[#CreativeAward2026 Romance Novel Category] "Snake God Mama, Saved by the Dying Baron." Episode 05: "Brothers, Sisters, and Family"

<<Episode 05 Main Text>>

It was truly sudden when Baron Sariel, the fourth son of a prestigious count's family and Lucius's older brother, visited the mansion.

"What is this, what is this? As always, all the furnishings are just cheap junk. Lucius, you really have no eye for quality!"
"That hits home, brother."

Even faced with the bowl-cut man who was belittling him with a high-pitched voice that echoed throughout the mansion, Lucius showed no sign of changing his expression. On the contrary, he even gave a wry smile as if to say he was already used to it.

"And flowers in the entrance? This isn't a commoner's house; you should at least display a couple of paintings or something! This is why you don't understand what it means to be a noble!"
"My wife has been suffering from insomnia."
Lucius said calmly while following his brother.

"I've placed aromas and herbs throughout the house so she can always feel a sense of healing. I apologize if it bothers you."
"Wife? Oh, that's right, you had the audacity to get married, so I came all the way here to check what kind of person she is. I almost wasted my time. Tell me sooner!"

"What... what is with that guy..."

While secretly watching the situation from the shadows, Lamia couldn't suppress her inner irritation. Why on earth didn't Lucius talk back? Since she started living with Lucius, this was the first time Lamia had seen a noble other than him. Therefore, she honestly couldn't tell which of them, Lucius or Sariel, was standard compared to the general noble class.

However, if she were to give her own personal opinion, it seemed to her that the older brother, Sariel, was far inferior in character to his younger brother, Lucius. Besides, for brothers, they didn't look anything alike, let alone share the same personality. It was hard to find any common ground between the pale, average-looking, ugly man and Lucius.

"Lamia, I'm sorry you're tired, but could you show your face to brother Sariel?"

Called out, Lamia hesitated for a moment but reluctantly appeared before Lucius and the others. Sariel, who had likely been bracing himself to say something, gasped and stood frozen the moment he actually saw Lamia.

"...H-hmpf. I see, it seems you at least have an eye for women, after all?"
"I am Lamia, Lucius's wife."

Lamia said this, straightened her back, and stood before him with as heavy and solemn a demeanor as possible, trying to look down on Sariel as much as she could. Faced with her, not only did the insults Sariel had likely prepared fail to come out, but he seemed intimidated, and his already small stature appeared to shrink even further.

"|Brother|, it seems my husband is in your care for various things."
"I-I am honored to have been able to meet such a beautiful noblewoman as yourself."
"...?"
"Lamia, your hand."

When Sariel suddenly knelt and looked up at her meaningfully, Lamia was confused, so Lucius whispered to her from the side. Come to think of it, she remembered there was a noble custom of having someone kiss your hand. But honestly, Lamia wasn't in the mood. Why did she have to let a guy like this touch her...?

"...Lamia, please."
Since he insisted, Lamia had no choice but to offer her hand and allowed Sariel's lips to touch it for just a fleeting moment. However, immediately after,

"Ouch!?"
Sariel screamed and jumped back, leaving Lucius wide-eyed, not understanding what had happened.

"Are you alright, brother?"
"Ouch, ouch... What is this, my lips are chapped... Damn it, it must be because I put too much spice on my lunch!"

Looking closely, Sariel's lips were indeed slightly inflamed on both the top and bottom. Seeing Lamia snort, Lucius realized what had happened, sent his brother to the washroom, and returned to Lamia with a troubled look on his face.

"Lamia, I suspect this is your doing. What did you do?"
"I gave him a little numbing poison from the tip of my nail. Don't worry, it's not a serious poison. It'll heal if you leave it for two or three days."
"If my brother's attitude bothered you, I'll apologize."
Lucius said.

"But for today, please just bear with it. Brother Sariel is generally satisfied as long as he's finding fault with me, and he's in a good mood because of it."
"Lucius, you... are you serious?"
Lamia looked at her husband with an expression of disbelief.

"Do you not understand why I am so furious? If that is the case, then I have lost all respect for you."
"What's come over you all of a sudden, Lamia? That doesn't sound like you at all."
"Enough, you fool."

Lamia was so irritated by the visible confusion on Lucius's face that she turned her back on him and left her husband behind, heading up the stairs alone.

Yes, they were, after all, a couple in name only. Lucius was likely correct in what he was saying. In truth, she probably had no reason to be angry at all.
And yet, the fact that Lamia was actually boiling with such rage—what could that possibly mean? That realization only served to irritate her even further.

* * *

"Well now, I apologize for the scene I caused earlier."

As Lamia was sulking by the window in the second-floor hallway, the bowl-cut idiot noble came following after her. Lamia glared at him, her eyes landing on the ugly, badly swollen lips of the man. She thought it would have been better if she had just melted him away without a trace.

"Was it Lady Lamia, was it? It must be quite inconvenient to live in such a rural backwater, must it not? How about this? Why don't you come visit my territory sometime? I shall provide you with the finest hospitality, incomparable to this place."
"That is a kind offer. But unfortunately, I have grown quite fond of this country life."
Lamia dismissed Sariel with a tone dozens of times colder than she realized.

"I have no intention of leaving here for the time being. Besides, I was raised in the countryside myself, and I do not care for crowded places."
"But surely, Lucius is not very attentive, is he?"
Sariel continued to press the issue.

"I would promise you treatment that cannot be compared to a man like that. Honestly, I cannot understand why a noble lady such as yourself would choose someone like Lucius. Could it be that he has some sort of leverage over you?"
"Brother, are you perhaps,"
Lamia said with a sneer.

"thinking that you are more suitable for me than Lucius? That is quite a lot of confidence you have. Indeed, it is true that I have some leverage held over me by Lucius."
"I knew it! That Lucius, how unforgivable!"

"But that leverage is the two small children I had with my previous husband. Did you not know? I heard it is rumored everywhere that he is an eccentric noble who married a widow with children, did I not?"

The moment he heard that, she could see Sariel visibly recoil in shock. That agitation stimulated Lamia's sadistic impulses, and she pressed her advantage as if she had gained momentum.

"Lucius is very good to the children. He is just like a real father to them. In fact, he is so considerate of us that he has not even forced himself upon me for the night. What a commendable spirit. Now, brother, how about you? Do you have that much resolve?"
"Ah... that... what is he thinking? That is beyond common sense..."

"When Lucius whispers of love, his actions always come first. But it seems,"
Lamia looked down at Sariel with haughty disdain and declared.

"that is not the case for you, brother?"
"W-wait. In that case, I shall give you a gift. A special one!"
"Oh?"

Sariel began rummaging through his clothes in a panic, but Lamia was mocking him inwardly. Did he really think her heart would be swayed by the treasures or trinkets of a mere human at this point?

"Look at this, a necklace of a snake demon!"

—Lamia's mind went blank in an instant.

"It is a war trophy made by the Margrave of the Western Frontier, who killed a Barbaroi demon—something you can only get in parts of the Royal Capital! When I heard that they had dismantled their ugly bodies and beautifully crafted their fangs and bones, my heart trembled..."

Lamia could not hear another word of what Sariel was saying. Of all things, this foolish noble was showing off an item that was the height of dignity-denial, made by killing a snake god—who was akin to Lamia's own brothers and sisters—and desecrating its remains.

Her breath hitched, and her heart began to race. The horrific final moments of her previous husband, who had been exposed to a rain of arrows and burned to death by fire, flashed through Lamia's mind. Everything began to lose its meaning—.

“—Brother Sariel, I’m sorry, but—”
Lucius, who had arrived before she knew it, grabbed the wrist of his brother, who was flaunting the necklace, and spoke as if to cut in.

“Lamia doesn't seem to be feeling well. Could you please leave for today?”
“What is it, Lucius? Did you realize you can only provide a miserable life and get anxious? That’s just like you, Lucius; you’ve always been like this since you were young…”
“Just get out of here, Brother!”

Lamia snapped back to reality. It was truly the first time since they started living together that she had heard Lucius’s voice filled with such anger.

“Your pathetic pride and vanity aren't worth a single thing compared to Lamia’s feelings! If you understand that, get out of our house now!”
“Who do you think you’re talking to, you thief!”

Far from being intimidated, Sariel turned his pale face bright red as if he had been enraged, and glared back at Lucius. The two barons, who shared blood but looked nothing alike, locked intense gazes for the first time that day.

“You base-born wretch! You’re just someone who was picked up out of Father’s mercy, you don’t know your place!”
After Sariel had insulted Lucius as much as he could, he continued to wear a hateful expression for a while even after he ran out of words, and finally, with his shoulders hunched in anger, he left the mansion.

“…………I’m sorry, Lamia.”
After a long silence, Lucius said.

“I shouldn’t have let him come here.”
“Why are you apologizing…”
“Lamia, I…”

Lamia clung to Lucius’s back as he tried to turn away, burying her face into him. Before long, stifled sobs filled the hallway, and even when Gor and Gon came to peek at the scene anxiously, Lamia could not stop her sobbing.

Lamia’s mind was a mess. She had been forced to witness the reality of the dignity of the Snake Tribe being trampled upon all over again. She was devastated that Lucius was being looked down upon by a piece of trash who wasn't even worth comparing him to, and that even he had accepted it. Too many terrible things had happened in quick succession.

Even so, there was one thing Lamia was certain of. She was truly cursed now. From the day they exchanged kisses, Lucius had become a part of her. If he was hurt, Lamia was hurt, and if he was insulted, Lamia felt it as if it were her own.

Lamia had placed such a curse upon herself…

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