Creature of romance (3)
I believe the answer is:
man
'creature' is the definition.
(I know that man is a type of creature)
'of romance' is the wordplay.
'of' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'MAN' is hidden in the letters of 'romance'.
(Other definitions for man that I've seen before include "Bishop, perhaps" , "See 24" , "Geezer" , "Male person" , "Isle of -; chess piece" .)