For me it wasn't cheap writing at all it was a brilliant political maneuver to survive, I mean having an escape plan for worst case scenarios plus contingency plans so that worst case scenario doesn't happen.

If I was as ingenious as lolorito I would keep nanamo alive and keep Raubahn close, not a dead empress trying to make new connections with the most probably unstable new one and an escaped ex-champion gladiator ex-general of a grand company who has a ton of friends/connections to making future transactions/movements a pain and possible losing the long game of politics.

I know it went all like Psych! I was kidding lol lets be friends again. But it is more like closing act 2 in the least chaotic way where you make a few moves and there is more gain than working harder to maintain what you have.