The initial season introduces the characters, their histories, and aspirations. Orpherus, Eduard, Camus, Lui, and Naoji are five aristocrats attending the prestigious Rozenstolz academy, where they belong to the Strahl class—a program grooming potential candidates for advisory roles in the royal palace of the small European country of Kuchen. Isaac, an English writer, visits Kuchen. While still students, the five nobles must contend with corrupt politicians, secret agents, attempted murder, and ambitious figures both inside and outside the school who threaten to shatter their nation's fragile peace and even assassinate the king.