How to Use the Lord’s Future Diary

Chapter 24

Yuria McBane.

She was the youngest daughter of Cain McBane, the master of the Level Merchant Group, and she had been involved in merchant business since she was young.

Actively engaging in trade, she had earned recognition for securing great profits in several deals, and her reputation had spread widely throughout the Levelium region.

If she had been born a son, there were even talks that she would have become the next master of the Merchant Group, which showed just how capable she was.

But what was even more famous than her ability was her appearance.

Her beauty was known not only throughout Levelium but even in the southern provinces.

In a few territories where she personally traveled for trade, it was said that the lords themselves had proposed marriage to her.

Even after rejecting all those proposals, extravagant gifts continued to flood into the Merchant Group, proving that her reputation was no trivial matter.

And now, that very Yuria McBane was sitting right in front of me.

The guide from the Merchant Group had directly led me here.

It was quite impressive.

Did she have many people of her own within the Group?

Or was their intelligence network so sharp that they could immediately identify and report the identity and purpose of a person who had just passed through the castle gates?

Whatever the case, I had to admit she was competent.

‘Her beauty is equally impressive.’

Her height was around the mid-to-late 160s.

That was slightly taller than the average woman of this era, but her long legs made her appear even taller.

The silk dress with its somewhat daring side slit accentuated her charm, and the way she sat with her legs crossed exuded an alluring elegance.

The finishing touch was, of course, her face.

Slightly upturned eyes, with a delicate beauty mark under her left eye.

And with features so finely arranged, it was easy to understand why men trailed after her.

She had the look of a truly beautiful cat-like face—or rather, perhaps closer to that of a fox.

Either way, she was an extraordinary beauty.

Had she lived in modern times, she would have at least been an actress by default.

Her demeanor and atmosphere were just as striking.

Her refined posture gave her an air of dignity, but in the small gestures—the way she crossed her legs or tucked her hair behind her ear with her fingertips—there was an unmistakable touch of sensuality.

Perhaps it was a natural coquettishness?

She didn’t seem to be doing it consciously, but rather, it was simply in her nature.

A natural-born master of flirting? In any case, she was an amusing woman.

-Indeed, no wonder the master fell for her. In all my life, I have rarely seen such a beauty.

‘Not me, Iron. It’s my first time meeting her. The fake, though, was slightly lacking. The appearance was nearly identical, but in terms of atmosphere, the real one was the clear victor.’

-So, does that mean you are not captivated?

‘Well, how many men could possibly dislike a woman like her?’

It was with such a face that she seduced Iron—of course he would have fallen.

Even if the fake had only partially captured the real thing, Iron still wouldn’t have been able to handle her.

That face alone was a scam.

Such beauty couldn’t be common. Just how did they even find such a substitute?

Perhaps the person who had planned my marriage scam was far more formidable than I had imagined.

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“That’s right. But you yourself are welcoming me?”

“Ah, since Sir Iron of Johnson Territory was personally coming, I decided to move myself. It’s not as if we’re strangers.”

“I see. Originally, I was planning to meet with the Merchant Master first.”

“He’s busy in his own way. As for Johnson Territory’s matters, they can be settled with me. Rather than going in circles, isn’t it better for both of us to speak directly with the one handling the work?”

“That’s true.”

Perhaps it was due to her position.

She looked so accustomed to giving orders, and her casual speech came far too naturally.

Yet, paired with her unique aura and dignified presence, it didn’t feel unpleasant at all.

Normally, when dealing with the lord of a territory, the formal speech was expected.

But I wasn’t the type to be overly particular about such things, so I didn’t bring it up.

Besides, we weren’t too far apart in age, and technically, this wasn’t even our first meeting.

In fact, it almost felt more convenient this way.

If she was speaking casually, then I would simply speak casually as well.

“So why have you come personally? We usually handled trade by visiting Johnson Territory ourselves.”

“Well, there was that incident in the past.”

“Ah, you mean that discourtesy?”

“I merely responded to discourtesy with discourtesy. Why did that incident even happen? The reason was obvious, so let’s not try to dance around it.”

“Hehh, is that so? You’re smarter than I thought. Back then, you didn’t seem like it.”

She was indeed an interesting woman.

When Iron had come to demand the return of his runaway wife, that had certainly been discourteous.

And as a merchant, she too was probing, picking at only the parts that were favorable to herself.

But the incident had most likely been a scheme targeting her rather than me, and she must have realized it as well.

By pointing it out, I let her know that I had guessed as much, and in doing so, I reset the tilted scale back to balance.

‘Since the subject has come up, I should settle this matter first before moving on.’

After wetting my throat with the tea she had poured, I brought up that past incident.

It felt necessary to clear it up before a proper transaction could begin.

“That matter back then. It didn’t feel like a scheme aimed only at me. You must already know that much, so don’t you have something to tell me?”

“Hm…”

My blunt words made her brows furrow slightly, as if recalling something unpleasant.

Tapping the table lightly with her fingers, she thought for a moment before slowly nodding.

“Well, you were indeed a party to it.”

And thus, her story began.

It wasn’t too different from what I had already expected.

But it contained details that I couldn’t have known.

“First of all, I’m the one in charge of all dealings with Johnson Territory. Every bit of profit from there is entirely thanks to me.”

“Really? Our territory can’t be that great of a business partner.”

“That’s not true. I’ve gained considerable profit from trading with you.”

“Is that so? From what, exactly?”

“Potions. The potions from your territory fetch a very high premium.”

“Ah, is that so?”

This I hadn’t known.

That the potions from our territory were being sold for such high prices?

‘Come to think of it, didn’t Dr. Nickel mention something like this before? That potions made in our territory were sold at high prices in other regions. Turns out, it wasn’t just “a little expensive.”’

-So those potions are made by that sharp-eyed male? He’s at least earning his keep.

Peter, that guy—perhaps he was an even greater alchemist than I had thought.

‘If he’s that skilled, I should give him more work.’

-…Master, are you a thug? This is the kind of thing where you give a reward.

‘Wouldn’t more work count as a reward? That guy’s practically a workaholic.’

Since Peter was the absolute powerhouse when it came to potions, maybe I should assign him a project on potion refinement?

Now that the food shortage had been resolved, he must have more free time.

I pictured Peter ecstatic over being swamped with work, and continued listening attentively to her story.

“But then why?”

“Because there’s someone who isn’t happy about me gaining achievements through Johnson Territory. The hand behind that incident belonged to that person.”

“Ah, I see. But was it really something worth going that far over?”

“Well, beyond that is just family business on my side. Anyway, this time I got hit pretty hard. They even managed to win over some of the people under me. See? Humans really can’t be trusted. I thought I had treated them decently.”

“Is that so? By any chance, that caravan that brought in the fake back then……”

“Yeah, the merchant who led that caravan vanished right after that trip.”

“Bribed. Or had the evidence erased.”

So there really was a problem inside the merchant group.

Even the merchant who introduced me to the fake had been bought by the other side.

‘That makes the pieces fit together, roughly. But…….’

If someone within the Level Merchant Group had really tried to use the marriage scam to pit me against Yuria, then why did they try to assassinate me?

Was it because, since I had stepped back instead of colliding with Yuria, I no longer had any use?

No, then what was with the mine?

“There’s been an assassination attempt recently.”

“Assassination? That can’t be.”

“You don’t know anything about it on your end?”

“Nothing. It’s probably not from our side. They’re not the type to take such bold action. And besides, that side is more interested in snatching deals with Johnson Territory. Killing you wouldn’t let them steal a deal, would it?”

“That’s true. But their purpose of setting me against them has already failed. Besides, I stepped back quietly and avoided trouble. They might bear a grudge against me for that, don’t you think?”

“Maybe. But there’s been no such movement. If nothing else, I keep thorough track of those kinds of things.”

“So you weren’t just taking it lying down.”

Well, if they were behind my assassination, then there’d be no reason for such a strange order as collapsing the mine.

I asked just in case, but it seemed the Level Merchant Group wasn’t behind my attempted assassination after all.

“I’ll tell you this as a reference—the ones behind my assassination tried to collapse the mine that was being developed back then.”

“That? What’s there?”

“Nothing. That’s why it’s strange.”

“That is strange. But I don’t know anything about it either. I’ll keep it in mind just in case.”

So that was about the extent of it.

What I learned was that within the Level Merchant Group, there was a faction opposing Yuria.

That faction had joined hands with another faction to stage the marriage scam, and this still-unknown faction had ordered my assassination and the mine collapse.

The true goal of this faction remained unclear.

‘The best I can do is crush that faction opposing Yuria? At least then I might find out who they’re working with. This is going to be such a headache.’

Opposing Yuria meant it was probably about the matter of succession within the merchant group, right?

That meant it was her siblings—but could I really just recklessly beat down such powerful figures?

Besides, would they have been honest about their identities while pulling this off?

Why, even in cooperative relationships, it wasn’t uncommon to hide one’s identity and just shake hands.

And if they even prepared a fake Yuria, then they must be quite the formidable group as well.

‘Ah, why am I even worrying about this?’

Was there any reason I needed to know why those people tried to collapse that mine?

The assassination attempt was irritating, sure, but even me transmigrating into Iron was Iron’s own fault, if you thought about it.

He drank himself into a stupor even while knowing an assassination attempt was likely.

Considering the atmosphere of Johnson Territory, assassinations weren’t exactly easy to pull off here. Maybe I should just ignore it and focus on my own business.

-You seem unsettled, Master.

‘You’re right. I feel very unsettled. I smell trouble.’

Hmm, this wouldn’t do.

The more I dug, the more it felt like I’d uncover nothing but ghost stories.

I had the feeling that if I kept probing, more bothersome things would keep coming up.

Why should I bother with such trouble, just to gain some empty glory?

Since the assassination attempt wasn’t even aimed at me personally, all I felt was annoyance rather than any sense of danger.

After all, as long as one kept their wits, assassinations were impossible here, in our Johnson Territory.

With almost no outsiders allowed in, strangers were immediately noticeable—what assassination?

It was only because Iron had abandoned his duties, drowned himself in drink, and let the territory fall into disorder that such a thing had even been possible.

‘Alright, self-justification complete.’

-Master, that’s pathetic.

After settling my thoughts, I finally brought up the real matter: business.

In the end, the most important thing was the trade between the Level Merchant Group and Johnson Territory.

“Then I’ll trust you to handle that man who’s been troubling me, and let’s get to talking about our deal.”

“Oh-ho, a deal? Do we even have anything new to discuss? This shipment you brought will be traded as usual, and you’ll prepare the goods as in previous years, won’t you?”

“That’s not quite right. This time, we’re handling the transport. You’ll have to cut the delivery fee.”

“…Tch. You really are a nuisance, aren’t you?”

What nonsense.

Did she know how outrageous transport fees could get?

Merchants really were all swindlers.

“And there’s something else this time.”

“Something else?”

“Yeah. Call in my knight commander waiting outside. Have him bring the goods.”

“What did you bring, to make you say it like that? Should I be looking forward to this?”

Yes, look forward to it. You’ll probably be shocked.

I, too, waited expectantly for Rudick to bring the goods, curious to see how this woman would react.