Just finished Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, and it kind of fits this model. It's a riff on the story where a girl needs to weave nettle shirts for her brothers to save them from being swans forever. There's a forgiveness arc for the stepmother, who is the one who transformed them. She isn't as malevolent as the one in the original story, so it is *partially* finding out there is less guilt than the protag first suspected.... but she still causes a lot of suffering! Even if she felt like her options were limited. I still think actual forgiveness is what is required and ultimately what is offered.
Just finished Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, and it kind of fits this model. It's a riff on the story where a girl needs to weave nettle shirts for her brothers to save them from being swans forever. There's a forgiveness arc for the stepmother, who is the one who transformed them. She isn't as malevolent as the one in the original story, so it is *partially* finding out there is less guilt than the protag first suspected.... but she still causes a lot of suffering! Even if she felt like her options were limited. I still think actual forgiveness is what is required and ultimately what is offered.