Why angry, for so long?

In the manga, the moment Candy realized who Albert really was, she was dumbfounded beyond words. While she was trying to register the truth, not only she was filled with mixed emotions, but tears gushed out of her eyes incessantly.

Those could be tears of joy of reuniting with Albert after months of longing to see him or meeting her mysterious but generous benefactor at long last. At the same time, I wonder if she was terribly confused, or even upset, that the man she had been pining for so long turned out to be the kind ‘old’ man who had adopted her.

Uncle William and Candy colored by Milady Andrew

Nonetheless, she didn’t blame him at all for keeping their legal relationship a secret all these years. She did ask why, but he only apologized without giving her any explanation (not until later in the old Candy Candy novel). Even then, she simply accepted the fact and even decided to express her most sincere gratitude to him. Yet, her genuine, fond regard embarrassed him so much that he had to interrupt her speech.

In the anime, Candy wasn’t as emotional. Yes, she was surprised, but not so astonished. Albert did give Candy some explanation why he had to keep his identity a secret all this time, and Candy asked no more question. Neither of them appeared flabbergasted or emotional, which was kind of odd in my opinion.

What about Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS)? Below was Candy’s recollections for the equivalent scene (in two different parts of CCFS):

Many things which give me a great surprise may happen in the rest of my life but probably this ”The most surprising event in my life number one” will stay unchallenged.
I finally could meet Granduncle William in Lakewood …!
William A. Ardray was,
he’s … Albert.

Based on the spoilers, Candy was also shocked but didn’t mention anything about shedding tears or being emotional. She recalled being frustrated, and she even blamed Albert for worrying her. Interestingly, Albert didn’t take this seriously and acted a bit inconsiderate by teasing her back.

After I met Albert again and when all kinds of mysteries were solved at a burst, I blamed him frustrated, “You’re so…, I worried so much and I felt I’ve suddenly got old!”
Albert laughed, however, straightened his face, “It suits me if you look a little more grown-up rather than people think you’re my sister …” he said and winked teasingly.
Albert is pretty good at dodging the subject.

Anyway, I got the impression that both Candy and Albert seemed out of character in this particular scene in CCFS.

Throughout the manga, Candy and Albert had always been very caring to each other. Their friendship had grown stronger yet over time. Not only that, she was grateful to him for helping her again and again in the past, and she liked him a lot as though he was her real brother. Similarly, he was always there for her whenever she was down and needed a shoulder to cry on.

However, once Candy knew Albert’s true identity, she was angry, and not for a day or two. In fact, her anger or frustration lasted for many months. Remember I talked about the grand opening of a resort in Miami in When did Candy get married?? After going there with Albert and George, George came down with a flu, and Candy wrote a letter to George. In that letter, she wrote the followings:

— All of us had believed that Granduncle was a feeble old man!
— Now that the mystery was solved I call him intentionally “Graaandpa!” as if he were an old man – he’s not happy about it, saying “Forgive me now, pleeease”.
Well, don’t you think I can pay him back a little bit!?

This sounds like Candy had often been doing that to Albert as a way to “greet” him, and she hadn’t stopped being kind of childish on purpose.

This is almost like a completely different Candy whom we are familiar with, don’t you think? After all, she was indebted with everything he had done for her so far, and before meeting him in person, she had been immensely grateful to an imaginary old man. Remember how much she had yearned to pay back his kindness when she had mistaken old William McGregor for her “Uncle William”?

How long ago had Candy found out that Albert was her legal guardian? We don’t know for sure. As described in Living together… how long?, she had been living with him for two years or longer (still living together around April 1917), and this grand opening event happened after the great war was over (some time after November 1918). Some time in between these two dates, Candy had discovered Albert in Lakewood.

So what had happened to Candy?

After Albert had revealed to her that he was her prince, she wrote a brief letter right afterwards. In his reply to that letter, he wrote,

I don’t blame you for getting angry.
…
That’s why I bear patiently even if you formally call me “Graaanduncle!” and sometimes treat me like an old person.

Does it mean Candy had been acting “bitter” toward Albert until that day? That’s a bit too long, or is it? 😛

Note that in other places in CCFS, when Candy was writing about “Granduncle William” to others, she had high respect for him, but when she meant “Albert”, her tone changed. For example, in her unsent letter to Terry, she wrote,

Granduncle William was — Brace yourself! Albert-san whom you also know!
Can you believe! It’s terrible, isn’t it?
…
I’m glad he didn’t want to be an actor. Brilliant poker face! He could have become your biggest rival.

No doubt Candy had conflicting feelings for Albert. On one hand, she owed him her life and well-being. On the other hand, she had a deep affection towards him, not as a family member though. As a matter of fact, she knew he had a special place in her heart. In CCFS, Candy recalled in her own words,

Brother and sister.
Albert and I had been living together pretending so.
Is it like this if I live with my family?
No, it may have been slightly different from family.
I don’t know how to describe it but somewhere inside me, I knew that Albert was special.
What kind of thoughts does Albert have about us …
Argh, he’s driving me crazy …

So he was driving her crazy? 😆

Is that why she didn’t know how exactly she should behave whenever she was with her “guardian”? That she was flustered by their legal relationship, and she didn’t know how to treat him? So she resorted to teasing him whenever they were alone?

In a sense, Mizuki was loud and clear that Candy was not in the least afraid of Albert, and she unconsciously asserted that he was her equal by her behavior. In other words, she simply couldn’t regard him as her “benefactor” or “adoptive father’. Even after many months, she still couldn’t change her mindset or adjust her attitude.

In light of all this, one day, Albert finally decided to confess his last secret to Candy. Imagine her response! 🙄 If she had been perplexed by their legal relationship for such a long time, she would have been more dumbstruck after knowing that Albert was actually her Prince on the Hill.

She wrote this to him after his reply to her letter after the revelation:

The person called William Albert Ardray never stops surprising me!
My weak heart won’t stand any more!

They had a very complicated relationship indeed. Don’t you think? 😉

Note: the above manga scene colored by Milady Andrew was downloaded from Candy & Albert World.