CONTRACT OR LOVE.
Chapter 9
PAIRING: Killua Zoldyck × Female OC.
SYNOPSIS: after Isaac Netero’s death, an old contract forces his granddaughter into an arranged marriage with Killua Zoldyck—the heir of the world’s most feared assassin family. Neither of them wanted this life, but duty leaves little room for choice.
THEMES: duty over desire, inherited trauma, emotional isolation, identity, survival, slow healing, complicated family dynamics, romance that grows in silence.
WARNINGS: canon-typical violence, emotional manipulation, unhealthy family relationships, psychological themes, slow burn.
CONTENT: arranged marriage, Killua Zoldyck × female OC, slow burn, psychological drama, family expectations, emotional repression, trauma, political intrigue, found humanity, healing, angst, eventual romance.
✦STATUS CHAPTERS: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12...ongoing.
When I woke up, Amane was already waiting with the day’s schedule.
There were no words of comfort. No questions about how I was feeling.
She simply informed me, with the same calm composure as always, of my obligations.
Within this family, feelings were never a reason to disrupt the routine.
-
The dining room looked exactly the same as it had the day before.
The table was still impossibly long.
The butlers stood motionless along the walls.
The porcelain gleamed beneath the light pouring through the tall windows.
If someone had walked in at that moment, they never would have imagined the tragedy that had taken place in the mansion only hours earlier. Yet no one mentioned it.
Not a single word.
It was as if the mourning had ended the exact moment the last drop of blood had been cleaned from the floor.
I quietly took my seat.
I waited for Grandfather to begin breakfast.
The only sound breaking the silence was the soft clink of silverware against porcelain. No one spoke. No one raised their voice.
Everything followed a routine that had been passed down for generations.
Then Kikyo gently set her teacup onto its saucer.
“Now, returning to the remaining matters concerning your marriage…”
I looked up.
Her voice was calm. As elegant as ever. There was no harshness in it.
That was precisely what made it so intimidating.
“It is time for you to fully adapt to this family.”
No one interrupted.
Silva continued eating.
Zeno didn’t react either.
As though everyone had been expecting this conversation.
“Becoming a Zoldyck is not simply a matter of carrying our surname.”
She paused briefly before continuing.
“Every member of this family has a role. Everyone knows their place. Everyone understands their responsibilities.”
I felt my fingers tighten around my napkin.
“Starting today, Amane will reorganize your daily schedule. You will have designated hours for every activity, and you will learn our customs.”
It wasn’t a suggestion.
It was a decision.
“You will also begin your regular medical evaluations.”
My breathing slowed.
I had known this part was coming.
Even so, hearing it spoken in front of the entire family made it feel different.
Far more real.
“Your health will be monitored regularly.”
She never used the word pregnancy.
She didn’t have to.
Everyone understood what she truly meant.
“In time, when the moment is appropriate, you will also fulfill your responsibility of ensuring this family’s future.”
I lowered my eyes to my plate.
The food had completely lost its taste.
It wasn’t embarrassment.
It was the feeling of listening to people discuss my future while I sat there as nothing more than a spectator.
As though my opinion had never been part of the conversation to begin with.
Kikyo continued speaking with the same composed tone.
She explained the importance of the Zoldyck name.
Discipline.
Self-control.
Discretion.
Absolute loyalty to the family.
She never raised her voice.
She didn’t need to.
Every word carried the weight of a tradition far older than any of us.
She wasn’t trying to intimidate me.
She truly believed every word she was saying.
That this was a wife’s duty.
That this was the place I was meant to occupy.
Perhaps that was what frightened me the most.
Because no one seemed to believe there could be any other way to live.
Then Kikyo added, just as calmly,
“It would also be beneficial for the two of you to begin spending more time together. A marriage must be allowed to develop properly if we expect stability in the future.”
Silence settled over the dining room once again.
No one reacted.
No one commented.
Until a soft sound broke the stillness.
Killua placed his silverware onto his plate.
It wasn’t loud.
Just the quiet sound of metal against porcelain.
It was enough for everyone to look toward him.
He kept his eyes on his breakfast for a few seconds before speaking.
“It’s too soon.”
His voice was calm.
Without anger.
Without impatience.
As though he were simply stating something obvious.
Kikyo slowly turned toward her son.
“Killua.”
He looked up.
“She just got here.”
There was no harshness in his words.
Only a simple statement of fact.
“She doesn’t even know this house yet.”
Silence settled around the table once more.
Kikyo remained perfectly composed.
“That is precisely why she must begin as soon as possible. The faster she adapts, the better it will be for both of you.”
Killua held her gaze for a moment.
“Learning the rules is fine.”
He paused.
“The rest can wait.”
He didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t argue.
He didn’t try to convince anyone.
He simply made his position clear.
Kikyo folded her hands neatly on the table.
“Marriage comes with responsibilities, Killua.”
“I know.”
He answered immediately.
“But there’s no need to rush it.”
Silva watched his son in silence.
Zeno offered no comment.
The dining room fell quiet again.
Killua returned to his breakfast as though the conversation had ended there.
And somehow…
Everyone accepted that it had.
-
Breakfast ended shortly afterward.
One by one, the members of the family left the dining room without unnecessary conversation or farewells. The butlers immediately began clearing away the dishes with the same flawless precision they had used to serve them.
I waited a few seconds before standing.
I had nowhere in particular to go.
I simply wanted to get away from that table.
The moment I stepped outside the dining room, the sound of my footsteps blended into the silence of the mansion’s endless corridors.
The stone floor echoed softly beneath my feet.
Everything was enormous.
Cold.
Ordered down to the smallest detail.
I could almost feel the weight of those walls, as though they had watched generations grow up within them.
The only sound breaking the silence was the echo of my own footsteps.
Steady.
Rhythmic.
Nothing else.
I didn’t hear a second pair of footsteps.
Not the rustle of fabric.
Not even a breath.
And yet…
I had the unmistakable feeling that I wasn’t walking alone.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Killua was walking a few steps behind me.
His hands were tucked into his pockets.
His expression was the same as always.
Calm.
Difficult to read.
I hadn’t noticed when he had left the dining room.
Nor when he had begun following the same hallway.
He didn’t seem interested in speaking.
We simply kept walking.
Only my footsteps disturbed the silence.
We passed several tall windows overlooking the gardens.
Beyond them stretched the forest surrounding the estate, perfectly still beneath the morning light.
I wondered how many times Killua had walked those same corridors.
How many years he had spent living within those walls.
“Has it always been like this?”
My own voice sounded strange after so much silence.
Killua didn’t answer right away.
He kept his eyes ahead as we continued walking.
For a moment, I thought he had decided to ignore the question.
Then he spoke.
“Like what?”
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.
“Everything.”
I gestured vaguely toward the mansion.
“The rules… the meals… everyone knowing exactly what they’re supposed to do… no one questioning anything.”
He remained silent for another few seconds.
“Yeah.”
Just one word.
But it confirmed everything I had already suspected.
I lowered my gaze.
“It’s like every day has already been decided before it even begins.”
Killua let out the faintest sigh.
“It has.”
There was no resentment in his voice.
No frustration.
He sounded like someone who had lived with that reality for far too long to be surprised by it anymore.
We kept walking.
“Didn’t it ever bother you?”
This time he took longer to answer.
“When I was a kid…”
He paused.
“Yeah.”
His answer made me look up.
It was the first time he had spoken about himself since we met.
“After a while…”
He looked ahead again.
“I understood that’s just how things work here.”
He said nothing more.
Yet those words revealed far more than he intended.
I thought back to breakfast.
To the way everyone had discussed our future without ever asking what either of us wanted.
How easily they made decisions for us.
“I didn’t choose to be here either.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
I wasn’t looking for sympathy.
It was simply the truth.
Killua turned his head slightly toward me.
There was no surprise in his expression.
Only understanding.
“I know.”
Two simple words.
Nothing more.
But for the first time since I had crossed the gates of that mansion…
I felt like someone truly understood what those words meant.
We continued walking in silence.
It was no longer an uncomfortable silence.
It was the silence shared by two people who didn’t need to explain what the other already knew.
When we reached an intersection, Killua stopped.
The hallway split into two different directions.
He stood there for a moment before speaking.
“You’ll get used to it.”
He said it with the certainty of someone speaking from experience.
It didn’t sound like reassurance.
Nor like hope.
It sounded like a fact.
I looked at him without answering.
He held my gaze for only a moment.
“Not because you’ll want to.”
He paused.
“But because everyone here eventually does.”
Without waiting for a reply, he continued down the corridor until he disappeared around the corner.
I remained where I was.
Watching the place where he had vanished.
Although our stories were completely different…
We understood the same feeling.
The feeling of living a life someone else had chosen for us.
I lowered my gaze.
I didn’t know how long I had been standing there.
Maybe only a few seconds.
Maybe several minutes.
Time seemed to move differently inside that house.
“Ma’am.”
Amane’s voice pulled me back to reality.
I turned toward her.
She stood a few steps away.
As always.
Hands folded neatly in front of her.
The same serene expression that never seemed to change.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“The doctor is waiting for you.”
I frowned slightly.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
There was no explanation.
No apology.
Only that answer.
A small knot formed in my stomach.
I had assumed the examinations would begin in a few days.
Perhaps sometime next week.
I hadn’t imagined Kikyo had already arranged everything.
Amane stepped slightly to one side.
“Please follow me.”
I cast one last glance toward the corridor where Killua had disappeared.
Then I took a slow breath.
And followed her.
