"Please don't cling on me too much, Professor." Harker asked politely for the nth time already.
"Hm? Why not?"
Harker's eye twitched. "Your sweaty breasts are making my arm sticky. It's already stuffy here as is."
The annoying professor chuckled."But it's fine since you're gay anyway, right? It's not like my generous, supple breasts would have any effect on you. And if anyone asks questions, just tell them I'm your mom or supportive auntie to the queers."
"Whether I am gay or not, I still have the right to my personal space." Harker eventually yanked his arm away and stomped off.
Professor Seward laughed heartily as she tried to catch up. "Oh come on, Harker! I'm just teasing you here. Also, didn't we agree to stroll together to jog my memory of my own hometown? Don't go leavin' me behind in these woods!"
Harker wished he just decided to take a compass and follow it wherever to look for the house. That's much better. Or maybe he could look for a soothsayer and ask for a divination. That's good too. Anything but this.
Even though Professor Seward no longer does her joke-flirting with him, she still likes to tease as usual. Harker was thankful he really didn't have an auntie like this, or much worse, an older sister. Their age gap was just 16 years after all. He probably would have lost his mind if he had an older sibling like this Joan.
"How long has it been since your family moved from this place?" Harker asked.
"A long while." Professor Seward went to touch the abdomen of one of the statues of a Powhatan chieftain.
Harker made a face. "How long ago is 'a long while'?"
"Don't you think the craftsmanship in these statues is just sublime, Harker? I mean look at these details…. There's even a bulge on the goatskin clothing for the phallus!" She exclaimed.
Harker did his best to maintain his patience, recalling one of those mantras in the mindfulness books he studied so he could remember his dreams relating to An Xin. It wasn't as effective as he thought though, or maybe he just lacks years and years of practice.
Still, he's holding on pretty well with all these professor's shenanigans, and everyone else would probably be at their limit here.
"Professor Seward, please answer my question. It's the only reason why you're here. If you can't help me, you're free to go back to New York—"
"I've always wondered. Is your type the more muscular or the more leaner side? Because your boyfriend does look like a dandy, but he's not exactly noodle-limbed either. It's like a proper balance in between. So does he have abs and good biceps too under those slick clothes?"
Harker gritted his teeth. "Please don't drag Roland into this, we're here to talk about your sister, Victoria—"
"Oh, so Roland was his name. I thought it was Minnie or something. Was it a nickname? Anyway, Roland's a fitting name, like that French song from the Medieval ages." She chuckled.
Professor Seward continued caressing the statue despite the kids passing by giving her weird looks. "That Roland is good at blowing a horn to alarm the army, is your Roland good at blowing your horn too?"
Harker was losing it. "I have no idea what song you're talking about or blowing horns. But I'm about to blow off from this arrangement if you don't stop asking very personal questions—"
"Did my sister kill his parents?"
Her expression became more serious this time, almost eager, even. Those piercing green eyes surrounded that very dark pupil of hers that was like a bottomless void. Despite her playfulness, they seemed to have seen things Harker had never seen, or possibly never will.
He thought about how to respond to this for a moment. Just lost in those eyes.
"No." Harker eventually said. "It wasn't Victoria. But you have to tell me what you heard that night for me to explain."
"I heard that he was searching for someone that killed his parents, and that you didn't want him to go. That's it. I even heard you desperately ask him to kiss you." Professor Joan fixed her sunglasses. "Kids these days can say really sappy things."
"That's all? You didn't hear anything else?" Harker said, thinking if he should use the Enhanced Succubus Ability to make sure she's not lying.
But that also meant that she would pass out and would realize that looking at him made her pass out. That's why he does not use the skill often.
"That's all, I felt like I was going to vomit from all the cheesy lines. So I went to take the cab." Professor Seward shrugged. "Look, I may be nosy, but I'm harmless and I know where to draw the line. It's your own business. But it involves my sister somehow, and I still have questions I want to be answered."
"Like what?" Harker asked.
"Like why you're looking for her in the first place, if she didn't kill your boyfriend's parents."
"She didn't kill them, but she did us wrong. That's why we're looking for her. We're also trying to stop her from doing something dangerous."
"Like what?" It was Professor Seward's turn to ask that.
"Like possibly getting a lot of people killed. How do you feel about that?"
They were both being vague with each other, and they were aware of it and the current air of distrust they have. Still, Harker and Professor Seward knew each other for years now and could tell that they were not really the malicious and deceitful type.
In fact, they think of each other as someone who wears their hearts on their sleeves. It was just that they were both being cautious to hide some things for now.
"If Victoria is planning to do something like that, then I won't stop you." Professor Seward said. "I don't care if you get her in jail or anything like that. But I would also prefer it if you give me the chance to talk her out of it."
Professor Seward took off her straw hat. "I know that it's unlikely for her to listen to me though, out of all people. My sister and I didn't part on good terms. Still…. I want to do something, since I still consider her as family and I owe her. A lot. Most of my life, even."
Harker's expression softened at this. Even though he finds her disagreeable, it turned out that Professor Seward was just like him after all. They both value their families, even though Joan and Victoria had their own disputes in the past.
"Alright, I'll let you do that. But for now, I would like you to focus on finding your old house." Harker said.
Professor Seward nodded. "I know. We are getting nearer, though. I wasn't observing this hunky chieftain for no reason."
She pointed to where the chieftain was pointing.
"This place is getting more and more familiar. I think we should go after that trail deeper into the woods, and we might have to hike far away from civilization."
They began the hike with the bodyguards ensuring their safety from any possible threats. Soon, they reached the ruins of what seemed to be a very old mansion.
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