Phoenix hesitated, his thoughts moving to when Edgeworth had left. Seeing his best friend leave again had been stressful - especially in the midst of his feelings about the prosecutor - and in the aftermath of Iris' case, he'd felt scrambled up enough that he hadn't been able to sort through everything he wanted to say. He'd desperately wanted to say something to make Edgeworth stay, but standing in the middle of the airport saying goodbye had been too overwhelming, and he hadn't wanted to keep Edgeworth from anything he needed to take care of. A light frown tugged at his lips at the memory - the hug that had been exchanged between them had lasted too long, and even Edgeworth had seemed reluctant - and Phoenix had wondered if he was making a mistake by letting him go.

"...the last time I saw you was when I saw you off at the airport on February 15th, 2019," Phoenix said warily, his gaze upon Edgeworth's. "You were leaving for Italy after Iris' case."

All of the evidence that Edgeworth had provided in the Institute pointed towards him being from a time after Iris' case - he had even mentioned knowing about when Phoenix had tried to run across a burning bridge - but he couldn't be absolutely sure of what exact time the prosecutor had come from after that event.