I'm Trying To Go Broke, So Why Do I Keep Getting Richer?!-Chapter 172: So this is where you were

"You don’t have to look so nervous. I didn’t call this meeting to declare the next Patriarch of the Family. That decision will still take place tomorrow, as per tradition."

The Family Head was the first person to break the silence, his hand words catching a lot of people off guard.

If this wasn’t the meeting to declare the next leader, then for what purpose was this meeting taking place during the banquet? Many had the same question.

"The reason I called this meeting is to inform you about another matter of importance..." The old man said, his voice falling sharply in everyone’s ears.

Even though he was old, his voice felt like that of a middle aged man, with great clarity.

"How many of you have heard about the Arcadia Empire?" he asked, only to be greeted by the confused expressions of the descendants.

None of them had heard about the Arcadia Empire. It meant it was either part of a high planet that they didn’t know much about, or it was too insignificant to be known by them.

"I am disappointed that you idiots lack even such basic knowledge that can help our family. At this point, I wonder if even a single amongst you is capable of leading the family after me," The old patriarch’s expressions darkened in disappointment.

Just then, the Eldest Grandson, and the person said to be leading the succession race, raised his head.

"Grandfather, are you talking about the Arcadia Empire of Sector Sixty-Eight?" he asked. "I heard a few things about them, especially about their financial difficulties..."

"Oh? Interesting. It seems some of you are still capable. That’s right, I’m talking about the Arcadia Empire, the oldest middle tier planet in existence..."

"During my time, it was said that the Arcadia Empire was fierce to be reckoned with. It was said that it was extremely close to raise their planet’s status to a high planet, before everything fell apart."

"At this point, it’s no less than a fragment of its glorious past. Still... Arcadia Empire... can be useful to the Family. So I want the Lionel Family to take over the Empire!"

"You mean you want us to go to war with them?" Quite a few family members gasped in shock.

They were bankers. They played with money. Although they were also powerful, but still, they had never waged a war.

"We might not have to wage a war at all. I wouldn’t have brought it up if that was necessary."

He brought out multiple files that were in physical form. And shared them with the family members.

"The King of Arcadia has died. The three princes are in a succession battle to take over the Empire. Do you understand what I’m saying?" The old man smiled.

His words couldn’t be more clear. The Lionel family had decided to enter the succession battle, to take over the Empire without waging a war.

They simply had to select a candidate that they were going to help. Once their candidate won, they could control the entire empire from the shadows.

"The recent incident made me realize that although we have money, it’s not enough to protect the long term growth of the family. We need to make the Lionel Family a name that even the High Planets would be considerate towards."

"Arcadia Empire will be the first step towards that domination. So I want to hear your opinion. Which do you think we should support?"

The Family Head directly asked everyone about their onions. However, everyone knew that it wasn’t truly the case.

The family head had already decided on a name. He was probably asking this question as a test, to see which descendant’s thoughts directly matched with his thoughts.

Although the right answer might not bring them to the seat of a successor, it should definitely increase their odds.

The family members immediately started going through the files.

They went through the details of the princes, only to realize that something was wrong.

The Family Head said that the succession battle was between three princes. But they could see that there were four princes in the file that were over eighteen.

Did the fourth prince step out of the race already? They wondered, but only after they went through his details, did they realize what had happened.

The fourth prince was truly more or less out of the race. Before the King even died, he had already exiled his youngest son for almost bankrupting his domain with his strange policies.

The youngest prince had long since been exiled from the home planet. He was given a low tier planet in his domain, and left to rot there.

That’s why the competition was between the first three princes.

"I believe we should support the first Prince. He has more legitimacy!"

"No, the second prince has the support of more people. His mother is also the current queen!"

"I believe we should support the third prince. Since he neither had the eldest title, nor support of the royal court, we can easily influence him."

One after another, everyone started expressing their opinions, and the family head heard carefully.

It was only then, that there was a knock on the door

A disturbance when everyone knew that an important meeting was taking place, spoiled his mood.

Still, he raised his hand to make everyone go silent. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Come inside..." he said, and the door opened.

"Apologies, Master. I know that I’m not allowed to disturb you, and I will gladly accept my punishment later. It’s just that... It’s something important. There are a few unexpected guests that want to meet you."

"Unexpected guests? If you thought it was a good enough reason to interrupt me, they must be important. Who are they?"

The Patriarch didn’t blame the butler. After all, he knew that his men weren’t fools.

"It’s..." The Butler opened his mouth, but before he could answer, he felt something hit his shoulder.

"Ah, so this is the meeting place. It’s not half bad." Leo walked past the butler, entering the meeting room.