Lost in translation (Part 4)

My appreciation goes to those who have given me valuable feedback for Part 3, mostly on Facebook. I’m glad to hear that you like my little what-if scenario of Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS). 😉 Your positive comments are the fuel to keep me going. Thank you very much! 🤗

Someone told me in private, after reading my previous post, that in the Italian version the number of times the titles 丘の上の王子さま (Prince on the Hill) or 王子さま (prince) appear is nowhere near 17 times. It’s a shame that the Italian version seems to have downplayed Candy’s intense feelings for a certain handsome man. Nevertheless, the translation still managed to keep the essence of the letter, which is Candy’s recollection of Albert’s sudden visit and her various reactions before and after his confession on the hill. I can’t stress enough that the fact she bothered to write about this entire incident in detail proves that she had readily accepted him as the grown-up version of her childhood crush.

Moreover, let me remind you that while Albert had appeared out of the blue to Candy, without a doubt he had this trip planned well ahead of time. In his subsequent reply to this letter we read that he had prepared birthday presents for her with sweat and tears. In other words, for months (at least) he had intended to present all the birthday gifts as Prince on the Hill, not Granduncle William. I wonder if he had celebrated her birthdays while living together or after her discovery of his true identity… Regardless, some of you agreed with me that Candy should be turning twenty-one in May, which by then no longer a minor who needed a guardian.

With this in mind, let me resume Candy’s letter by picking up where I left off in previous post.

ときどき大おじさまのこと、年寄り扱いしてからかっているけど、ほんとは大おじさまは年よりずっとお若く見えるから……。でも、あのときは若く見えるとか、そんなんじゃなくて……ああ、うまく説明がつかないわ……。とにかく、いつもと違う雰囲気を感じてわたしはなぜかドキッとしたのです。

Though I occasionally tease Granduncle by treating him as an old man, Granduncle in fact looks much younger than his age all the time… However, at that moment I don’t mean that he looked young or something like that… Ahhhh, I can’t quite explain this adequately… At any rate, sensing that the atmosphere was different from usual, my heart for some reason skipped a beat.

Have you read Candy’s letter to Stewart the chauffeur? He intentionally wore the chauffeur uniform, and when Candy recalled the day he had come to pick her up at Pony’s Home, her heart also skipped a beat. 🙂 Note that the same expression can mean a person is surprised or startled, etc. However, as I already mentioned in Part 3, Candy might have sensed Albert’s uneasiness; knowing him so well, she could likely tell something was definitely different about him, which somewhat mesmerized her. Nonetheless, she couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly made her heart skip a beat. 😀

The sentences that follow are a bit tricky to translate. After several attempts, I’ve decided to translate them as one paragraph. Basically, what Candy said before were the reasons why she had a premonition when Albert finally spoke up:

だから、大おじさまが先生たちのお茶も断り、真面目な顔をしてわたしに、
「キャンディ、ポニーの丘に行こう……」
そう誘われたときから、もやもやした何か予感のようなものを感じていました。
だけど、だけど、まさかーーー。

Therefore, I had been feeling in my bones something was about to happen ever since I was given the following invitation: Granduncle, having declined the teachers’ offer of tea, said to me with a serious face, “Candy, let’s go to Pony’s Hill…”
But, but, I had never seen it coming —

丘の上で、しばらく黙っていた大おじさまは、思いきったようにわたしの方を振り向くと、
「キャンディ……そろそろ、バッジを返してくれないか……」
ぎこちないほほ笑みを浮かべてそう言われたのですよね。

Up on the hill, Granduncle, after keeping his silence for some time, spun around to face me as if he had made up his mind, “Candy… isn’t it about time to return the badge to me…?”
This was said with an awkward smile, don’t you agree?

Sounds like Albert had kept his silence on the way up. 😉 What was he thinking? Was he hesitating, having second thoughts, or was he in the middle of articulating what was on his mind? Regardless, based on Candy’s description, he had seemingly (because she used ように) decided to take the plunge (FYI, you can look up the link to 思いきる)! Albert plausibly had been thinking of taking the risk for some time.

Do you see that I’ve highlighted the sentence ending particles よね above? Together they mean that his awkward smile had not escaped Candy’s eyes, which was something Albert should also be aware of. In her writing she wanted to point out the obvious but at the same time asking for his agreement. This nuance is often lost in translation, regrettably, but sometimes people would translate it as “isn’t that right?”.

ーーその瞬間、一気に時間が逆流していったのです。
……丘の上で泣いていた小さなわたし。
目の前で。ほほ笑んでいた丘の上の王子さまーー。
とたん、涙が止まらなくなってしまった。
わたし、泣きながらとっさに、
「……わたし……笑ったほうが、かわいい、んでしょう？……」
そうこたえていました。丘の上の王子さまも潤んだ瞳で、
「 ーー今は、泣いていてもかわいいよ、おチビちゃん」
そう言ってくれました。…..王子さまの声も少しかすれていましたね。

—At that very moment, time flew backward all at once.
……On the hill there I was, the tiny crying girl.
Prince on the Hill smiling before my very eyes—
Right then, unstoppable tears began streaming down my cheeks.
While crying, I responded without any more delay,
“……you say…… when I smile……prettier……?”
To such response Prince on the Hill answered me, his eyes moist as well,
“—Right now, you’re pretty even when you’re crying, little girl.”
……the voice of the prince was also slightly hoarse, wasn’t it?

Upon hearing Albert’s request to return his badge, Candy collapsed into tears, not just for a second or two, but her tears continued trickling down her face until Georges’ interruption. Later in her letter she clarified that they were tears of joy. Yet, she had been clueless that Albert was Prince on the Hill, so why were her tears unstoppable as soon as his hint made sense to her? Even the flashback wasn’t a strong enough reason to me. What really triggered the surge of her emotions?

Come to think of it, Candy later revealed in her letter that she had told Albert many times about Prince on the Hill and shown him the precious badge, and with hindsight, she wondered if his memory had already recovered back then. No matter what, he couldn’t possibly have misunderstood what Prince on the Hill meant to Candy, and when Albert disclosed this last secret of his, she immediately realized it was a confession — he had been her first crush. ❤

This excerpt alone offers evidence that Candy had bottled up her romantic feelings for Granduncle before the confession. Because she could not express her feelings for her adoptive father, she had chosen to display her anger (because of hiding the truth from her all these years) or tease him as an old man occasionally. This had likely lasted for two years or so (in CCFS it’s unclear how much time had elapsed ever since her discovery of his true identity).

On the other hand, do you think her emotional reaction took Albert by surprise? Or was it expected? 🤔

I gather he must have had some inner debates for some time as well, because after all, their legal relationship wasn’t something to be ignored. I used to prefer the manga ending, in which Albert confessed the day Candy returned to Pony’s Home. However, over time I’ve gradually warmed up to this equivalent episode in CCFS. Now I even find this passage romantic. Why? Like Candy, Albert also dropped his defense and let his feelings show. In the manga he was calm and smiling, but in CCFS he had tears in his eyes; even his voice turned hoarse, which suggests that he got a lump in his throat due to strong emotions 😍. This clearly indicated that she wasn’t merely a little sister or an adopted daughter to him.

Some people said that the author Nagita had made Albert “wait” in CCFS because Nagita wanted Candy to have some time to sort out her own feelings, to really move on with a new life with purpose and motivation at Pony’s Home, where there was nothing about Terry anymore. Candy even declined Terry’s mother’s invitation to see Hamlet and wrote an unsent letter to Terry, wishing him happiness with Susanna. Meanwhile, Candy got to know Albert more as Granduncle in different family gatherings, but her hidden feelings for him hadn’t faded. Albert could probably sense that too (he in another letter claimed that he was a sensitive guy), but he didn’t take any action. Perhaps her anger or teasing had made him doubt? Or he wanted to make sure she was over Terry? Do you think he was aware of Miss Baker’s invitation?

On the other hand, maybe Albert needed time to prepare various birthday presents for Candy. Given that he was in charge of a successful family enterprise, he didn’t have much time to spare. Moreover, when a man was in love, he might be feeling insecure too. What if he was wrong all along about Candy? What if she rejected him as her prince, for whatever reasons?

Remember in Candy’s present home, concerning the grand opening picture of the Miami resort in the study, Candy said it was important? I’m convinced something happened during the grand opening party. In Candy’s letter to Georges (because he got a flu after attending the party), she mentioned Albert had told her many things about Georges and his late father. It was the solid proof that the two blonds were back in good terms, and they could spend some time alone to talk.

In my imagination, Albert had scratched his head many times, trying to think of different ways to reveal that he was that mysterious Scottish teenager, and at last he chose to ask for his badge. Relief must have washed over him to see Candy’s tears instead of doubt or disbelief! 😛 What’s more, the first thing that came out of her mouth was to repeat what he had said years ago. Not only she hadn’t yet forgotten the boy, but she didn’t even ask a question or demand a proof from him. In short, Albert was just as handsome and kind. 😉 At any rate, her ready acceptance must have ended the uncertainties he had been enduring all this time. Therefore, to him her tears were beautiful evidence that the romantic feelings were mutual.

Let’s backtrack a bit and discuss Candy’s question about whether she was prettier when smiling. She asked using the past tense form of the root verb 笑う, which can be translated to “laugh”, “smile”, “grin”, etc., depending on context. I know the Italian translator picked “laugh”, but I actually would have chosen “smile”. I’m not alone however, because the Japanese fan who gave us the spoilers had also translated this to “smile”. Same for locksleyu when he translated the first appearance of Prince on the Hill in Volume 1. 😉 Remember what the Scottish teenager had first said to little Candy when she giggled at herself after crying like a wolf? It was meant to be his friendly suggestion to her to keep smiling.

In CCFS Albert used the sentence ending particle よ in response to Candy’s question (see it bolded above), which serves to either emphasize what he said or make the listener aware of something new or useful. Years ago, when he had first told her that she was prettier when she smiled, he had also used the same sentence ending particle よ. While Candy had always thought she was prettier when she smiled (according to her prince), he told her that she was now pretty even when she cried. Note that Albert did say “right now”, and other than the fact her tears of joy brought him relief and confirmation, my gut feeling tells me that he wanted her to smile rather than cry after today. His ultimate goal had remained the same — he always wanted Candy to be happy. Back then he had decided to adopt her to give her better prospects in life, but that little girl had grown up. They had inadvertently fallen in love, and he wanted to begin courting her. ❤