Let the tournament begin!

"Ladies and gentlemen, I formally welcome you all to the 1056th Magic tournament of Tudor county!" A loud voice announced with his voice echoing across the area with the use of a sound amplifier built using magic.

Today marked the start of the main event of the Magic tournament, which was the clash between youths in a bid to claim the top prize.

The atmosphere permeated with joy and a celebratory spirit as several citizens, at least those from the inner and central parts of Tudor county made their way to the coliseum located at the center of the city.

In the sky above, several projectiles were shot before exploding into a variety of colors, marking the area in a colorful hue.

The coliseum was slowly getting filled up as nobles and rich businessmen made their way and picked up seats as they waited for the start of the tournament.

At the center of the coliseum, a stone platform stood tall and on it, a man dressed in colorful attire, reminiscent of a clown spoke while holding a sound amplifier, which looked a lot like a tuning fork with a coil in the middle, with an enthusiastic expression on his face.

"Please take your seats as the Tournament is about to begin!"

Meanwhile, just outside the coliseum where several opportunistic fellows had set up stalls to try and gain some sales, a carriage pulled by two horses stopped in the area reserved for them.

The door swing open and Max stepped out with a casual look on his face. He was dressed in a simple shirt and jacket alongside black leather jeans and shoes to match.

He looked every bit like the noble he was meant to be.

Looking around, he took in the view just as Lara, came out from the carriage as well, followed by Lloyd and his daughter, Laura.

Lara was dressed in a sky blue gown with minimal make-up and even less jewelry, but even with such a simple appearance, her beauty still shone like the sun in the sky.

Lloyd was dressed in a somewhat military attire which made him give off the aura of a commander while Laura was dressed in a similar gown to Lara, but it was colored a light green color and her makeup was indeed on the heavy side.

Looking her over, Max snorted. "How do you plan to fight when you look like you are attending a tea party?"

Laura sneered at him. "How does it concern you?... It's not like you would support me."

Lloyd and Lara exchanged knowing looks with smiles on their faces but remained silent.

"That is true… well, can't wait to see you get a beat down," Max remarked with a teasing smile.

Laura resisted the urge to pummel him to the ground and merely harrumphed before making her way toward the entrance of the coliseum.

Max rubbed his upper lip. "…she seems upset."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "You think?"

Lara chuckled. "Come on, let's go, we wouldn't want Laura to get in by herself and feel lonely."

With that, all four individuals made their way toward the entrance when a female voice was heard.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't my co-wife."

Max frowned as he could just about recall the owner of the voice while Lara had a much colder expression on her face as she slowly turned to face the one that spoke.

Lloyd, Laura, and Max followed suit.

Their eyes all landed on a sensually attractive woman dressed in a black gown that accentuated her curves. She also wore black make-up which complimented her dress and also highlighted her natural sex appeal even further.

She wore a black fedora and had a smile plastered on her face. Beside her, a few guards stood, ready to attack at her command.

Seeing her, Max muttered a name under his breath. "… Kara."

Kara seemed to have heard him as she turned to look in his direction. She only stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Glad to see you have returned, Max. I hope your godfather is well."

Her approach was quite cordial, a person none the wiser might think that both parties were on a friendly basis or at least were not on bad terms.

Unfortunately, that was the reverse of the case.

Lara wouldn't be able to count how many times the lady before her had tried to make her life a nightmare, all in a bid to… she was unable to figure her reason even if she tried.

Max fought the urge to attack her as he replied. "He is fine… what about you?... How is Cedric?... I saw him yesterday and… well, all I can say is that our meeting was quite interesting."

Lara frowned at the new piece of information but did not bother to say anything as she knew that Max would have told her if it was something he deemed as important.

Kara smiled. "Cedric is preparing for the tournament and so, he is not with me right now. Don't worry, you'll meet with him soon enough."

Max nodded. "That's good. I look forward to seeing his performance in the arena."

"Likewise." With that, Kara turned her attention to Lara, giving Lloyd a sidelong glance. "I didn't expect to see you here… what's more, in the company of a man. I didn't know you were getting bored of our husband already."

Max had already taken a step forward to smash her face in but Lara held him back. "We both know that Lord Frederick can hardly be called my husband anymore."

Kara chuckled. "But you are still married to him. Try to show some restraint so that your actions don't rub off badly on the reputation of our family that my boy struggled to rebuild after your useless child ruined everything."

Max's body shuddered for a moment before he took a deep breath, calming the raging emotions he felt.

He knew that getting angry wasn't smart thus he forced his grievances down for the time being. As he threw a glance in Kara's direction, he knew that it was not yet the right time to teach the annoying seductress a lesson.