Pride

Spoiler warning: this page has been updated since the release of Kingdom of the Cursed. Consider yourself warned.

"As a matter of principle, I rarely show my true face to anyone. You would be wise to do the same"

- Pride to Emilia, Kingdom of the Cursed

Pride is one of the seven princes of Hell, ruling over House Pride within the seven circles. He is first introduced in Kingdom of the Wicked, when he is summoned by Emilia and posseses Antonio's body.

Early Life
Sometime before the events of the first book, Pride's wife was killed by having her heart ripped out. He was then cursed to never leave the underworld until another witch was taken as his bride.

Kingdom of the Wicked
At the end of the first book, Emilia summons Pride in the room Vittoria had hidden the La Prima's grimoire. There, Pride possesses Antonio, his eyes glowing blue - the only indication he was no longer just Antonio. Pride gifted Emilia a metal dress and offered to kill Antonio as a gift for her acceptance of becoming his bride. Emilia declines and instead declares she needs an hour to gather her things before meeting him or a representative of his at the cave where she first summoned Wrath.

Kingdom of the Cursed
Pride is mentionned often throughout the second novel, even long before he makes an appearance. At the beginning of the work, Emilia believes she is betrothed to him and constantly asks Wrath when he will take her to House Pride. Emilia believes he is the devil.

Pride first appears in Kingdom of the Cursed dressed as a guard and on the lands of House Pride, when he stumbles across Emilia during the hunt. He orders her off the horse, threatening her life if she doesn't comply. It is not specified here that he is Pride, as he looks like a guard instead. Emilia is held captive in House Pride for a few hours before being released and sent back to House Gluttony. Emilia only realizes it was Pride when they share a dance at the Feast of the wolf, wherein all the Princes wear masks, and she recognised the scar on his lips from before.

While dancing, Emilia and Pride banter, and she forces him into a corner with the knowledge of what she saw while on his lands. She strikes a deal with hinm: she will be allowed to cross his lands twice, unstopped by his men, and she won't tell anyone about the slumber root he has growing on his lands. Pride, unable to counter, accepts.

Appearance
When Emilia first meets Pride, when he is disguised as a guard, he wears an open-faced iron helmet on his head, with deadly-looking wings on either side. A set of claw marks are melded into the metal above his forehead.

He is described first as having burnished gold hair, long enough that it peaks out under the edges of his helmet, and hard eyes. Later, his hair is further discribed as chestnut brown with golden strands, cut close on the sides and long on the top. There is only one visible imperfection on his sun-kissed skin: a pale, silver scar that runs over his lips.

Personality
Pride is, as his name suggests, prideful. When he enters the Feast of the Wolf, he walks through the room without sparing barely any glances at anyone else, carrying an aura of confidence and pride. According to Emilia, he reminds her of a golden-maned lion. When Emilia calls him conceited, he replies by saying his ego is entirely justified.

Emilia then states that he isn't nearly as prideful as he appears to be, insinuating that he hides his true personality behind a figurative mask. He refuses to admit why. Pride plays into Wrath's trick that Pride is the one who rules hell—Wrath claims this is because his brother is never unwilling to acept praise and high-esteem from others.