The dark story concerns a beautiful queen who rules her country as a despot with total control. Unmarried and without an heir, she repeatedly adopts orphans as a way to prove that even commoners can reign as kings. Still, something sinister lurks beneath the surface, with the queen showing no signs of aging, while her orphans continue to go missing. The sole individual aware of her secret is a court magician known only as Oldman, who was arrested and thrown in the dungeon prior to the start of the series. Staging his escape, Oldman appears to step through the bars of his cell and vanish as if by magic, cleverly misleading the guards. He rescues a neighboring prisoner, an outlaw sword maiden who has had her arms and legs amputated. Upon taking her to a brilliant doctor who fits her with mechanical limbs, Oldman and the sword maiden vow to take revenge on the queen that wronged them, all the while evading the queen's army as she launches a desperate campaign to keep her secret hidden. The story continues as Oldman, the escapee plots to go back to the Queen's palace alone to negotiate with her. On his way to the palace, Oldman's comrades explore his childhood and how it intertwines with the Queen's dark secret.