Irene, a young woman from the borderland Veland family, travels to the capital to marry Cullen of the Thorne family. Along the way, she rescues a badly wounded young black dragon pinned under a fallen tree — unaware that he is actually Xavier, the sovereign Dragon Lord.
Upon arriving at the Thorne estate, Irene is betrayed by her jealous maid, Lia. Lia ruins Irene’s gown, humiliates her in public, steals the engagement, and conspires with Cullen to reduce Irene to a servant, lock her in the dungeons, and even send her to the underground black market to be abused.
After recovering, Xavier learns of Irene’s suffering. Enraged, he appears at the black market, reveals his identity as the Dragon Lord, revokes the mining rights he had granted the Thorne family, and punishes Cullen and Lia.
Irene returns home only to be betrayed again — this time by her own blood, manipulated by Lia. Her family imprisons and whips her. Xavier breaks through dragon hunter traps to rescue her, then delivers final justice to the Veland family, the Thorne family, and all who wronged her. He takes Irene to the Dragon Palace, where they live together for the rest of their lives.
