"I awakened my bloodline talent."
"Huh?"
Lambert stopped in his tracks, as though he had heard something utterly impossible.
A moment later, his astonishment faded, leaving only heartfelt joy for Louis.
"Don't tell anyone," Lambert reminded him in a low voice. "A bloodline talent... can save your life at a critical moment. Keep it hidden for as long as you can."
Louis nodded. "I know."
Of course he understood that the fewer people knew about this, the better.
He had told Lambert simply because he trusted him.
To Louis, Lambert was more than just an Elite Knight.
To the original owner of this body, Lambert had been both a teacher and a father figure, teaching him combat techniques since childhood.
Besides, Lambert had sacrificed so much for Louis. As a high-ranking Elite Knight of the Calvin Family, he could easily have stayed with the family and enjoyed a comfortable life. Instead, he had insisted on following Louis to the impoverished, dangerous Northern Frontier.
Even at Louis's lowest point, Lambert had never left him. That alone made him worthy of trust.
Of course, there was one other small reason.
Awakening a bloodline was so damn cool that Louis wanted to show off a little... perfectly reasonable, right?
Meanwhile, Lambert's feelings were rather complicated.
Before they came to the Northern Frontier, Louis had been nothing more than an introverted young noble with unremarkable talent in his eyes.
Truthfully, Lambert had never held particularly high hopes for him.
When he had followed Louis to the Northern Frontier back then, he had only intended to keep the boy he had watched grow up alive and prevent him from disgracing the Calvin Family.
What he had never expected was that the young master who once hid in a corner of the training grounds, staring into