"Of course I do, Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief.
"What do you think of the statements that you have been reported to me for playing a disgraceful role in these two incidents, first by personally ordering the release of the Far Eastern partisans suspected of sabotaging the train artillery, and then by making private contact with Roland Kerras during the retreat of the army, and persuading him to let you and your troops go at some cost?"
asked General Engel with a blank face.
"Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, with all due respect, this is all sinister slander I did release five civilians suspected of being Far Eastern guerrillas, but at that time I was leading a small detachment disguised as Far Eastern cavalry to reconnoiter near Lengxi Town, and it was neither necessary nor desirable to kill a few passers-by disguised as civilians, if this alarmed the local Far East garrison, wouldn't it be asking for trouble As an imperial officer, I think my handling at that time was completely reasonable."
Palatina took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and continued, "As for the suspicion that I had reached some kind of secret deal with Roland, and even more groundlessly smearing the many people present at that time, Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief may wish to ask a random witness, I believe they all remember what I said to Roland at that time, I vouch for the honor of the Imperial soldier, and I will never sell my dignity for the sake of stealing my life."
"I believe you, Palatina, in fact I knew about these two things a month ago."
General Engel sighed, "The colonel who told me tried to use this as a lever to pull you off the horse and take your place, but I ignored him, and solemnly warned him not to spend his mind on these conspiracies.
It's a pity that I still underestimated the ambition and despicability of that man, who actually wrote a letter directly to the Cabinet Defense Committee directly over me, the front-line commander, accusing you of being suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treacherous."
Palatina's handsome white face flushed, and she bit her lip hard, holding back the grief and anger that filled her heart.
Although General Engel did not say it explicitly, it was not difficult for her to guess that the person who reported her was Colonel Mendelssohn.
General Engel turned to look at Palatina, his eyes showed sympathy and helplessness: "Just two hours ago, the special investigation team from the holy city of Asshan has arrived in Harrenhal, Palatina, I'm sorry, this time I really can't protect you, I can only wish you good luck to be investigated and it does not show that you are guilty, if you have any questions, just answer them truthfully, and the people who want to come to the investigation team are reasonable and will not deliberately make things difficult for you, in addition, I will write a letter to the Cabinet Defense Committee to testify and clarify the truth for you, Hope it can help you get rid of the accusations as soon as possible. ” When Palatina heard these words, she was both grateful and a little confused, thinking that she was about to face prison, she had no scruples, so she simply asked Engel face to face: "Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, frankly speaking, because of the grudge between you and my father, I don't have a good impression of you, and I don't think you appreciate me very much as an outlier in the army, so I really don't understand, why do you take the initiative to help me clarify the truth."
"Palatina, I'm not a man of integrity, and your father's criticism of me for being too keen on fame and fortune is indeed insightful.
But then again, although I am not a good person, after all, I have my own bottom line, I can keep my mouth shut and not tell the truth, but no one can force me to tell a lie. ” General Engel took off his military hat and looked out the window, and Palatina suddenly noticed that His Excellency the commander-in-chief, who was known as the "Chief General of the Imperial Young Zhuang Sect", had wrinkles on his forehead, and his temples were also sporadically white, and she couldn't help but feel a sour feeling in her heart.
"Before I set out, I was full of confidence, thinking that a great opportunity to make a contribution was in front of me, and that I was about to reach the peak of my life, but the war of this year has taught me a cruel lesson, and lately I have often thought of the advice of Marshal Sigmunt, and I have had a completely different experience than before, if I had realized how naïve I had been a year ago, and how wise His Excellency the Marshal was, I could have avoided all this tragedy, but it was too late now."
General Engel turned his back to Palatina, and after a long silence, he continued to confide in his heart: "The responsibility for the failure of the Eastern Crusade must be borne by me, the commander-in-chief, whether Harrenhal can defend it or not, my career has come to an end, I will have to go to a military court in the future, and spend the rest of my life in prison, while I still have the ability to do some good things now, I can help you, and it can be regarded as leaving a way back for my wife and children.
I couldn't be more grateful. ” Palatina silently listened to General Engel's heartfelt words, and her heart rose with indescribable sadness, and her eyes could not help but redden.
"Okay, don't say these frustrating words."
General Engel turned around and patted her lightly on the shoulder, "There is still some time, you go back to pack your luggage, meet with the investigation team and go back to the Holy City, no matter how this case is resolved, you don't want to go back to the front line." ” Palatina heard a hint of life and death from General Engel's last words, and finally couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes, shook his hand vigorously, choked up, and said: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, I also have two things I want to say to you at the time of parting.
First of all, I said to you on behalf of my father, although he is a bit old-fashioned and always disagrees with you, but you may not know that my father appreciates your talent very much, and he has more affection for you than for his other protégé, Rudolph Kolas, because it is precisely in you and not in Rudolf Kolas that he sees more of the shadow of his youth, both in terms of advantages and disadvantages, and the reason why my father is too harsh on you, It's because I don't want to see you repeat the mistakes he made when he was younger, and you're also a person with a lot of self-esteem, that maybe it's doomed that you can't get along with each other."
Palatina wiped the corners of her eyes, raised her head, and solemnly admonished General Engel with an almost solemn look.
"There is another sentence, which is my parting message to you, Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, no matter how difficult the war is, please never give up hope, even if you fight to the last moment, even if you can't change anything after all, you should stand up and live bravely, no matter what, please don't choose suicide in the name of martyrdom":