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May 16, 5 A.M., Kurain Village - Mountain Hut.
“Mmm.” Wright murmured and threw back the quilt. Edgeworth was stroking his thigh and sucking his dick under his blurry eyes. “Had a good sleep?”
“Best in my life.” Edgeworth quickened his pace.
Wright let out a loud gasp and rested his head on the pillow. “I am crazy for you.” He smiled and fiddled with Edgeworth’s hair. “You have two personalities, and I like this one better.”
“Don’t diagnose me without the DSM-5!” Edgeworth kicked him.
“Aw, cute.” Wright chuckled. “You wanna catch some sleep?” He fumbled for his phone on the nightstand, “It’s still dark outside.”
Edgeworth turned his head and watched Wright reading messages. “Any news?”
“Nope. Super peaceful. Oh, a voice message from my daughter.” Wright put on the speaker.
“Daddy, hope you’re having a great holiday there with Mr. Edgeworth and Maya! I just wanna let you know that I submitted my last assignment on time, so don’t worry about me!”
Wright checked the time of the mail and frowned. “Good for you, but next time don’t stay up all night till morning. Not resting well is bad for your body’s growth. You might not grow tall. Got it?” He ended the recording and sent the message.
“She’ll still do it but not let you know next time.” Edgeworth frowned. “Let me have a word with her.”
“Didn’t know you became a psychologist.” Wright gave his phone to Edgeworth.
“Hey, Trucy, your daddy might be a bit harsh, but he really cares about your health. Next time start your work in advance. Optimism is good, but so is careful planning.” Edgeworth hit “send”. “See? You have to offer solutions.”
“Oh, what a considerate daddy.” Wright rolled his eyes.
“Start a partnership with me and let me become one. Think about it. It’s good for three of us.” Edgeworth kissed him. “Come on, wake up. We have plans for today.”
A breeze from the mountains entered the room as Edgeworth got out of bed and opened the window. Wright snuggled into the quilt while his stomach made a noise.
“My god.” Edgeworth shook his head, walked into the living room, and opened the fridge. “We had bread we left over yesterday evening. Nice. I’ll reheat it.“
Wright walked to the back of Edgeworth and hugged him when he turned on the coffee machine. “You look gorgeous when you cook.”
“I look gorgeous all the time.” Edgeworth poured milk into two cups of coffee, put them on the dining table, and looked at his watch. “We wouldn’t be late.”
“Yeah, and I guess Maya won’t, either.” Wright checked his messages as he ate the bread. “Why hasn’t she called us? She told us she was going to be our tour guide today, right? You think she is still sleeping?”
“Perhaps she is. Or she suddenly received urgent requests of channeling people.” Edgeworth took a sip of his coffee, “Better make a call to confirm.”
“Good idea. I’ll do that in a minute.” Wright stood up and headed to the washroom. “The bread is perfect. The exact way I want it to be.”
Edgeworth sniggered while Wright’s phone suddenly began to vibrate. He took a glimpse at the screen and shouted towards the direction of the washroom. “Your call! From Maya!”
“Take it for me!”
Edgeworth pressed the “answer” button. “Maya?”
“Fancy a new client, Mr. Wright?”
“Urr…”
“This is Paul Atishon, who is running for a seat on the local council of Kurain. You are curious about why I am on Maya’s phone, I know.”
“What did she say?” Wright returned and whispered.
“It’s not her, it’s your new client, and he has something to say.” Edgeworth opened the speaker and pressed the record button.
“I need to keep her here for a while, and I have a request for you.”
“If you have a request for me, come to find me and talk to me directly.“ Wright’s smile disappeared. “Maya has nothing to do with this.”
“Really? But I believe she has everything to do with this, considering that she will be the future leader of Kurain. Don’t worry. She is safe, for now.”
“And what is your request?” Wright clenched his fists.
“I want you to represent me in a civil case. A piece of cake for you, the world-renowned attorney.” Atishon snorted, “So? Would you accept it or not?”
“First, I need time to check the details of the case.” Wright took the laptop Edgeworth handed to him, turned it on, and searched for his name.
“No worries, I have sent related files to your email address. Take your time. You have two hours to decide. If I don’t hear from you in two hours, I’ll see that as a ‘no’, and I can’t guarantee Maya will be safe after that. Oh, and she’ll be harmed immediately if you call the police.” Atishon hung up.
“Wait!” Wright lowered his head and buried it in his hands. “It must be the treasure-hunting activity last night, right?”
“Last night,” Edgeworth held his head with his hand, “she was indeed missing for a while. There were too many people on the square, and we thought that she might have already returned to her place since the activity ended, so we left without notifying her.”
“That was the time she was taken, that must be!” Wright slammed the table, “Why didn’t we send her message to confirm! What was I thinking about!”
“Hey.” Edgeworth patted him on the back and took his hands away from his head. “Relax.”
“I can’t relax!” Wright sobbed, “I already lost Mia. How can I lose Maya again!”
“That was not because of your negligence. And this isn’t, either. The result wouldn’t change even if we sent a message to her last night. In fact, something worse might happen if we contacted Atishon yesterday, since humans tend to be more emotional and uncontrollable at night.” Edgeworth created a new text file on his computer. “Come on. You and I will figure this out within two hours. You’ll be fine. I’m here.”
“There is no way we can finish it within two hours.” Wright clicked the files in his email. “Look at the relationships and logic. This is crazy.”
“Where is the confident Nick who can win a case without seeing his client first?” Edgeworth asked. “Atishon is a politician, but he doesn’t know more about laws than you, and he has an election soon, so I bet he doesn’t dare take an extra risk and do anything illegal. I’ve dealt with lots of politicians like him. Have some faith in my judgement.” He held Wright’s hand. “If he dares to harm Maya, I’ll do everything to put the harshest crime on him, and he’ll stay in prison for the rest of his life.”
“Urk.” Wright shivered. “I don’t like the possibility, but thanks for the encouragement.”
“I was kidnapped once,” Edgeworth cleared his throat, “so I have rich experience in such cases.”
“Pffttt.” Wright burst into laughter. “How can I forget about that. Alright. Let’s summarize the available information together.” He sat closer to Edgeworth, “My client wants me to claim that orb belongs to him.”
“That, indeed, sounds like a piece of cake.” Edgeworth browsed the files, “Wait. Do you know who’s the attorney on the other side?” He turned the screen in Wright’s direction.
“Apollo!?” Wright dropped his jaw.
“Tsk. So it’s you competing against yourself.” Edgeworth chuckled.
“Is this even legit?”
“Yes, it is legit. Who would have known.”
“But there will also be a big problem if I win. I’ll lose Apollo. What if he leaves our agency?”
“His performance and decision to remain with the agency have nothing to do with each other. If he really wants to leave for some reason, we can’t stop him no matter what we do.”
“Okay. Urghhh.”
“Just impress him! Like the way you’ve impressed me! You ever think about such a complex possibility when you confronted me in court?”
“Nope. Never.” Wright grinned.
“You hold on for the trial, and I’ll press the royal family. This is a case that involves two countries, so it’s also my duty to pursue a favorable outcome for both parties. ”
“Thanks.” Wright hugged Edgeworth. “I’ll be lost without you. Sorry for ruining our holiday.”
“Don’t be. We’ll always have the next holiday.”
—
May 16, District Court - Hallway.
“Hey Athena!” Apollo took out three tickets from his breast pocket, “Trucy and I have an extra ticket for Frankenstein at Penrose Theater this weekend. Do you wanna come with us?”
“I dunno.” Athena crossed her arms and looked outside the window.
“It’s a great play! I bet you’ll be interested in the relationship between science and human power. The original book is…” Apollo took out his cell phone and searched for the book.
“Gosh, I’m not in the mood now!” Athena struck the vending machine, “Someone might die!”
“Uh, who would that be?” Apollo scratched his head.
“None of your business!” Athena walked into the courtroom.
“Whoa, great team work!” Trucy covered her mouth with her hand.
“What is wrong with her today?” Apollo did a facepalm.
“She might be in her period. Be careful! Or perhaps she just watched a super interesting TV drama yesterday. Come on. Don’t take it personally.” Trucy patted Apollo’s back and entered the courtroom.
“This is too much for me!”Athena murmured and slammed the stand.
“What is?” Edgeworth asked from the gallery.
“Oh, Mr. Edgeworth! I didn’t expect you to be here.” Athena turned her head and widened her eyes, “Nothing! I’ll get used to it. I’ll fake a smile until I win, just like my boss told me!”
“Well, just don’t be too hard on yourself.” Edgeworth scratched his chin. “Or else it is going to hurt.”
“Now you sound like my boss.” Athena grinned.
“I better go and check your boss. It’s not easy for him to win his own protégé.” Edgeworth stood up and walked out of the courtroom.
“How do I look?” Wright came out of the washroom. “I want an honest answer.”
“A bit screwed.” Edgeworth fixed Wright’s hair with his fingers. “But the Judge would love it.”
“Have you seen Apollo? He’s so fucking confident today!”
“So are you. I believe in you. And us.” Edgeworth pecked Wright on his lips. “Come on. Figure this case out quickly. My place tonight. Got some premium props last week.”
“Now I’m getting excited.” Wright sniggered and walked into the courtroom.
“Hmm. ‘Premium props.’ I think I know what they are.” Franziska appeared from the back.
“! Aren’t you supposed to be in Germany now?”
“Hey, this is about Maya and I care about her. Oh, and tell your boyfriend there’s no need to worry. We have solid evidence that Atishon has violated international law.”
“What!? Then why didn’t we settle this before trial?”
“Ah, look at your worrying-about-boyfriend face. So epic.” Franziska chuckled. “This is Wright’s case, so we should let him finish it. And tell me you’re not excited about witnessing him and his amazing subordinates revealing the truth in trial.”
“Well, I can’t say that.”
“You two!” The Judge waved at them on the doorstep, “Come in! We’ll start in a minute and we’re waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Judge!” Franziska smiled and shoved Edgeworth in. “Watch carefully! This will be unparalleled!”
“Nngk!”