I Am Not The Duke's Evil Son
Chapter 70: The Life of a Villager Part 2

Chapter 70: The Life of a Villager Part 2

In front of the large castle, hundreds of young men gathered in organized rows, surrounded by dozens of armed soldiers who closely monitored them to prevent any foolish actions.

Following Arthur’s strict orders, a second recruitment campaign was conducted, but this time, all the young people of the barony were gathered, whether they were from distant villages or isolated houses scattered throughout the land. This was unlike the first time, when only the youths from the city were gathered due to time constraints.

In the middle of the massive crowd, Willard stood nervously, struggling to maintain his composure because he didn’t understand what was happening. His eyes moved slowly, scanning his surroundings with suspicion, and after a few seconds, he let out a long sigh.

’How did I end up here? Those knights didn’t answer any of my questions. They even dragged the youths from my village who refused to come with them. This is violent.’

Every time he recalled the events of the previous day, he felt a bit of distress and questioned Arvan’s kindness. But at the same time, he couldn’t do anything, and all he wanted were answers to his questions.

’Why were we gathered here? Only young men? Could it be that he wants to launch a military attack on some barony? No, no, that’s crazy. The kingdom is stable and there are no wars in the region as far as I know. Has something changed?!’

His questions multiplied, and his head started to hurt. He had been exposed to the sun for too long, which annoyed him greatly. He raised his hand to shade his eyes and calmly turned to look beside him, where the familiar youths from his village stood. He observed their expressions for a moment and saw how tense and frightened they were. Feeling responsible, he reassured them, "Don’t worry, everything will be fine."

But he received no response, only sharp gazes and some hateful snorts.

He didn’t know why they were upset with him, but he didn’t get angry and mocked himself, ’And I bothered myself thinking about the village’s affairs. Now that all the young men have been taken, the adults won’t worry about the small harvest; that amount will suffice for them.’

While lost in thought, he suddenly heard one of the soldiers shout loudly, "Stand firm, the lord has arrived."

He quickly raised his head and began inspecting the front of the crowd far ahead, but due to the many heads, he couldn’t see this so-called lord. However, after a few seconds, he saw a black-haired man standing on a short platform at the front. That man’s eyes were so sharp they made him uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, he continued staring at him and closely observed his actions. ’So this is how nobles look. He’s different from that previous baronet and his son. His face is very clean, and his clothes are tidy.’

He couldn’t stop himself from trying to understand their lord’s character, as he had heard a lot about him and his strange actions.

Just two days ago, he enacted a new law called the Public Morality Law, which prohibited anyone from defecating or urinating in the streets and obligated them to use what was called public toilets. Anyone who violated this law would be punished either by imprisonment or by paying a fine.

He also issued a law banning independent woodcutters and carpenters from working and forced them to work in the woodworking workshop he had built.

While observing him, he suddenly noticed that he raised his hand and pointed to a specific spot in the crowd, while at the same time saying something to the knight beside him.

Willard followed Arthur’s finger and saw the place or rather, the person he was pointing at. At that moment, he wondered, ’What is he doing?’

Suddenly, the recruits pulled that person from the crowd and made him stand in a different spot. Once again, their lord pointed to another person, and another, and with every time he raised his hand, the crowd started trembling like sheep afraid of their turn to be slaughtered.

The matter was surprising and very strange, making Willard doubt what was happening. But suddenly, Arthur pointed to the spot where he was standing. This stunned and shocked him. He quickly looked around to see who the unlucky person chosen was, but the crowd around him had moved slightly away, leaving him standing alone.

He raised his hand and pointed to himself, asking in shock, "Me?" Unexpectedly, their lord nodded in confirmation, increasing his astonishment and fear at the same time.

Before he had a chance to think of anything, a young recruit came and dragged him out of the crowd, placing him with the few selected individuals.

He looked at the people sharing his unknown fate and muttered, "What is happening? What will they do to us?"

A young girl shook her head, barely holding back her tears. "I don’t know, but I heard it’s something bad."

"Yeah."

All the youths showed their worry and fear, except for one person who faintly smiled and said, "Don’t worry. On the contrary, we are very lucky. I know someone who told me that those chosen first are treated specially because they have the potential to become strong knights."

"Really?" Willard replied in astonishment. "How could that be?"

"Yeah, how do they know that?" the girl confirmed.

The young man shook his head in confusion. "I don’t know. It’s said that the lord has magical eyes that see people’s true nature."

"That’s impossible."

Their murmurs and whispers increased, prompting the soldier assigned to watch them to shout angrily, "Shut up"

Thus, time passed slowly. Arthur chose twenty people with medium potential, then selected another one hundred forty people with weak but near-medium potential. He was also lucky enough to find four others with magical inclinations. But unlike the first time, he did not dismiss those with very low potential. Instead, he decided to recruit them, though their training would not be as strict.

...

After the crowd was dispersed, Willard and the twenty people with him were led to a specific place in the castle. Being mere villagers, they felt a sense of awe as they walked through the large castle corridors. After a short period, they reached a room in the basement containing mattresses for them to sleep on.

Inside, Otieno awaited them with a strict expression. As soon as he saw them, he said, "Listen carefully. From now on, I’ll be your supervisor. Let me tell you, I am not kind, so don’t expect mercy from me.

Starting now, this will be your sleeping quarters. On the other side is the girls’ room, and in the neighboring room are the baths and toilets. I expect you to organize yourselves tonight and get enough rest.

Because your training will begin in the morning, and frankly, it will be like hell. I will squeeze you hard to extract your best potential, as in a month, you’re expected to become strong soldiers and useful to the lord." At the mention of the lord, his voice softened.

But he quickly regained his strictness and said, "Rest now."

Suddenly, Willard hesitantly raised his hand and asked, "Sir, I don’t understand. Are we being trained to become soldiers? They didn’t tell us this. And will we be staying here from now on?"

Otieno furrowed his brows and rebuked him, "Yes. Are you stupid? Didn’t you realize that? Don’t ask more questions; you’ll learn everything in due time."

"Is that clear?"

Everyone answered hesitantly, "Yes, sir."

After that, Otieno left. But as soon as he got away from them, a silly smile appeared on his face, and he felt great joy. With all sincerity, he wanted to train these new recruits and make them very strong to earn his lord’s praise.

...

The first night passed peacefully for the new recruits. As expected, they didn’t listen to their supervisors and spent the night talking and getting to know each other. Naturally, Willard did the same and didn’t sleep until midnight.

While sleeping happily like a fool, he suddenly heard a loud voice that made him jump in shock. He opened his eyes with difficulty and inspected his surroundings in shock, seeing Otieno standing at the door with a drum in his hands.

Otieno shouted loudly, "Wake up, you pieces of trash! It’s your fateful day. You have fifteen minutes to bathe and get dressed!"

Despite his loud voice, the recruits stared at each other with sleepy eyes, barely understanding what he said. Willard yawned and asked in a heavy voice, "Has morning arrived so quickly?"

Their behavior infuriated Otieno, who quickly grabbed the leg of a recruit who hadn’t gotten up from his bed, lifted it high, then dropped him to the ground, saying, "I’m not joking. You have thirteen minutes to bathe and dress. Anyone late to the assembly in the yard will be punished."

At that moment, everyone realized this was no joke. Their drowsiness disappeared, and they quickly ran toward the baths, which contained several small wooden rooms designed for one person to maintain privacy. Inside the rooms were a large bucket of cold water, a piece of soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a little hair wash.

They all froze, not understanding the purpose of these items. Some ignored them and quickly poured water on themselves, but Willard thought for a moment and asked, "Guys, does anyone know the purpose of these sticky things?"

"No."

"Just leave it."

But Carlos, the young man who had some knowledge of the situation, suddenly said, "Listen carefully. You must use these things."

"The sticky thing in the small jar is for your hair. The slightly thick one is called toothpaste; you must put it on that brush and use it to clean your teeth. As for the soap, I don’t need to explain its purpose."

Despite his explanation, most didn’t understand what he meant and used the personal hygiene items incorrectly. Some washed their hair with toothpaste, some cleaned their teeth with hair wash, and some used the toothbrush incorrectly. Instinctively, it turned into utter chaos.

After hurriedly bathing, they left the baths and wore the matching set of clothes given to them the previous night. As quickly as they could, they headed toward the assembly yard.

But as soon as they exited the castle gate, they froze in place and looked at the dark sky in shock, except for Carlos, who expected this.

In astonishment, Willard said, "Dawn hasn’t arrived yet."

Carlos calmly replied, "Yes, and I advise you to get used to it. Come quickly before we get punished. Standing there stunned will only make things worse."

Resigned, everyone followed him. They finally realized they were about to go through some very tough times in this place.