G. Major
Axis Powers Hetalia Fanbook: Gilbert x Roderich
T/N: Hello, all. I'm the humble translator for this amazing fanbook that I fell in love with. Semillon is the author of the original fanbook, which was created by Studio RS, and full credit is given for their work. I have tried to communicate with them for permission to translate their fanbook, but there have been no replies, so I went on and continued on my project anyways, because I really want everyone to be able to read and experience the beauty of this novel. Links to their blogs (in Chinese) are on my profile page. Only the translation belongs to me. I claim no credit at all for the story.
It was difficult to make the language flow as elegantly as it did in Chinese, but I did try my best to translate the novel in the same vein as the original. Updates will be slow, as I am constantly updating and editing on translations, to find phrases that I feel will fit better.
Please be kind, as I am not really confident in my ability to translate this mammoth 220 page fic, and I was hesitant to post this online because I honestly feel it is inadequate. But no one else had translated it, so I tried my best to contribute to the Hetalia community. If you find anything wanting of my translation, do please leave a review or PM me, I would be honoured to receive feedback to improve my writing.
Inside the book there are some illustrations, with snippets of the story as captions. I have translated them, and placed them below, after the prologue.
I apologise for having such a long TN but I felt it was necessary to explain everything first. Now, on to the story!
Verweile doch, du bist so schön.
Stay a while, you are so beautiful.
– Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Farewell, Silesia; Part I
– Filostrato –
Love is a crime.
Prologue
The young king rapped his fingers nonchalantly on the red pine table with one hand, while distractedly toying with his quill. The barrel of the quill was studded with a pearl, and it glistened with a soft warm glow in the autumn dusk. It was the month of October, and Berlin was already saturated with an icy chill. The fireplace in the room had already been cleaned and swept, and it was waiting for the weather to turn even colder and the oil-coated timber to be lit.
"Absolutely rubbish." The king waved around a piece of paper he had picked up from the tabletop, unable to hold back his grimace, "Your poem's grammar is atrocious – but your handwriting is not half bad."
"Hah," A young man with silver hair snorted derisively. "My French has never been satisfactory to you. You will just have to find a way to get over it." He looked even younger than the king, who had ascended the throne just this summer. His wine-red eyes, even with his furrowed brows, could not hide the childishness that lingered around him. He was currently curled up lazily on the couch, his long, slender legs dangling over the armrests. His riding boots were still covered in mud from the forests of Potsdam. Because his position restricted his freedom of movement, he could only see the king sitting at the table by twisting his neck. His position was about as disrespectful as one could get, but his royal companion seemed not to notice it, as if he was used to the sight already.
"Gilbert, I have said this for many times. French is an elegant, stylish language, the language of the elite, and a symbol of culture and refinement. If Prussia wants to be great, or, if you and I want to continue living in this unstable world, we must be able to understand what other people are saying, what they are doing, what they are thinking…...Language is only the first step."
"If I were powerful enough, German would also be the most elegant, stylish language in all Europe," said Gilbert. He leapt up from his sitting position and scrutinized the king sharply. The other laughed, brown eyes twinkling. "Then, my friend, you should read more of the most elegant language in the world right now, so that one day, we shall have the power and ability to seize this land…" There was a pause, then the king spoke again.
"How do you think she's faring?" The king picked up another sheet of paper that had been lying on the desk. It was gilded with gold.
"Who - what is faring how?" Gilbert squinted at the words upon the document. The king's mind was too quick, always a leap or two in front of him, and even though the words he spoke were all purposefully related in some way or other, it was still difficult to deduce what the king meant.
As usual, he did not directly unravel Gilbert's tangle of confusion, but said instead, "A woman, to become the sovereign of Austria." He laughed. "This may be the best opportunity for me in this life. No, old chap, I should say for us." He held up the quill once more, absentmindedly stroking the round, luminous pearl studded in it. In the final rays of the fading sun, that pearl glittered with light.
Color Collection (these are beautiful illustrations of certain scenes of the book, with captions as follows)
"Please take a look at these, my dear Roderich…"
She raised the stack of letters on the small round table and waved it at the visitor.
With her exaggerated motions, a letter opener fell onto the floor with a clatter.
The young woman could not help herself from crying aloud in surprise.
At the same moment, the baby sleeping soundly in the arms of a maidservant began to cry from the sudden disruptive din.
p.3, Farewell Silesia, Part I
The quiet calm air itself seemed to be unsettled by those very words.
Gilbert spun himself around forcefully, and he saw Roderich standing between the rows of pews close to the corner where the grand doors were, wearing a long, black overcoat, as if to smother his existence from the air. His cheeks were ghostly pale. Even the candlelight could not paint the tiniest bit of colour on it.
p. 23, Farewell Silesia, Part I
The sound of hooves startles a raven, and it takes flight into the pitch black darkness of the night sky with a resonating caw.
The moon sinks slowly under the horizon, and pale azure peeks out at the other edge of the sky.
The moon, this silent soundless ghost, returns from its rounds saturated in bitterness.
p. 66, Farewell Silesia, Part I
"God bless," Elizabeth could not help muttering.
She turned around, wanting to see if Roderich had followed her, but found to her surprise, Austria laid prostrate in front of the altar soundlessly.
His long, black robes hung heavily and spilled onto the floor, like a pair of black, feathered wings, about to spread and unfold themselves.
p.86, Farewell Silesia, Part I
A single drop of blood landed on Roderich's cheek.
That pale face now carried the beautiful vivid colour of death, and even the dark night could not disguise nor hide it.
Gilbert was stunned, as if he had been conquered by this malformed, grotesque beauty, staring dumbly into Roderich's eyes.
Those eyes no longer held the terror just moments before. It was replaced with cold, bleak despair, like a frozen lake in midwinter.
p. 202, Farewell Silesia, Part II
As I spoke, I pulled off the ring on my finger and tossed it inside.
"Leave, my lady! There is already nothing more I can do for you. Seek the knights of the north. They need honour, and you need bravery and loyalty!"
p. 215, Time Fragments
In one fluid motion he gathered the young girl in his arms, holding her tightly.
"Tell no one…tell no one – you mustn't tell a single soul!"
His voice changed in tone, as if it could not bear the strain any longer, like the breaking strings of a piano, stretched to their limit.
"You mustn't tell, not to anyone…"
p. 174, Farewell Silesia, Part II
Notes:
The book is divided into four sections, and each section into chapters.
In chronological order, here they are:
Farewell, Silesia; Part I – Filostrato
author: Semillon / illustrations: 竹中紅鈴
Farewell, Silesia; Part II – Barocco
author: Semillon / illustrations: 竹中紅鈴
Time Fragments
author: Semillon / illustrations: 羽山
Color Collection
illustrations: 竹中紅鈴 Rei 羽山 Semillon
This is an ongoing work and it will be continuously edited, so it wouldn't be surprising that I will translate something twice and the wording might be tweaked a little every now and then.