With the frontier under urgent threat, Cordelia volunteered to enter a marriage alliance. Having grown up with Crown Prince Benedict as inseparable childhood companions for a full decade, it was unthinkable that she would now leave him behind to marry a foreign ruler alone. The emperor was puzzled, but Cordelia insisted with unwavering resolve. Her heart turned cold when Benedict, disregarding the rumors surrounding her, sought to marry Isolde, the sister of his personal guard, as his crown princess. She no longer asked for anything more. The emperor decreed that she would depart in seven days. Meanwhile, the crown prince, who still believed his childhood companion would never leave him, remained unaware of the truth.
