Reborn as the Villain in a Romance Fantasy

"Hey, isn't that a kid? He looks too young to be participating in this competition. Is that even allowed?"

The crowd went wild when they saw Layla's thin, small figure clad in armor and stepping into that arena. They all had only one thought - this kid was done for.

As such, these people did not know whether they felt mercy for Layla or if they wanted to see what she could do. But one thing she did know- her disguise had fooled the audience into thinking that she was an ordinary boy who came here to participate in this competition.

"Tsk, so you are my first competition? I am sorry, but you should prepare to be crushed by the mighty me. I will show you what defeat tastes like."

By some twist of fate, Layla's first opponent was that loud-mouthed man from before. The man looked pissed that he had to face someone like Layla in the first round.

Perhaps he felt that Layla's presence threatened his manliness and that beating up a kid was not his style. But this man was mistaken about Layla.

There was only one prey in this competition, and Layla was not it.

While the duo in the arena stared each other down, the audience had a different reaction.

Adam, especially, looked interested in this match, and his face looked amused as he glared down at the arena.

"Isn't this match too one-sided? Did you draw these matches with the help of a paper or luck? Or was it all pre-planned?"

Adam asked as he looked down at the match. His words made the lord sweat bullets of fear and suspicion.

He had personally drawn these matches to make them as interesting as possible. Some of these people had also bribed him to make their brackets easier than others.

The bulky man in the ring had been the second type. He might look powerful, but it was well-known that his only strength was his physical powers. And that was not enough to win here.

But since he was a 'big-shot' who wanted to show off and establish himself, this man had spent much money to make himself stand out. Not only that, but this man had also asked for an easy match.

So, it had been decided that the most inexperienced person here would fight the man.

'Shit! I made a mistake. If I knew this would happen, I would have chosen an opponent a little more powerful than this kid. How do I salvage the situation now?'

Despite how he felt inside, the leader took deep breaths to calm himself down and tell Adam what he thought.

"Huh? What do you mean by that, sir? These brackets were all up to chance. I feel sorry for that kid for getting knocked out during the first round, but I am afraid it is all fate's trick.

It loves to mess around with people. Plus, the sooner you learn that there are people stronger than you, the quicker you will adapt to this world, right?"

The man tried to smile, but his mouth felt dry. He felt faint and ready to collapse.

"Oh! Is that so? But when did I say I was talking about the disadvantaged kid? As far as I can tell, that kid might be the most powerful person here. Can you call for him to meet us all alone?

I might have a business offer for that kid."

The leader felt his jaw slack at those words.

Even him, as the leader of this town, had never received an offer like this before. But that kid suddenly got the offer just because he showed up and stood in the ring? It was unfair, and the leader felt his insides burn in jealousy.

His angry eyes looked down at the ring, but he knew he could do nothing about this.

These people had not chosen him, so he could only follow the role they had given him.

"Of course, Lord Adam. We can let this match finish, and then I will send someone to call for the kid to come and meet us. I am sure the kid would also be delighted to meet you."

That was what the man promised, and before he knew it, the match was over.

As Adam had prophesied, the young kid did not take long to knock out his opponent, and the crowd cheered in amazement.

The lord signaled a servant to come to him and ordered them to bring the kid to this stand. He wanted the kid to go here as fast as possible.

The man looked happy on the outside, but his jealousy burned him inside. He wanted to kill something, but he breathed a sigh of relief and controlled his emotions.

'There is no point in thinking about all this. First, I need to know how that kid impressed Lord Adam. And once I know, I can get rid of the kid and take his place.'

Adam flashed the local lord an amused look, his eyes almost laughing at the local lord for having ridiculous thoughts. His look made the local lord cringe in shame and regret, but the man knew he needed to keep his cool and show that he felt unaffected by that man.

The guard looked at the pair and shook his head. He knew that something was going on between his lord and this man, but he also knew it was better not to ask such questions if he wanted to keep his head intact.

Whatever his boss was planning, he was not concerned about. The guard quickly went to the area's back, where people were gathered.

The kid who defeated the string-looking man suddenly became a topic of surprise and conversation. People pointed at him in wonder, but no one approached him to ask him how he did it.

Everyone treated him like she was an abomination they wanted to get away from, and Layla felt that it was fitting for her to be treated like this.