Sudden and immediate pain on the side of his face forces his eyes away, and he holds them there for the second strike. The first pain he's felt since returning, and maybe what he needed to work himself out of his daze. That could be why he made no move to prevent her from doing as she wanted. Even goading her to.

Slowly he turns his head, absorbing her elaborate way of calling him a scumbag that somehow involves comparing him to a god. He's perceptive enough to understand the connection and the irony involved that she may later realize.

"I can't leave any more than you." Despite the fact that he wasn't given permission to speak, the slap must have loosened his tongue; although it comes out differently than he means it. There was some choice involved. He didn't have to come back to the castle, and yet here he is, adding to her suffering.

And she's only the first person he's seen.