As Brilliant as an Emerald

[Western Fantasy] [The heroine is the sole protagonist. There is a male lead, but he has far less page time.] [Coming-of-age story]

Peridot was born with a pair of extraordinarily beautiful green eyes.

“Like the color of the first leaf of spring,” her mother said.

“Lucky-colored eyes,” said the guard at the city gate.

“Eyes fit to be written into a song,” said the bard who played his lute at night.

Peridot grew up happily in Chaleur, until she was fourteen.

Then a woman appeared.

The woman was her birth mother, and she wanted to take Peridot to the capital, Mondicra, to live with her.

In the end, the aunt and uncle who had raised Peridot chose to send her back to a woman who was a complete stranger to her.

In Mondicra, no one praised her eyes anymore.

She learned noble etiquette, gritted her teeth through the servants' disdain, studied diligently at the academy, and tried her best to be worthy of the surname “Parlos.”

She was hurt, but she found the strength to fight back. She cried many times, then gradually learned to stop.

She found a new family, made friends her own age, and even fell for a boy.

She thought she had finally found her footing.

Until the day when, before everyone's eyes, the green eyes she was proudest of were identified as the mark of the Demon King's heir.

Peridot's world crumbled.

[The heroine is the sole protagonist, and the male lead has relatively little page time. Proceed with caution if that's not your thing.]