"Romance in its purest form" oh gosh I'm speechless, thank you so so much! ;n;
That's wonderful to hear that you're interested in visual novels! I use the Ren'Py engine to make my VNs. It's free and has a functioning UI right out of the box. There's even a built-in tutorial that's great for basics.
In regards to learning development, that's all self-taught. I learned from just diving in and experimenting. I started by making something small and silly just for me. It was five minutes long and I didn't release it. But I learned the basics of Ren'Py by making it. Then I challenged myself in NaNoReno 2019 and learned even more. I always learn with each VN I make. And I always keep the Ren'Py documentation and Google close by. :)
Wishing you all the best on your dev journey! 💜