[ The sheer...directness of Lambert's tone is what throws Strange for a loop. For all of his bluntness about how awful an idea it is, he still hopes it would work? And this is Lambert that the sincerity is coming from, which just makes the situation all the more odd. He honestly expected Lambert to tease him or fuss at him or something. Some sort of jokes at his magic or himself, not sincere well-wishes.

Well now he really feels shitty about lying to Lambert. ]

Thank you, [ Strange responds, unable to hide a trace of surprise from his tone. And then, because this conversation is getting too mushy and he feels too awful about lying, Strange swaps the conversation to talking about magic. ] For what it's worth, I know the spell works. My mentor used it to bring someone from the dead himself and I used a crude version of it in the peninsula. I just need to know how best to refine it.