@Intp11 It is true that politics can be convoluted and suffocating, but there is a limit to that. This is an empire, she is the official and legitimate representative of the emperor. It makes complete sense to detain them for questioning. Not only that, that bastard was supposed to be dead and when he came out of hiding he immediately insunuated that the current emperor and heir are using forbidden magic. That's les majeste, especially since he has no concrete evidence. On top of that, he is the FORMER emperor. How did he get dethroned? Via civil war (from my understanding). He is the loser of the 2 and is essentially a criminal. Housing him is a direct slap to the face of the current emperor. It doesn't make any darn sense for them to be able to walk away unscathed.
@Kiwiq IKR. That whole meeting was a shit show. They should not have been able to show up like that and get away with it. I can somehow excuse Athy's mistakes in judgement as inexperience, but the rest of the people in that room? Incompetent. There was the head knight, all the most influencial nobles in the empire, and yet no one thought to do shit. That whole thing unfolded the way it did just because "plot" and drama.