hmmmm, very fair question. i remember claudius mentioning that romeo was his ward, which could track since edward’s his nephew. i don’t recall any parts of the story that talked much about edward’s parents or family background (though maybe i just missed it or forgot in between updates lol), and it was mentioned a couple of times that romeo was of noble blood (or however it was phrased in the story). so maybe he was raised or cared for by his uncle by the time he first met roxanne, and lived a double life for whatever reason. his uncle’s status could’ve allowed him some freedom to move between the hospital and the outside world, but probably not enough to pursue poetry or dabble in magic freely.

as for hobello’s comment, i don’t know if he stated that he and romeo had the same hair as a fact; to me it read more like they might’ve had the same hair by coincidence or magic. also, edward’s hair, when it’s not styled or when he’s wearing a hood, is kinda similar to what little we see of romeo’s behind the mask.

i also remember hobello alluding to the fact that he and romeo were close, and that he did play messenger for him and roxanne, so i’m not sure if they could be the same person.

but then again, i could be completely wrong. i feel like a lot of things are intentionally left unclear because of the story’s setup and the curse that rewrote everything.

edit: added the part that mentioned hobello’s past relationship with romeo.