I Bought the exiled king (by Natalie Winter) novel Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Valencia

A woman stepped outside from one of the many passages on the left. She was the same woman who had asked me to take a bath,

Sarah bowed to her immediately and said. “I am sorry, Senior Priestess.”

The Senior Priestess shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“No wonder you are still a Novice even after spending five yea

That comment made Sarah’s face slacken a little, but the Senior

working at the temple.”

priestess continued.

“This is our new acolyte. You will be her guide here and teach

the ways

and methods of the temple.”

Sarah bobbed her head from left to right obediently.

“Yes, Senior Priestess.”

The lady continued. “And I trust you are also preparing for your Cleric exams and that you will not disappoint me.”

Sarah looked up at her. “I will try my best, Senior Priestess.”

The old lady seemed to be done grilling her and then simply walked off without so much of a

word directed at me.

When she slipped into one of the many passages and I felt she was well outside earshot, I whispered to Sarah.

“Who is she?”

Sarah answered. “One of the seven High Priestesses of the Red Temple, Nina.”

“She doesnt seem to like me.” I observed and Sarah suppressed a smile.

“She doesn’t like anyone in general. Don’t fret about it. Come, let me show you around.” She said and grabbed my

wrist.

Only now did I really look around at the place I had entered. The entrance of the temple seemed to be built like a regular one but the inside was more like a stone cave with several interconnected passages.

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The cave was massive, and there were not just tunnels but halls, and several floors to it. It was like an entire world in itself under the giant rock that only jutted out over the surface of the ground from outside.

There were sconces and torches placed on it even though it was broad daylight outside because the sun had no way of entering the cave.

“Woah” I mumbled as Sarah took me through one of the tunnels while chirping excitedly.

“I would give anything to see this place for the first time, it is enchanting.” She said in a wistful tone as she gave a brief tour of the humongous cave.

“What do you even do here all day? Pray?” I asked and Sarah laughed.

“Being a temple keeper is much more than just praying. We have various tasks to do such as reading, meditating, cleansing, keeping scrolls and records updated, studying…the list goes on and on.”

But she didn’t sound the least bored when talking about it.

“The Crone, as you are aware, is the head of the Red Temple and we only have women as keepers here. This allows women to have a safe space to work and do what they want without having men around.”

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Chapter 75

“So men are strictly not allowed inside?” I inquired.

“Not at all” She quipped. But the Crone tolerates Prince Killian and even has lengthy discussions with him at times.

Sarah said that with that wistful tone again.

“But then how did the King allow this place to be built if he has no access to it?”

Surely, the King would want to be anywhere he wants because he ruled the entire kingdom and this temple was built on his lard.

“The King was desperate to find a cure. He could not see all this fame and glory bite the dust and went to great lengths to get the Crone to agree to build a temple in this cursed land. I believe he was so desperate that he sent men to find a knowledgeable and resourceful person to build a temple here. King Aecidus believed that until he found a way to break the curse, maybe he could appeal to the various deities to break it or at least lessen the blow.”

The Red Temple’s history was definitely fascinating, and I felt I was inclined to learn more about it, the more Sarah told me.

“The cave is a massive structure, but we, Novices aren’t allowed in all the places. Some areas are restricted to allow entry only to Senior Priestesses and above, while a select few are accessible only to the Crone.”

While we were passing by, I saw several women doing something or the other. None of them bothered to look at us and were focused on their respective

tasks.

“We are Novices and there was that Senior Priestess and then the Crone as the head. Are we missing anything?”

Sarah nodded, “Oh there are also Clerics and Elder Priestesses. Novices are we, the junior most, followed by Clerics, Senior Priestesses, elder Priestesses and finally the Crone.”

“Cleric, the exam Senior Priestess Nina asked you to study for.” I recalled, and Sarah sighed.

“Yeah that. She has been setting up the bar quite high for the past few years after a big batch graduated to the next level easily. She takes pric the students‘ life difficult in general.”

“Oh, I know those types. Had one back at my place too. Notorious and annoying,” I said, recalling the shrewd woman, Mrs Briggs.

That made Sarah perk up as she asked excitedly.

“Oh, I almost forgot to ask you. Where do you come from? What pack and region of the kingdom?”

I wondered how to answer that I was the Blessed One without sounding pompous so I managed to say.

“I am not from here. I was brought here by Prince Killian.”

Her eyes went even wider at the mention of him and she squealed like a chipmunk.

“Oh really? Prince Killian brought you here? Were you lost in the forest or somebody killed your family, leaving you for an orphan on the streets?”

I blinked at that.

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