In Candy Candy, the young nurse Candy wanted to pay back Albert’s kindness to her, and she was the one who pleaded him to stay with her so that she could take care of him until his recovery. Hence, they pretended to be brother and sister and found an apartment on the outskirts of Chicago.
From Korean Manga Version
In the manga, they started living together in the Fall of 1914 (soon after World War I began). Then Albert recovered around Candy’s birthday in May 1915 (shortly after she received the flying machine from Stear in France). One snowy night that following winter, he vanished in her life. Therefore, they had lived together a little more than a year.
In the anime version, Albert left Candy earlier, but still close to a year’s time.
However, in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS), it’s unclear how long they had resided in the House of Magnolia. The clues we know are based on Patty’s letter to Candy and Albert’s letter to Candy.
Patty wrote a letter to Candy after Stear’s funeral, and after thanking Candy for different things, Patty wrote (from spoilers):
— You are strong. I’ll be also strong like you.
You seem to have very busy days with your new job at Happy Clinic. Is Dr. Martin really a good doctor?
I wonder if Albert-san will get well by such an alcoholic-like doctor who is playing with wire puzzles all the time.— It seems the United States will finally take part in the war.
We all know that the United States didn’t join until April 1917. For your interest, here is the timeline. My friends and I were a little shocked that Albert and Candy were still together around that time. In that case, does it mean Mizuki changed the plot in CCFS?
However, my friend double checked Albert’s letter to Candy about when he left Africa. He said the following (from spoilers):
I tackled my own troubles in the days of Africa.
It was because I had decided to try to live without relying on anyone, that I broke off contacts with Georges and left Africa. There was restlessness in the air before the war also in Africa. That atmosphere might have incited me.
So Albert seemingly left Africa before the great war (August 1914, as in the manga), and then he ended up in that train in Italy and lost his memory. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean he had to leave Africa that time. Mizuki might have wanted to correct the mistake of the train being blown up in Italy before the country joined the allies in April, 1915. If that’s true, then Albert stayed in Africa much longer and traveled to Italy around summer of 1915?
At any rate, does it mean that Albert and Candy had lived together for around two years or even longer? How long did he stay with her after regaining his memory?
I don’t think Mizuki had made a mistake, and how about you? Any ideas?