Cerise's Second Warning Bell
The scent of honey lingering inside the carriage vanished quickly as the sun began to set.
The air at their first campsite was not sweet.
A low scent of damp earth and beast tracks hung in the air, and darkness settled between the trees even before the wind did. The rookie teams pitched their tents around the stakes driven into the ground by the instructors. A small warning bell hung from the end of each rope.
If the bell rings, people wake. If people wake, unnecessary bloodshed is avoided.
Instructor Hagen's explanation had ended there.
As soon as he finished, Cerise checked her team's bell rope twice. She tugged the knot, shook the post, and knelt to adjust the height of the rope once more.
At first, it was out of a sense of responsibility.
But the second time was different.
She could see where Ronan would stand guard, and even the path Lya would take to check on his wrist after falling asleep.
Ronan watched her and spoke.
"That's the third time you've checked."
"It is our first campsite."
"It's not like this is your first time camping."
Cerise did not reply.
Instead, she lightly tapped one of the bells with her fingertip. A faint, clear chime rang out. Only after hearing that sound did she let out her breath.
Lya approached, carrying a blanket.
"Your watch shift is still a long way off. Sit down first."
"I am fine."
"People who are hurting say they're fine the most."
"I am not injured."
"Then what about people who are exhausted?"
Cerise's brow twitched ever so slightly. Lya did not miss the opening and draped the blanket over her shoulders.
When Cerise tried to take it off immediately, Ronan raised a hand.
"That's not a white flag."
"Who said anything about surrendering?"
"Your face did."
Cerise froze for a moment, clutching the edge of the blanket. Then, reluctantly, she kept it over her shoulders.
Beside them, Neris opened her observation board with sleepy eyes.
"Do not record that," Cerise said.
"Then I will commit it to memory," Neris replied.
Dorman swallowed a yawn next to the woodpile. Ben already had his eyelids drooping, a short spear resting across his knees.
Just then, a bell rang.
Ting.
It was incredibly faint.
Yet in the forest at night, even the quietest sound cut through like the tip of a blade.
Cerise was the first to stand. Her hand, gripping her scabbard, thrust straight forward.
Ronan half-curled his fingers.
A low silver line stretched through the air. Rather than a sword, it resembled a cold thread weaving through blades of grass. The line swept through the darkness on the other side of the tent, passed over the dirt beneath the stakes, and reached the shadow of the ringing bell.
The bell rang again.
Another faint chime echoed.
Once again, there was no wind.
"It's not a beast," Ronan said quietly.
Cerise did not move immediately. She only tightened the grip of her hand.
"A human, then?"
"A prank set up by one."
Before he could even finish his sentence, stifled laughter leaked out from between the tents behind them.
"The noble lady jumps at the mere sound of a bell."
"Looks like the rookie team won't be getting any sleep tonight."
Dorman started to spring up, but Cerise raised a hand to stop him.
Ronan did not move either.
He lowered the silver line further beneath the bell rope. The rope had been tied incorrectly. A thin wooden wedge had been inserted inside the knot so that even without wind, the rope would snap back on its own as the post cooled down slightly.
Shaking off her sleepiness, Neris spoke.
"It will ring in seven breaths."
Lya blinked.
"How do you know?"
"The last two times were identical. That is the interval at which the wedge releases the rope."
Cerise glared at the bell.
Seven breaths later.
The third chime followed.
It was precise.
More laughter came from behind them.
The blanket slipped from Cerise's shoulders. Lya pulled it back up.
"Are you going to go confront them?" Lya asked.
Cerise did not answer.
Normally, given her personality, she would have marched over immediately. She would have swept aside their tent flap with her scabbard, demanded to know who played the prank, and raised her voice if they refused to answer.
But they were currently on watch duty.
If she left her post, she would be giving those laughing exactly what they wanted.
Cerise grit her teeth.
"I will not go."
Ronan looked at her.
"Why?"
"If I abandon my watch just to show them I am angry, then their prank has succeeded."
Ronan chuckled softly.
"Good call."
"Do not praise me. It only makes me angrier."
"I won't, then."
Cerise rested her scabbard against the ground. She memorized the intervals of the chimes each time they rang.
Seven breaths.
Thirteen breaths.
Seven breaths again.
There wasn't just one wedge. Another thin string was hidden behind the improperly tied bell rope. Someone had deliberately rigged a second mechanism to keep it ringing all night.
Dorman clenched his fists.
"Can I go flip their tent over right now?"
"No," Cerise cut him off immediately.
Dorman looked aggrieved.
"But this is too much. Waking someone up from their sleep is worse than stealing their food."
"It's about the same," Ronan said.
"Both are stealing someone else's strength."
At those words, Cerise's eyes flicked to Ronan for a brief moment.
Standing watch all night.
It wasn't about the pride of a noble family; it was about chipping away at the strength they would need to move the next day. Cerise knew this too. That was why she was even angrier. The pranksters intended to laugh at her for not acting like a noble if she broke down, and laugh at her exhausted face if she endured.
"They will pay for those laughs in the morning," Cerise said.
Neris traced the direction of the knot with sleepy eyes.
"If we only have verbal testimony, they will deny it. We need the direction of the rope, the interval of the wedges, and the ringing of the second bell."
"You handle the recording," Cerise said curtly.
Neris's eyelids fluttered open a bit wider.
"Is that an order?"
"It is a request."
Neris gripped her observation board more firmly.
"Then I have a reason to stay awake."
Lya silently sat down beside Cerise. She pulled one side of the blanket over her own shoulders as well.
Cerise spoke in a low voice.
"It is cramped."
"Then push me away."
Lya did not budge.
In the end, Cerise did not push her away.
Ronan did not withdraw the silver line he had laid out in the darkness. If a real beast approached, the blades of grass would bend before the rope ever did. Pranks and danger sounded different. To ensure he did not miss that difference throughout the night, he kept the tension at his fingertips extremely light.
Occasionally, there were real sounds.
A twig snapping in the distance, wet leaves brushing against the side of the tent. Every time, Cerise looked toward the forest first, not the bell. Ronan's silver line paused beneath the blades of grass, Neris held her breath, and Lya checked on the sleeping Dorman first.
Once, a small wild animal brushed past the outer stakes.
Cerise did not draw her sword.
She merely tapped the ground twice with the tip of her scabbard to scare it away.
Ronan watched this and remarked.
"Now that was elegant."
"I told you not to praise me."
"Let's just call it stating a fact, then."
Cerise did not reply, but this time, she did not take off the blanket.
Before dawn arrived, the bell rang more than twenty times.
With each ring, the laughter from behind them gradually died down.
Because the bell they had rigged to mock them was instead marking the exact time, revealing who was hiding what.
Around the time the sun touched the mountain ridge, Instructor Hagen's roll-call whistle blew.
The rookie teams emerged one by one. Some looked half-asleep, while others deliberately glanced toward Ronan's team.
A senior from the Red Band team behind them stretched.
"Hey, rookies. Did you stand watch well last night? Those bells were making quite a racket."
Another senior laughed.
"A lady of a noble house should handle a warning bell with elegance."
Cerise slowly rose to her feet.
There were faint dark circles under her eyes, but her posture remained straight and unyielding.
"Elegance is not a word to be used for cowardly, hidden pranks."
The seniors' laughter stopped.
Cerise grabbed the bell rope that had been ringing all night.
She did not draw her sword.
She untied the knot with her hands.
Two small wooden wedges fell from within. The reason the bell had rung on a windless night rolled out into the sunlight.
The surrounding rookies began to murmur.
The Red Band senior curled his lip.
"In the forest, sometimes you find ropes and you don't know who tied them."
He yawned loudly on purpose. His voice carried a boastful tone, showing off how well he had slept.
"If you're tired, you can skip today's training. If you ask in the name of your noble house, I'm sure the instructor will let it slide."
Those words stung Cerise.
A noble house.
That term often sounded more like a shackle than a compliment. If she fell, it was a disgrace to her family; if she endured, she was being arrogant; if she rested, it was special treatment.
Cerise did not back down.
"That is why I intend to verify it."
Cerise gripped the end of the bell rope.
Then she turned to Ronan.
"Don't cut it."
The corners of Ronan's mouth curved upward.
"You're saying that today too, I see."
"Don't pull it either this time. Spin it."
Neris immediately added.
"Three times to the left. Keep the last loop loose. The tying habits of the person who made it are still present."
Ronan curled his fingers.
The silver line slid along the bell rope. The blade did not sever the rope. Instead, it lightly lifted the end of the rope and spun it in the air—once, twice, three times.
Cerise let go of the rope.
The end of the rope flew low like a snake and wrapped itself around the tent post of the Red Band team.
The senior's face hardened.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
He hastily yanked the rope.
That very force shook the post.
Half of the tent collapsed.
A bundle of small warning bells spilled out from inside. It wasn't just one. Five, six, more than ten bells rolled out, ringing noisily on the dirt floor.
The scattered bells chimed all at once.
The noise that had plagued Ronan's team all night now erupted right at the feet of the team that had played the prank.
The senior's face flushed red.
He tried to kick the bundle of bells back inside, but it was already too late.
Instructor Hagen stood before him.
"Did you have fun last night?"
The senior could not answer.
Hagen did not speak at length.
"You will attend this morning's roll call with those bells hung around your neck. Listen for yourself to see just how loud the sound that wakes others is."
Laughter erupted from the surroundings.
The Red Band team hung their heads, picking up the bundle of bells and tying them to their necks. Every time they moved, a sound rang out. Even if they hid their steps or lowered their shoulders, the bells kept chiming.
Cerise watched the scene unfold to the very end.
However, she did not laugh.
Ronan approached.
"I thought you'd ask me to get angry on your behalf."
"If I had, I would have lost."
"Well, you didn't lose."
Only then did Cerise let out a long breath.
Lya offered the blanket once more.
This time, Cerise accepted it immediately.
"I am only sitting down for a moment."
"Yes, just for a moment," Lya said with a smile.
Neris wrote a line on her observation board.
Cerise narrowed her eyes.
"Erase that."
"No. This is your record."
Cerise was about to retort but stopped.
Ronan looked toward the collapsed tent. The chiming of the bells was still ongoing. But now, that sound was no longer waking Ronan's team.
It was a sound announcing to everyone exactly who had ruined the night.
Cerise sat on the ground for the first time, the blanket draped over her shoulders.
Dorman asked cautiously.
"Then, may I go to sleep now?"
Ben lightly tapped the back of his head.
"Roll call is over."
"Ah, is that so? I was standing with my eyes closed."
Lya chuckled softly. The air that had been tense all night finally began to ease.
Ronan did not look down at Cerise. He sat down beside her, looking out at the forest from the same level.
"Wake me up during the next watch."
"You need to rest as well."
"That's why I'm telling you to wake me. If you stand watch alone, I won't be able to rest anyway."
Cerise stared at Ronan, seemingly at a loss for words.
Then, she gave a very slight nod.
"Understood."
Her scabbard was still within arm's reach.
But this time, rather than the scabbard, her hand held the edge of the blanket Lya had given her.