#bewitching sinners

Theory 1: Palmier is already in love with us (or at least very close)

So it's pretty much all but stated that Palmier posed as Ivar, lied about us being soulmates, all to manipulate MC into giving up our humanity for the sake of infiltrating the vampire stronghold. However, I think he definitely caught feelings. While for us the courtship lasted around a month, for him it was a year. This might explain why he acts so ridiculously fond and behaves with such casual affection, because he spent a year basically wooing us. If this was all just for the sake of the mission, wouldn't he have stopped?

When he later reappears as Ivar, he acts disgusted with Palmier's affections and admits to being insanely jealous, which I interpret as part guilt and part actual truth. What if he is actually jealous? When Osgar goes to kiss us in the train, Palmier "accidentally" hits him, something that is played off as him being a silly asshole but what if it's actually an indicator that he's legitimately jealous of the other suitors? Of the fact that he can't love us as himself?

Finally, his bio and conditions for romancing him are obscured, but what if that's because he's already in love with us? Admittedly this is 70% wishful thinking because Palmier's hot and I love the potential dramatic angst. I know he's written to be charming and obnoxiously flirty, but he's also so caring even when he doesn't need to be. He says his magic is heavily limited within the palace, but still uses it to soothe our pain even though we have a healing ability. He flirts with us constantly, dismissing it as dramatics but often following it up by asking what we want and being an emotional safe space. He took us to the beach because we'd been chronically bedridden and had never seen the ocean. We fall asleep??? on his lap??? while he brushes our hair and calls us sweet pet names?????????

Theory 2: Our cousin cares about us in a severely unhealthy way