destroyed the whole of Franca, and killed almost everyone."
“But at that time I was in prison and could do nothing. Federic even wanted to send me to the Kosovo Empire to be killed by them.”
Bowerman's face twitched slightly, and he gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, "That shameless bastard!"
Von Palen ignored him, his expression remaining calm: "It was Wolfgang who rescued me from prison. If it weren't for him and some others persuading Federic, I think I would have been dead by then."
Bowerman's cursing stopped abruptly. Of course he knew about this. More than a decade ago, Wolfgang was already a lieutenant general in the army, and his family members held various positions in the military, wielding considerable influence.
The reason why the emperor was able to successfully ascend to the throne and purge the incompetent Federico faction was precisely because of Wolfgang's strong support.
“But that’s all in the past, Your Majesty,” Bowerman said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, von Palen turned to look at Bowerman, a self-deprecating smile on his face:
"Yes, that's in the past."
He turned his face again to look at the battle taking place outside the castle, and continued:
"But I am still grateful to him. He saved me, and that doesn't just mean he got me out of jail."
"You know, my wife and two daughters, they..."
At this point, Von Palen paused, and after two seconds, he continued;
"They were tortured by the Khoso people..."
He paused again, and Bowerman, his face bowed and his expression deeply sorrowful, whispered:
"Your Majesty...you should not..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Von Palen continued, "They suffered inhuman torture. When I returned to Franka, their heads were still hanging from the rafters of my house. The Kosovois did it on purpose; they wouldn't even allow anyone to come and collect the bodies."
"So my wife and daughters were hanging from the rafters for almost a month."
"When I buried them, I knew I had to do something."
“But you know, Federic just signed a non-aggression pact with those bastards and even paid them a large sum of money in compensation.”
"So there's nothing I can do. I realize that this is an unfair world, and no one can change it."
"So that night, I decided to end my life. At that time, I was thinking that if there really is a heaven, maybe I can see my wife and daughter again."
Upon hearing this, Bowerman turned pale. He looked at Von Palen with worry, not daring to blink, as if afraid that Von Palen would disappear from his sight.
But Von Palen remained calm, as if he were talking about something trivial.
"As you can see, I didn't succeed. It was Wolfgang who took me back to Franka. He was the one who stopped me that night."
At this point, Von Palen reached out and touched his still swollen chin, then continued:
"He even punched me."
He warned me that only cowards think about suicide. As a Goth, one should always have courage and a tenacious fighting spirit throughout one's life. If one dares to shoot bullets at oneself, why not shoot bullets at the enemy?
Bowerman slowly exhaled, and his clenched fist gradually relaxed.
Feng Palen also put down his hand and said with emotion, "What he said makes some sense, and I've taken it to heart."
"That night, I talked with Wolfgang for a long time. He said he rescued me because he thought I was a hero who did what he wanted to do but couldn't, so he thought I deserved to live."
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