IC INBOX | cerealia

[prosecutory]

Good day. This is Miles Edgeworth.

I cannot accommodate you at the moment, but please leave a message and I will respond as soon as possible. 

Comments

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth wants to know what that viscous liquid is. What was that all about? Then again, it probably was just some minor household accident that rendered a jabot imperfect, no longer meeting Manfred's meticulous standards.

He backs down.]

I suppose not. Very well, then.

[fingersnaps]

( Certainly nothing to the extent of being dropped in a cake batter by CERES. Certainly not. )

Good. I can meet you by the government center later tonight. 6 PM. Don't be late.

[prosecutory]

I won't. [The very idea of him being late? Even for an appointment with Manfred von Karma? Perish the thought.

Still, he will file this piece of information away in his memory. Or rather, in his organizer. In case it ends up being much more than a mere accident. After that, Edgeworth will show up as expected, with ten minutes to spare, his saber strapped to his side and his pistol at the back of his waist. He doubts he will have to defend himself against Manfred, but Cerealia was an unpredictable place, and no one deserved the fate of falling victim to its oddities and dangers, no one at all.]

[fingersnaps]

( Manfred arrives five minutes prior to their agreed upon meeting time, and glances dispassionately at Edgeworth once he realizes that the mad had arrived early as well. That expression soon turns into one of bemusement as he gets a better look at the other man, noting the saber, and the pistol. He wonders if Edgeworth always walks around in public like this, or if he considers Manfred a threat.

Either way, it doesn't bother Manfred in the slightest. Edgeworth is unlikely to stab him in front of the goverment center, and they are meeting for a purely transactional matter.

He makes his way over. )

Good, Edgeworth, you're on time. Do you have the cravat?

( Manfred von Karma looks like he's seen better days. The suit he's wearing is a slightly darker shade of blue than his usual courtroom attire, and in between the tour and now, he's had to make do with wearing a bow tie.

A bow tie. No-one deserves this fate. )

[prosecutory]

[He doesn't care much for the look Manfred gives him, probably because he already knows he comes off as ridiculous and paranoid, going around Cerealia well-armed. But Edgeworth is no longer taking any chances, knowing that a quiet city can suddenly erupt into chaos.

But the bow tie...his eyes widen at the sight of Manfred von Karma wearing, of all things, a bow tie. That catches his attention far more than the subtle change in the older prosecutor's favorite shade of blue, and in fact Edgeworth finds himself staring at the bow tie for a second before blinking, and remembering his manners as well as why he's even here in the first place. Certainly not to question Manfred's new dress sense. Edgeworth would be a hypocrite, he's starting to collect bow ties himself.]

Yes, I do.

[Why wouldn't he? Edgeworth opens his jacket and reaches into the inner pocket to draw out the spare cravat, immaculate and perfect. He offers this to Manfred without any fanfare, with a civil tone and a straight face, all traces of his initial surprise gone.]

[fingersnaps]

( Manfred raises a hand to snatch the cravat away without so much as a thank you. Not that Edgeworth would expect anything more frm Manfred von Karma. )

Good. Now I can take this ridiculous thing off.

( He tucks the cravat away in a pocket temporarily as he deftly undoes the bow tie around his neck. He has half a mind to offer it to Edgeworth; it'd suit his personal style more, and it would be a fair exchange, but he decides against it because no relative of Gregory Edgeworth's deserves anything from him for free.

It's as he ties the cravat around his neck that he adds: )

And into the trash it will go.

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth did not expect a polite "thank you" from Manfred, so he doesn't flinch when the latter snatches the cravat away - although he does blink because wow, okay, that was fast. He watches Manfred undo the bow tie - and well, it looks like he won't be getting that in exchange for the cravat. Edgeworth is not surprised, and says nothing about it.

Closure with his father back in Death City had renewed his relationship and respect for Gregory, and it had led to restocking on bow ties. While he would have liked to give Manfred's a better home, he's not going to beg for castoffs or root through the garbage to save it.]

Is that all? [His tone remains civil as ever.]

[fingersnaps]

( He secures the cravat with his brooch, which has been polished to high heaven after the incident in the cake batter. )

Yes, it is, Edgeworth.

( He surveys him, several questions on the tip of his tongue. But perhaps now is not the moment. )

Unless you had something to add?

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth shakes his head resolutely.]

Nothing at all. [He wasn't about to give Manfred the opportunity to find out even more about him and the future.]

[fingersnaps]

( If he was in a better mood, he would have supplied some parting quip. Perhaps something along the lines of and who taught you how to dress, anyway? But today isn't the day for that line of questioning. )

Likewise.

( That being said, he turns to take his leave. )

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth turns away as well, not looking back as he walks back home.

This meeting went better than he expected.]