A Snare Made for the King 9

           As the days passed, Regime's ascension to the throne was uneventful. It seemed more people than not agreed with his reasoning.  Shawn was ruthless as a leader, and the people in the kingdom of Halsting suffered for it. There was not much rebellion after the death of Shawn. It was surprising, but not at the same time. Perhaps the people were grateful for his passing, Regime reasoned.
           As soon as Regime took his brother's place, he set up a much better tax system so the people of the realm could manage much better than they had been. Instead of people scrounging for food every day, they had plenty to eat and drink. All of the gold that had went to maintaining the military forces was siphoned back into the people in the kingdom, for Regime knew that a kingdom with no people was not a kingdom at all.
           As for their conflict with Losting, Regime quickly smoothed over relations with them rather quickly, and as a gesture of gratitude, sent Jyzal and a few other ambassadors to visit and stay for a week. With this gesture, Losting's king was grateful, and trading negotiations began immediately.
           But, now that Jyzal was officially an ambassador, he did not have much time at home with Regime. Sanae often offered condolences to Regime, hoping to see him happy once again. Regime was grateful for her service, and even gave Sanae her own room nearby his so that she could live more comfortably.
           The entire realm seemed to change, much to Regime's satisfaction. Halsting went from a gray and sad town to a bustling market within a few months, where citizens traded surplus grain, and those working in the communal fields worked reasonable hours for decent pay instead of long hours for a single gold coin a week.
           Regime was even surprised to see how well the transition went. People were happier, healthier, and had more energy, according to his appointed supervisors and ambassadors to the city. He was sure to keep informed and make any changes necessary. He even implemented an open-door policy for complaints and suggestions.
Corric, on the other hand, no longer needed to dwell in the darkness of his home. Regime made him a special mask to hide his scars and adorned him in his own specially tailored palace garb. This allowed him to move into the castle and away from his dark home. While he no longer had to make a living growing mushrooms, he often would find himself back at the cottage cultivating a fungus farm. Regime always mocked him for it, but Corric was glad for the trade off of the power and money he’d always wanted.
           However, not everyone was so happy with the change. There were those in the shadows that still supported the late king's agenda. They sought wealth and power, and the new Halsting was not able to give it to them any longer. They made moves to sabotage the new policies and blame the issues on Regime, and the leader of this movement was none other than the late king's attendant himself, Nicaise.