You’ll Regret Stealing Him from Me — My Sister Who Took My Fiancé and Celebrated Was a Fool - Chapter 17

Isabella had caused a complete disaster.

Several days had passed since then, but instead of calming down, the situation only continued to worsen. The backlash from all sides was relentless.

A mountain of letters from nobles piled up on my desk.

Every time I opened one, my stomach twisted. From morning till night, the butler brought in new letters, each one adding to the growing heap.

“This party was an unprecedented disgrace.”

“You have tarnished the dignity of the ducal house.”

“I shall never attend another event hosted by your family.”

“You will compensate for the ruined dresses, I presume?”

Each one was filled with harsh words. With every letter I read, my headache grew worse.

Condemnation, protests, complaints and demands for compensation. The sheer amount of money being demanded was staggering. Just tallying up the sums made me dizzy.

The most painful letter came from one of high society’s most influential figures.

“The House of Vandering should be a model for high society, yet the careless mismanagement of this event was utterly unacceptable. To fail so spectacularly in ensuring the safety of your guests, it is unprecedented. Where was the sense of responsibility befitting a ducal house?”

The sender was a well-connected figure in society, meaning their opinion would spread like wildfire.

“When Lady Seraphina was your fiancée, such incidents never occurred. Every event was flawlessly executed, with meticulous attention to the guests’ comfort. There was a growing belief in society that Lady Isabella was the superior choice that she was the true genius, and her sister had stolen credit for her accomplishments. But now, it is clear that was a grave mistake. To have believed such rumors was foolish, utterly, spectacularly foolish.”

They had to bring up Seraphina.

That was what angered me most. It was as if they were outright declaring that my judgment had been wrong.

I slammed the letter onto the desk, the paper rustling as it landed atop the others.

Isabella was supposed to be the talented one. The pitiable younger sister, robbed of her rightful recognition. The woman with true brilliance, forced to live in her sister’s shadow. That was why I had chosen her. That was why I had saved her.

And yet how had it come to this?

My judgment should have been correct. Isabella was capable. Seraphina had stolen her achievements.

But the result was this.

I picked up the report the butler had brought. It detailed the total expenses incurred from the disastrous party. The numbers made my head spin.

The party costs alone had slightly exceeded the budget but that was still within acceptable limits.

Then came the compensation for the guests’ ruined dresses. Dozens of expensive gowns, each custom-made and worth thousands of gold coins. The repair costs for damaged instruments. No, many were beyond repair, requiring outright replacements. Some were century-old masterpieces, their substitutes costing astronomical sums. Then there were the venue repairs. Waterlogged floors needing replacement, destroyed decorations to be remade, ruined carpets.

This was an unforeseen catastrophe.

The headache worsened. Even for a ducal house, these losses were impossible to ignore. They would strain the family finances. If things went poorly, they might even affect the management of our lands.

But worse than the financial loss, far worse was the damage to our reputation.

The prestige of House Vandering. The standing in high society that generations had built. All of it had crumbled overnight.

I was summoned by my father, the current head of House Vandering. No doubt he intended to interrogate me about this disaster. I had braced myself but standing before his office door, my feet felt heavy.

I knocked.

“Enter.”

His voice was low, colder and harsher than usual.

“Roderick.”

His tone was more severe than I had ever heard.

When I entered, my father sat behind his desk with his arms crossed. His expression was icy, unyielding. His eyes burned with anger and disappointment.

“This incident has severely damaged our family’s honor.”

That was the first thing he said. No room for excuses, just cold, final judgment.

“Father, but—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

His gaze was frigid, devoid of any warmth a father might have for his son. Only the cold scrutiny of a man looking at a failure.

“You were the one who insisted on breaking off the engagement with Seraphina and taking her sister as your fiancée. We only allowed it because you argued so vehemently. ‘Isabella is the capable one,’ you said. ‘Her sister stole her achievements.’ You repeated it endlessly.”

I had no rebuttal. It was true, I had persuaded them. I had convinced my parents to annul my engagement to Seraphina.

“You swore Isabella was the competent one. ‘She will elevate the ducal house’s reputation even further,’ you said.”

Each word stabbed into me. Yes, I had said that. I had believed it without question.

“And this is the result?”

He pointed at the stack of compensation demands on his desk.

“…My apologies.”

I bowed my head. There was nothing else I could do.

“Apologies won’t fix this.”

His voice was merciless.

“This was not the judgment of a man fit to lead a ducal house. I may have to reconsider your succession.”

My spine turned to ice. My heart lurched violently.

“F-Father! Surely not—!”

He smiled coldly. There was no warmth in it.

“You made the grave mistake of breaking off the engagement, ruined our standing in society, incurred massive losses, and sullied our family name. And now you say ‘surely not’?”

“But—”

His words fell like a hammer.

“Results are what matter. That is the law of nobility. Those without merit do not deserve their station.”

He had no interest in hearing me out. His decision was already made. Everything hinged on results.

“I deeply apologize.”

“This discussion is over.”

With that, he turned his attention back to his documents. Dismissed, as if I were no longer even in the room.

I left without another word. Even in the hallway, my mind remained blank, unable to process anything.

“Roderick!”

I nearly collided with my mother in the corridor. The moment she saw me, her voice trembled with emotion.

“Why did you let Seraphina go!?”

She was far more direct than my father. There was no calm restraint. Just raw anger and disappointment.

“When she was here, every party was perfect! The guests always praised them, and we could trust her completely! How could you make such a foolish decision!?”

“Mother… At the time, I believed Isabella’s claims.”

“You believed?”

Her voice rose sharply.

“You were the one who insisted it was true! ‘Isabella is the capable one,’ ‘Seraphina stole her achievements’ you said it over and over! We trusted your judgment!”

“But…”

“Choosing that girl was madness! You were wrong!”

Her words lashed at me without mercy.

“Because of you, I’m being treated like a fool! Oh, the humiliation! I can’t even show my face in society!”

“Mother…”

“You were the one who chose Isabella, weren’t you? Then take responsibility! Don’t drag us into your mess!”

With that, she stormed off.

I might lose my inheritance. I was being blamed for choosing Isabella, condemned for damaging the family’s honor.

—But this wasn’t fair.

When I first brought Isabella home, they had praised me. They had believed she would be the one to elevate the family.

“An excellent choice, Roderick.”

“With her, the ducal house’s reputation will soar even higher.”

They had said those things. And now, they pinned all the blame on me.

Just because the outcome was bad, they turned on me completely.

All the responsibility was being forced onto my shoulders.

It was unfair. Unreasonable.

I went to see Isabella.

We needed to talk. We had to figure out what to do next.

I knocked on her door.

“…Come in.”

A frail voice answered. Nothing like her usual bright tone.

When I entered, she was sitting by the window.

She looked nothing like her usual radiant self—small, fragile. Her complexion was pale, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Her hair was disheveled, her dress wrinkled. Normally, her appearance was immaculate. Now, she looked utterly neglected.

Seeing her like that made my chest tighten.

“Lord Roderick…”

She trembled when she saw me, as if afraid.

“I’m so sorry, Lord Roderick.”

Her voice was thick with sorrow. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at me. Her expression was filled with genuine regret, as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

“It’s all my fault. ”

Her voice shook, on the verge of breaking.

—I had intended to scold her.

To tell her everything, my parents’ words, the nobles’ condemnation, the staggering losses. To demand an explanation. Why did this happen? I believed in you.

But seeing her like this, my anger faded.

She was suffering enough. She clearly regretted it. Her exhaustion was proof of that.

It was just one mistake. She had worked hard, I had seen it. During preparations, she had poured her heart into it, coming up with ideas, making plans, directing the staff.

Yes, the result had been disastrous. But she had tried. I knew that.

“Isabella…”

I stepped closer.

“Don’t cry. This isn’t all on you.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at me, fresh tears falling.

“Lord Roderick, you’re so kind even after my failure.”

Her tears made my heart waver.

She was right. Blaming her wouldn’t solve anything.