"Sstop dodging the quesstion."

Vessa looks away, jaw tight. For a just a moment you see a flood of emotions pass over her profile before she turns back to you with a calm mask, "I'm physically fine. Just like all the other girls you saved tonight, only two servants are unaccounted for. They are traumatized of course, they were under his sway for months. Fortunately the memories of their time under the Barons command are fuzzy at best. Once they recover I'm sure they will be very grateful..."

She trails off as you reach over and take her clammy hand in yours, holding it tightly in your warm grasp, "Arre you alrright?" Vessa's composure cracks and her face pinches together, eyes beginning to tear.

You pull her in and she lays her head across your chest, sobs beginning to wrack her body as you rub her back, making soothing noises as best you can with half a working face.

Your recovery under Vessa's magic touch is rapid but messy. The scarring is severe, taking most of the right half of your face and deeply etching much of your upper body on the same side. Your burned eye is a solid white, seemingly bleached. You take to wearing a simple but well-wrought half mask, the black cover somewhat preserving your handsome visage and keeping you presentable in court.

The problem remains of what to do about the demons that escaped your wrathful purge, you couldn't shake the nagging feeling that the Baron had been spreading his seed more than a farmer in spring. Your suspicions were well founded: Count Harrows returned to his holdings to find his servants slaughtered and his daughters missing. You give him the Barons land, wealth, and a more prominent place in your court as recompense for his service and loss, promising to help him enact justice on the fiends. Which you of course have to take care of anyway.

Word travels quickly of your deeds and in combination with the succubus incident you quickly gain the title of "The Demon's Bane." People express their hope that it be one of many and you can't help but be horrified at the idea of earning more titles the same way you did this one. Things eventually return to almost-normal, leaving you a more respected king with an intimidating countenance when you wished it, not to mention a little wiser for your trouble.

Except for your relationship with your court mage, who you now interacted with on an almost daily basis in private and in public. Your attentions shifted so quickly that many of the Kingdom's ladies were quite miffed. The court was beginning to gossip but you paid them no heed. You enjoyed Lady Vessa's company too much to be worried about whispering behind your back and you were hopeful that she might feel the same.