Does this have romance?

yes i think

Extremely slow build. Technically the FL is told at the start that she's not allowed because the original book wasn't a romance genre, and if she wants the genre switched, it's about as easy as climbing Mt Everest. That doesn't mean the leads don't grow insanely close and have tension, but... think of the romance as being stuck as a very small subplot, whether the leads like it or not.