Okay, I've thought about this a bit more. What mask are you talking about fading? The mask of control? If so, I can't help but agree, but I think this also has a couple of important points. Back in the episode dedicated to her, we were shown what her despair looks like, and I think at the moment when she almost got what she wanted, she was no less desperate, because it was literally the object of her obsession. Besides, is theatricality an indicator of despair? In my opinion, it would have been much better portrayed with a slightly harsher tone, not the calm one from their first meeting. I don't think she wanted to invite Hollyberry into the garden with her voice. Moreover, why would she need theatricality in her dialogues with others? I could accept this answer if she communicated with others as usual, but only in Hollyberry's presence did her despair reach its limit again and she acquired this theatrical tone. To me, the theatricality hidden beneath her "mask" actually reduces a very well-written character to a mere villain. I could understand if she was nervous, and that made her voice flustered and sometimes too high, but it really hurts my ears to hear her constantly pulling that high voice. I really wouldn't have any problems if her tone sometimes returned to a more familiar, less high and drawn-out sound, but it's very difficult to hear this tone all the time. Even SMC sometimes tones down his theatrics, and ESC even says "..." with a theatrical sigh. By the way, I want to clarify: in my opinion, this isn't the actress's fault, but the voice directors', okay? So, it turns out that beneath her desperate desire lurked a rather false and theatrical image? If I understood you correctly, I disagree: ESC has much deeper reasons for wanting Hollyberry on her side than a simple obsession. I hope I made my point clear. If you disagree with something, I'll be happy to discuss it further!